WO2019239498A1

WO2019239498A1 - Article supply device

Info

Publication number: WO2019239498A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/022465
Authority: WO
Inventors: 弘樹飛岡
Original assignee: 大和製衡株式会社
Priority date: 2018-06-12
Filing date: 2018-06-12
Publication date: 2019-12-19
Also published as: JPWO2019239498A1; JP7023591B2

Abstract

When a state in which an article is present on the article-transport-direction upstream side of a transport unit and the article is sensed by an upstream-side article-sensing sensor, and in which no article is sensed by a downstream-side article-sensing sensor because no article is present on the transport-direction downstream side of the transport unit, has continued for at least a predetermined period, it is assessed that the article is clogging the transport unit, and the article is additionally pushed toward the transport unit to undo the clogging by the article.

Description

Article supply equipment

The present invention relates to an article supply apparatus that conveys articles and supplies them to a supply destination.

When supplying an article, if the article is clogged or stays in the middle of the supply, it is necessary to eliminate the clogging or stay. For example, Patent Document 1 selects a weighing hopper with an appropriate combination of weights that are equal to or close to the target weight, which is a total weight obtained by variously combining the weights of articles supplied to a plurality of weighing hoppers. In a combination weigher that discharges articles from a weighing hopper of a selected appropriate amount combination, when a weighing hopper is not selected as an appropriate amount combination and an article stays in the weighing hopper, It is disclosed.

In this combination weigher, in order to detect the staying articles of the weighing hopper that is not selected as an appropriate amount combination, and to make the weighing hopper of this staying article be selected as an appropriate amount combination, the weight of the article to be added is calculated and calculated. We are trying to add items for weight. Thereby, the weighing hopper in which the article is added to the staying article is selected as an appropriate amount combination, and the article including the staying article is discharged from the weighing hopper.

JP 2004-125694 A

In Patent Document 1, the weighing hopper to which an article is supplied eliminates the retention of the article caused by not being selected as an appropriate combination, and the article conveyed to the supply destination is clogged during the conveyance. However, it does not eliminate the clogging.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to eliminate clogging when an article is clogged during conveyance of the article to a supply destination.

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

(1) An article supply apparatus according to the present invention is an article supply apparatus including a transport unit that transports an input article to a supply destination.
An upper article detection sensor for detecting the article on the upper side in the conveyance direction of the article of the conveyance section; and a lower article detection sensor for detecting the article on the lower side of the conveyance section in the conveyance direction of the article; A control unit that controls the loading of the article into the transport unit based on the detection outputs of the upper-side article detection sensor and the lower-side article detection sensor, and the control unit uses the upper-side article detection sensor to detect the article. And when the state where no article is detected by the lower-side article detection sensor continues for a predetermined time or longer, the article is additionally thrown into the transport section.

The predetermined time is preferably equal to or longer than the time required for the article detected by the upper article detection sensor to be conveyed to the lower side in the conveyance direction and detected by the lower article detection sensor.

According to the article supply device of the present invention, an article is present on the upper side of the article in the conveyance direction in the conveyance section, the article is detected by the upper article detection sensor, and the article is located on the lower side in the conveyance direction of the conveyance section. When the state where the article is not detected by the lower-side article detection sensor continues for a predetermined time or more because it does not exist, the article on the upper side in the transport section is not transported to the lower side, and the article is not transported in the transport section. Assuming that it is clogged on the upper side and not conveyed to the lower side, additional articles are loaded into the conveyance unit.

By this additional charging, the article jammed on the upper side of the conveying section is conveyed to the lower side so as to be pushed out by the additional charged article, and the jamming of the article can be eliminated.

(2) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the transport unit is a vibration feeder that vibrates and conveys the article to be inserted, and the control unit controls driving of the vibration feeder, The vibration feeder is driven until the article is detected by the side article detection sensor.

According to this embodiment, since the vibration feeder is driven until the article is detected by the lower article detection sensor that detects the article on the lower side in the conveyance direction of the vibration feeder, there is no article on the lower side of the vibration feeder. In some cases, the vibration feeder is driven, and the article on the upper side is vibrated and conveyed to the lower side.

(3) In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit discharges the article from the supply destination when the lower article detection sensor detects the article and stops driving the vibration feeder. When requested, the vibration feeder is driven to discharge the article to the supply destination.

According to this embodiment, when the article is conveyed to the lower side of the vibration feeder and the article is detected by the lower article detection sensor, the driving of the vibration feeder is stopped, and when there is a discharge request from the supply destination. The vibration feeder is driven, and the article is discharged and supplied to the supply destination. Although the article is not detected by the lower article detection sensor due to the discharge of the article, the vibration feeder is driven until the article is detected by the lower article detection sensor. It is possible to wait until the next discharge request from the supply destination. Thereby, it becomes easy to supply articles at a timing according to the request of the supply destination.

(4) In still another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit throws the article into the transport unit when the article is not detected by the upper-side article detection sensor.

According to this embodiment, since the article on the upper side in the conveyance unit is conveyed to the lower side and no article is detected by the upper-side article detection sensor, a new article is thrown into the conveyance unit. As the article is conveyed by the unit and supplied to the supply destination, a new article is thrown into the conveyance unit.

