WO2018139127A1

WO2018139127A1 - Vibrating feeder and item supply device using same

Info

Publication number: WO2018139127A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/045928
Authority: WO
Inventors: 孝幸長井; 浩次森本; 祥平佐野
Original assignee: 大和製衡株式会社
Priority date: 2017-01-27
Filing date: 2017-12-21
Publication date: 2018-08-02
Also published as: JP2018118836A; RU2736306C1; CN110139816B; JP7013127B2; CN110139816A

Abstract

A vibrating feeder for transporting an item by vibrating a trough on which the item is placed, wherein a plurality of openings which extend in the item transport direction are formed in at least the floor section of the trough.

Description

Vibrating feeder and article supply apparatus using the same

The present invention relates to a vibration feeder that vibrates and conveys various articles, and an article supply apparatus using the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vibration feeder suitable for supplying an article to a semi-automatic combination weigher in which the article is supplied manually, and an article supply apparatus using the vibration feeder.

The combination weigher has a plurality of weighing units, selects a combination of weighing units in which the combined weight, which is the total weight of various combinations of the weights of articles supplied to each weighing unit, falls within a predetermined weight range, and selects the selected weighing unit. Part of the product is discharged.

This combination weigher can be roughly divided into automatic, semi-automatic and manual types depending on the method of supplying and discharging articles to the weighing section. In the manual combination weigher, supply and discharge of articles are performed manually. In the semi-automatic combination weigher, the article is supplied manually and the article is automatically discharged. Further, in an automatic combination weigher, supply and discharge of articles are automatically performed regardless of human hands.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a combination weigher in which pieces of meat disassembled from broilers (meat chickens) are manually loaded into a number of inlets mounted in parallel on the combination weigher and combined and weighed.

JP 2011-80895 A

In the semi-automatic combination weigher as described above, the articles are manually supplied to the combination weigher, so that the weight of the single unit is relatively large and irregular, or the article is difficult to handle by a machine, for example, the above-described meat pieces or seafood It is suitable for weighing articles such as. However, an operator has to grab and supply articles to a large number of input ports, and a large amount of labor is required for weighing a large number of articles.

Therefore, it can be considered that the article is vibrated and conveyed by the vibratory feeder to the inlet of the semi-automatic combination weigher. However, in the conventional vibration feeder, the weight of the single body is relatively large and indefinite, and it is difficult to smoothly convey articles that are sticky and flexible and difficult to handle. In particular, an article containing an oil and fat component, such as a broiler meat piece, has a problem in that oil or liquid on the surface of the article remains attached to the trough of the vibration feeder to prevent smooth conveyance.

The present invention has been made paying attention to the above points. For example, it is possible to accurately convey an article that is indeterminate, sticky, flexible, and difficult to handle, such as a piece of meat. An object of the present invention is to provide a vibration feeder that can be used and an article supply apparatus using the vibration feeder.

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

(1) A vibration feeder according to the present invention is a vibration feeder that conveys the article by vibrating a trough on which the article is placed, and extends along at least a bottom portion of the trough along a conveyance direction of the article. A plurality of openings are formed.

According to the vibration feeder of the present invention, for example, in the case of an article that is soft and sticky, such as a piece of meat, and oil or fat or oil liquid is exposed on the surface, The oil liquid can be guided to the opening and discharged. Therefore, a large amount of oil or liquid does not remain on the bottom surface, which is the main transport surface of the trough, and it can be avoided that the transport of the article is hindered by these adhesion residues.

(2) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the trough is inclined downward toward the transport direction.

According to this embodiment, the trough is inclined downward toward the conveyance direction. Therefore, by setting the inclination angle of the inclination downward to an appropriate angle range, the trough is flexible and difficult to convey. Even an article can be smoothly conveyed by vibration. Further, when the driving of the vibration feeder is stopped, the article can be reliably stopped without sliding on the trough.

(3) In another embodiment of the present invention, the inclination angle of the first downward inclination can be changed and adjusted.

According to this embodiment, by changing and adjusting the angle of inclination of the trough tip according to the properties and sizes of articles with different ease of transport, it is easy to transport articles with different properties and sizes. Can respond.

(4) In still another embodiment of the present invention, the opening is a long hole along the transport direction.

According to this embodiment, since the opening of the trough is a long hole along the conveyance direction of the article, the edge of the long hole that prevents the conveyance of the article when a part of the flexible article enters the long hole, That is, the edge of the long hole on the lower side in the conveyance direction of the article can be reduced. Thereby, the conveyance resistance due to catching of the article can be suppressed by the amount that can be reduced. In addition, by elongating the long holes along the conveying direction of the article, the opening area of the long holes can be ensured, and the oil or oil liquid on the surface of the article can be reliably discharged from the long holes.

(5) In an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of openings includes a plurality of opening groups arranged along the transport direction along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction.

According to this embodiment, a plurality of openings are arranged along the transport direction to form an opening group. Since a plurality of the aperture groups are arranged along a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, a continuous conveyance surface without an opening is formed in the entire length in the conveyance direction between the adjacent aperture groups in the orthogonal direction. It will be formed over. While the articles are received and smoothly conveyed by the series of conveying surfaces, the fats and oils on the article surface can be reliably discharged over the entire length of the trough by the plurality of openings.

(6) In another embodiment of the present invention, the trough includes a trough main body on which the article is placed, and a reinforcing bottom plate connected along a lower surface of a bottom portion of the trough main body, and the opening is A trough body is formed so as to penetrate vertically through the bottom of the trough body and the reinforcing bottom plate.

According to this embodiment, the bottom portion having high rigidity can be formed while the trough body is formed of a thin plate material. Thereby, even a heavy article can be suitably conveyed by vibration.

(7) The article supply apparatus according to the present invention is configured to allow passage of the conveyed article at a plurality of locations on the former conveyance mechanism for conveying the article to be supplied and the article conveyance path by the former conveyance mechanism. An article discharge mechanism capable of switching between a state and a discharge state in which the conveyed article is discharged out of the conveyance path, and an article discharged out of the conveyance path by the article discharge mechanism is distributed and conveyed to a plurality of locations. And a plurality of the vibration feeders (1) to (6) that respectively convey the articles conveyed to the respective distribution destinations of the distribution conveyance mechanism.

