JPH03261827A - Hopper with gate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent waste time from occurring and ensure complete ejecting of an object by controlling gate open time according to weight of the object supplied to a hopper body. CONSTITUTION:A CPU 14 sends a signal to a controller 22 and operates a straight proceeding feeder 6 to supply objects to empty ones among respective supply hoppers 4. Then the objects are supplied to empty ones among respective measuring hoppers 2 from the respective supply hoppers 4. An analog measuring signal from each load cell 10 of the measuring hopper 2 with the object supplied is converted into a digital measuring signal by an A/D-converter 12 to be sup plied to the CPU 14. The CPU 14 combines the respective digital signals and selects among the combinations a combination of total weight which is equal to or the nearest to a target weight which has been set by a setting unit 18, and determines open time of a gate 10 according to a function wherein the weight of the object in interest supplied to the measuring hopper 2 is variable.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a hopper with a gate, and particularly to one that controls the open state of the gate.

[Prior Art] A gated hopper is sometimes used, for example, as a total b1 hopper or an auxiliary hopper in a combination weigher. Here, the forceps weighing scale weighs the articles supplied to each weighing hopper,
These weighing values are combined in various ways, and a combination whose total value is equal to or close to the target vehicle 9 is selected from among these combinations, or the articles weighed in each total I11 hopper are transferred to an auxiliary hopper, and the items are emptied. A new article is supplied and weighed to each weighing hopper, and the weighed value of the article in the auxiliary hopper and each total L are recorded.
The weight values of the articles in one hopper are variously combined, and 11 combinations that are equal to or close to the total value or target weight are selected from these combinations. The gates of the weighing hopper or weighing hopper or auxiliary hopper containing the articles constituting the selected combination are then opened and the articles are discharged from the weighing hopper or auxiliary hopper.

The opening control of these weighing hoppers and auxiliary hoppers is designed to ensure that the heaviest items or those with the lowest apparent specific gravity among the items expected to be supplied to these weighing hoppers and auxiliary hoppers are discharged. Generally, all weighing hoppers and auxiliary hoppers are set to have a relatively long opening time or a large opening degree.

[Invention or problem to be solved 8] However, such articles are not always supplied to all weighing hoppers or auxiliary hoppers, and lighter articles that can be sufficiently discharged with a shorter opening time or opening degree are used. In many cases, goods or goods with a large apparent specific gravity are supplied. However, if the opening time and opening degree of each weighing hopper and auxiliary hopper are set strictly as described above, a lot of time will be wasted if light items or items with apparently large specific gravity are discharged from these hoppers. There is a problem with that.

For example, JP-A-63-127124 discloses setting the gate opening degree individually for each weighing hopper; is not always constant,
The set gate opening may be too small and not all the supplied goods can be discharged, or conversely, the set gate opening may be too large and even if all the supplied goods are discharged, the Sometimes the gate was open and it was a waste of time.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a hopper body, a gate provided on the hopper body, a mechanism for opening and closing this gate, and a mechanism for driving this mechanism. a driving means for
The hopper body is provided with a control means for controlling the opening time of the gate according to the weight of the articles supplied to the hopper main body.

Furthermore, instead of the above control means, the opening degree of the gate may be controlled depending on the weight of the articles supplied to the hopper body.

In addition, by controlling the opening time or degree of opening of each gate according to the weight of the supplied articles as described above, the timing to start supplying the articles to the hopper body can be adjusted based on the timing of the start of article supply to the hopper body. It can also be controlled according to weight.

[Operation] According to the present invention, the opening time or opening degree of the gate is controlled according to the weight of the articles being supplied to the hopper body, so when the weight of the articles being supplied is small, the opening time of the gate is controlled. You can prevent wasted time by shortening the length or reducing the opening. On the other hand, when the weight of the supplied articles is large, the opening time of the gate is increased or the degree of opening is increased to ensure that the articles in the hopper body are completely discharged.

In addition, when articles are repeatedly supplied to the hopper body and then discharged, the weight of the articles already supplied is small, and as mentioned above, the opening time of the gate is short or the degree of opening is small. The time required to empty the articles within the hopper body is reduced. Therefore, there is no need to wait for the next article to be supplied until a predetermined time, and the discharge time can be accelerated. As for how much to speed up, the weight of the goods currently being fed into the hopper body11
It can be decided depending on. Conversely, when there is a large amount of tffi of the articles being supplied into the hopper body, the gate opens IIi.
The gap between the gates has become longer and the opening degree of the gate has become larger. Therefore, the timing of starting the supply of the first article (or should it be delayed until the articles have been completely discharged, or how late) depends on the weight of the articles currently being fed into the hopper body. It will be decided.

