JPH09159517A - Weighting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent cleaning work of a hopper from being difficult since a large number of link materials and springs are attached to a removed hopper and these become a hindrance. SOLUTION: An engaging link 15 is arranged in a hopper side end part of an opening-closing link mechanism 6, and a notch hole 22 which can engage with an engaging pin 21 arranged on a back face of a gate 2, is formed in this engaging link 15. A pair of magnets 20 and 33 arranged so that the same magnetic poles are relatively approached to and separated from each other in response to opening-closing operation of the gate 2, are arranged in the opening-closing link mechanism 6, and reaction in the closing direction is given to the gate 2 by a repulsive force of both magnets 20 and 33, and a spring is obviated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a weighing device for performing combination weighing and the like, and more particularly to a gate opening / closing device for a hopper equipped therein.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a device used for automatic weighing of various products, there is a combination weighing device. Most of this equipment is shown in FIG.
As shown in Fig. 4, the dispersion table (41) is arranged in the center of the support table (40) arranged on the machine base (not shown) via the vibrator (42), and the dispersion table (41) is separated around the table. A plurality of supply troughs (43) are radially arranged via the shaker (44) of the same, and the same number of pool hoppers (45) and weighing are provided below the tip of each trough (43). It has a structure in which the hopper (46) is arranged in two stages, one above the other.

The weighing procedure in this device is as follows. That is, first, the dispersion table (41) is set to the shaker (4
2) It is vibrated in order to disperse the objects to be weighed on the table (41) into the supply troughs (43) in a distributed manner,
In 4), it is vibrated and conveyed to the downstream side of the trough (43), and the objects to be weighed dropped from the tip of each trough (43) are stored in each upper pool hopper (45). Then pool hopper (4
5) is selectively opened to supply the objects to be weighed therein to the weighing hopper (46) in the lower stage, and the weight is weighed by a load cell (not shown) individually provided in each weighing hopper (46). Next, from the combinations of weighing values in each weighing hopper (46), select the optimum combination whose total weight is equal to or closest to the target value, and select the weighing hopper (4
6) Open to discharge the objects to be weighed all at once. These are collected by a mortar-shaped collecting chute (47) arranged below the weighing hopper (46) and conveyed to the next step such as a packaging step.

FIG. 4 is a structural example of the pool hopper (45) and the weighing hopper (46) described above. As shown in (a) of the figure, these hoppers (45) (46) are usually a rectangular tube-shaped hopper body (50) and a gate shaft (5
1) Gates (52) (52) pivotally supported by (51)
It is composed of Both gates (52) swing about a gate shaft (51) between a closed position (Fig. A) and an open position (Fig. B) to close / open a lower opening of the main body (50). Conventionally, such opening / closing movement of the gate (52) is obtained by converting the forward / backward movement of the air cylinder (54) into a swinging movement by an opening / closing link mechanism (55) composed of a plurality of link members. That is, during the opening operation, the piston rod of the air cylinder (54) is advanced to press the pressing portion (57) of the drive link (56) to open the gate (52), and during the closing operation, the air cylinder (54) of the air cylinder (54) is opened. The piston rod is retracted so that the tip end thereof is separated from the pressing portion (57), and the elastic force of the spring (58) stored during the opening operation is used to close the gate (52).

[0005]

By the way, in this type of weighing device, the objects to be weighed are often foods, and regular cleaning work is essential for food hygiene. Therefore, conventionally, a pool hopper and a weighing hopper are hooked on a frame so that they can be easily removed at the time of cleaning, so that the individual hoppers and the apparatus main body can be carefully cleaned.

However, in the conventional apparatus, when the hopper is removed, the mechanism on the hopper side and the mechanism on the apparatus body side are separated between the air cylinder (54) and the drive link (56) driven by the air cylinder (54). . Therefore, a large number of link materials and springs (58) are attached to the removed hopper, which has a drawback that it becomes difficult to clean the hopper because they interfere with each other. In particular, since the spring has a complicated shape, it is difficult to clean, and foreign matter that has entered the spring is a hotbed for the generation of various bacteria.