According to the article supply device of the present invention, when an article is supplied on the upper side in the conveyance direction of the preceding conveyance mechanism, the article conveyed by the preceding conveyance mechanism is discharged out of the conveyance path by the article ejection mechanism at a plurality of locations on the conveyance path. Is done. The discharged articles are distributed and transported to a plurality of places by the distribution transport mechanism, and each of the articles distributed by the distribution transport mechanism can be transported to a supply destination of the articles by a plurality of vibration feeders. Therefore, for example, when the article discharge mechanism is arranged at three places on the conveyance path and is further distributed to three places by the distribution conveyance mechanism, the article supplied at one place on the upper side of the front-stage conveyance mechanism is given a predetermined 9 It becomes possible to distribute and supply to locations.

Also, in each of the plurality of vibration feeders, the article can be conveyed at an arbitrary conveyance speed, or conveyance can be stopped. This makes it easy to supply the article at a timing according to the request of the article supply destination.

(8) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the plurality of vibration feeders conveys the article to a plurality of article input ports of a combination weigher.

According to this embodiment, an article that has been manually supplied to a semi-automatic combination weigher is supplied to a plurality of article input ports of the semi-automatic combination weigher at one location on the upper side of the preceding transport mechanism. Articles can be distributed and supplied. This eliminates the need for the operator to grab the articles one by one and put them into the article input port of the semi-automatic combination weigher as in the prior art, thereby greatly reducing the labor of the operator.

According to the vibration feeder of the present invention, for example, an indeterminate shape such as a piece of meat, which is sticky, flexible and difficult to handle can be accurately conveyed.

Further, according to the article supply apparatus of the present invention, when an article is supplied on the upper side in the conveyance direction of the preceding conveyance mechanism, the article conveyed by the preceding conveyance mechanism is conveyed by the article discharge mechanism at a plurality of locations on the conveyance path. Discharged outside. The discharged articles are distributed to a plurality of places by a distribution transport mechanism and further transported by a plurality of vibration feeders. Accordingly, it is possible to distribute and supply an article supplied at one location on the upper side of the preceding transport mechanism to a plurality of supply destinations.

As a result, by supplying an article that has been manually supplied to a semi-automatic combination weigher to one place on the upper side of the front-stage transport mechanism, the articles are supplied to a plurality of article input ports of the semi-automatic combination weigher. Can be distributed and supplied. This eliminates the need for the operator to grab the articles one by one and put them into the article input port of the semi-automatic combination weigher as in the prior art, thereby greatly reducing the labor of the operator.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a weighing system including an article supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the weighing system of FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of the metering system of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a set of article distribution locations. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a trough of the vibration feeder of FIG. 6 is a longitudinal side view of the trough of the vibration feeder of FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the trough of the vibration feeder of FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic front view showing a set of article distribution points. FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of the combination weigher. FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing an arrangement state of an article detection sensor for detecting an article. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the weighing system of FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of overall control of the article supply apparatus. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the vibration feeder. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of control of the distribution transport mechanism. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the article discharge mechanism. FIG. 16 is a side view showing another embodiment of the trough of the vibration feeder. FIG. 17 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing another embodiment of the trough of the vibration feeder.

Hereinafter, an article supply apparatus using a vibration feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention and a weighing system including the same will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a weighing system including an article supply apparatus using a vibration feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a side view thereof. The weighing system according to this embodiment includes an article supply apparatus 1 that supplies articles and a semi-automatic combination scale 2 that conventionally supplies articles manually.

This weighing system automatically supplies articles to the semi-automatic combination balance 2 by the article supply apparatus 1. Therefore, as a whole, it can also be called an automatic combination weigher that automatically supplies and discharges articles.

In this embodiment, an article having a relatively large single weight, an irregular shape, stickiness, a soft and difficult-to-handle article, for example, a block-shaped piece of meat such as peach meat or rice meat disassembled from a broiler (meat chicken) is used. Measured. That is, the measuring system of this embodiment is a system suitable for the measuring process of the broiler dismantling line.

The article supply apparatus 1 includes a front-stage transport mechanism 3 that is horizontally arranged, an article discharge mechanism 4 that is provided at a plurality of locations on the transport path, in this example, three locations, and three distributions corresponding to the respective article discharge mechanisms 4. A plurality of transport mechanisms 5 corresponding to each of the distribution transport mechanisms 5, and in this example, three vibration feeders 6 as rear transport mechanisms arranged in parallel in this example are provided.

As shown by an arrow A in FIG. 2, the front-stage transport mechanism 3 is configured by a belt conveyor that is rotated at a constant speed from right to left as indicated by an arrow A in FIG. . On the right-side start end side of the transport belt 7 of the front-stage transport mechanism 3, the broiler meat pieces disassembled are supplied as articles w.

The article discharge mechanism 4 includes a long plate-shaped guide member 8 that is installed on one side across the conveyance path in the front-stage conveyance mechanism 3 and can be driven to swing around the vertical fulcrum a. As shown by a solid line in FIG. 2, the guide member 8 is in an allowable state in which the guide member 8 moves away from the one side of the conveying path and assumes a retracted posture along the conveying direction. Passage is allowed. When the guide member 8 is driven and swings toward the conveyance path around the longitudinal fulcrum a as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 2, the long plate-shaped guide member 8 is inclined to the conveyance path in plan view. It becomes the discharge state of the discharge posture crossing. In this discharged state, the article w conveyed along the conveyance path gradually moves outward on the other side of the conveyance path along the plate surface of the guide member 8 that intersects the conveyance path diagonally. Guided and discharged from the transport path.

A discharge chute 9 having a slanted bottom is fixedly disposed on the discharge side of the front-stage transport mechanism 3. The article w guided and discharged by the guide member 8 is slid down and guided to the lower side of the other side via the discharge chute 9.

As described above, the article discharge mechanism 4 crosses the long plate-shaped guide member 8 so as to be inclined with respect to the transport path of the front-stage transport mechanism 3, and the article w transported by the front-stage transport mechanism 3 is guided to the guide member. 8 is guided along the plate surface and discharged. Thereby, the article w which is a piece of broiler meat having adhesiveness can be reliably discharged at a predetermined location.

The distribution and transport mechanism 5 transports the article funnel-shaped input funnel 10 that receives the articles w discharged by the article discharge mechanism 4 and the articles w that are input into the input funnel 10 and is rotated by a predetermined angle. Possible swivel conveyor 14. The swivel conveyor 14 includes a conveyor belt 11 for placing and horizontally conveying the articles w guided by the input funnel 10, left and right side plates 12 erected on both sides of the conveyor belt 11, and both side plates 12. A discharge cover 13 having a U-shaped planar shape attached to the end portion is provided.

The discharge cover 13 forms a drop opening through which the article w placed and transported by the transport belt 11 is dropped without jumping out in the transport direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge cover 13 is bolted and connected to the side plates 12 so that the position of the discharge cover 13 can be adjusted along the conveyance direction. By adjusting the position of the discharge cover 13, the opening length in the transport direction of the drop port is changed in accordance with the size of the article w, and the article w is dropped and released to a predetermined position accurately without clogging. .

