JPH0772000A - Discharge system in combination weighing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] When carrying out the articles discharged from the weighing hopper selected by the combination calculation, the conveyance of the preceding article and the conveyance of the succeeding article are overlapped,
The delivery time is shortened and the efficiency of the entire continuous weighing operation is improved. [Structure] Of the weighing hoppers 1-1, 1-2, ..., 1-N selected by the combination calculation means 17, the weighing hopper located on the upstream side in the carry-out direction is opened and the articles on the upstream side are opened. The hopper time difference that opens the downstream side weighing hopper at the time when it is conveyed below the downstream side weighing hopper in the carry-out direction and opens the upstream side weighing hopper among the weighing hoppers selected in the subsequent combination calculation. An opening means 21 is provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a linear combination weighing device, and more particularly to a combination of weighing signals output from a plurality of weighing hoppers arranged on a straight line for weighing articles within a certain allowable range. The present invention relates to a carry-out system in a combination weighing device for calculating and selecting a combination closest to a target weight, discharging the article from the selected weighing hopper, and carrying it out by a conveyor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a drive control method for a carry-out conveyor in a combination weighing device of this type, articles discharged from a weighing hopper located at the most upstream end of the carry-out conveyor are discharged from the conveyor. A method of sequentially driving for the length of time required to be conveyed to the end has been adopted. That is, the combination calculation and the simultaneous discharge of all the articles that all the weighing hoppers selected by the combination calculation are opened and the articles are discharged onto the carry-out conveyor, and the discharged all the articles are conveyed to the discharge end of the conveyor. The process up to the completion of the delivery of all the articles is set as one cycle, and the combination weighing work is continuously performed by repeating this cycle.

[0003]

By the way, the weighing work time by the combination weighing device is greatly affected by the dumping time (settling time) of the weighing hopper and the carry-out time by the conveyor. However, according to the conventional combination weighing device that continuously performs the weighing work by repeating the cycle as described above, the efficiency of the continuous weighing work is longer in either the dumping time of the weighing hopper or the carry-out time by the conveyor in one cycle. Depends on your time. In general,
Conveyor transport time is longer.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to reasonably improve the efficiency of continuous weighing work by reasonably overlapping the carry-out time by the carry-out conveyor during continuous weighing between the preceding and following weighing cycles. It is an object of the present invention to provide a carry-out system in a combination weighing device capable of performing.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a carry-out system in a combination weighing device according to the present invention has a plurality of weighing hoppers arranged linearly to weigh articles, and outputs from these weighing hoppers. Combining the weighing signals to be combined, a combination calculating means for selecting a combination close to the target weight within a certain allowable range, a carry-out conveyor arranged below the weighing hopper and carrying out articles discharged from the weighing hopper, Of the selected weighing hoppers, the weighing hopper located on the upstream side in the carry-out direction of the carry-out conveyor is opened, and the article discharged from the upstream weighing hopper is conveyed below the downstream weighing hopper. Then, among the weighing hoppers selected above, while opening the weighing hopper located on the downstream side, among the weighing hoppers selected in the subsequent combination calculation, And a time difference opening means for opening the weighing hoppers located on the flow side.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the combination calculation of the weighing signals from the plurality of weighing hoppers selects the combination closest to the target weight within a certain allowable range, and first of all the selected weighing hoppers. The weighing hoppers on the upstream side of the carry-out conveyor in the carry-out direction are opened, and the articles discharged from the weighing hoppers are conveyed by the carry-out conveyor.
Then, at the time when the articles discharged from the upstream weighing hopper are conveyed below the downstream weighing hopper, the downstream weighing hopper among the selected weighing hoppers is opened and the weighing hoppers are opened. While the remaining articles are discharged onto the carry-out conveyor, the weighing hoppers located on the upstream side among the weighing hoppers selected in the subsequent combination calculation performed during the transportation of the carry-out conveyor are opened, and the weighing hoppers are opened. The succeeding article is discharged from the conveyor onto the carry-out conveyor. Therefore, the carry-out time of the articles discharged from the weighing hopper selected in the preceding combination calculation and the discharge time of a part of the articles discharged from the weighing hopper selected in the subsequent combination calculation may overlap. Therefore, the carry-out time can be shortened by the amount of the overlap, and the efficiency of the entire continuous weighing operation can be improved.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially sectional side view showing a model of the overall configuration of a combination weighing device according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numerals 1-1, 1-2, ..., 1-N are weighing hoppers, which are arranged on a straight line, and these weighing hoppers 1 (1-1, 1-2, ..., 1-N). ) Is attached with load cells 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N (see FIG. 2) as weight detectors for weighing the weight of the loaded articles, and the articles are discharged downward. Gate 3-
1,3-2, ..., 3-N are equipped.

