JPH05201521A - Distribution supply apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To conduct a variable control for the amount of articles on a distribution table safely and easily. CONSTITUTION:A weighing table 40 is disposed above the center of a distribution table 33, the transport surface of which is flat, and the weight of articles on the weighing table 40 is detected by a weighing instrument 42. When the weight of articles on the weighing table 40 becomes smaller than a weight setting signal A, a carry-in control means 50 drives an article carry-in conveyer 21 until it becomes larger than the weight setting signal A. When a zero set request signal is inputted, the weighing instrument 42 is raised from the normal position to the upper limit position by an elevating device 45. The operation of carrying in articles is stopped by the carry-in control means until no article on the weighing table is detected by a photo detector 47 in the upper limit position to set the weighing instrument to zero.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

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

[0002]

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

FIG. 10 shows a conventional distributed supply device 10 which is based on the upper surface 1a of the casing 1 of the combination weighing device.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0011]

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

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

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

In addition, when the zero setting of the scale is performed, it is necessary to stop the loading of the next article until all the articles on the dispersion table 12 are delivered to the straight-line feeder 15.
The fluctuation of the article layer thickness on the straight feeder 15 becomes severe,
The amount of articles to the intermediate hopper will vary greatly.

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

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

[0017]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a dispersion supply apparatus of the present invention has a base and a transfer surface which is arranged on the base and has a flat or concave surface on the upper surface side. The circular dispersion table is reciprocally rotated and oscillated to convey the articles on the dispersion table from the central part to the peripheral part, and the substantially conical weighing table formed to have a smaller diameter than the dispersion table. A balance that is supported at a substantially concentric position above the center of the table to detect the weight of the article on the weighing table, a lifting device that relatively changes the height of the weighing table with respect to the distribution table, and the distribution table. A plurality of fixedly arranged on the base along the peripheral edge of, a linear feeder that vibrates and conveys the articles carried out from the dispersion table in predetermined directions, and an article carry-in device that carries the articles onto the weighing stand. The above Based on the weight signals from, and a carry-control means for controlling an article carried by the article carrying apparatus.

[0018]

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

When the dispersion table is vibrated by the vibrator, the articles on the dispersion table are conveyed in the peripheral direction of the dispersion table and are carried into the linear feeders. The decrease of the articles on the weighing table due to the decrease of the articles on the distribution table is detected by the balance, and the article carry-in of the article carry-in device is controlled based on the weighing signal. Further, the height position of the weighing table with respect to the dispersion table can be arbitrarily changed by the elevating mechanism.

[0020]

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

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the dispersion supply device 30 of one embodiment, and FIG. 1 shows a cross section taken along the line BB and the carry-in control means 50.

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

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

A circular through hole 34 is provided at the center of the dispersion table 33, and the through hole 34 is covered with a cover body 35 formed of a rubber material or the like so as to bulge upward. ..

The cover body 35 is elastically deformed by a small pressing force from above so that the bulging portion 35a moves to the lower surface side of the dispersion table 33.

At the center of the bulging portion 35a of the cover body 35,
A circular through hole 36 is provided, and a substantially conical weighing platform 40 is arranged above the through hole 36 concentrically with the dispersion table 33.

The weighing platform 40 has a through hole 36 in the cover body 35.
Is fixed to the upper end of a weighing shaft 41 that is inserted in a non-contact manner, and the lower end of the weighing shaft 41 is connected to a weight sensor (not shown) in the balance 42.

The scale 42 is supported by a lifting device 45 so that it can be raised and lowered. The elevating device 45 is mounted on a support base 46 fixed to the upper surface of the housing 1 so as to straddle the vibrator 32 of the dispersion feeder 31.

Further, on the side surface of the weighing shaft 41, a light receiver 47 having an optical axis directed obliquely upward is attached. A light projector 48 is arranged on the extension line of the optical axis, and when there is no article on the weighing platform 40 and the scale 42 is at the upper limit position, the light receiver 47 receives the light from the light projector 48. The light projector 48 is fixed to the upper end of a support rod 49 provided upright on the upper surface of the housing.

The weighing signal of the balance 42 and the light receiving signal of the light receiver 47 are input to the carry-in control means 50.