The swivel conveyor 14 can be rotationally driven by a predetermined angle by a servo motor around a vertical fulcrum b set on the conveyance start end side of the conveyance belt 11 on which articles from the input funnel 10 slide down. In the swivel conveyor 14, the drop end at the conveyance end of the conveyance belt 11 is positioned immediately above each vibration feeder 6 at the three positions of the central position in the rotation range and the rotation end positions on both sides thereof. Yes. That is, the swivel conveyor 14 turns by a predetermined angle around the vertical fulcrum b, and distributes the article w to each of the three vibration feeders 6.

As described above, the swivel conveyor 14 rotates around the vertical fulcrum b set on the conveyance start end side of the conveyance belt 11 where the articles from the input funnel 10 slide down. For this reason, the article w transported by the preceding transport mechanism 3 is discharged by the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 and supplied to the transport start end side of the swirl conveyor 14 regardless of the rotation position of the swirl conveyor 14. can do. Therefore, when it is necessary to supply an article to the conveyance start end side of the swivel conveyor 14, the article of the preceding conveyance mechanism 3 is discharged by the article discharge mechanism 4 regardless of the rotation position of the swivel conveyor 14, and is supplied to the swivel conveyor 14. Articles can be supplied quickly.

The vibration feeder 6 as a post-stage transport mechanism detachably connects a trough-like trough 15 inclined downward in the transport direction to a vibrator 16 shown in FIG. The article w placed by driving the trough 15 by the vibrator 16 can be conveyed straight to the combination weigher 2, and the article w placed by stopping the vibration can be stopped at that position. .

The detailed structure of the trough 15 of this embodiment is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 7, each trough 15 includes, for example, a trough body 15a formed by bending a stainless steel plate in a bowl shape, a reinforcing bottom plate 15b welded along most of the lower surface thereof, and a plurality of trough longitudinal directions. In the place, a reinforcing rib member 15c welded across the lateral outer surface of the trough body 15a and the lower surface of the reinforcing bottom plate 15b is provided. Furthermore, each trough 15 is provided with a support frame 15d formed by bending a thick plate material into a U shape, which is welded to the lower surface of the reinforcing bottom plate 15b. Further, the upper end of the trough body 15a on the article input side is closed by a back plate 15e to prevent the dropped article w from falling to the back.

As shown in FIG. 7, the support frame 15d constituting the lower surface of the trough 15 includes a bottom portion 15d1 and both side portions 15d2 and 15d2. The heights of the side portions 15d2 and 15d2 are gradually lowered from the article input side, which is one end side in the longitudinal direction, toward the other end side.

By connecting the trough body 15a to the upper ends of both side portions 15d2 and 15d2 of the support frame 15d, the trough body 15a can be moved along the longitudinal direction, that is, the article w with the bottom surface of the support frame 15d horizontal. It can be made to incline along the conveyance direction.

The lower surface of the trough 15 configured as described above, that is, the lower surface of the support frame 15c is connected to the operation lever 18a constituting the buckle type coupling mechanism 18 and the vibration mechanism 16 as shown in FIG. Projection 18b. When assembling, first, the coupling protrusion 18b is slidably engaged with the engagement coupling portion of the vibration head 16a provided at the upper end portion of the vibration mechanism 16 shown in FIG. . Next, the free end portion of the loop-shaped connecting member 18c made of a spring wire pivotally attached to the operation lever 18a is hooked on the locking portion of the vibration head 16a, and the operation lever 18a is swung upward beyond the dead point. By dynamically operating, the trough 15 is elastically attracted and biased toward the vibration head 16a. Accordingly, the trough 15 can be fastened and fixed to the vibration head 16a in a fixed posture.

When removing the trough 15 for cleaning or the like, the operating lever 18a is swung downward from the above-mentioned fastening state beyond the dead point to release the hooking of the connecting member 18c to a free state. To do. Next, the trough 15 can be removed from the vibration head 16a by pulling the connection protrusion 18b forward from the engagement connection portion of the vibration head 16a.

At the bottom and the left and right sides of the trough main body 15a, openings 19 formed of slit-like long holes along the longitudinal direction of the trough main body 15 that is the conveyance direction of the article w are formed in alignment vertically and horizontally.

That is, a plurality of openings 19 are arranged at a constant pitch along the longitudinal direction (longitudinal direction) of the trough body 15a to form an opening 19 group. A plurality of openings 19 are arranged in parallel along a direction (lateral direction) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the trough.

In this example, three groups of 19 openings are formed at the bottom of the trough body 15a and the left and right sides.

In addition, three openings 19 'formed of long long holes respectively overlapping with the openings 19 group of each row formed in the bottom of the trough body 15a are formed in the reinforcing bottom plate 15b. This opening 19 (19 ') allows the oil or oil that has floated on the surface of the article w, which is a piece of broiler meat, to flow out. This prevents a large amount of these oils and liquids from adhering to the inner surface of the trough body 15a to prevent the conveyance of the article w.

The lower edge of the opening 19 of the trough body 15a in the conveyance direction of the article w is likely to be caused by the flexible article w and contribute to conveyance resistance. However, the opening 19 is formed of a long hole along the longitudinal direction of the trough body 15 that is the conveyance direction of the article w. Therefore, the lower edge of the opening 19 serving as a conveyance resistance can be reduced, and the conveyance resistance due to the catching of the article w can be suppressed accordingly. Further, by making the opening 19 longer along the conveying direction of the article w, the opening area can be ensured, and the oil and fat on the article surface can be reliably discharged from the opening 19.

In addition, when the opening 19 is not a long hole that is long along the conveyance direction of the article w, but, for example, a round hole that can discharge the oil or liquid on the surface of the article w, the edge of the round hole of the article w is reached. This increases the resistance to catching and makes it difficult to convey compared to the long hole.

In addition, when the coating process is performed on the inner surface of the trough main body 15a, it can be smoothly transported at the beginning of transportation, but since the oil or liquid on the surface of the article w gradually remains and covers the coating surface, the article w Smooth conveyance becomes difficult.

In this embodiment, as will be described later, the article w to be conveyed is detected by a transmissive photoelectric sensor at two places on the start end side and the end end side of the side portion of the trough body 15a. For this reason, the through-holes 23 for forming the optical path for article detection are formed so as to face each other, and a projector and a light receiver constituting the photoelectric sensor are respectively provided outside the through-holes 23.