(5) In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit includes an informing unit that controls the clogging of the article in the transport unit, and the control unit uses the upper-side article detection sensor to provide an article. The state in which is detected continues from before the additional input to after the additional input, and the duration from when the predetermined time has elapsed or the duration from the additional input, When the set time is exceeded, the notification section notifies the clogging of the article.

The notification by the notification unit is preferably screen display, display using a lamp or the like, notification using sound such as sound or buzzer, or a combination thereof.

As described above, when the article is detected by the upper article detection sensor and the article is not detected by the lower article detection sensor for a predetermined time or more, the article is clogged on the upper side in the transport unit. As a result, an article is additionally loaded into the transport unit, but the jamming of the article may not be eliminated even by this additional loading.

According to this embodiment, when the clogging is not eliminated even by the additional input of the article, that is, the jammed article is not conveyed to the lower side, and the article remains on the upper side in the conveyance unit, and the upper article detection sensor detects When the state in which the article is detected continues and the duration from when it lasts for a predetermined time or the duration from the additional loading exceeds the set time, the notification section notifies the clogging of the article. To do. Thus, the operator can know that the article is still jammed, and the jammed article can be eliminated by moving or removing the jammed article to the lower side.

(6) In another embodiment of the present invention, it is provided with a loading conveyor that conveys the article and throws it into the conveying section, and the control section controls the driving of the loading conveyor.

According to this embodiment, by controlling the driving of the input conveyor, it is possible to input the article into the conveyance section according to the conveyance status of the article in the conveyance section.

(7) In still another embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of the transport units are provided, the plurality of transport units are a plurality of vibration feeders that vibrate and transport the articles to be loaded, respectively, The swivel conveyor is configured to rotate around a starting end in the conveying direction of the article and to put articles into the plurality of vibration feeders from the terminal end in the conveying direction.

According to this embodiment, articles can be put into a plurality of vibratory feeders by the revolving conveyor that rotates around the starting end in the conveying direction.

(8) In another 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 that is the supply destination.

According to this embodiment, the articles can be conveyed and supplied to the plurality of article input ports of the combination weigher by each of the plurality of vibration feeders.

(9) In still another embodiment of the present invention, the transported article is allowed to pass at a plurality of locations on the transporting path of the article by the transporting mechanism for transporting the article to be supplied by the transporting mechanism of the preceding stage. An article discharge mechanism capable of switching between an allowable state and a discharge state in which the conveyed article is discharged out of the conveyance path, and the article discharged out of the conveyance path by the article discharge mechanism is the input conveyor To be supplied.

According to this embodiment, when the article is supplied on the upper side in the conveyance direction of the article of the preceding conveyance mechanism, the article conveyed by the preceding conveyance mechanism is discharged out of the conveyance path by the article discharge mechanism at a plurality of locations on the conveyance path. The discharged articles are respectively input to a plurality of transport units by the input conveyors at the plurality of locations.

A plurality of conveying units are configured by a plurality of vibration feeders, and the input conveyor is configured by a swivel conveyor that inputs articles to the plurality of vibration feeders, respectively, and is discharged out of the conveyance path by the article discharge mechanism. The articles supplied to are distributed to a plurality of vibratory feeders by a swivel conveyor.

Therefore, for example, when the article discharge mechanism is provided at three locations on the conveyance path and is further distributed to each of the three vibration feeders by each of the three swivel conveyors provided at the three locations, Articles supplied at one location on the upper side can be distributed and supplied to nine predetermined supply destinations.

According to the present invention, when the article is jammed on the upper side in the conveyance direction in the conveyance unit that conveys the article, the article is further jammed by adding the article to the conveyance unit and pushing out the jammed article. Can do.

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 schematic front view showing a set of article distribution locations. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the combination weigher. FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing an arrangement state of an article detection sensor for detecting an article. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the weighing system of FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view for explaining clogging of articles in the vibration feeder. FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the addition of articles from the swivel conveyor to the vibration feeder. FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a state in which the clogging of the article is eliminated by the additional input of the article. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the vibration feeder. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the vibration feeder.

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a weighing system including an article supply apparatus 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. The semi-automatic combination weigher refers to a combination weigher in which articles are supplied manually and articles are discharged automatically.

This weighing system automatically supplies articles to the semi-automatic combination balance 2 by the article supply apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, and automatically supplies and discharges articles as a whole. It can also be called a combinational balance.

This weighing system is intended for weighing objects that are relatively large and irregular in weight and have stickiness that is difficult to handle by machine, such as block-shaped meat pieces such as peach meat or fillet that has been disassembled from broiler chickens. It is said.

That is, this measuring system is a system suitable for the measuring process of the broiler dismantling line.

The article supply apparatus 1 according to this embodiment corresponds to the front-stage transport mechanism 3 that is horizontally disposed, the article discharge mechanisms 4 that are disposed at a plurality of locations in the transport path, in this example, three locations, and the respective article discharge mechanisms 4. Three distribution conveyance mechanisms 5 and a plurality of units corresponding to each distribution conveyance mechanism 5, and in this example, three vibration feeders 6 as conveyance units arranged in parallel 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.