[Example] The first example is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5.
The present invention is implemented in a weighing hopper used in a combination weigher. FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a fine balance weighing scale, in which 2 is a weighing hopper, 4 is a supply hopper, 6 is a linear feeder, and 8 is a dispersion tweeter. 0 Articles from the dispersion feeder 8 are fed to the linear feeder 6. and is then supplied to the supply hopper 4.

From this, it is supplied to the weighing hopper 2. The articles supplied to the weighing hopper 2 are weighed by a weighing means attached to the weighing hopper 2, such as a load cell 10. The analog weighing signal is sent to the A/D converter 12 as shown in FIG.
is converted into a digital measurement signal by CPU 1
4. The CPU 14 variously combines each digital measurement signal according to the floppy program stored in the ROM+6.

A combination calculation is performed to select a combination that is equal to or closest to the total weight or the target weight set by the setting section 18 from among these combinations. CPU 14
supplies a control signal to the control section 22 to open the gate 20 of the weighing hopper 2 containing the articles constituting the selected combination. The selected articles are thereby supplied to the packaging machine 26 via the collection sheet 24. The weighing hopper 2 that has discharged the articles has a supply hopper 4 above it.
, and performs the combination calculation as described above. The supply hopper 4, which has become empty due to the supply of articles, is supplied with articles from the linear feeder 6 subordinate thereto. 27 is a RAM, and 29 is a display section.

As shown in FIG. 4, the weighing hopper 2 has a hopper body 28.
The gate 20 described in 4- above is provided to cover the opening provided therein, and a return spring 30 is provided to maintain this closed state. Also, this return spring 3
A linkage mechanism 32 is provided for opening the gate 20 against an acting force of zero, and for driving this linkage mechanism 32 a drive means, for example an air cylinder 34, is provided. When the loft of the air cylinder 34 moves forward, the link mechanism 32 rotates as shown by the arrow, and the gate 20 is opened. When the lot of the air cylinder 34 moves backward, the gate 20
or closed. By controlling the forward speed of the loft of the air cylinder 34, the opening time of the gate 20 can be controlled as shown in FIG. In addition, each α shown in the figure indicates the closing time required for the gate 20 to be closed by the acting force of the return spring 30.

FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of a program executed by CPU 4. First, a signal is sent to control unit 22, linear feeder 6 is operated, and articles are loaded into empty ones of each supply hopper 4. Supply (step S2)
. Next, a signal is sent to the control unit 22, and the article is supplied from each supply hopper 4 to the empty weighing hopper 2 (step S4). Then, the analog weighing signal from each load cell 10 of the weighing hopper 2 to which the article is supplied is converted into a digital weighing signal by the A/D converter 12, and the CPU
14 (step S6).

Then, the above-mentioned combination @ calculation is performed based on each digital weighing signal of the articles whose weight measurement has been completed, and the combination whose total weight is equal to or closest to the target weight is selected (step S8). This combination calculation is performed after a predetermined period has elapsed since the previous combination calculation.

Next, it is determined whether the discharge signal generated by the packaging machine 26 is on (step 5IO). This ejection signal is turned on when the packaging machine 26 receives an article and is ready for packaging. If the judgment in this step SIO is NO, step S10 is repeated until the answer becomes YES, and if the answer in step S10 is YES, the opening time of the gate 20 of the weighing hopper 2 is set (step S+2). .

That is, among the weighing hoppers 2, the weighing hoppers 2 containing the articles constituting the combination selected by the previous combination calculation are targeted, and the weighing hoppers 2 containing the articles that are being supplied to these target weighing hoppers 2 are calculated. The opening time is determined by a function with weight as a variable. For example, let the closing time be Y, the weight be X, and the coefficient be a, and set the function Y=aX.
The opening time is determined by substituting the electrical resistance sewing X of each target article in the weighing hopper 2 into this value. In determining this opening time, the apparent specific gravity is not taken into account, but a volume measuring means is provided for each weighing hopper 2, and the apparent specific gravity is calculated based on the measured volume and the measurement mold opening. In case of oversight, consider the specific weight and calculate the coefficient a
may be changed.