Incidentally, a preferable specification of the vibration feeder 6 in the case where a piece of broiler meat of several hundred g is used as the article w is exemplified below. The trough body 15 is formed by bending a stainless steel plate having a thickness of about 1.5 mm into a bowl shape having a width of about 100 mm, a depth of several tens of mm, and a total length of several hundreds of mm. The opening 19 is a long hole having a length of several tens of mm and a width of several mm. A stainless steel plate having a thickness of about 3 mm is used for the reinforcing bottom plate 15b and the reinforcing rib member 15c. In addition, the downward inclination angle of the trough body 15 is preferably 10 to 20 degrees in consideration of the sliding performance and stopping performance of the broiler meat pieces. If the inclination angle is less than 10 degrees, the conveyance speed becomes insufficient. If the inclination angle exceeds 20 degrees, the article w cannot be stopped immediately even if the driving is stopped. Further, in order to smoothly vibrate and convey the broiler meat pieces, the vibration amplitude of the vibration excitation mechanism 16 is set to about 3 to 6 mm.

As described above, the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 has a large number of long openings 19 along the conveyance direction of the article w, and is inclined downward toward the conveyance direction. As a result, it is possible to smoothly vibrate and convey the article w, which is a broiler meat piece that contains oil and fat, is sticky, is flexible, and is difficult to handle, and can stop vibration at any position. it can.

Three vibration feeders 6 are arranged in parallel with respect to the swivel conveyor 14 of one distribution transport mechanism 5. Articles w can be respectively supplied from the respective swivel conveyors 14 to the troughs 15 of the three vibration feeders 6 in accordance with the switching of the swivel conveyor 14 to the center position and the rotation end positions on both sides thereof. Therefore, as a whole, the article w can be vibrated and conveyed to nine places by the nine vibration feeders 6 arranged in parallel in a straight line.

Each vibration feeder 6 can convey and stop the article w by driving and stopping. Therefore, the article w is controlled so as to be transported to the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 and placed on standby, and the article is sent to the combination weigher 2 at a timing according to the input request to the article insertion port 25 of the combination weigher 2. Can be supplied.

Of the group of three vibratory feeders 6, the idler roller 20 is located at an intermediate position between the central trough 15 and the troughs 15 on both sides thereof so as to face the end turning locus of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5. Is supported horizontally in the transport direction via a fixed base (not shown). The idler roller 20 is located at a middle position between the central trough 15 and one side of both sides thereof, that is, the left or right trough 15 while the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 is rotating. The article w, which has been dropped undesirably, is received and rotated to the central trough 15 or the left or right trough 15 by its own weight.

In addition, as shown in the schematic front view of FIG. 8, a relatively long article w may stay while riding on the idle roller 20. In this case, when the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 is next rotated in the reverse direction (leftward in the case of FIG. 8), the free end of the swivel conveyor 14, that is, the lower end of the discharge cover 13 is idled. The article w on the roller 20 is pushed and moved to rotate the idle roller 20, and the article w can be dropped into the trough 15 on the side where the swivel conveyor 14 moves.

Also, as shown in FIG. 4 and the like, a mountain-shaped inclination that inclines toward the inside of the trough 15 at the conveyance start end portion on the lateral outer side of the left and right troughs 15 in the group of troughs 15 in a set of three. The guide plate 21 is installed via a fixed base (not shown). Thus, the article w put into the left or right trough 15 is guided into the trough 15 without being caught on the outer side wall of the trough 15.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on the upper surface of the semi-automatic combination weigher 2, a large number, in this example, nine article insertion ports 25 are arranged in a straight line from side to side. The combination weigher 2 is installed so that these article insertion ports 25 face the distribution / discharge section of the article supply apparatus 1, that is, the end of the vibration feeder 6 group. In addition, each article insertion opening 25 is provided with a pair of left and right insertion gates 26 that can be opened and closed in the form of an inward opening door. Each input gate 26 is opened during a period when the input of articles is requested.

In the weighing system of this embodiment, the supply amount of the articles and the combination scale 2 are set so that the weighing processing amount of the articles of the semi-automatic combination weigher 2 exceeds the supply amount of the articles to the upstream conveying mechanism 3 of the article supply apparatus 1. The operation speed is set.

In addition, when the supply amount of the article to the upstream conveyance mechanism 3 of the article supply apparatus 1 temporarily exceeds the weighing processing amount of the combination weigher 2, the article conveyed by the upstream conveyance mechanism 3 is changed to the article. It can respond by letting it pass without discharging with the guide member 8 of the discharge mechanism 4.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of the semi-automatic combination weigher 2.

This combination weigher 2 is basically the same as a conventional semi-automatic combination weigher. A supply hopper 40 is disposed immediately below the input gate 26 of each article input port 25 of the combination weigher 2. Below each of the supply hoppers 40, a weighing hopper 41 as a weighing unit having two storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 is disposed.

Each supply hopper 40 includes two

discharge gates

40a and 40b that can be opened and closed independently. By opening one discharge gate 40a, the articles are discharged into one storage chamber 41-1 of the weighing hopper 41, and by opening the other discharge gate 40b, the other storage chamber 41-2 of the weighing hopper 41 is discharged. It is possible to discharge the article.

Each weighing hopper 41 is provided with a discharge gate 41a in one storage chamber 41-1 and a discharge gate 41b in the other storage chamber 41-2. By opening the

discharge gates

41a and 41b, articles can be discharged separately from the storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2.

Each weighing hopper 41 is provided with a weight sensor 42 such as a load cell. The weight sensor 42 detects the weight of the article in the weighing hopper 41, and the output is sent to the control unit of the combination weigher 2 described later. Thus, the control unit of the combination weigher 2 calculates the weight of the articles in the storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 of the weighing hopper 41 based on the change in the weight of the articles in the weighing hopper 41. Based on the weight of the articles in the storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 of each weighing hopper 41, the control unit performs a combination calculation described later.

Below the weighing hopper 41, a collective conveyor 43 that receives and conveys articles discharged from the weighing hopper 41 is disposed. The articles conveyed by the collective conveyor 43 are supplied to a packaging machine (not shown). In the packaging machine, an article having a predetermined weight range is vacuum packaged.

The control unit of the combination weigher 2 has a combination weight that is a total weight obtained by combining various weights of the articles in the storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 of the weighing hopper 41 holding the articles within a predetermined weight range. A combination calculation for selecting one combination of the storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 is performed. The articles in the storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 selected by this combination calculation are discharged to the collective conveyor 43.