Above the weighing hoppers 1, discharge gates 4-1 and 4-for supplying articles to the respective weighing hoppers 1.
2, ..., Feeding hoppers 5-1 and 5-equipped with 4-N
2, ..., 5-N are arranged, and below the weighing hopper 1, a carry-out conveyor 6 for carrying out the articles discharged from the weighing hopper 1 to the outside is arranged.
Each of the weighing hoppers 1 and each of the supply hoppers 5 (5-1, 5-
2, ..., 5-N) and the ends of the carry-out conveyor 6 excluding the discharge ends 6L and 6R are installed in a box-shaped casing 7, and the upper end plate portion 7A of the casing 7 includes:
Input port 8 for inputting articles into the supply hopper 5-
1, 8-2, ..., 8-N are formed.

The carry-out conveyor 6 is provided with a drive control section 9 (see FIG. 2). Below the both end portions of the carry-out conveyor 6 in the forward and reverse directions, a regular quantity discharge port 10A and an unquantified quantity discharge are provided. A correct quantity product storage box 10 and an improper quantity collection box 11 are provided via the outlet 11A.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 12 of the carry-out system in the combination weighing device. The control device 12 is configured as follows and is electrically connected to each part of the combination weighing device. In FIG. 2, 13 is a multiplexer, which is the load cell 2 (2-
1, 2-2, ..., 2-N) from the weighing signals S1, S
2, ..., SN is input. This multiplexer 13
Output signal is A / D converted by the A / D converter 14, and the data of the A / D converted signal, that is, the measured value of each load cell 2 is input to the microcomputer 15.

This microcomputer 15 has the above-mentioned A
The calculated values of the load cells 2 received from the / D converter 14 are combined and calculated, and the calculated result and the target value setter 16
A combination closest to the target weight value T0 is selected within a certain allowable range Tmax to Tmin based on the target weight value T0 input from the above and the upper limit value Tmax and the lower limit value Tmin input from the allowable value setter 26. Combination calculation means 1
7 and the permissible range Tm by the combination calculation means 17.
A positive / non-quantity determination means 19 for determining whether or not a combination within ax to Tmin is obtained is provided.

The microcomputer 15 is further provided with a certain discharge method when the result of the determination by the positive amount / incorrect amount determination means 19 is inadequate, that is, when the combination within the allowable range is not obtained. Therefore, according to the discharging method, for example, the articles are discharged from all the weighing hoppers 1 at the same time, only the weighing hopper showing the most weight value is discharged, or only the weighing hopper showing the lightest weight value is discharged. (3-1, 3-
2, ..., 3-N) When the discharge result of the gate simultaneous forced opening signal GS1 to the open / close drive unit 20 and the determination result by the above-mentioned positive amount / non-quantity determination unit 19 are positive amounts, That is, when a combination within the above-mentioned allowable range is obtained, with respect to the opening / closing drive section 20 of each gate 3 corresponding to the weighing hopper 1 selected by the combination calculation means 17, the total carry-out time of the conveyor 6 is almost ( The two gate opening signals GS2-1 and GS2- with a time difference corresponding to 1/2).
A hopper time difference opening means 21 for delivering 2 is provided.

