JPH05201520A - Distribution supply apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To conduct a variable control for the amount of articles on a distribution table safely and easily. CONSTITUTION:A weighing table 35 is disposed above the center of a distribution table 33, the transport surface of which is flat, and the weight of articles on the weighing table 35 is detected by a weighing instrument 37. When the weight of articles on the weighing table 35 becomes smaller than a weight setting signal A, a carry-in control means 45 drives an article carry-in conveyer 21 until it becomes larger than the weight setting signal A. When a zero set request signal is inputted, the operation of carrying articles is stopped by the control means until no article on the weighing table is detected by a photo detector 40 to set the weighing instrument to zero.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dispersion supply device for distributing articles in a plurality of paths.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a combination weighing device that discharges a plurality of items weighed by a plurality of weighing units in a lump together with a target weight, a dispersion supply device is used to supply an appropriate amount of products to each weighing unit. There is.

FIG. 9 shows an upper surface 1 of a casing 1 of a combination weighing device.
1 shows a conventional distributed supply device 10 based on a.

This distributed supply device 10 includes an upper surface 1 of a housing 1.
The conical dispersion table 12 of the dispersion feeder 11 arranged at the center of a is vibrated up and down by the vibrator 13 so that the articles on the dispersion table 12 are transferred from the top 12a to the peripheral edge 12b.
Vibration is dispersed to.

On the peripheral portion 12b of the dispersion table 12, a plurality of linear feeders 15, 15, ...
Are arranged.

Each of the linear feeders 15 vibrates the carrier 16 in the direction of arrow A by the vibrator 17 for a predetermined time, and the articles from the dispersion table 12 are transferred to the plurality of intermediate hoppers 2 attached to the side surface 1a of the housing 1. Supply appropriate amount of each.
The articles supplied to the respective intermediate hoppers 2 are respectively supplied to the weighing hoppers 3 and the weights of the respective articles are weighed.

Among the weighed articles, a combination within the target weight range is selected, and the selected articles are discharged from the weighing hopper to a packaging machine (not shown) or the like.

Above the dispersion table 12, a projector 18 for optically detecting the amount of articles on the dispersion table 12 is provided.
And the light receiver 19 are arranged, and the light from the light projector 18 horizontally passes above the top portion 12a of the dispersion table 12 and is received by the light receiver 19.

The light receiving signal of the light receiver 19 is a carry-in control circuit 20.
Is input to. The carry-in control circuit 20 includes the distribution table 12
When the number of articles on the top decreases and the light receiver 19 enters the light receiving state, the article carry-in conveyor 21 is driven to carry a new article onto the distribution table 12 until the light receiver 19 enters the non-light receiving state.

In this way, while the amount of articles on the dispersion table 12 is regulated to the height of the light projecting / receiving device, an appropriate amount of articles is supplied from the straight-line feeders 15 to the intermediate hopper 2, respectively, and the combined discharge is performed. The operation is continuously performed.

[0011]

However, in the conventional distributed supply device in which the amount of articles on the dispersion table 12 is regulated by the light emitter / receiver as described above, the projector 18 is used each time the type of the article or the combined target weight is changed. And the height of the light receiver 19 must be changed to an appropriate height. This change work requires a lot of time to align the optical axes, and is also a work at a high place, which poses a problem of danger.

Further, there is an inconvenience that the regulation level of the amount of articles on the dispersion table cannot be variably controlled during operation.

Therefore, a method may be considered in which the dispersion feeder 11 is placed on a scale and the article carry-in is controlled based on the weight of the articles on the dispersion table. However, the dispersion feeder 11 vibrates almost constantly during operation. However, due to the influence of this vibration, accurate weight detection cannot be performed, and the performance of the scale deteriorates severely.

Moreover, when the zero setting of the scale is to be performed, all the articles on the dispersion table 12 are fed straight to the feeder 1.
Since the next article carry-in must be stopped until it is carried out to 5, the article layer thickness on the straight feeder 15 fluctuates greatly, and the quantity of articles to the intermediate hopper fluctuates greatly.

Further, since the sloping surface of the dispersion table 12 is long, when the articles are loaded on the dispersion table 12 and the linear feeder 15, the articles hit the sloping surface and scatter out of the machine. There was something to do.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a distributed supply device that solves this problem.

[0017]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a dispersion supply apparatus of the present invention has a base and a flat or concave transport surface on the upper surface side. ,
A dispersion table formed in a substantially circular shape, a vibrator fixed on the base and configured to vibrate the dispersion table to convey articles on the dispersion table from a central portion to a peripheral portion, and a diameter smaller than the dispersion table. And a substantially conical weighing table concentrically arranged above the center of the dispersion table, and fixed to the base table to support the weighing table and detect the weight of the article on the weighing table. A scale, a plurality of linear feeders arranged along the peripheral edge of the dispersion table, for oscillating and conveying the articles carried out from the dispersion table in predetermined directions, and an article carry-in device for carrying the articles onto the weighing table. And a carry-in control means for controlling the carry-in of the article by the article carry-in device based on the weighing signal from the scale.