In the weighing system of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the article w supplied to the starting end on the upper side in the transport direction of the front transport mechanism 3 is discharged from three places in the transport direction by the article discharge mechanism 4. Then, it is sent to each distribution transport mechanism 5. The articles w sent to each distribution / conveying mechanism 5 are further distributed to three places and sent to the vibration feeder 6, and sent to a total of nine vibration feeders 6. The articles w distributed and conveyed by the nine vibration feeders 6 are supplied to the article input ports 25 of the combination weigher 2. The article w that has passed through the three article discharge mechanisms 4 and has reached the end of the preceding transport mechanism 3 is unloaded, collected in a collection container, and supplied again to the starting end of the preceding transport mechanism 3 by hand at appropriate times. Is done.

In the supply of the articles as described above, the presence / absence of the articles w at each location, and the requirements of the articles at the article input ports 25 of the combination weigher 2, the vibratory feeders 6, the distribution transport mechanisms 5, and the article discharge mechanism 4. Each article discharge mechanism 4, each distribution transport mechanism 5, and each vibration feeder 6 are controlled according to the situation.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing an example of the installation state of the article detection sensor for detecting the article w.

Each article detection sensor Sa (1) to Sa (3), Sb (1) to Sb (3), Sc (1) to Sc (3), Sd (1) to Sd (3), Se () of this embodiment 1) to Se (9) and Sf (1) to Sf (9) are, for example, transmission type photoelectric sensors including a projector and a light receiver. These photoelectric sensors detect an article w that passes through a detection region between a projector and a light receiver that are arranged to face each other, and provide a detection output.

Pre-stage article detection sensors Sa (1) to Sa (3) for detecting the articles w passing through the detection area immediately before each article discharge mechanism 4 are arranged on the conveyance path of the pre-stage conveyance mechanism 3.

Also, at the base of each discharge chute 9 through which the articles w discharged by the respective article discharge mechanisms 4 pass, discharged article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) for detecting the discharged articles are respectively arranged. Yes. Note that through holes are formed in the base of each discharge chute 9 so as not to block the optical paths of the discharged article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3).

Distributing start end article detection sensors Sc (1 for detecting the articles w at the start end and the end of the swivel conveyor 14 of each distribution transport mechanism 5 at the start end and the end at the lower end in the transport direction, respectively. ) To Sc (3) and distribution end article detection sensors Sd (1) to Sd (3) are arranged, respectively. The side plate 12 and the discharge cover 13 of the swivel conveyor 14 do not block the optical paths of the distribution start end product detection sensors Sc (1) to Sc (3) and the distribution end end product detection sensors Sd (1) to Sd (3). A through hole is formed in the.

A rear-stage start-end article detection sensor that detects an article w at the start-end section and the end-end section at the start-end section on the upper side and the lower-end end section in the transport direction of each trough 15 of each vibration feeder 6 as a rear-stage transport mechanism. Se (1) to Se (9) and rear end article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9) are respectively arranged. It should be noted that the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 does not block the optical paths of the rear-stage start-end article detection sensors Se (1) to Se (9) and the rear-stage end-end article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9) as described above. In addition, a through hole 23 is formed.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the weighing system of this embodiment.

The weighing system of this embodiment includes a programmable controller (hereinafter abbreviated as “PLC”) 27 as a control device for controlling the entire system.

The programmable display 29 which is an operation display terminal is connected to this PLC27. In the programmable display 29, various setting operations such as the transport speed of the upstream transport mechanism 3 and the swivel conveyor 14 and the vibration intensity of the vibration feeder 6 and various displays are performed.

The PLC 27 receives input request signals (1) to (9) when the control unit 28 of the semi-automatic combination weigher 2 requests input of articles to the nine article input ports 25, respectively. In addition, each of the article detection sensors Sa (1) to Sa (3), Sb (1) to Sb (3), Sc (1) to Sc (3), Sd (1) to Sd (3), Detection outputs of Se (1) to Se (9) and Sf (1) to Sf (9) are input.

The PLC 27 controls the front-stage transport mechanism 3 via the front-stage transport mechanism drive control circuit 30 and controls each guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 via the guide member drive circuit 31. The PLC 27 controls each swivel conveyor 14 of each distribution transport mechanism 5 via a swivel conveyor drive control circuit 32 and a swivel conveyor swivel drive control circuit 33, and each vibration feeder 6 via a vibration feeder drive circuit 34. Control.

The PLC 27 basically controls so that when an article is input from the combination weigher 2 to each article insertion port 25, the article can be immediately input into the article insertion port 25 that has been requested. The PLC 27 performs control so that the article can be conveyed to the end of the trough 15 of each vibration feeder 6 and can be on standby.

That is, in the vibration feeder 6, when there is no article at the end of the trough 15, the article detected at the start of the trough 15 is conveyed to the end of the trough 15. When there is no article detected at the starting end of the trough 15, the turning conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 is requested to input the article.

The swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 transports the article to the terminal end of the swivel conveyor 14 and controls the rotation position so that the article can be immediately put into the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 where the article is requested to be placed. Is done. When there is no article at the end of the swivel conveyor 14, the article detected at the start end of the swivel conveyor 14 is conveyed to the end. When there is no article detected at the starting end of the swivel conveyor 14, the article discharge mechanism 4 is requested to input the article.

In the article discharge mechanism 4 in which the article input request has been made, when the article passing through the detection area immediately before the article discharge mechanism 4 is detected, the guide member 8 is driven and the discharge posture is advanced to the transport path. Thereby, the article discharge mechanism 4 supplies the article to be conveyed to the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution conveyance mechanism 5 outside the conveyance path.

Next, an example of control by the PLC 27 will be described in more detail.

FIG. 12 is a schematic flowchart showing an example of overall control of the article supply apparatus 1 of this embodiment.

First, it is determined whether or not the operation switch of the programmable display 29 is turned on (step S1). When the operation switch is turned on, the operation is started, and when input request signals (1) to (9) corresponding to nine article input ports 25 are input from the semi-automatic combination weigher 2 (step S2), The vibration feeder 6 that is the lowest in the conveyance direction of the article in the article supply apparatus 1 is controlled (step S3). Next, the distribution / delivery mechanism 5 that is superior is controlled (step S4), the article discharge mechanism 4 that is superior is further controlled (step S5), and it is determined whether or not the operation switch is turned off. (Step S6). When the operation switch is turned off, the process ends.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the vibration feeder 6 which is a subroutine in the overall control flowchart of FIG.

The basic control is that when no article is detected by the rear end article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9), that is, when there is no article at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, the vibration feeder 6 is turned on. Driving for a certain time, the article at the start end of the trough 15 is conveyed to the end of the trough 15. Instead of driving for a fixed time, the rear end article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9) may be driven until the article at the end of the trough 15 is detected.