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 for dropping the article w placed and conveyed by the conveyor belt 11 without jumping out in the conveying direction. As shown in FIG. And are bolted so that the position can be adjusted along the conveying direction.

The swivel conveyor 14 swivels by a predetermined angle around the vertical fulcrum b set at the start end in the transport direction of the transport belt 11 on which the articles from the input funnel 10 slide down, and turns the articles w into three vibrations. Sort to feeder 6.

As described above, the swivel conveyor 14 rotates around the vertical fulcrum b set at the start end in the transport direction of the transport belt 11 on which articles from the input funnel 10 slide down, so which swivel conveyor 14 is in which rotational position. Even if it exists, the articles | goods w conveyed by the front | former stage conveyance mechanism 3 can be discharged | emitted by the guide member 8 of the articles | goods discharge mechanism 4, and can be supplied to the start end part of the conveyance direction of the turning conveyor 14. FIG. Therefore, when it is necessary to supply an article to the starting end of the swivel conveyor 14 in the conveying direction, the article of the preceding transport mechanism 3 is discharged by the article discharge mechanism 4 regardless of the rotation position of the swivel conveyor 14, and the swivel conveyor 14 can be supplied quickly.

As shown in FIG. 3, the vibration feeder 6 as a transport unit is a linear feeder in which a trough-shaped trough 15 is detachably connected to a vibration exciter 16, and an article w placed by driving the trough 15 to vibrate. Is oscillated and conveyed to the combination scale 2 as a supply destination. A support frame 17 is connected to the lower surface of the trough 15 to support the trough 15 in a state where the trough 15 is inclined downward toward the transport direction. The support frame 17 is positioned and engaged with a vibration head 16 a provided at the upper end portion of the vibration exciter 16, and is fastened and fixed using a connecting mechanism 18.

Further, a large number of slit-shaped through holes 19 along the longitudinal direction of the trough 15 are formed in alignment on the bottom surface and the left and right side surfaces of the trough 15.

In this way, the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is inclined downward toward the conveyance direction and has a large number of through holes 19, so that the article w, which is a broiler meat piece that contains oil and has an adhesive property, is smoothly conveyed. be able to.

In this embodiment, three vibratory feeders 6 are arranged in parallel with respect to the swivel conveyor 14 of one distribution transport mechanism 5, and switching to the center position of the swivel conveyor 14 and the rotation end positions on both sides thereof is performed. Accordingly, the articles w can be put into the troughs 15 of the three vibration feeders 6 from the swiveling conveyors 14 as the feeding conveyors. Therefore, as a whole, the article w can be vibrated and conveyed to nine supply destinations by the nine vibration feeders 6 arranged in parallel in a straight line.

In each vibration feeder 6, the article w can be transported and stopped by its 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 put on standby. Articles can be supplied to the combination weigher 2 at a timing according to a discharge request from the item 2 to the article input port 25.

Of the group of three vibratory feeders 6 set, a free play that can rotate so as to face the end turning trajectory of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 at the middle position between the central trough 15 and the troughs 15 on both sides thereof. The roller 20 is supported horizontally in the transport direction via a fixed base (not shown).

Further, as shown in FIG. 4 and the like, a mountain shape that inclines toward the inner side of the trough 15 at the start end in the conveying direction on the laterally outer sides of the left and right troughs 15 in the set of three troughs 15 as shown in FIG. The inclined guide plate 21 is installed via a fixed base (not shown).

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 input ports 25 are arranged in a straight line from side to side. The combination weigher 2 is installed so that 25 faces the distribution / discharge section of the article supply apparatus 1, that is, the end of the group of vibration feeders 6. 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 discharge of the article from the corresponding vibration feeder 6 is requested.

In the weighing system of this embodiment, the supply amount of the articles is such that the weighing processing amount of the articles of the semi-automatic combination weigher 2 is equal to or more than the supply quantity of the articles to the upstream conveying mechanism 3 of the article supply apparatus 1. And the operation speed of the combination scale 2 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. 6 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, and a measurement having two storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 below each supply hopper 40. A weighing hopper 41 as a part is arranged.

Each supply hopper 40 includes two

discharge gates

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

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 attached 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 sends the output to a control unit of the combination weigher 2 described later. It is done. As a result, 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 respective storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 of the hopper 41, a combination calculation described later is performed.

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 operation for selecting one combination of the storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 is performed, and the articles in the selected storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 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 and transport mechanism 5 are further distributed to three places and sent to the vibration feeder 6. For convenience, the articles w distributed and transported by the nine vibration feeders 6 are each article of the combination scale 2. It is supplied to the input port 25. 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 for 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. 7 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, and pass through a detection region between the light projector and the light receiver that are arranged to face each other. An article w to be detected is detected and a detection output is given.

The first 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 in the transport path of the pre-stage transport mechanism 3.

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

The swivel conveyor 14 of each distribution transport mechanism 5 has a third article detection sensor Sc (1 for detecting an article w at the start end and the end of the start end and the end at the lower end in the transport direction. ) To Sc (3) and fourth 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 third article detection sensors Sc (1) to Sc (3) and the fourth article detection sensors Sd (1) to Sd (3). A through hole is formed in the.