[0018]

With this configuration, the articles carried in from the article carry-in device are naturally dispersed on the distribution table centering on the weighing table.

When the dispersion table is vibrated by the vibrator, the articles on the dispersion table are conveyed in the peripheral direction of the dispersion table and are carried into the linear feeders. The decrease of the articles on the weighing table due to the decrease of the articles on the distribution table is detected by the balance, and the article carry-in of the article carry-in device is controlled based on the weighing signal.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the dispersion supply device 30 of one embodiment, and FIG. 1 shows a cross section taken along the line BB and the carry-in control means 45.

As in the case of the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, the dispersion supply device 30 uses the upper surface 1a of the casing 1 of the combination weighing device as a base, and disperses the articles from the article carry-in conveyor 21 into a plurality of linear feeders 15 to form a casing. The articles are fed to the intermediate hopper 2 attached to the side surface 1b of the body 1.

The vibrator 32 of the dispersion feeder 31 attached to the center of the upper surface 1a of the housing 1 vibrates a flat disc-shaped dispersion table 33 in a reciprocating rotary vibration at a constant angle with vertical vibration.

The through hole 3 is formed at the center of the dispersion table 33.
4 is provided, and a conical weighing platform 35 having a smaller diameter than that of the dispersion table 33 is concentrically arranged above the through hole 34.

The weighing table 35 is fixed to the upper end of a weighing shaft 36 which is inserted through the through holes 34 of the dispersion table 33 in a non-contact manner.
The lower end of the weighing shaft 36 is connected to a weight sensor (not shown) in the scale 37.

The scale 37 is fixed on a support base 38, and the support base 38 is fixed on the upper surface of the housing 1 so as to straddle the vibrator 32 of the dispersion feeder 31.

Further, on the side surface of the weighing shaft 36, a light receiver 40 having an optical axis directed obliquely upward is attached. A light projector 41 is arranged on the extension line of the optical axis, and when there is no article on the weighing platform 35, the light receiver 40 receives the light from the light projector 41. The light projector 41 is fixed to the upper end of a support rod 42 provided upright on the upper surface of the housing. This projector / receiver constitutes the article-free detection means of the present invention.

The weighing signal of the balance 37 and the light receiving signal of the light receiver 40 are input to the carry-in control means 45.

The carry-in control means 45 controls the operation of the article carry-in conveyor 21 on the basis of the weight setting signal A and the zero set request signal inputted from the weighing device side together with these signals.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the carry-in control means 45. The operation of one embodiment will be described below with reference to this flow chart.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the operation is started with no articles on the dispersion table 33 and the weighing table 37 and the light receiving state of the light receiver 40 is detected, the measured value S at this time is zero offset. The value W ₀ is stored, the driving of the article carry-in conveyor 21 is started, and the article W is initially carried in (steps 1 to 3).

A part of the article at the time of initial loading hits the inclined surface of the weighing table 35 and bounces. However, since the inclined surface is short and the dispersion table 33 is flat, the article is carried out of the machine. Is almost never scattered.

When the articles are carried in from the article carry-in conveyor 21 onto the weighing table 35 and the dispersion table 33 by this conveyor drive, the dispersion feeder 31 and each linear feeder 15 start to vibrate, and the carried-in articles are As shown in FIG. 4, they are dispersed and supplied to each intermediate hopper 2. Among the articles that are respectively supplied from the intermediate hoppers 2 to the weighing hoppers 3 and weighed, the articles selected for the combination are discharged from the weighing hoppers. New articles are supplied from the corresponding intermediate hoppers to the emptied weighing hoppers, weighing is performed, and the articles selected for the combination are discharged one after another.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the weighing signal of the scale 37 increases from the start t _{0 of the} conveyor, and the value obtained by subtracting the zero offset value W ₀ from the weighing signal S is the set weight value A.
_At t _{1 when the} state of being larger than ₁ continues for a predetermined time T _OFF ,
The driving of the conveyor is stopped (steps 4 and 5).

The combination discharge operation described above reduces the number of articles on the dispersion table 33, and accordingly the amount of articles on the weighing platform 35 decreases, and the value obtained by subtracting W ₀ from the weighing signal S of the scale 37 is obtained. The state that is smaller than A ₁ is the predetermined time T _ON
At the time of continuous t ₂ , the presence or absence of the zero set request signal is confirmed, and if this request signal is not input, step 3
Then, the conveyor drive is restarted (step 6,
7).