When an article is not detected by the subsequent-stage start-end article detection sensors Se (1) to Se (9), that is, when there is no article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, the article is put into the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. The article input command flag for instructing to be turned on is turned ON, and the article is input from the distribution transport mechanism 5 to the vibration feeder 6.

When an article is detected by the rear end article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9) and there is an article at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, an input signal for an article input is input from the semi-automatic combination weigher 2 If there is, the vibration feeder 6 is driven for a certain time. As a result, the article at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is supplied to the article insertion port 25 of the semi-automatic combination weigher 2. It should be noted that instead of driving for a certain period of time, when the articles at the end portion of the trough 15 are no longer detected by the rear end article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9), the article becomes the article input port 25 of the combination weigher 2. As a result, the drive of the vibration feeder 6 may be stopped.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 13, first, the number k specifying one of the vibration feeders 6 is set to “1” (step S301), and the driving flag indicating that the vibration feeder 6 with the number k is being driven. It is determined whether or not is ON (step S302). When the driving flag is ON, the driving timer for driving time measurement corresponding to the vibration feeder 6 of number k is reduced (step S303), and it is determined whether or not the driving timer has expired (step S304).

When the driving timer corresponding to the vibration feeder 6 with the number k is up in step S304, the driving of the vibration feeder 6 with the number k is stopped assuming that the driving for a predetermined time is finished (step S305). The driving flag of the vibration feeder 6 with the number k that has stopped driving is turned OFF (step S306), the number k is incremented (step S307), and whether or not the number k has become “10”, that is, nine vibrations It is determined whether or not the processing for the feeder 6 has been completed (step S308). When the number k is not “10”, the process returns to step S302, and when the number k is “10”, the process returns from the subroutine.

In step S302, when the driving flag of the vibration feeder 6 of number k is not ON, whether or not an article is detected at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of number k, that is, the vibration feeder of number k. It is determined whether or not an article is detected by the rear end article detection sensor Sf (k) corresponding to 6 (step S309). When an article is detected, it is determined whether or not an input request signal (k) corresponding to the number k has been input from the semi-automatic combination weigher 2 (step S310). When the input request signal is input, the driving flag of the vibration feeder 6 with the number k is turned ON (step S311), a driving timer corresponding to the vibration feeder 6 with the number k is set (step S312), and the number k with the vibration feeder 6 is set. The driving of the vibration feeder 6 is started and the process proceeds to step S307 (step S313).

If no article is detected at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of number k in step S309, whether or not the article is detected at the start of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of number k, that is, number It is determined whether or not an article is detected by the rear-stage starting-end article detection sensor Se (k) corresponding to the k vibration feeder 6 (step S314). When the article is detected, the driving flag of the vibration feeder 6 with the number k is turned ON (step S315), a driving timer corresponding to the vibration feeder 6 with the number k is set (step S316), and the vibration feeder 6 with the number k is set. Driving is started and the process proceeds to step S307 (step S317).

If no article is detected at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of number k in step S314, the article is sent to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of number k with respect to the distribution transport mechanism 5 corresponding to number k. The input instruction flag for instructing the input of is turned ON, and the process proceeds to step S307 (step S318).

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the distribution transport mechanism 5 which is a subroutine in the overall control flowchart of FIG.

Basic control is that if there is no article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, that is, if no article is detected by the rear-stage start-end article detection sensors Se (1) to Se (9), the trough of the vibration feeder 6 The article is transported to the terminal portion of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 so that the article can be put into the start end portion 15.

If the article is not detected by the distribution end article detection sensors Sd (1) to Sd (3), that is, if the article is not at the end of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5, the swivel conveyor 14 is driven for a certain time. The article at the start end of the swivel conveyor 14 is conveyed to the terminal end of the swivel conveyor 14. Note that instead of driving for a certain period of time, it is assumed that the articles are conveyed to the terminal end of the swivel conveyor 14 when the articles are detected by the distribution end article detection sensors Sd (1) to Sd (3). The driving may be stopped.

If no articles are detected by the distribution start end article detection sensors Sc (1) to Sc (3), that is, if there is no article at the start end of the swivel conveyor 14, the article discharge mechanism 4 is connected to the swivel conveyor 14. The discharge command flag for commanding discharge is turned ON.

Further, when there is no article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 and there is an article at the end of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5, the turning position of the swivel conveyor 14 is changed to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. When the article loading position is not present, the swivel conveyor 14 is rotated to the loading position of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. The swivel conveyor 14 that has been rotated is driven for a certain period of time, and articles are fed from the swivel conveyor 14 to the starting end of the vibration feeder 6. When there is no article at the beginning of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 and there is an article at the end of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5, the turning position of the swivel conveyor 14 is changed to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. When the article is in the loading position, the swivel conveyor 14 is driven for a predetermined time. As a result, articles are fed from the swivel conveyor 14 to the starting end of the vibration feeder 6. Instead of driving for a certain period of time, when the articles at the end of the swivel conveyor 14 are no longer detected by the distribution end article detection sensors Sd (1) to Sd (3), the articles are removed from the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. The driving of the swivel conveyor 14 may be stopped assuming that it has been put into the starting end.

The swivel conveyor 14 of one distribution transport mechanism 5 is rotated to supply articles to the troughs 15 of the three vibratory feeders 6. However, since the swivel conveyor 14 is rotated by a servo motor, the input position control is easy. .

In this example, as shown in FIG. 14, first, a number j that designates one of the distribution transport mechanisms 5, a number k that designates one of the vibration feeders 6, and a vibration distributed by one distribution transport mechanism 5. The number a that defines the number of feeders 6 is set to “1” (step S401). It is determined whether a driving flag indicating that the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is being driven is ON (step S402). When the driving flag is ON, the driving timer for driving time measurement corresponding to the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is reduced (step S403), and it is determined whether or not the driving timer has timed up. (Step S404).

When the drive timer corresponding to the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j expires in step S404, the drive of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is stopped (step S405), and the distribution of number j is performed. The driving flag of the swivel conveyor 14 of the transport mechanism 5 is turned off (step S406). Next, the number k for designating the vibration feeder 6 and the number a of the vibration feeders 6 are incremented (step S407), and whether or not the number a has become “4”, that is, the distribution processing for the three vibration feeders 6 is performed. It is determined whether or not the processing has been completed (step S408). If the number a is not “4”, the distribution process for the three vibration feeders 6 is not completed, and the process returns to step S402.