When the hopper is removed, the elastic force of the spring (58) holds the gate (52) in a closed state. Therefore, when cleaning the inner surface of the gate (52) and the like, the spring (5
The work is troublesome because it is necessary to insert the hand into the main body (50) while pushing the gate (52) wide against the elastic force of 8) to wash it. Particularly, when the gate (52) is at the fully closed position, the toggle mechanism (59) in the link reaches a dead point and self-locks (see FIG. 6A), which makes the cleaning work even more difficult. That is, an operator pushes the pressing portion (57) toward the hopper side while releasing the lock while resisting the elastic force of the spring (58), and while keeping this state, inserts a hand into the hopper to hold the inner surface of the gate. It requires extremely complicated work of cleaning.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a weighing device capable of reducing the cleaning labor. Specifically, even when the hopper is removed from the main body during cleaning, the link mechanism is not attached to the hopper, so that a spring with poor cleaning performance can be omitted, and the gate can be removed when removed. The objective is to realize a weighing device that is free and can be moved freely.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the apparatus of the present invention comprises a hopper having a gate for opening and closing a lower opening of the hopper body, and an apparatus body to which the hopper is detachably mounted. A weighing device, wherein an opening / closing link mechanism for opening / closing a gate and a drive device for driving the opening / closing link mechanism are provided in the main body of the device, and engaging means is provided between the gate and the swing end of the opening / closing link mechanism. When the gate is closed in the open / close link mechanism with the swing end connected to the gate via the engaging means, the lower opening of the hopper body is closed by the gate. The adjusting means for adjusting the length is provided.

The engagement means may be a combination of a notch hole and an engagement pin fitted therein.

The opening / closing link mechanism may be provided with a toggle mechanism.

The adjusting means is composed of an elongated hole and a pivot inserted in the elongated hole so as to be positionally displaceable along the longitudinal direction and positionable at a predetermined position.

The device of the present invention is a weighing device comprising a hopper having a gate for opening and closing the lower opening of the hopper body, and a device body to which the hopper is detachably mounted.
It is equipped with a pair of magnets arranged so that the same magnetic poles move toward and away from each other in response to the opening and closing movement of the gate. When the gates are opened, the magnets are moved closer to each other, and the repulsive force of both magnets at that time This applies a reaction force in the closing direction to the gate.

An opening / closing link mechanism for opening and closing the gate is provided with a swinging link swinging about a pivot, one magnet is attached to one end of the swinging link, and a stationary position facing the swinging trajectory of this magnet. It is advisable to place the other magnet in.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment in which a gate opening / closing device according to the present invention is applied to the above-mentioned weighing hopper will be described below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, the device of the present invention comprises a drive device (4) composed of a rotational drive source such as a motor and a speed reducer, a cam mechanism (5) connected to the drive device (4), and a plurality of link members. Open / close link mechanism (6), the back surface of the gate (2) (the surface of the gate on the device body side, which is the surface facing the open / close link mechanism (6)), and the swinging end of the open / close link mechanism (6). And an engaging means (7) provided between and. Among the respective constituent elements, the drive device (4), the cam mechanism (5), and the opening / closing link mechanism (6) are all supported or attached to the stationary member (32) on the apparatus main body side.

The cam mechanism (5) comprises a cam (10) and a cam follower (11). The cam (10) is attached to the output shaft (12) of the drive unit (4) and has a circular small diameter cam surface (4a) and a circular large diameter surface which is eccentrically arranged continuously with the small diameter cam surface (4a). And a cam surface (4b). The cam follower (11) is rotatably supported by the swing link (13) of the opening / closing link mechanism (6) as described later.

The opening / closing link mechanism (6) is constructed by connecting three link members, that is, a swinging link (13), an intermediate link (14) and an engaging link (15) in series from the apparatus main body side. .

The rocking link (13) is substantially L-shaped and is rotatably supported by a support member (not shown) fixed on the base body (17) by a pivot shaft (16) attached at a substantially central portion. To be done. A movable magnet (20) is fixed to one end of the swing link (13) with one pole (for example, N pole) facing the outer diameter side. The movable magnet (20) and the pivot (16) are connected to each other. The cam follower (11) is pivotally mounted between the two. One end of a long intermediate link (14) is rotatably attached to the other end of the swing link (13), and the other end of the intermediate link (14) is shorter than this. One end of the engagement link (15) is rotatably attached.