Thereafter, steps 3 to 7 are repeated until the weight setting signal A ₁ changes or the zero set request signal is input, and the weight of the article on the weighing table 35 is almost A _1. Articles are supplied to the respective weighing hoppers in a state of being regulated by.

During this operation, for example, the weight setting signal is A ₁
When increased changed to A ₂ from, as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 5, the weighing signal of the balance 37 is made carrying the article to over A ₂ + W _0, is carried operate around this A ₂ + W ₀ thereafter continue. Therefore, the article layer thickness on each straight feeder 15 is increased as shown in FIG. 6, and the amount of articles supplied to each weighing hopper is also increased.

When the zero set request signal is input during operation, as shown in FIG. 7, the article carry-in conveyer 21 until the light receiver 40 enters the light receiving state (until the articles on the weighing platform 35 are exhausted). Is not driven, and the weighing value S of the scale is updated to a new zero offset value W ₀ , and then the conveyor drive is restarted.

In this case, since a considerable amount of articles remain on the dispersion table 33, the article layer thickness on each linear feeder 15 does not largely change, and zero setting can be performed in a short time. ..

[0040]

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the disk-shaped dispersion table 33 having a flat conveying surface is used, but the conveying surface of the dispersing table may be formed in a concave shape. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the weighing platform 35 is supported via the weighing shaft 36 passing through the through hole provided at the center of the dispersion table, but as shown in FIG. Pillars 50, 50
The scales 51, 51 are fixed to the upper end of the scales, and one end of the arm members 52, 52 extending obliquely upward from the peripheral portion of the weighing platform 35 is scaled by the scales 51,
You may make it load on 51.

Further, in the above embodiment, the carry-in control means 45
Although the zero offset value of the scale 37 was updated in the inside, the scale 37 itself updates the zero offset value,
You may make it output only an article weight as a weighing signal.

Further, in the above embodiment, one set of the light emitter / receiver detects that there is no article on the weighing base 35, but a plurality of sets of light emitters / receivers are used to cover the entire circumference of the weighing base 35. You may make it detect that there is no article.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, it is optically detected that the articles on the weighing table are exhausted, but it may be detected by the presence or absence of the change of the weighing signal of the scale. That is, if the weighing signal is below a predetermined value and its size does not change for a predetermined time after the scale is raised, it is determined that there are no articles on the weighing platform, and zero setting is performed. The receiver is unnecessary.

[0044]

As described above, in the dispersion feeding apparatus of the present invention, a substantially conical weighing platform is arranged above the center of the dispersing table, and the weight of the article on the weighing platform is detected to detect the weight on the dispersing table. The quantity of goods can be detected.

Therefore, it is possible to easily change the supply amount according to the type of the article without adjusting the height of the light emitter / receiver, which is troublesome and risky.

Further, since the vibration of the dispersion table is not directly transmitted to the weighing table, the amount of articles can be detected with high accuracy and deterioration of the scale can be significantly reduced.

Further, as soon as the articles on the weighing table are used up, the zero setting of the balance can be performed, and the fluctuation of the article supply amount due to the zero setting can be remarkably reduced.

Further, the weighing table need only have a very small area with respect to the dispersion table, and since the conveying surface of the dispersion table is flat or concave, the scattering of the carried-in articles to the outside of the machine is significantly reduced. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2 showing a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an example.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a main part of one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a signal diagram of a main part of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Case 2 Intermediate Hopper 3 Weighing Hopper 15 Straight Feeder 30 Dispersion Feeder 31 Dispersion Feeder 32 Vibrator 33 Dispersion Table 35 Weighing Stand 36 Weighing Shaft 37 Scale 38 Support Stand 40 Light Receiver 41 Emitter 45 Carrying In Control Means

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location B65G 47/46 H 8010-3F 47/72 8010-3F G01G 19/387 C 7809-2F

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A base, a dispersion table which is arranged on the base, has a flat or concave transport surface on the upper surface side, and is formed in a substantially circular shape, and is fixed on the base. A vibrator that vibrates the dispersion table to convey articles on the dispersion table from a central portion to a peripheral portion, and a vibrator that is formed to have a diameter smaller than that of the dispersion table and is concentrically arranged above the central portion of the dispersion table. A conical weighing platform, a scale that is fixed to the base, supports the weighing platform, and detects the weight of the article on the weighing platform; a plurality of balances are arranged along the peripheral edge of the dispersion table; A straight-line feeder that vibrates and conveys the articles carried out from the table in predetermined directions, an article carry-in device that carries the articles onto the weighing platform, and an article carry-in apparatus that carries the articles into the article based on a weighing signal from the scale. Carry-in control hand to control Dispersion supply device having a stage. 2. An article-free detection means for detecting that there is no article on the weighing table, and a weighing signal of the scale when the article-free detection means detects that there is no article on the weighing table. The distributed supply device according to the first aspect, further comprising zero setting means for updating as a new zero offset value.