When the number a becomes “4” in step S408, it is determined that the distribution process for the three vibration feeders 6 by the distribution transport mechanism 5 with the number j is completed, and the number j is incremented and the number s is set to “1”. Return (step S409). Next, it is determined whether or not the number j has become “4”, that is, whether or not the processing for the three distribution transport mechanisms 5 has been completed (step S410). When it is not “4”, the process returns to step S402, and when it is “4”, the process returns from the subroutine.

In step S402, when the driving flag of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is not ON, whether or not an article has been detected at the end of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j, That is, it is determined whether or not an article is detected by the distribution end article detection sensor Sd (j) corresponding to the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j (step S411). When an article is detected, it is determined whether or not an article input command flag to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of number k is ON, that is, whether or not there is a request to input an article to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. Judgment is made (step S412). When the article input command flag is ON, the process proceeds to step S413. When the article input command flag is not ON, the process proceeds to step S407.

In step S413, whether or not the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 with the number j is in the position where the article is put into the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 with the number k, that is, the transport belt of the swivel conveyor 14 is determined. It is determined whether or not the end of 11 is at a position immediately above the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of number k. If it is in the loading position, an article loading command flag to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of number k is turned OFF (step S414). Next, the driving flag of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is turned ON (step S415), and a drive timer corresponding to the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is set (step S416). The driving of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is started, and the process proceeds to step S407 (step S417). In step S413, when the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is not in the article loading position with respect to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of number k, the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is moved to the number k. Then, the vibration feeder 6 is turned to the loading position of the article with respect to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, that is, is turned to move to Step S 407 (Step S 418).

In step S411, if no article is detected at the end of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j, whether or not the article is detected at the start of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j. That is, it is determined whether or not an article is detected by the distribution start end article detection sensor Sc (j) corresponding to the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j (step S419). When an article is detected, the driving flag of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is turned ON (step S420), and a drive timer corresponding to the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is set (step S420). S421), the driving of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j is started, and the process proceeds to step S407 (step S422).

In step S419, when no article is detected at the starting end of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j, the number j is set so as to be discharged to the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of number j. The discharge command flag to the corresponding article discharge mechanism 4 is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S407 (step S423).

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the article discharge mechanism 4, which is a subroutine in the overall control flowchart of FIG.

The basic control is that when the article discharge command flag to the article discharge mechanism 4 is turned ON in the control of the distribution and transport mechanism 5, the preceding article detection is performed in order to discharge the articles to the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution and transport mechanism 5. When the articles are detected by the sensors Sa (1) to Sa (3), the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 is driven to set the discharge posture to advance into the conveyance path. As a result, the article is guided by the guide member 8 in the discharge posture and falls from the transport belt 7 of the front-stage transport mechanism 3 to the discharge chute 9 side, and the falling articles are discharged article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb ( Detected in 3).

Since the control program of the article discharge mechanism 4 is turned on at regular intervals, for example, if it is turned on every 10 ms, the detection outputs of the discharged article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) are continued 10 times. In this case, the article blocks the optical path of the discharged article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) over a period of 10 ms × 10 = 100 ms, and the amount of articles discharged can be grasped. Therefore, when the article detection time during which articles discharged by the discharged article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) are detected continues for a predetermined time, the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 is retracted from the conveyance path. By returning to the posture, an appropriate amount of articles can be discharged to the distribution transport mechanism 5.

When the article is detected by the preceding article detection sensors Sa (1) to (3) that detect the article passing through the detection area immediately before the article discharge mechanism 4 and the guide member 8 is driven, the article is Guided by the guide member 8 in the discharging posture. Accordingly, the article should be discharged from the transport belt 7 of the upstream transport mechanism 3 to the discharge chute 9 side, and the articles should be detected by the discharged article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3). If the discharged article detection sensors Sb (1) to (3) are not detected, it can be determined that some trouble has occurred. For example, it is possible to detect a problem that an article is sandwiched between the guide member 8 and the transport belt 7.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 15, first, the number k that designates one of the article discharge mechanisms 4 is set to “1” (step S501), and the articles discharged from the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k are handled. It is determined whether or not a discharging detection flag indicating that the discharged article detection sensor Sb (k) to be detected is being detected (step S502). When the discharging detection flag is ON, it is determined whether the discharged article detection sensor Sb (k) is ON, that is, whether the article is continuously detected (step S503). When the article is continuously detected, the article discharge detection time (k) of the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is increased (step S504), and whether or not the article discharge detection time k has reached a predetermined time. Determination is made (step S505), and when a predetermined time is reached, the guide member 8 is turned off, that is, the guide member 8 is retracted from the conveyance path, assuming that an appropriate amount of articles has been discharged (step S506). Next, the discharge detection flag indicating that the article discharged from the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is being detected is turned OFF (step S507), and the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is being driven. The driving flag indicating the presence is turned off (step S508). Next, the number k is incremented (step S509), and it is determined whether or not the number k has become “4”, that is, whether or not the discharge processing of the three article discharge mechanisms 4 has been completed (step S510). When the value is not “4”, the process returns to step S502. When the value is “4”, the process returns from the subroutine.

In the above step S502, when the discharge detection flag indicating that the corresponding discharge article detection sensor Sb (k) is detecting the article discharged from the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is not ON, the article of number k It is determined whether or not a driving flag indicating that the guide member 8 of the discharging mechanism 4 is being driven is ON (step S511).

When the driving flag is ON, it is determined whether or not the discharged article detection sensor Sb (k) is ON, that is, whether or not an article has been detected (step S512). When the discharged article detection sensor Sb (k) is turned on, the discharge detection flag indicating that the article discharged from the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is being detected is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S509 (step S513).

When the discharged article detection sensor Sb (k) is not turned on in step S512, the discharge defect detection time for detecting the discharge defect of the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is increased (step S514), and the discharge defect detection time is predetermined. It is determined whether it is time (step S515). When the predetermined time is reached, the discharge failure of the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is displayed, for example, on the programmable display 29, and the process proceeds to step S509 (step S516).

In step S511, when the driving flag indicating that the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is being driven is not ON, the article discharge command flag for the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is turned ON. It is determined whether or not (step S517). When the discharge command flag is ON, whether or not the preceding article detection sensor Sa (k) that detects the article passing through the detection area immediately before the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is turned on, that is, the article is detected. It is determined whether or not (step S518). When the article is detected, the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 with the number k is driven to set the discharge posture to advance into the conveyance path (step S519). Next, the driving flag indicating that the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is being driven is turned ON (step S520), and the article discharge command flag for the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is turned OFF (step S520). In step S521), the discharge failure detection time of the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is set to “0”, and the process proceeds to step S509 (step S522).