A notch hole (22) is provided at the other end of the engagement link (15), that is, at the swinging end of the opening / closing link mechanism (6). The notch hole (22) is engageable with an engaging pin (21) having a circular cross section provided on the back surface of the gate (2), and the engaging pin (21) and the notch hole (22) The combination constitutes the engaging means (7). Of course, the engagement means (7) may be constructed by reversing the positional relationship between the engagement pin (21) and the cutout hole (22). Here, "engaging means" refers to a structure in which one is rotatable with respect to the other and can be freely connected / disconnected, and is not limited to the above-described combination of the engaging pin (21) and the cutout hole (22). However, other structures are also applicable. The engagement pin (21) is attached to a support member (23) mounted on the back surface of the gate (2) along the axial direction of the gate shaft (9), and the cutout hole (22) is provided in the engagement link (15). Is formed downward in the tangential direction at the tip of the.

The intermediate link (14) and the engaging link (1
5) functions as a toggle mechanism (25). That is,
The links (14) and (15) are engaged with the engagement pin (21) while the gate (2) is completely closed and the engagement pin (21) and the cutout hole (22) are engaged with each other. Three axes of the engaging link (15) and the pivot (26) of the intermediate link (14) and the pivot (27) of the intermediate link (14) and the swing link (13) (all parallel to the gate axis (9)). ) Are arranged in a positional relationship such that they are aligned on a straight line. As a result, when the gate (2) is closed, the open / close link mechanism (6) reaches the dead point, and is self-locked and toggled.

The engagement link (15) and the intermediate link (1
An adjusting means (30) is provided between 4). The adjusting means (30) is provided with an elongated hole (31) in one of the links, and a pivot (26) provided in the other link in the elongated hole (31).
Is inserted and the pivot shaft (26) is held so as to be positionally displaceable along the longitudinal direction of the elongated hole (31) and positionable at a predetermined position, and is provided for adjusting the toggle function. Specifically, when the gate (2) is closed with the engagement pin (21) and the cutout hole (22) engaged, the lower opening of the hopper body (3) is moved by the gate (2). The link length is adjusted by displacing the pivot shaft (26) so that the links (14, 15) are completely closed and aligned. By equipping this kind of adjusting means (30), it is possible to surely close the gate (2) even if the spring for returning the gate (2) is omitted as in the present application.

The drive unit (4) includes a load cell (31)
Is supported on a stationary member of the main body of the apparatus, for example, a base body (17) attached to a support base (32). A position of the base body (17) facing the swinging range of the movable magnet (20), specifically, a position where the swinging link (13) corresponds to the opening position of the gate (2) (shown by a chain double-dashed line). ) Reached the movable magnet (2
A fixed magnet (33) is arranged at a position facing (0). The fixed magnet (33) is arranged with the same magnetic pole (N pole) on the outer diameter side of the movable magnet (20) facing the swing link (13) side. That is, the two magnets (20) (33) are arranged in such a manner that the same magnetic poles relatively approach and separate in conjunction with the opening / closing movement of the gate (2). As the fixed magnet (33) and the movable magnet (20), general permanent magnets may be used, but electromagnets can also be used.

A locking member (35) for locking the hopper (1) is attached to the upper part of the base body (17). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the locking member (35) is formed by bending a thin steel plate in a stepwise shape, and has an insertion space (upper side and both side surfaces opened between the base body (17)). 36) is secured and its lower end is attached to the hopper side surface of the base body (17). A guide portion (37) is formed at the upper end portion of the locking member (35) by bending the steel plate end portion toward the hopper side so that the gap with the base body (17) further increases. On the other hand, a mounting member (38) formed by bending a thin steel plate into a U-shape is attached to the surface of the hopper body (3) in the shape of a rectangular tube on the device body side, with both ends thereof facing the hopper side. To be done. The intermediate portion (38a) of the mounting member (38) is inserted into the insertion space (36) between the locking member (35) and the base body (17) from above to position the hopper (1) at a predetermined position. Retained and the substrate (1
For 7), it can be inserted and removed in one direction (vertical direction).
Since the guide portion (37) is provided on the upper end portion of the locking member (35), the mounting member (38) is provided by the guide action at the time of insertion.
Can be easily inserted.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), one position of the mounting member (38) is supported by a support pin (61), and the lower end of the mounting member (38) abuts on the base body (17). The hopper may be supported by the attached structure.

With such a mounting structure, the substrate (1
7), the driving device (4), the cam mechanism (5), the opening / closing link mechanism (6), the hopper (1), the mounting member (38), the locking member (35), and the like are all the weight of the load cell. (31)
The weight of the object to be weighed can be detected from the difference between the weight of the object to be weighed and the total weight of the object to be weighed.

