JPH06144543A - Conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the availability factor of a weighing device by determining the driving/stopping timing of a conveying means in response to the time interval from a prescribed time point after the conveyance by means of the conveying means for singly discharging articles one by one has been started until a sensor detects the articles. CONSTITUTION:When a hopper sensor 12 detects that the inside of a pool hopper 7 is empty for sending out an ON signal, an exciter 5 is driven, and successively the measurement of a timer is started. By the excitation, the articles to be weighted flow on a trough 6, and each time a trough sensor 10 detects the article to be weighed, the number of the articles is counted. When a previously set number of articles is detected, the measurement by means of the timer is completed and the time interval is detected. When the detected time interval after the start of the conveyance of the articles is relatively long, since the final article to be weighed is sufficiently accelerated, the delay time from the detected time point up to the stop of excitation of the trough 6 is shortened; while when the detected time interval is relatively short, since the article to be measured is not sufficiently accelerated, the delaytime is set to be longer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conveying device used in a combination weighing device or the like, which conveys articles by a transfer means such as a vibrating trough or a conveyor, and a predetermined number of articles from the end of the transfer means. The present invention relates to a device that controls driving so as to be discharged.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among automatic weighing devices, an automatic weighing device known as a combination weighing device supplies objects to be weighed to a plurality of weighing hoppers, detects the weights of these objects, and measures their weight values. By performing a combination calculation based on the above, the optimum combination whose combined addition value becomes the target weight is obtained, and only the objects to be weighed in the weighing hopper corresponding to this combination are discharged and collected, so that the objects to be weighed above the target. The weight is measured at or near the weight.

As a structure therefor, as shown in FIG. 9, troughs B and B for supplying the objects to be weighed, which are respectively supported by vibrators (not shown), are arranged around the dispersion table A, and the dispersion table A and the trough B are arranged. , B are vibrated at a predetermined timing, and the object X to be weighed on the dispersion table is transferred to each trough B, B.
After being dispersed, the troughs B and B are fed to the weighing hoppers D and D through the pool hoppers C and C.

In the case of combining a predetermined number of objects to be weighed X such as candy and chocolate having a large unit weight, photosensors E, E are provided in the upper position near the tips of the troughs B, B, The photosensors E, E count the number of objects to be weighed X discharged from the trough tip, and when the counted number reaches a predetermined number, the vibrations of the troughs B, B are stopped and the predetermined number of objects to be weighed X are stopped.
Is put into the pool hoppers C and C, the objects to be weighed X are discharged to the weighing hoppers D and D, and when the pool hoppers C and C become empty, the vibrations of the troughs B and B are restarted again and the objects to be weighed are restarted. Thing X
I am trying to throw in.

[0005]

By the way, each trough B
The upper flow is not necessarily uniform, and if the flow of the object X to be weighed is particularly dense and uneven, the kinetic energy received from the trough B in which the object X to be weighed vibrates, and as a result, at the transfer end portion of the trough B. The transfer speed of the object X to be measured varies. Therefore, when the velocity of the object to be weighed X at the transfer end portion of the trough is slow, when the vibration of the trough B is stopped by the detection of the object to be weighed X by the photosensor E, the object to be weighed X is moved to the pool hopper C, It may remain on trough B without falling to C. On the contrary, when the speed is fast, even if the vibration is stopped, the objects to be weighed X, which are connected in a row, may drop into the pool hopper C. In any case, the number to be charged is set. However, there was a problem in that the measurement of the combined number was hindered and the operating rate was lowered.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the drive stop timing of the transfer means is automatically set according to the time interval from a predetermined time point after the transfer means starts transferring the object to be weighed until the sensor detects the object to be weighed. An object is to provide a transport device that can be adjusted.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION That is, the present invention provides a transfer means for transferring an article and discharging the article from the transfer end portion.
A sensor for detecting an article that has reached the vicinity of the transfer end portion,
Time interval detection means for detecting a time interval from the predetermined time after the start of transfer by the transfer means until the sensor detects an article, and the time when the sensor detects a predetermined number of articles based on the detection time interval Drive control means for controlling the time from to the stop of the transfer means.

[0008]

According to the above construction, the driving stop timing of the transfer means is determined according to the time interval from the predetermined time after the transfer means starts the transfer to the detection of the article by the sensor. If it is short, the article is not sufficiently accelerated, so by delaying the time from the detection of the article to the stop of driving, it is possible to reliably drop a predetermined number of articles from the end of the transfer means, and if the above time interval is long. Since the articles are sufficiently accelerated, it is possible to prevent a predetermined number or more of articles from dropping from the end of the transfer means by shortening the time until the driving is stopped.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the overall structure of the combination weighing device will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The combination weighing device 1 has a pedestal 2, and a dispersion table is provided in the center of the pedestal 2 via a vibrator 3 composed of an electromagnetic vibrator. 4 are arranged, and a plurality of object supply troughs 6, 6 are radially arranged around the dispersion table 4 via a vibrator 5 which is also an electromagnetic vibrator. Further, an unillustrated device for introducing the objects to be weighed is provided above the dispersion table 4, and a plurality of pool hoppers 7 and 7 are arranged around the gantry 2 so as to be located below the tips of the troughs 6 and 6. Are arranged in a circle, and a plurality of weighing hoppers 8 and 8 are vertically arranged below the pool hoppers 7 and 7, respectively.
Are placed.