The carry-in control means 50 controls the operation of the article carry-in conveyor 21 and the operation of the elevating device 45 on the basis of the weight setting signal A and the zero set request signal input from the weighing device side together with these signals.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the carry-in control means 50. The operation of one embodiment will be described below with reference to this flow chart.

When the operation is started with no articles on the dispersion table 33 and the weighing platform 40, the scale 42 is raised to the upper limit position as shown in FIG. 4, and the light receiving state of the light receiver 47 is detected. , The measured value S at this time is the zero offset value W
_It is stored as ₀ (steps 1 to 3).

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the scale 42 is lowered to the lower limit position where the height of the weighing platform 40 is substantially the same as the height of the dispersion table 33 (step 4).

At this time, the bulging portion 35a of the cover body 35 is
It is pushed down while being in contact with the lower part of the periphery of the weighing platform 40.

Here, the driving of the article carry-in conveyor 21 is started, and the initial carry-in of the article W is carried out (step 5).

The articles at the initial loading are the weighing table 4
It hits the inclined surface of 0, but this inclined surface is the dispersion table 33.
Almost the same as or lower than the height of this, and this weighing table 4
Since the articles are easily gathered on the surface 0, the articles are not scattered to the outside of the machine.

By this initial loading, the measured value S of the scale 42 is
When the value obtained by subtracting the zero offset value W ₀ from the value reaches a predetermined value, the conveyor drive is stopped, and the scale 42 is moved to a specified position, that is, the cover body 35 and the weighing platform 40 are slightly separated from each other as shown in FIG. To the closed position (steps 6 to 8).

The predetermined value P is a weight value necessary for the articles carried in with the balance 42 at the lower limit position to naturally disperse on the distribution table 33 and the transport table 16 of each linear feeder 15. Therefore, it is determined in advance according to the type of article.

Immediately after the scale 42 is raised to the specified position,
Vibration of the dispersion feeder 31 and each straight feeder 15 is started, and the weighing value S of the balance is checked again, and S-
If W ₀ is smaller than the set value A, the conveyor drive is restarted (steps 9 and 10). If S−W ₀ is larger than the set value A, the process proceeds to step 13 described later.

The articles supplied to each intermediate hopper 2 by the vibration of each feeder are also supplied to the weighing hoppers 3 and weighed. Is discharged. New articles are supplied from the corresponding intermediate hoppers to the emptied weighing hoppers, weighing is performed, and the articles selected for the combination are discharged one after another.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the conveyor drive restarted at t ₀ in step 10 is for a predetermined time when the article amount (S−W ₀ ) on the weighing platform 40 is larger than the weight set value A _1. T _{OFF is} continued until t ₁ (step 1
1, 12).

The combination discharge operation described above reduces the number of articles on the dispersion table 33, and accordingly, the state in which the article amount (S-W ₀ ) on the weighing platform 40 is smaller than A ₁ continues for a predetermined time T _ON . t ₂ times, confirmed the existence of zero setting request signal, the request signal is returned to the step 10 if it is not inputted, the conveyor drive is restarted (step 13).

Hereinafter, until the zero set request signal is input, the processing of steps 10 to 14 is repeated,
The articles are supplied to the respective weighing hoppers while the weight of the articles on the weighing platform 40 is regulated to about A ₁ .

During this operation, for example, the weight setting signal is A ₁
When increased changed to A ₂ from, as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 6, the metering signal of the balance 42 is made carrying the article to over A ₂ + W _0, thereafter carrying motion about the A ₂ + W ₀ Continues. Therefore, the article layer thickness on each straight feeder 15 increases from the solid line state to the alternate long and short dash line state as shown in FIG. 7, and the article supply amount to each weighing hopper also increases.

When the zero set request signal is input during operation, the scale 42 is raised to the upper limit position as shown in FIG. Due to this drop, most of the articles on the weighing platform 40 are
Since it flows onto the dispersion table 33, the articles on the weighing table are immediately lost, the light receiver 47 enters the light receiving state, and the weighing signal S of the balance is updated as a new zero offset value W ₀ (steps 15 to 17). ..

After this update, the scale 42 is lowered to the specified position, the process returns to step 10, and the conveyor drive is restarted (step 18).