The hopper time difference releasing means 21 is one of the weighing hoppers 1 selected by the combination calculating means 17
First, the gate of the weighing hopper located on the upstream side of the carry-out conveyor 6 in the normal-quantity product carry-out direction X (see FIG. 1) is opened,
When the article discharged from the upstream weighing hopper is conveyed below the downstream weighing hopper in the carry-out direction X, the gate of the downstream weighing hopper is opened, and at the same time, the subsequent combination weighing is performed. Among the weighing hoppers 1 selected in step 3, the gates of the weighing hoppers located on the upstream side of the carry-out conveyor 6 in the correct quantity product unloading direction X (see FIG. 1) are configured to be opened.

The combination weighing device of this embodiment is of a semi-automatic type. That is, as shown in FIG.
The stop signal ST that is automatically output from the drive control unit 9 that constitutes the drive unit of the carry-out conveyor 6 and the operation signal FS of the foot switch 28 that is operated by the operator after the articles are put into the supply hopper 5. When both signals ST and FS are input to the AND circuit 24 and both of them are in the input state, the start signal SS for starting the metering operation is output. Further, the discharge gates 4 (4-1, 4-2, ..., 4-) provided in the respective supply hoppers 5 of FIG.
N) is configured to be opened via the opening / closing drive unit 30 by the gate opening signal GS3 output from the microcomputer 15 when there is no article in the weighing hopper 1 located below each discharge gate. .

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, each data such as a set value is initialized (step S
50) After that, the target value setter 16 and the allowable value setter 26
Thus, the target weight value T0 and the upper limit value Tmax and the lower limit value Tmin of the permissible range are set (step S5).
1). Next, the articles are loaded into each supply hopper 5 (step S52). The operator operates the foot switch 28 after inserting the article, and the operation signal FS and the stop signal ST extracted from the drive control section 9 constituting the drive section of the carry-out conveyor 6 are both input to the AND circuit 24. It is determined whether or not (step S53), both signals S
When both T and FS are input, the power supply circuit is turned on by the start signal and the weighing operation is started (step S54).

When the weighing operation is started, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not each weighing hopper 1 contains an article, and opens the supply hopper 5 located right above the weighing hopper without an article. And outputs the gate opening signal GS1 to the opening / closing driving unit 30 (step S5
5) Then, the discharge gate 4 provided in the supply hopper 5 is opened, and the articles are dropped and supplied to the lower weighing hopper 1 (step S56). Then, when the article is dropped and supplied to the weighing hopper 1, the weight of the article is weighed by the load cell 2 (step S57).

Then, the weighing signals S1, S2, ..., SN from the respective load cells 2 are input to the multiplexer 13, and the output signals thereof are A / D converted by the A / D converter 14, and then the A / D The D-converted signal data, that is, the measured value of each load cell 2 is input to the microcomputer 15. Then, the combination calculation means 17 of the microcomputer 15 performs combination calculation of the measured values of the load cells 2 and the calculation result, the target weight value T0 input from the target value setting device 16, and the allowable value setting. Based on the upper limit value Tmax and the lower limit value Tmin input from the instrument 26, a combination closest to the target weight value T0 is selected within the allowable range Tmax to Tmin (step S58).

The allowable range T is calculated by the combination calculation means 17 described above.
Whether or not a combination within max-Tmin is obtained is a positive amount.
The determination is made by the quantity determination means 19 (step S59),
If the above combination is not obtained (inadequate amount), the gate simultaneous forced opening signal G is output from the discharging means 22 to the opening / closing drive units 20 of the gates 3 corresponding to all the weighing hoppers 1, for example.
S1 is sent out and the gate is opened (step S6).
0) At the same time, a reverse rotation signal is input to the drive control unit 9 and the carry-out conveyor 6 is driven in the reverse rotation direction Y for a predetermined time (step S61). As a result, the articles in the weighing hopper 1 are simultaneously dropped onto the carry-out conveyor 6, and are collected from the discharge end 6R into the quantityless article collection box 11 via the quantityless article discharge port 11A. Then, in step S52
Then, the series of operations described above is repeated to continue the weighing work.