Upper-side article detection sensors for detecting articles w at the start-end part and the terminal-end part at the start-end part on the upper side and the lower-end side in the transport direction of each trough 15 of each vibration feeder 6 as each transport part The fifth article detection sensors Se (1) to Se (9) and the sixth article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9) as the lower article detection sensors are respectively arranged. The trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 has a through hole so as not to block the optical paths of the fifth article detection sensors Se (1) to Se (9) and the sixth article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9). Is formed.

FIG. 8 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 (control unit) for controlling the whole.

The PLC 27 is connected to a programmable display 29 which is an operation display terminal. In the programmable display 29, various settings such as the transport speed of the pre-stage transport mechanism 3 and the swivel conveyor 14 and the vibration strength of the vibration feeder 6 are set. Various displays including operation and warning display described later are performed.

Further, when the PLC 27 is requested to discharge articles from the control unit 28 of the semi-automatic combination weigher 2 to the nine article insertion ports 25, ON discharge request signals (1) to (9) are sent. 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) ), Se (1) to Se (9), and Sf (1) to Sf (9) detection outputs.

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.

As described later, the PLC 27 determines whether or not the article is clogged in the vibration feeder 6. When it is determined that the article is clogged, the article is additionally input from the swivel conveyor 14 to the vibration feeder 6. Is done. Further, when it is determined that the clogging of the article has not been eliminated by the additional input of the article, a notification to that effect is given.

In the control of the article supply apparatus 1 by the PLC 27, the vibration feeder 6 which is the lowest in the article conveyance direction in the article supply apparatus 1 is controlled, and then the distribution conveyance mechanism 5 which is the upper limit is controlled. Control of the article discharge mechanism 4 which is a good skill is performed.

This PLC 27 basically controls so that when there is a discharge request of an article from the combination weigher 2 to each of the article insertion ports 25, the article can be immediately discharged to the article insertion port 25 where the discharge is requested. Control is performed so that the article can be transported to the end of the trough 15 of each vibration feeder 6 and waited.

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 end of the trough 15 is conveyed to the end of the trough 15, and the article detected at the start end of the trough 15 is detected. If not, the turning conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 is requested to input articles.

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, and when no article is detected at the start end of the swivel conveyor 14, Request the input of goods.

In the article discharge mechanism 4 in which an article input request has been made, when an article passing through the detection area immediately before the article discharge mechanism 4 is detected, the guide member 8 is driven to take a discharge posture to advance into the transfer path, and the article is discharged. Articles to be supplied to the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 outside the transport path.

Specifically, the detection outputs of the first article detection sensors Sa (1) to Sa (3) that respectively detect the articles w that pass through the detection area immediately before each article discharge mechanism 4 on the conveyance path of the pre-stage conveyance mechanism 3. Based on this, the PLC 27 can start discharging the articles at a plurality of locations on the conveyance path by switching the article discharge mechanism 4 to the discharge state. Further, based on the detection output of the second article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) that detect the article w discharged by each article discharge mechanism 4, the PLC 27 discharges the article after the article is discharged. By switching and controlling the mechanism 4 to an allowable state that allows the passage of the article, the discharge of the article at a plurality of locations on the conveyance path can be terminated.

During the period when the second article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) are detecting the article to be discharged, the detection output is continuously given. The PLC 27 is based on the duration of the detection output of the second article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3), that is, the duration of the discharge state of the article discharge mechanism 4, that is, the distribution mechanism for distributing articles by the article discharge mechanism 4. Control the discharge time to 5.

As described above, in the article discharge mechanism 4 in which an article input request has been made, the guide member 8 is driven to assume a discharge posture to advance to the transfer path, and the articles to be transferred are turned by the distribution transfer mechanism 5 outside the transfer path. Since the article w is supplied to the conveyor 14 from the start end side of the conveyor belt 7 of the upstream conveyance mechanism 3, the article discharge mechanism 4 causes the three swivel conveyors to respond to the input request of the articles from the swivel conveyor 14. 14 is supplied.

The vibratory feeder 6 that supplies articles to the combination weigher 2 vibrates and conveys articles dropped from the swivel conveyor 14 by driving the troughs 15 by vibration. Depending on the properties of the articles, the conveyance direction of the articles of the troughs 15 There are cases where the article is jammed on the upper side and cannot be conveyed to the lower side.

When an article is jammed on the upper side of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, for example, at the start end of the trough 15 into which the article is thrown, the article is detected by the fifth article detection sensor Se corresponding to the vibration feeder 6 in which the jam occurs. It remains in the state. Since the fifth article detection sensor Se that detects the article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 remains in the state of detecting the article, a new article is thrown into the vibration feeder 6 from the swivel conveyor 14. It will not be done, and the state where the article remains jammed will continue.

The article cannot be supplied to the combination balance 2 from the vibration feeder 6 in a state where the article is still clogged. For this reason, the combination accuracy in the combination scale 2 is reduced, or the combination calculation is not established. As a result, the number of production will decrease.