As described above, when an article is supplied on the upper side in the conveyance direction of the preceding conveyance mechanism 3, each of the three distribution conveyance mechanisms 5 outside the conveyance path is guided by the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 at three positions on the conveyance path. It is discharged to each swivel conveyor 14. The discharged articles are distributed and conveyed to the troughs 15 of the three vibration feeders 6 by the swivel conveyors 14 respectively. That is, the article supplied at one location on the upper side in the conveyance direction of the front-stage conveyance mechanism 3 is distributed and conveyed to the troughs 15 of the nine vibration feeders 6, and the troughs 15 of the vibration feeders 6 use the 9 of the combination weigher 2. It can be supplied to the individual article inlet 25.

The trough 15 of each vibration feeder 6 has a large number of long openings 19 along the conveyance direction of the article w, and is inclined downward toward the conveyance direction. This makes it possible to smoothly vibrate and convey the article w that is a broiler meat piece that contains oil and fat, has adhesiveness, is flexible, and is difficult to handle. Further, the vibration can be stopped and stopped at an arbitrary position, and the article w can be supplied to each article insertion port 25 of the combination weigher 2 at a necessary timing.

Therefore, the article w, which is a piece of broiler meat, can be automatically supplied to the nine article insertion ports 25 of the combination weigher 2. As a result, it is not necessary for the operator to grab the articles one by one and put them into the article insertion port of the semi-automatic combination weigher as in the prior art, and the labor of the operator can be greatly reduced.

For example, when a 2 kg vacuum pack of broiler meat pieces is manufactured in a subsequent packaging machine of a semi-automatic combination weigher, assuming that the weighing capacity of the combination weigher is, for example, 20 times / minute, the operator is 1 In time, a piece of meat corresponding to 2 kg × 20 × 60 = 2.4 t is grasped and put into the article insertion port of the semi-automatic combination weigher. In addition, since the worker works while standing, if the work is performed for a long time, the physical strength is excessively consumed.

According to the present embodiment, since the article w is automatically distributed and supplied to the article insertion port 25 of the combination weigher 2 by the article supply device 1, the operator grasps a piece of meat and puts it into the article insertion port 25 of the combination scale 2. There is no need, and a great deal of labor can be saved.

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

(1) It is desirable that the angle of inclination of the trough body 15a can be changed and adjusted according to the type of the article w, for example, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 16, a lower frame 15d (a) in which a support frame 15d is detachably connected to the vibrator 16, and an upper frame 15d (b) in which the bottom of the trough body 15a is connected and fixed via a reinforcing bottom plate 15b. Divide into The front part of the upper frame 15d (b) is pivotally connected to the front part of the lower frame 15d (a) through a lateral fulcrum c so as to be swingable up and down. Further, the rear portions of the lower frame 15d (b) and the upper frame 15d (b) are connected to each other through an arcuate vertical hole 22 and a fastening bolt 24. By changing and adjusting the fastening position within the range of the upper and lower elongated holes 22, the forward downward inclination angle of the trough body 15 a may be changed and adjusted steplessly. Note that the angle of the upper frame 15d (b) may be adjusted in a plurality of stages.

(2) The openings 19 of the trough body 15a may be arranged in a staggered manner.

Further, the opening 19 may be formed only at the bottom of the trough body 15a.

(3) As a configuration of the trough main body 15a, a metal plate material formed by punching the opening 19 may be bent and formed in a cocoon shape. That is, as shown in FIG. 17, a large number of long vertical beam members 36 made of stainless steel are arranged in parallel in a bowl shape with a small interval. At a plurality of locations in the transport direction, the cross beam member is welded as a reinforcing rib member 15c to the outside of the vertical beam member 36 group. It is set as the structure which formed the opening 19 for oil-fat removal between the adjacent vertical beam members 36 over the full length of a conveyance direction. According to this, a series of conveyance surfaces can be formed on the inner surface of the trough main body 15a without any catching points of the article w, and the movement of the article w in the conveyance direction becomes smoother, particularly flexible and adhesive. Is effective for transporting high-quality articles w.

(4) The means for detachably connecting the trough 15 to the vibration head 16a of the vibration exciter 16 is not limited to the buckle type connecting mechanism 18 as described above. For example, a simple bolt connection structure can be used as a means that can be implemented easily and inexpensively although it takes some time to perform the attaching / detaching operation.

(5) When the transport surface of the trough 15 or the surface of the article w such as a piece of meat is wetted with water, the transport becomes smoother. Therefore, for example, the surface of the article w such as the transport surface of the trough 15 or the meat piece may be sprayed and wetted by a spraying device or the like.

(6) In the above-described embodiment, the description is applied to the piece of meat as the article to be conveyed. However, the present invention is not limited to the piece of meat, and can be suitably applied to, for example, fish having mucus on the surface and other articles having adhesiveness.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article supply apparatus 2 Combination weigher 3 Previous stage conveyance mechanism 4 Discharge mechanism 5 Distribution conveyance mechanism 6 Vibration feeder 15 Trough 15a Trough main body 15b Reinforcement base plate 15d Support frame 16 Exciter 16a Vibration head 18 Connection mechanism 19 Opening 23 Through-hole w Article

Claims

A vibrating feeder that vibrates a trough on which an article is placed and conveys the article,
A plurality of openings extending along the conveying direction of the article are formed at least at the bottom of the trough.
Vibrating feeder.
The trough is inclined downward toward the conveying direction;
The vibration feeder according to claim 1.
The inclination angle of the first downward inclination is adjustable.
The vibration feeder according to claim 2.
The opening is a long hole along the transport direction,
The vibration feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
A plurality of apertures arranged in a line along the transport direction, and a plurality of aperture groups provided along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction;
The vibration feeder according to claim 4.
The trough includes a trough main body on which the article is placed and a reinforcing bottom plate connected along a lower surface of the bottom of the trough main body, and the opening extends across the bottom of the trough main body and the reinforcing bottom plate. It is formed to penetrate vertically
The vibration feeder according to claim 4.
A pre-stage transport mechanism for transporting the article to be supplied, a permissible state allowing passage of the transported article at a plurality of locations on the transport path of the article by the pre-stage transport mechanism, and a transport path for the transported article. An article discharge mechanism that can be switched to a discharge state to be discharged to the outside, a distribution transfer mechanism that distributes and transfers the articles discharged out of the transfer path by the article discharge mechanism to a plurality of locations, and the distribution transfer mechanism A plurality of the vibration feeders according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each of the articles conveyed to each of the distribution destinations is conveyed.
Article supply device.
Each of the plurality of vibration feeders conveys the article to a plurality of article input ports of a combination weigher.
The article supply apparatus according to claim 7.