A gate driving device (not shown) for opening and closing the gates 7a, 8a of the pool hoppers 7, 7 and the weighing hoppers 8, 8 is housed inside the gantry 2 and arranged in a circular shape. Below the plurality of weighing hoppers 8 and 8, a collecting chute 9 for collecting the objects to be weighed discharged from the weighing hoppers 8 and 8 is provided.

In this weighing device 1, the vibrators 3 and 5 are used.
The dispersion table 4 and each of the troughs 6, 6 are vibrated by the above, and the object to be weighed is supplied to the distribution table 4 from the above-mentioned charging device.
After being supplied to the pool hoppers 7 and 7 via the appropriate amount by 6 respectively, they are supplied from the pool hoppers 7 and 7 to the weighing hoppers 8 and 8. Then, the weight of the object to be weighed in each weighing hopper 8, 8 is detected by the weighing means (not shown) in the gantry 2,
A combination calculation is performed on these weight values or the number calculated based on these weight values, and the optimum combination that gives the combination addition value that matches the predetermined target weight or number or is the value that is the closest to the target weight or number is determined. The objects to be weighed in the weighing hoppers 8 and 8 relating to the obtained and obtained combination are discharged to the collecting short 9.

Further, in order to control the number of objects to be weighed, trough sensors 10 and 10 made up of photosensors are provided at the upper positions near the tips of the troughs 6 and 6, respectively, and the vibrations of the troughs 6 and 6 are controlled. The trough sensors 10, 10 detect the objects to be weighed that are aligned and are about to fall from the trough tip into the pool hopper 7.

In that case, each of the above-mentioned trough sensors 10 is connected to a controller 11 as shown in FIG. 2, and the controller 11 detects the predetermined number (single or plural) of the objects to be weighed by the trough sensor 10. Is detected,
The operation of the vibration exciter 5 is stopped. Further, the controller 11 is connected with a hopper sensor 12 for notifying the opening / closing of the hopper gate 7a. When the gate 7a of the pool hopper 7 is opened / closed and the objects to be weighed in the pool hopper 7 are discharged, the hopper sensor 12 outputs A signal is output to drive the vibrator 5 to restart the vibration of the trough 6.

Further, a product name input means 13 is connected to the controller 11, and when the kind of the object to be weighed to be weighed is inputted by the product name input means 13, the memory 14
The optimum amplitude corresponding to the type is read out from the above to be excited by the exciter 5, and from the predetermined time after the start of the vibration of the trough 6 to the time when the object to be weighed is detected by the trough sensor 10. Is measured by the timer 15 and the time from the detection of the object to be weighed to the stop of vibration is controlled according to the length of the detection time interval.

That is, the trough sensor 10 outputs a detection signal to the controller 11 when the sensor 10 detects the object X to be weighed at the point P as shown in FIG. In 11, the timer 15 measures the time interval T from the start of vibration of the trough 6 to the detection of a predetermined number of objects to be measured X. The controller 11 then detects this detection time interval T
The delay time from when the vibration of the trough 6 is stopped is controlled.

This control operation will be described with reference to the time charts of FIGS. 4 and 5 and the flow chart of FIG. 6, taking as an example the case where the vibration of the trough 6 is stopped by detecting three objects X to be weighed. Then, the object X supplied to the dispersion table 4 flows into the trough 6 as described above, and the trough sensor 10 detects the third signal of the object X (see FIGS. 4 and 5). Then, the controller 11 stops the vibration exciter 5 after a delay time corresponding to each. Further, the detected object X to be measured is the pool hopper 7
Then, the trough 6 is started to vibrate again by the ON signal of the hopper sensor 12 as well as being transferred to the weighing hopper 8 for combination weighing.

In such control, first, the controller 11 drives the vibration exciter 5 with an ON signal when the hopper sensor 12 detects that the pool hopper 7 has become empty, and then the timer 15 starts measurement. (Steps S1, S2, S3 in FIG. 6).

The object X to be weighed on the trough 6 by this vibration.
When the trough sensor 10 detects the object to be weighed X, the controller 11 counts the number of objects to be weighed X, and when the last (third) object to be weighed X is detected, the timer is started. The measurement by 15 is completed and the time interval T is detected (steps S4, S5, S6).

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, when the detection time interval T from the start of the transfer of the object X to be weighed is relatively long,
Since the third (final) object to be weighed X has been sufficiently accelerated, the delay time t1 from the time when the detection is detected until the vibration of the trough 6 is stopped is set to be short, as shown in FIG. When the detection time interval T from the start of the transfer of the object to be weighed X is relatively short, the object to be weighed X has not been sufficiently accelerated, so the delay time t2 is set to be long (step S7).

As a result, after three pieces have been detected in step S5, the vibration of the trough 6 is stopped in step S8 after the delay time t1 or t2.