In this embodiment, it is determined whether or not an article is clogged at the start end of the trough 5 of the vibration feeder 6, and when it is determined that the article is clogged, the article is additionally input from the swivel conveyor 14 to the vibration feeder 6. I am doing so.

By additionally charging the articles in this manner, the articles clogged at the start end of the trough 5 of the vibration feeder 6 were additionally thrown by the articles to be added to the lower side in the conveying direction. Together with the article, it is vibrated and conveyed to the lower side, and the clogging of the article is eliminated.

FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 are schematic perspective views showing a situation in which clogging of articles is eliminated by additional input, and shows one vibration feeder 6 in which clogging has occurred.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the article w1 is clogged at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, the article w2 is additionally charged from the swivel conveyor 14 as shown in FIG. As a result, the jammed article w1 is pushed out to the lower side by the additionally loaded article w2 and starts to be conveyed, and as shown in FIG. 11, the jammed article w1 is conveyed to the lower side together with the additionally loaded article w2 to be clogged. It will be resolved.

In this embodiment, whether or not an article is clogged at the starting end of the trough 5 of the vibration feeder 6 is determined as follows.

That is, the fifth article detection sensor Se is in a state where an article is detected at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 and the sixth article detection sensor Sf detects the trough of the vibration feeder 6. 15 when the article at the end portion is not detected, that is, when the article is present at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 but the article does not exist at the end portion continues for a predetermined time or more. It is determined that the article is clogged at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6.

The predetermined time is preferably equal to or longer than the time required for the article at the beginning of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 to be conveyed to the end of the trough 15. The predetermined time can be set by operating the programmable display 29 which is an operation display terminal.

As described above, when no article is present at the terminal end of the vibration feeder 6, that is, when no article is detected by the sixth article detection sensor Sf, the vibration feeder 6 transports the upper article to the terminal end. It vibrates like so. Therefore, if there is an article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, the article should be conveyed to the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 and detected by the sixth article detection sensor Sf.

However, when the article is clogged at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, the article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is not conveyed to the lower side even if a predetermined time has elapsed. Therefore, the sixth article detection sensor Sf cannot detect the article.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the fifth article detection sensor Se is in a state where an article is detected at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, and the sixth article detection sensor Sf When the state where the article at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is not detected continues for a predetermined time or more, it is determined that the article is clogged at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. When it is determined that the article is clogged, as described above, the article is additionally input from the swivel conveyor 14 to the vibration feeder 6 to eliminate the clogging of the article. This additional charging is performed in the same manner as the normal loading of articles from the swivel conveyor 14 to the vibration feeder 6. Note that the additional input may be different from the normal input. For example, in the additional input, the amount of articles to be input may be larger than the normal input.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the clogging of the article is not eliminated even by the additional input of the article from the swivel conveyor 14, the vibration feeder 6 in which the clogging has occurred is specified in the programmable display 29 as the notification unit. Then, a warning display indicating the location (starting end) where the clogging has occurred is performed and notified. Further, a warning sound by a buzzer (not shown) is used for notification, and a warning lamp (not shown) is turned on for notification.

This enables the operator to remove the jammed article by moving the jammed article to the lower side of the vibration feeder 6 or removing it.

The determination as to whether or not the clogging of the article has been eliminated by the additional charging is determined not to be resolved when the state where the article at the starting end of the vibration feeder 6 is still detected continues for a set time from the additional charging. can do.

Alternatively, the presence of an article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is detected by the fifth article detection sensor Se, and the trough of the vibration feeder 6 is detected by the sixth article detection sensor Sf. When the state in which the article at the end of 15 is not detected continues for a predetermined time or more, it is assumed that clogging has occurred and additional charging is performed, so the article at the beginning of the vibration feeder 6 is still detected. It can be determined that the state has not been resolved when the state continues for a set time or longer after the predetermined time or longer.

In this embodiment, the fifth article detection sensors Se (1) to Se (9) as the upper article detection sensors detect the article at the starting end in the conveying direction of the vibration feeder 6 into which the article is inserted. When the article is conveyed to the lower side in the conveying direction and the article is not detected by the fifth article detection sensors Se (1) to Se (9), a new article is sent from the swivel conveyor 14 to the start end of the vibration feeder 6. Can be thrown in immediately. Further, the sixth article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9) as the lower article detection sensors detect the article at the terminal end in the transport direction in which the article of the vibration feeder 6 is discharged. When the article is discharged to the combination scale 2 and the article is no longer detected by the sixth article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9), the article on the upper side of the vibration feeder 6 can be immediately conveyed to the end portion.

Next, an example of the control of the vibration feeder 6 of the present embodiment that eliminates clogging of articles will be described based on the flowcharts of FIGS. The control processing shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 is sequentially performed for each of the nine vibration feeders 6.

As shown in FIG. 12, first, when the operation switch is turned on (step S1), whether or not the sixth article detection sensor Sf for detecting the article at the lower end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is turned on. That is, it is determined whether or not an article has been detected (step S2). When the article is detected, the drive of the vibration feeder 6 is stopped assuming that the article has reached the end of the vibration feeder 6 (step S3). .