On the other hand, in step S59, when the combination calculation means 17 obtains a combination within the allowable range Tmax to Tmin (a positive amount), a normal rotation signal is input to the drive control section 9 and the carry-out conveyor 6 is operated. Is driven in the forward rotation direction X (see FIG. 1) for a predetermined time (step S62), and at the same time, from the gate time difference opening means 21 of the weighing hoppers 1 selected by the combination calculation means 17, the carry-out conveyor 6 The gate opening signal GS2-1 is sent to the opening / closing drive unit 20 corresponding to the gate of the weighing hopper located on the upstream side (the right side in FIG. 1) in the regular quantity unloading direction X, and the gates are opened to the upstream side. 5 (a) discharged from the weighing hopper is dropped on the conveyor 6 (step S63).

Next, when the articles discharged and dropped from the upstream side weighing hopper are conveyed by the conveyor 6 to the lower side of the downstream side weighing hopper in the carry-out direction X, the gate time difference opening means 21 causes the above combination. Of the weighing hoppers 1 selected by the preceding combination calculation by the calculation means 17,
A gate forced open signal GS2-2 is sent to the opening / closing drive unit 20 corresponding to the gate of the weighing hopper located on the downstream side (left side in FIG. 1) in the carry-out direction X, and these gates are opened.
The article discharged from the downstream weighing hopper falls on the article conveyed from the upstream side. Then, the process returns to step 56 to perform the subsequent weighing and combination calculation. The time for the weighing and combination operation is much shorter than the transport time. Then, among the weighing hoppers 1 selected in the subsequent combination calculation, the gates of the weighing hoppers located on the upstream side of the carry-out conveyor 6 in the correct quantity product unloading direction X are opened, and as shown by (a) in FIG. The articles selected by the subsequent combination calculation are dropped on the conveyor 6 (step S64).

Next, all the articles selected by the preceding combination operation and discharged / dropped on the conveyor 6 with a time difference, and all the articles selected by the subsequent combination operation and discharged / dropped on the conveyor 6 When the articles on the upstream side are conveyed by the conveyor 6 in the positive quantity discharge direction X, all the articles selected by the preceding combination calculation and discharged from the plurality of weighing hoppers are discharged from the discharge end 6L. It is stored in the regular quantity storage box 10 through the outlet 10A. At the same time, the articles on the upstream side, which are selected by the subsequent combination calculation and discharged / dropped on the conveyor 6, are conveyed below the weighing hopper on the downstream side in the carry-out direction X, and at this point, from the gate time difference opening means 21. Of the weighing hoppers 1 selected in the subsequent combination calculation, the opening / closing drive unit 2 corresponding to the gate of the weighing hopper located on the downstream side in the carry-out direction X.
The gate forced open signal GS2-2 is sent to 0, and the article discharged from the downstream side weighing hopper falls on the article conveyed from the upstream side. Hereinafter, the above step S
The operation of 64 is repeated to continue the weighing work.

FIG. 5 (a) shows the carrying-out situation of the articles when the carrying-out system in the combination weighing device of this embodiment carries out the combination operation five times, and FIG. 5 (b) shows
FIG. 7 shows the unloading status of articles within the same time by the unloading system in the conventional combination weighing device that unloads articles without a time difference. As is clear from the comparison between the figures (a) and (b),
In the case of the present embodiment, the carry-out time of the articles discharged from the weighing hopper selected in the preceding combination calculation by the conveyor 6 and the part of the articles discharged from the weighing hopper selected in the subsequent combination calculation (upstream) (The article on the side) overlaps with the conveyance time of the conveyor 6 in the unloading direction, and the unloading speed is increased by an amount corresponding to the overlap.
It is possible to reduce the time required for carrying out the materials during continuous weighing, and it is possible to improve the efficiency of the entire continuous weighing operation.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the selected weighing hopper 1 is divided into two groups, ie, the upstream side and the downstream side in the carrying-out direction of the conveyor 6, and they are arranged to open in a staggered manner. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the upstream side, the intermediate portion, and the downstream side of the conveyor 6 in the carrying-out direction are
As shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, the time lag opening means 21 is arranged in the order of upstream weighing hopper, intermediate weighing hopper, and downstream weighing hopper.
You may comprise so that it may open each time zone. In this case, the articles discharged and dropped onto the conveyor 6 from the upstream side of the weighing hopper selected in the subsequent combination calculation and the articles discharged and dropped onto the conveyor 6 from the weighing hopper selected in the preceding combination calculation. Figure 6 between all items
It is possible to secure a space as indicated by 40 in (C). Therefore, the division of the articles for each unit is clarified, and there is no problem that the articles of different units are mixed with each other to cause quantitative variation.