In this case, since a considerable amount of articles remain on the dispersion table 33, the articles carried on the weighing table 42 from the article carry-in conveyor 21 do not scatter to the outside of the machine, and are zero in a short time. Since the setting can be performed, the fluctuation of the article layer thickness on each straight feeder 15 can be reduced.

[0049]

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the disk-shaped dispersion table 33 having a flat conveying surface is used, but the conveying surface of the dispersing table may be formed in a concave shape. Further, although the scale 42 of the above-described embodiment supports the weighing platform 40 via the weighing shaft 41 passing through the through hole provided in the center of the dispersion table,
As shown in FIG. 9, a pillar 60 standing on the upper surface 1a of the housing,
Elevating devices 61, 61 are provided at the upper end of 60, and arm members 62,
Scales 63, 6 for supporting the weighing platform 40 by hanging it down with 62
3 may be simultaneously moved up and down by the elevating devices 61, 61. In this case, since it is not necessary to provide a hole in the cover body 35 'and the scale is above the dispersion feeder, it is advantageous in terms of waterproofness.

Although the balance 42 is moved up and down in the above embodiment, the balance 42 may be fixed and moved up and down on the dispersion feeder 33 side.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the scale is raised and lowered only when the goods are initially carried in and when the scale is zero-set, but the layer thickness of the supplied article may be varied greatly by this elevation.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, one set of the light emitting and receiving device detects that the articles on the weighing table are exhausted. However, by using a plurality of sets of the projecting and receiving devices, the articles around the entire circumference of the weighing table are detected. May be detected.

It is also possible to detect the presence or absence of a change in the weighing signal of the balance without using the light emitter / receiver. That is, if the weighing signal is below a predetermined value and its size does not change for a predetermined time after the scale is raised, it is determined that there are no articles on the weighing platform, and zero setting is performed. The receiver is unnecessary.

The height of the weighing table with respect to the dispersion table may be changed by operating the lifting device with a manual switch.

[0055]

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

Therefore, the supply amount, that is, the article layer thickness on the dispersion table, can be easily changed according to the type of the article without adjusting the height of the light emitter / receiver, which is time-consuming and dangerous. ..

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

Further, by separating the weighing table and the dispersion table from each other, the articles on the weighing table can be swiftly flown, the zero setting of the scale can be performed in a short time, and the variation of the article supply amount due to the zero setting can be performed. It can be significantly reduced.

Moreover, since the conveying surface of the dispersion table is flat or concave and the drop between the weighing table and the dispersion table can be reduced, the scattering of the carried-in articles to the outside of the machine can be significantly reduced. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an example.

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

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

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a signal diagram of a main part of the embodiment.

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

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 2 Intermediate hopper 3 Weighing hopper 21 Article carry-in conveyor 15 Straight feeder 30 Dispersion feeder 31 Dispersion feeder 32 Disperser 33 Dispersion table 35 Cover body 40 Weighing stand 41 Weighing shaft 42 Scale 45 Elevating device 46 Support stand 47 Light receiver 48 Emitter 50 Carry-in control means

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

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A base and a substantially circular dispersion table, which is disposed on the base and has a flat or concave conveying surface on the upper surface side, are reciprocally rotated and oscillated to center the articles on the dispersion table. Of the articles on the weighing table by supporting the dispersing feeder for conveying from the portion to the peripheral portion and the weighing table having a substantially conical shape formed to have a diameter smaller than that of the dispersing table at a substantially concentric position above the central portion of the dispersing table. A balance for detecting weight, an elevating device for relatively varying the height of the weighing table with respect to the dispersion table, a plurality of fixed arrangements on the base along the peripheral edge of the dispersion table. A straight-line feeder that vibrates and conveys the carried-out articles in predetermined directions, an article carry-in device that carries the articles onto the weighing platform, and an article carry-in device that controls the article carry-in based on a weighing signal from the scale. Dispersion supply apparatus and a carrying control means for. 2. An article-free detection means for detecting that there is no article on the weighing table, and an elevator for driving the elevating device in response to a zero set request signal to set an upper limit of the height of the weighing table with respect to the dispersion table. An upper limit moving unit that is variable to a position; and a zero setting unit that updates the weighing signal of the scale when it is detected that there is no article on the weighing platform at the upper limit position, as a new zero offset value. The dispersion supply device according to item 1.