Next, it is determined whether or not a discharge request signal for requesting discharge of an article from the combination weigher 2 to the vibration feeder 6 is turned on (step S4). If the discharge request signal is turned on, the article at the terminal end of the vibration feeder 6 is turned on. Is discharged and the vibratory feeder 6 is driven (step S5).

Along with the driving of the vibration feeder 6, measurement by a driving time measuring timer Ta that measures the driving time is started (step S6), and it is determined whether or not the measuring time is equal to or longer than a first predetermined time T1 (step S6). S7). The first predetermined time T <b> 1 is preferably set to be longer than the drive time during which the article existing at the terminal portion of the vibration feeder 6 can be discharged from the vibration feeder 6 and supplied to the combination weigher 2.

In step S7, when the time measured by the driving time measuring timer Ta becomes equal to or longer than the first predetermined time T1, it is assumed that the article at the end of the vibration feeder 6 is discharged and supplied to the combination weigher 2. Is stopped (step S8), and the driving time measuring timer Ta is reset to the initial value = 0 (step S9).

As another embodiment of the present invention, instead of driving the vibration feeder 6 for a first predetermined time or longer, the article is combined when the article at the end of the trough 15 is no longer detected by the sixth article detection sensor Sf. Assuming that the vibration feeder 6 is supplied to the scale 2, the driving of the vibration feeder 6 may be stopped.

Next, it is determined whether or not the discharge request signal for requesting the discharge of the article from the combination weigher 2 to the vibration feeder 6 is turned off (step S10). In step S10, when the discharge request signal for requesting the discharge of the article from the combination weigher 2 to the vibration feeder 6 is turned OFF, it is assumed that the article at the end of the vibration feeder 6 is discharged and supplied to the combination weigher 2. After that, the process returns to step S1.

In this embodiment, when an article is clogged at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, this is also notified. For this reason, in step S11 described above, a determination time for measuring a determination time for determining whether or not an article is clogged at the end portion of the vibration feeder 6 is assumed, with no article clogging at the end portion. The measurement timer Tb is reset to the initial value = 0.

In step S10, when the discharge request signal from the combination weigher 2 is not OFF, that is, when the discharge request signal from the combination weigher 2 is still ON, the article at the end of the vibration feeder 6 is discharged. Although the vibration feeder 6 is driven for the first predetermined time T1 or longer that can be supplied to the combination weigher 2, the determination time measurement timer Tb is set to the initial value (assuming that the article is not yet supplied to the combination weigher 2. = 0) or not (step S12).

When the determination time measuring timer Tb remains at the initial value, measurement by the determination time measuring timer Tb is started and the process proceeds to step S14 (step S13). When the determination time measuring timer Tb does not remain at the initial value, the determination time is already being measured. If not, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, it is determined whether the time measured by the determination time measuring timer Tb is equal to or longer than the second predetermined time T2. The second predetermined time T2 is a combination in which the vibration feeder 6 is driven to stop discharging the article at the terminal end of the vibration feeder 6 and to supply the combination weigher 2, and then the article is supplied. It is preferable that the time required for the discharge request signal from the scale 2 to be turned off or longer.

In this step S14, when the time measured by the determination time measuring timer Tb becomes equal to or longer than the second predetermined time T2, the vibration feeder 6 can discharge the article at the terminal portion and supply it to the combination weigher 2. The state in which the discharge request signal from the combination weigher 2 remains ON despite being driven for one predetermined time T1 or longer continues for the second predetermined time T2 or longer. At this time, assuming that the article is clogged at the end portion of the vibration feeder 6, notification is made that clogging has occurred at the end portion of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, and the process returns to Step S <b> 1 (Step S <b> 15). The notification of clogging in step S15 is performed by displaying a warning on the vibratory feeder 6 where the article is clogged and the clogged portion on the programmable display 29. Further, this notification is performed by a warning sound by a buzzer (not shown) and lighting of a warning lamp (not shown).

Thereby, the operator eliminates the clogging of the article by, for example, throwing the article clogged at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 into the article input port 25 of the combination scale 2.

When the sixth article detection sensor Sf that detects the article at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is not ON in step S2, the step shown in FIG. 13 is performed to convey the article to the end of the vibration feeder 6. As shown in S16, the vibration feeder 6 is driven, and the driving time measuring timer Ta and the determination time measuring timer Tb are reset to an initial value = 0 (step S17).

Next, it is determined whether or not the fifth article detection sensor Se that detects the article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is turned on (step S18), and when the fifth article detection sensor Se is turned on. Then, it is determined whether or not the sixth article detection sensor Sf for detecting the article at the terminal end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is turned on (step S19), and when the sixth article detection sensor Sf is turned on, a step is performed. Return to S1.

In step S18, the fifth article detection sensor Se is ON, and in step S19, when the sixth article detection sensor Sf is not ON, that is, an article is present at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. And when an article does not exist in the terminal part of trough 15 of vibration feeder 6, it is judged whether continuation time measurement timer Tc which measures the continuation time of the state is initial value = 0 (Step S20). If it is the initial value, measurement by the duration measurement timer Tc is started and the process proceeds to step S22 (step S21). If it is not the initial value, the measurement is already started and the process proceeds to step S22.