In the above embodiment, the semi-automatic combination weighing device in which the supply hoppers 5 are arranged above the weighing hoppers 1 has been described, but the present invention automatically supplies the articles to the supply hoppers 5. It can also be applied to items that do not have a supply hopper. Further, the discharge side is not limited to the one in which the positive quantity product storage box 10 and the non-quantity product storage box 11 are installed and the storage boxes are manually carried to the next process as in the above embodiment. , Quantitative product discharge item 10
An automatic discharging device, for example, an automatic wrapping machine may be installed below A to apply the discharging operation automatically.

In the above embodiment, the system in which the weight of the articles discharged / dropped on the carry-out conveyor 6 is not rechecked has been described. However, the carry-out conveyor 6 is provided with a weight checker so that the articles discharged from the weighing hopper can be discharged. The weight of the unit item may be rechecked. In that case, the re-check of the weight needs to be performed immediately after all the articles drop from the weighing hopper selected by the combination calculation onto the conveyor 6, and therefore, the weight is rechecked in the downstream of the weighing hoppers selected by the preceding combination calculation. The timing of discharging the articles from the side weighing hopper is earlier than the timing of discharging the articles from the upstream side weighing hopper among the weighing hoppers selected by the subsequent combination calculation, and the weight is rechecked during that time. Is configured to do.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the positive amount / non-quantity determining means 19 is provided, and when the combination within the allowable range is not obtained, the carry-out conveyor 6 is reversed to collect the non-quantity item. However, it is also possible to discharge the non-quantity product from the same correct-quantity product discharge port 10A without reversing the conveyer 6 and to remove the non-quantity product by the sorting device in the subsequent process.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the carry-out time of the article discharged from the weighing hopper selected in the preceding combination calculation and the discharging time from the weighing hopper selected in the subsequent combination calculation. It is possible to overlap the carry-out time of a part of the article. Therefore, the carry-out speed can be increased by the amount of the overlap, and the efficiency of the entire continuous weighing operation can be significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a modeled configuration of an entire carry-out system in a semi-automatic combination weighing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device of a carry-out system in the combination weighing device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a signal system for starting weighing in the semi-automatic combination weighing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the unloading status of an article by the system of the above-mentioned embodiment in comparison with the unloading status of an article by a conventional system.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the unloading status of articles by the unloading system in the semi-automatic combination weighing device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-1, 1-2, ..., 1-N ... Weighing hopper, 2-1,
2-2, ..., 2-N ... Load cell (weight detector), 6
… Carry-out conveyor, 15… Microcomputer, 17…
Combination calculating means, 21 ... Hopper time difference opening means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A combination calculation for combining a plurality of weighing hoppers arranged on a straight line for weighing articles and weighing signals output from these weighing hoppers to select a combination close to a target weight within a certain allowable range. Means, a carry-out conveyor arranged below the weighing hopper to carry out articles discharged from the weighing hopper, and of the selected weighing hoppers, the weighing hopper located on the upstream side in the carrying-out direction of the carry-out conveyor is opened. When the articles discharged from the upstream side weighing hopper are conveyed below the downstream side weighing hopper, the downstream side weighing hopper among the selected weighing hoppers is opened and Among the weighing hoppers selected by the combination calculation, the discharging system in the combination weighing device is provided with a time difference opening means for opening the weighing hopper located on the upstream side. Temu.