In the above structure, when the drive device (4) is activated to rotate the cam (10) counterclockwise, the contact portion of the cam (10) with the cam follower (11) is the small diameter cam surface (4a). To the large-diameter cam surface (4b), and as a result, the swing link (13) rotates clockwise around the pivot (16). As a result, the intermediate link (14) is pulled upward, the engaging link (15) moves upward, and the engaging link (15) takes a downward posture to reach the open position (shown by a chain double-dashed line). Next, when the drive device (4) is rotated in the reverse direction, the links (13), (14) and (15) move in the opposite direction, and the gate (2) reaches the closed position (shown by a solid line).

In such a closed state, the toggle mechanism (2
5) reaches the dead point and self-locks,
Even if the driving device (4) is stopped and no driving force is applied to the gate (2), the gate (2) cannot be pushed open from its inner surface side, so that the gate (2) is not attached to the hopper body. (3) It is possible to prevent the situation where the object to be weighed in (3) is opened without permission. In addition, after the gate (2) is closed, the gate (2) can be similarly locked even if the drive device (4) is subsequently driven in the same direction as immediately before the full closing.

On the other hand, in the open state, the movable magnet (20)
And the fixed magnet (33) face each other, and a reaction force in the closing direction is applied to the gate (2) by a magnetic repulsive force generated between both magnets.
Therefore, the starting torque can be reduced even when the drive device (4) is reversely rotated to start the closing stroke. Usually, the largest torque is required at the time of starting. Therefore, if the starting torque can be reduced in this way, a small-sized drive unit (4) with a small capacity can be used, and manufacturing cost, operating cost, etc. can be suppressed. It becomes possible.

If attention is paid only to securing the closing reaction force, the same action and effect can be obtained by using a spring as in the conventional case instead of using the magnets (20) (33), but the spring causes a closing operation. Since a constant elastic force acts from the start to the end and the gate closing speed increases proportionally, it is considered that the closing speed by the spring is known as the closing speed by the drive device (4) in the latter half of the closing stroke. . Therefore, immediately before the door is completely closed, it becomes difficult to control the speed by the drive device (4), the closing speed of the gate (2) is significantly increased, and the gate may collide with the hopper body violently to generate a large noise. On the other hand, when a magnet is used, the repulsive force between the magnets decreases in proportion to the square of the distance between them, so that the repulsive magnetic force hardly acts in the final stage of the closing process, and the driving device (4) The gate (2) can be closed only by the driving force. Therefore, the deceleration control of the drive device (4) at the end of the closing stroke makes it possible to avoid the generation of the noise and the like. Of course, if the generation of noise is not a problem, the magnets (20) (33) and the spring may be used together. In this case, the spring is remodeled between any link material of the opening / closing link mechanism (6), for example, between the intermediate link (14) and the base body (17) so as not to be attached to the hopper when the hopper (1) is separated. There is a need. Further, the closing reaction force may be applied only by the spring without providing the magnet.

Further, when the hopper (1) is removed during cleaning, the engaging link (15) is lifted upward to disengage the engaging pin (21) from the notch hole (22). It is sufficient to pull (1) upward, and the hopper can be separated by a very simple operation. Further, no link material is attached to the removed hopper (1), and naturally no spring is attached because no spring is used. Therefore, the hopper (1) can be efficiently cleaned without being hindered by the link material and the spring.

Furthermore, the gate (2) after removal is
Since the spring and toggle mechanism are not included, it is in a free state where external force is not applied and can be moved freely, so the inner surface of the gate (2), which was difficult to wash with conventional equipment (the surface exposed inside the hopper), is also easy. And it can be surely washed.

Although FIGS. 1 and 2 show a single-opening type hopper having one gate (2), the same applies to a double-opening type hopper having two gates as shown in FIG. The configuration of is applicable. In this case, the opening / closing mechanism shown in FIG. 1 may be applied to one gate, and the other gate may be connected to the one gate via the connecting link (60) shown in FIG. In addition, the above-mentioned opening / closing mechanism may be independently installed in each of the two gates. Further, the gate opening / closing mechanism described above is not limited to the weighing hopper and is similarly applicable to the pool hopper (45: see FIG. 4). However, in this case, the load cell (31) is not necessary and therefore omitted.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, the opening / closing link mechanism and the driving device are provided in the main body of the apparatus, and the engaging means is interposed at the connecting portion between the gate and the swing end of the opening / closing link mechanism. Therefore, by releasing the engaging means, it is possible to remove only the hopper while leaving the link mechanism and the drive device on the apparatus main body side. In this case, since the removed hopper is not provided with the link mechanism, the spring, or the like, it is possible to efficiently wash the hopper without being obstructed by the link mechanism, the spring, or the like during the cleaning. Further, since the adjusting means is provided, even when the gate is closed, the lower opening of the hopper body can be reliably closed by the gate.