In step S22, the time measured by the duration measuring timer Tc is equal to or longer than a third predetermined time T3 as a predetermined time for determining that the article is clogged at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. If it is not longer than the third predetermined time T3, the process returns to step S1.

In step S22, when the time measured by the duration measuring timer Tc is equal to or longer than the third predetermined time T3, it is determined that the article is clogged at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. At this time, it is determined whether or not the determination time measuring timer Td for measuring a determination time for determining whether or not the clogging has been eliminated by additional input for eliminating the clogging is an initial value = 0 (step). S23). In step S23, when the determination time measuring timer Td is an initial value, it is determined that it is before additional loading, and an article loading instruction flag for requesting additional loading of articles to the vibration feeder 6 is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S25. (Step S24) If it is not the initial value, it is determined that additional charging has already been performed, and the process proceeds to Step S25.

When the article input command flag is turned ON in step S24, an article is additionally input from the turning conveyor 14 to the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, and the article input command flag is turned OFF.

In step S25, it is determined whether or not the fifth article detection sensor Se that detects the article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is turned off. The jammed articles are pushed out by the added articles, and the articles are oscillated and conveyed to the lower side, so that the article at the start end of the trough 15 is not present, that is, the jam is eliminated. As described above, the continuation time measuring timer Tc and the determination time measuring timer Td are reset to the initial value = 0, and the process returns to step S1 (step S26).

When the fifth article detection sensor Se that detects the article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is not OFF in step S25, that is, the fifth article detection sensor Se detects the article at the start end of the vibration feeder 6. If it is still in the detected state, it is determined whether or not the determination time measuring timer Td for measuring the determination time for determining whether or not the clogging has been eliminated by the additional input is an initial value (step S27). If it is the initial value, measurement by the determination time measurement timer Td is started and the process proceeds to step S29 (step S28). If not, the measurement by the determination time measurement timer Td is already started. The process moves to S29.

In step S29, it is determined whether or not the measurement time by the determination time measuring timer Td is equal to or longer than a fourth predetermined time T4 for determining that the clogging of the article has not been eliminated by additional charging. In the fourth predetermined time T4, after an article is requested to be added to the clogged vibration feeder 6, the clogging at the starting end of the vibration feeder 6 is eliminated by the addition of the article, and the article is additionally input. However, it is preferable that it is equal to or longer than the time required until the article is not detected by the fifth article detection sensor Se after being conveyed to the lower side.

In step S29, when the time measured by the determination time measuring timer Td is not equal to or longer than the fourth predetermined time T4, the process returns to step S25, and when it is equal to or longer than the fourth predetermined time T4, the fifth article detection sensor Se performs. Even after the additional loading, the article at the starting end of the vibration feeder 6 is still detected, and the clogging of the article is notified that the clogging of the article has not been eliminated by the additional loading, and the process returns to step S1 (step S30). . The notification of clogging in step S30 is performed by displaying a warning on the vibration feeder 6 in which the article is clogged and the clogged portion on the programmable display 29. Further, this notification is performed by a warning sound by a buzzer (not shown) and lighting of a warning lamp (not shown).

In step S18, when the fifth article detection sensor Se that detects the article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is not ON, an article insertion command flag for requesting normal insertion of the article to the vibration feeder 6 is displayed. It is turned ON (step S31), the duration measuring timer Tc and the judgment time measuring timer Td are reset to initial values, and the process returns to step S1 (step S32).

When the article input command flag is turned ON in step S31, normal articles are input from the orbiting conveyor 14 to the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, and the article input command flag is turned OFF.

In step S1 of FIG. 12, when the operation switch is turned OFF, as shown in FIG. 13, driving of the vibration feeder 6 is stopped (step S33), the vibration time measuring timer Ta, and the determination time measuring The timer Tb, the duration measurement timer Tc, and the determination time measurement timer Td are reset to initial values and the process ends (step S34). The first to fourth predetermined times T1 to T4 can be set by operating the programmable display 29, which is an operation display terminal.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when an article is clogged at the start end portion of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, the article is additionally input from the swivel conveyor 14 to the vibration feeder 6 so that the jammed article is pushed out. Then it is transported to the lower side and the clogging of the article is eliminated.

As a result, the state in which the article remains clogged is continued, and the article cannot be supplied from the vibration feeder 6 to the combination weigher 2, and the combination accuracy in the combination weigher 2 is reduced, or the combination calculation is established. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the production number from decreasing accordingly.

In addition, if the clogging of the article is not resolved by the additional input of the article, this is notified, so the operator can move the clogged article to the lower side or remove it to remove the clogging of the article. Can be resolved.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when an article is clogged at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, this is also notified, so that the operator can insert the jammed article into the combination balance 2. The clogging of the article can be eliminated by putting it into the mouth 25 or the like.