For example, when the specific gravity is within the range of ρl to ρ2, the apparent value is changed to the coefficient al, and when the specific gravity is within the range of ρ2 to ρ3, the coefficient is changed to a2, and so on.

Following this, the gate 20 of the weighing hopper 2 to which the selected article is supplied is opened for the respective set opening time (step 514), and the process returns to step S2. In this case, the fewer the articles being supplied, the shorter the gate opening/closing time, and the sooner the articles are supplied to such a weighing hopper, the sooner the weight measurement will be completed before the next combination calculation is performed.

In the above embodiment, the air cylinder 3 is used as the driving means.
4 was used, but a pulse motor or the like may also be used.

The second embodiment does not change the opening time, and the sixth embodiment does not change the opening time.
As shown in the figure, the structure is the same as that of the first embodiment except for changing the opening degree. Similarly to the first embodiment, when the air cylinder 34 is used, the degree of opening can be controlled by controlling the opening time of the gate 20. Further, when a pulse motor is used, a pulse generating means may be provided at the gate 20, and the pulse signals generated by the pulse generating means according to the opening of the gate 20 may be counted for feedback control. In the case of this embodiment as well, the degree of opening may be controlled in consideration of the apparent specific gravity as in the first embodiment.

The third embodiment is shown in FIGS. 7 to 1O, and as is clear from FIGS. 2 and 6, increasing the opening time or opening 11 degrees also increases the opening time, The smaller the degree, the shorter the closing time. Eject the goods and
New articles must be supplied to the empty weighing hopper 2 after the closing time has passed, or if the weight of the article previously supplied to the weighing hopper 2 is light, the closing time must be met. Since the time is also shorter, supply of the next item can be started quickly. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, when the weight of the article fed first is light, the l cycle can be shortened, and the weighing capacity can be increased.

Therefore, in the rJJ3 embodiment, control of the linear feeder 6, control/combination calculation of the supply hopper 4, and control of the weighing hopper 2 are performed separately. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the control of the linear feeder 6 determines whether each supply hopper 4 is empty (step 516), and if the answer is YES, supplies the article to the empty supply hopper 4. Control each linear feeder 6 so that (step 518)
. This step S16.18 is repeated one after another.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, the control and combination calculation of the supply hopper 4 is performed by sequentially determining whether the weighing hopper 2 is empty (step 520), and feeding the empty weighing hopper 2 with articles (step 522). )1 Next, perform weight measurement and input digital weighing signal (step 524)
), and performs a combination calculation of each digital weighing signal to select the combination that is equal to or closest to the target weight (step 526), and determines whether the discharge signal from the packaging machine 26 is on (step 528). .

If the answer is YES, a delay time Tdi is set for each weighing hopper 2 containing the selected article until these weighing hoppers 2 start supplying the article (step 530). This setting is a function that uses as a variable the bundle amount X of the articles being supplied to the target weighing hopper 2, for example.

Determine by T d t = a x + b x. However, aX represents the opening time, and bx
represents the closing time, and a and b are coefficients, respectively. The delay time T□ is determined by substituting the weight of the article in each target weighing hopper 2 into this relational expression. In addition, when considering the specific gravity, the apparent value is calculated by coefficients a and b according to the specific gravity.
may be changed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

Then, wait for the elapse of these delay times T (step 5
32), after the delay time T□, step S2
Execute 0. Therefore, as shown in the timing chart at the bottom of Fig. 10, if the discharge signal is on when the 1111 combination calculation is completed, 1,11 Articles are supplied from the supply hopper 4. During this period, articles are being discharged from the target weighing hopper 2, as will be described later.

The weighing hopper 2 is controlled as shown in FIG.

) to determine whether the discharge signal is on (step 534);
If the answer is YES, the opening time or opening degree T is set for the weighing hopper 2 that accommodates the article selected by the combination calculation (step 536).

This is carried out in the same manner as in the first or second embodiment, so detailed explanation will be omitted. Following this, the gate 20 of the target weighing hopper 2 is opened for the set opening time or opening degree (step 838). When the set opening time elapses or when the set opening degree is reached, the gate 20 is automatically closed. The closing time required to close this gate 20 is equal to 1, for example, bx mentioned above. Therefore, at the end of the closing time of each target weighing hopper 2, or at the delay time T set individually for each of these weighing hoppers 2.
d. coincides with the elapsed time point. Therefore, supply of new articles can be started as described above.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention was implemented in the weighing hopper 2, or in addition, as shown by the dotted line in FIG.
This can also be applied to the auxiliary headphone 40 located below.