If the engaging means is a combination of an engaging pin and a notch hole, both can be easily engaged and separated by simply inserting and removing one with respect to the other.

If the opening / closing link mechanism is provided with a toggle mechanism,
When the hopper is separated, the toggle mechanism remains on the device body side. As a result, the gate of the hopper is in a free state in which no external force is applied and can be moved freely, so that the inner surface of the gate, which was difficult to clean in the conventional device, can be easily and surely cleaned.

A pair of magnets are arranged so that the same magnetic poles relatively move toward and away from each other in response to the opening / closing movement of the gate. If the reaction force in the closing direction is applied to the gate by the repulsive force, the required torque immediately after the start of the closing operation can be reduced and the drive device can be downsized. Also,
Since the repulsive force of the magnet decreases in proportion to the square of the distance, the gate can be closed only by the driving force of the driving device at the end of the closing stroke. Therefore, the deceleration control of the drive device can reduce the level of noise generation due to the collision between the gate and the hopper body. Further, since the spring which is difficult to clean is omitted, the cleaning efficiency is further improved.

A swing link that swings around a pivot is provided in an open / close link mechanism that opens and closes a gate, one magnet is attached to one end of the swing link, and a stationary position facing the swing trajectory of this magnet is provided. By arranging the other magnet in, it is possible to easily realize the above-described effects.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a gate opening / closing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a method of attaching a hopper.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a general weighing device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a conventional gate opening / closing mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Hopper 2 Gate 3 Hopper Main Body 4 Driving Device 6 Opening / Closing Link Mechanism 7 Engaging Means 9 Gate Axis 13 Swing Link 15 Engaging Link 16 Axis 17 Base 20 Magnet (movable Magnet) 21 Engaging Pin 22 Notch Hole 25 Toggle Mechanism 30 Adjusting means 31 Load cell 33 Magnet (fixed magnet)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A weighing device comprising a hopper provided with a gate for opening and closing a lower opening of a hopper body, and a device body to which the hopper is detachably mounted, the opening and closing link for opening and closing the gate in the device body. A mechanism and a drive device for driving the opening / closing link mechanism are provided, and the engaging means is interposed between the gate and the swinging end portion of the opening / closing link mechanism, and the swinging end portion is provided in the opening / closing link mechanism. It is characterized in that an adjusting means is provided for adjusting the length of the link so that the lower opening of the hopper body is closed by the gate when the gate is closed while being connected to the gate through the engaging means. Weighing device. 2. The engagement means comprises a combination of a notch hole and an engagement pin fitted into the notch hole.
The weighing device described. 3. The weighing device according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing link mechanism is provided with a toggle mechanism. 4. The adjusting means comprises an elongated hole and a pivot inserted into the elongated hole so as to be positionally displaceable along its longitudinal direction and positionable at a predetermined position. The weighing device described. 5. A weighing device comprising a hopper having a gate for opening and closing a lower opening of a hopper body, and a device body to which the hopper is detachably mounted, wherein the same magnetic pole is provided corresponding to opening and closing movement of the gate. Are equipped with a pair of magnets that are relatively close to and away from each other, and when the gates are opened, the magnets are relatively close to each other, and the repulsive force of both magnets at that time imparts a reaction force in the closing direction to the gates. A weighing device characterized by: 6. An opening and closing link mechanism for opening and closing a gate is provided with a swinging link swinging about a pivot, one magnet is attached to one end of the swinging link, and the swinging track of this magnet is faced. The weighing device according to claim 5, wherein the other magnet is arranged in a stationary position. 7. A gate comprising a pair of magnets that relatively move toward and away from each other in response to opening and closing movements of the gate, and the magnets are moved relatively toward each other when the gate is opened, and the repulsive force of both magnets at that time causes the gate to move. The measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a closing reaction force is applied to the. 8. An open / close link mechanism is provided with a swinging link swinging about a pivot, one magnet is mounted at one end of the swinging link, and the other is placed at a stationary position facing the swinging trajectory of the magnet. 8. The magnet according to claim 7 is arranged.
The weighing device described.