In addition, when the article thrown into the start end portion of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is conveyed to the lower side and is jammed in an intermediate region between the start end portion and the end portion, the trough of the vibration feeder 6 is used. Since the fifth article detection sensor Se that detects the article at the start end of 15 is turned off, the article input flag to the vibration feeder 6 is turned on as shown in step S31 of FIG. Articles are loaded. Thereby, the thrown-in article is conveyed to the lower side and conveyed so as to push the jammed article to the lower side, and the jam of the article can be eliminated.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when an article is supplied on the upper side in the conveyance direction of the preceding conveyance mechanism 3, each of the three units outside the conveyance path is guided by the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 at three locations on the conveyance path. It is discharged to each swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5. The discharged articles are sorted and conveyed to the troughs 15 of the three vibration feeders 6 by the swivel conveyors 14 respectively. That is, the article supplied to one location on the upper side in the transport direction of the front transport mechanism 3 is distributed and transported to the troughs 15 of the nine vibration feeders 6, and the troughs 15 of the vibration feeders 6 use the troughs 15 of the combination weighers 2. It can be supplied to the individual article inlet 25.

Therefore, the article w, which is a piece of sticky broiler meat, can be automatically supplied to the nine article inlets 25 of the combination weigher 2, and the operator can grasp the articles one by one and semi-automatically. There is no need to perform the operation of putting it into the article input port of the type combination weigher, and the labor of the operator can be greatly reduced.

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

(1) The article detection sensor is not limited to the transmission type photoelectric sensor as described above, and other sensors such as a reflection type photoelectric sensor and an ultrasonic sensor may be used.

(2) The input of the articles to the vibration feeder is not limited to the swivel conveyor but may be another conveyor, and may be in a form of vibrating and conveying instead of the conveyor.

(3) The pre-stage transport mechanism can be arbitrarily selected according to the size, weight, property, etc. of the article w. For example, an annular belt connecting a number of lateral slat bars made of a hard resin material or a metal material. It is also possible to use a slat type conveyor, a wire mesh belt conveyor, or the like.

(4) A configuration in which a pusher that can be withdrawn / retracted in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction is disposed on the side of the conveyance path in the article discharge mechanism, and the article is pushed out of the conveyance path by pushing the pusher into the conveyance path. It can also be.

(5) The supply destination of the goods is not limited to the combination weigher, and the number of supply destinations is not limited to nine, and is arbitrary.

(6) In the above embodiment, the article has been described as being applied to a broiler meat piece that has been disassembled. However, the article is not limited to such a piece of meat, and may be applied to seafood such as squid and skipjack, and other articles. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article supply apparatus 2 Combination balance 3 Previous stage conveyance mechanism 4 Article discharge mechanism 5 Distribution conveyance mechanism 6 Vibration feeder (conveyance part)
8 Guide members 14 Swivel conveyor (input conveyor)
15 trough 27 PLC (control unit)
w Article Se Fifth article detection sensor (good article detection sensor)
Sf Sixth article detection sensor (lower article detection sensor)

Claims

An article supply apparatus including a transport unit that transports an input article to a supply destination,
An upper-side article detection sensor for detecting the article on the upper side in the conveyance direction of the article of the conveyance section;
A lower-side article detection sensor that detects the article on the lower side in the conveyance direction of the article of the conveyance section;
A control unit that controls input of an article to the transport unit based on detection outputs of the upper-side article detection sensor and the lower-side article detection sensor;
The control unit adds the article to the transport unit when the article is detected by the upper article detection sensor and the article is not detected by the lower article detection sensor for a predetermined time or longer. throw into,
Article supply device.
The transport unit is a vibration feeder that vibrates and conveys the article to be charged,
The control unit controls driving of the vibration feeder, and drives the vibration feeder until the article is detected by the lower-side article detection sensor.
The article supply apparatus according to claim 1.
When the lower-side article detection sensor detects the article and stops driving the vibration feeder, the control unit drives the vibration feeder when there is a request for discharging the article from the supply destination. Discharging the article to the supplier,
The article supply apparatus according to claim 2.
The control unit, when an article is not detected by the upper-side article detection sensor, throws the article into the transport unit,
The article supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
While being controlled by the control unit, a notification unit for notifying the clogging of the article in the transport unit,
The control unit continues from the time when the article is detected by the upper-side article detection sensor from before the additional charging to after the additional charging and from when the predetermined time has elapsed. When the time or the duration from the additional charging becomes a set time or more, the clogging of the article is notified by the notification unit,
The article supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
A loading conveyor for conveying the article and throwing it into the conveying section;
The control unit controls the driving of the charging conveyor,
The article supply apparatus according to claim 1.
A plurality of the conveying units, and the plurality of conveying units are a plurality of vibration feeders for vibrating and conveying the article to be charged,
The charging conveyor is a swivel conveyor that rotates around a starting end portion in the conveying direction of the article and inputs the articles from the terminal end portion in the conveying direction to the plurality of vibration feeders, respectively.
The article supply apparatus according to claim 6.
Each of the plurality of vibration feeders conveys the article to a plurality of article input ports of a combination weigher that is the supply destination.
The article supply apparatus according to claim 7.
A pre-stage transport mechanism for transporting articles to be supplied;
An article that can be switched between a permissible state in which the article that has been conveyed is allowed to pass through and a discharge state in which the article that has been conveyed is discharged out of the conveyance path at a plurality of locations on the conveyance path of the article by the preceding conveyance mechanism. A discharge mechanism,
Articles discharged out of the transport path by the article discharge mechanism are supplied to the input conveyor.
The article supply apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8.