Note that 42 is a gate of the auxiliary hopper 40. When the present invention is implemented in a combination company having such an auxiliary hopper 40, the outline of the program executed by the CPU 14 is shown as a flowchart as shown in FIG.

In other words, search for an empty one among each weighing hopper 2,
Supplying articles to these empty weighing hoppers (step S4
). Then, the analog weighing (signal is converted into a digital weighing signal) from the load cell lO of the weighing hopper 2 to which these articles have been supplied (step S6).Next, empty auxiliary hoppers 40 are searched for, and the When the weighing hoppers 2 are supplied with goods, these weighing hoppers 2
The gate opening time is set according to the weight of the articles being supplied to the weighing hopper 2 (step 540), and the gate of the weighing hopper 2 is opened for the set opening time (step 542). Then, a combination operation is performed. This combination calculation is performed when a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous combination calculation, and the objects are the articles stored in the weighing hopper 2 and the auxiliary hopper 40 at the time the above-mentioned time has elapsed. . Therefore, if there are many weighing hoppers 2 containing small amounts of articles, the gate opening time of these weighing hoppers 2 will be short, and the number of auxiliary hoppers 40 to be subjected to the combination calculation will increase as the above-mentioned time elapses. The combination of articles having a total weight equal to or closest to the target weight is then selected. This combination consists of articles contained in the weighing hopper and/or the auxiliary hopper 40.

Then, determine whether the ejection signal is on (step 5)
IO), if the answer is YES, set the gate opening time of the weighing hopper 2 and the auxiliary hopper 40 containing the articles constituting the selected combination (step 544);
Weighing hopper 2 at the set gate opening time. The gate of the auxiliary hopper 40 is opened (step 546). Here too, the gate opening/closing time of the weighing hopper 2 containing a small amount of articles is short.

It is possible to move on to the supply from the supply hopper 4 in step S4 sooner.

In addition, in FIG. 11, the gate opening time is determined depending on the weight of the goods stored in the same way as in the first embodiment, or
The gate opening degree may be controlled in the same manner as in the embodiment. Furthermore, the control as in the third embodiment may be performed on a combination weigher located on the right side of the auxiliary hopper.

In addition, in each of the embodiments described in ``2'', the present invention is applied to a weighing hopper or an auxiliary hopper used in a combination weigher, and is not necessarily limited to this. A hopper that discharges water can be used for a variety of purposes.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the opening time or degree of opening of the gate can be controlled depending on the weight of the articles being supplied, so that When the hopper is small, the time required to open and close the gate can be shortened, and therefore the time required to discharge articles from the hopper can be shortened. In addition, if the weight of the items being supplied is large, the gate can be left open for the time required to completely discharge the items, so that items do not remain in the hopper or get caught in the gate. There is nothing to do.

In addition, since the timing for starting the supply of the first supply is controlled according to the weight of the already supplied products, if the weight of the already supplied products is light, the next supply can be started immediately. Can you start supplying?

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1st [i? 1 is a flowchart of the first embodiment of a combination weigher using a hopper according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the gate opening degree and gate opening time of the weighing hopper in the first embodiment, and FIG. The figure shows a schematic structure of the first embodiment.
, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the weighing hopper of the first embodiment.
5 is a block diagram of the first embodiment, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the gate opening degree and opening time of the weighing hopper of the second embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the second embodiment. 8 is a flowchart of the feed hopper/combination calculation routine of the third embodiment; FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the weighing hopper control routine of the third embodiment; FIG. 1O is a timing diagram of the third embodiment, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a modification of the first embodiment.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A hopper body, a gate provided on the hopper body, a mechanism for opening and closing this gate, a driving means for driving this mechanism, and a gate provided in the hopper body according to the weight of the articles supplied to the hopper body. a control means for controlling the opening time;
Equipped with a hopper with a gate. (2) A hopper body, a gate provided in the hopper body, a mechanism for opening and closing this gate, a driving means for driving this mechanism, and a gate provided in the hopper body according to the weight of the articles supplied to the hopper body. A hopper with a gate, comprising a control means for controlling an opening degree. (3) The weighing hopper according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising means for controlling the start time of supplying articles to the hopper body in accordance with the weight of the articles being supplied to the hopper body. Hopper with gate.