Therefore, in the case of FIG. 4, the vibration is immediately stopped after the final object to be weighed X is detected, and the objects after the final object to be weighed X are prevented from overrunning and falling into the pool hopper 7, In the case of FIG. 5, vibration is applied even after the final object to be weighed X has been detected, so that the final object to be weighed X surely falls into the pool hopper 7.

According to such control, the trough sensor 1
Even if 0 detects the object X to be weighed, obstacles for combination number measurement, such as a situation in which the object X to be weighed is not supplied to the pool hopper 7 or conversely an excessive supply, can be avoided. As a result, the operating rate of the combination weighing device 1 can be increased.

In the above embodiment, the delay time from the detection time of the final object to be stopped to the vibration stop is controlled based on the time interval T from the start of the transfer by the trough 6 to the detection of the final object to be weighed X. However, in the following embodiment, the final object to be weighed X is determined on the basis of the time interval from a predetermined time after the start of the transfer by the trough 6 to the detection of the final object to be weighed X. The delay time from the time of detection to the stop of vibration is controlled. That is, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 7, when a plurality of objects are detected, the trough 6 is used until the detection of the second to-be-measured object X is completed.
Is oscillated with a high amplitude, and when the second to-be-weighed object X is detected, the amplitude is switched to a low amplitude, and based on a time interval T from that time until the final object to be weighed X is detected, the final measured object is measured. Delay time t3 from the time when the object X is detected until the vibration is stopped
To set.

This will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 8. When the hopper sensor 12 is turned on, the vibrator 5 is driven with high amplitude (steps S11 and S12).

Then, when the trough sensor 10 detects the second object X to be measured from the final object X, the vibration exciter 5 is switched to a low amplitude, and the timer 15 is activated from that point (steps S13, S14). , S15).

When the final object to be weighed X is detected by the sensor 10, the timer 15 is stopped and the delay time t3 is set based on the time interval T measured by the timer 15,
After the delay time t3 has passed, the vibration is stopped (step S
16, S17, S18).

According to this, the object to be weighed X can be fed at high speed until the detection of the second to second object to be weighed X, and the time for the weighing work can be shortened, and the final object to be weighed X is compared. It is possible to reliably drop the final weighing object X into the pool hopper 7 by sending it at an extremely low speed, and to prevent the other objects to be weighed X from falling excessively.

In the above embodiment, the vibration of the trough 5 is switched from the high amplitude to the low amplitude. However, when the detection time interval of the object X to be weighed is long, on the contrary, from the normal vibration state. The amplitude can also be increased. For example, when the number of target detections is large and the detection time interval T of the objects X to be weighed is long, the vibration can be increased to prompt the movement of the objects to be weighed.

As still another embodiment, when the type of the object X to be weighed is switched, the type sensor can be used to control the delay time. For example, in the case of a candy, if the size of the candy is different, the trough 5
Since the moving speed of the candy above also changes and the detection time interval T also changes, when switching from weighing a large candy to weighing a small candy, the size of the candy is measured by a type sensor such as an image sensor. The delay time is changed by reading The same applies when weighing small bags of different colors or different types of nuts, etc., depending on the items to be weighed, in addition to the above image sensor, height sensor, bar code sensor, color sensor Are used as type sensors. Of course, an operator can directly input to the controller 11 without using the sensor as described above.

In the above embodiment, the trough sensor 10 and the timer 15 which are photosensors are used as the means for measuring the detection time interval T of the object X to be weighed, but the measuring means is not limited to these. However, it is applicable as long as it has a similar time interval detection function.
Further, the present invention can be widely used as a conveying device other than the combination weighing device, and in that case, a belt conveyor driven by a motor or the like may be used instead of the vibrating trough.

[0032]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the driving stop timing of the transfer means can be changed in accordance with the time interval from a predetermined time after the start of transfer by the transfer means until the sensor detects an article. If the detection time interval is short and the articles are not accelerated sufficiently, the time from the detection of the predetermined number of articles to the stop of driving is delayed to ensure that the articles are dropped from the end of the transfer means. If the detection time interval is long and the articles are sufficiently accelerated, it is possible to prevent more than a predetermined number of articles from falling from the end of the transfer means by shortening the time until the driving is stopped. It is possible to increase the operating rate of the weighing device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a combination weighing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control circuit diagram of the combination weighing device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a trough sensor.

FIG. 4 is a time chart when the delay time is controlled to be short.

FIG. 5 is a time chart when the delay time is controlled to be long.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the control circuit.

FIG. 7 is a time chart of the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a conventional combination weighing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Dispersion table 5 Shaker 6 Trough 7 Pool hopper 8 Weighing hopper 10 Trough sensor 11 Controller 12 Hopper sensor 15 Timer

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transfer means for transferring an article and discharging it from a transfer end portion to one, a sensor for detecting an article reaching the vicinity of the transfer end portion, and a predetermined time point after the transfer means starts the transfer. A time interval detecting means for detecting a time interval until the sensor detects the article, and a time interval from the time when the sensor detects a predetermined number of articles to the time when the transfer means is stopped, based on the detection time interval. And a drive control means for controlling the transport device.