Food conveyance device

Abstract

To provide a food conveyance device with which accurate food dispensing can be performed in a short time as compared with conventional devices.SOLUTION: Rice 11 discharged from a first discharge unit 12 of a hopper 14 is successively loaded into a weighing bucket 20 up to near a target weight (adjustment start weight) by using a chute 15 for slipping down in massive amounts at high speed along an inclined conveyance plane. Thereafter, a small amount of rice is gradually loaded into the weighing bucket 20 until the target weight is reached by using a pipe feeder 19. Thus, for even a large amount of rice 11, dispensing of rice 11 is possible with higher accuracy than for conventional devices.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a food conveying device for weighing and conveying food such as rice dispensed from a hopper. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, rice (food) is weighed by a food conveying device, and distributed in a bag with a set amount (target weight). In a typical food conveying device, rice is continuously cut out from the lower part (discharge part) of a hopper by a pipe feeder and dumped into a weighing bucket for weighing. In the weighing bucket, the rice is weighed by a load cell (weigher). When the weight reaches a set amount, the lid of the discharge outlet of the weighing bucket opens, and the rice is transported from the weighing bucket to a bagging device via a discharge chute. In this bagging device, bags are set in an open state in advance, and rice is packed into them.

[0003] In the case of the excretion control of the pipe feeder, a large-diameter excretion pipe (cylinder) is rotated by an electric motor with a reducer, and the rice accumulated in the lower part of the hopper is stirred while being gradually pushed out to the pipe outlet for excretion. At this time, in order to enable fast and accurate excretion, a conventional technique is known in which the excretion pipe is rotated at high speed (100-150 rpm) up to 90% of the target weight while the rice is weighed by a load cell, and when the target weight is reached, the excretion pipe is rotated at low speed (10-15 rpm) (for example, Patent Document 1, etc.). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-314983 A DISCLOSURE OF THEINVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The pipe feeder type food conveying device of Patent Document 1 rotates a single large diameter cut-out pipe at a high speed until the weight reaches 90% of the target weight, and then rotates at a low speed. However, this conventional food conveying device had limitations when required to quickly and accurately cut out, for example, 500g to 1000g of rice.

[0006] As a result of extensive research, the inventors discovered that the above-mentioned problems could be solved by using a chute, which allows rice to slide in large quantities at high speed along an inclined conveying surface compared to a pipe feeder, to continuously feed rice into a weighing bucket up to near the target weight (adjustment starting weight), and then using a pipe feeder to gradually feed small amounts of rice into the weighing bucket until the target weight is reached, and thus completed the invention.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and aims to provide a food conveying device that can accurately cut out food in a short time compared to conventional devices, even when there is a large amount of food. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The invention described in claim 1 comprises a hopper for storing food and having a first discharge section and a second discharge section disposed at a lower portion thereof, a chute for sliding the food discharged from the first discharge section along an inclined conveying surface, an angle change means for changing the inclination angle of the chute, a pipe feeder having a cylinder for cutting out a small amount of the food from the second discharge section and a rotation means for rotating the cylinder in a circumferential direction, a weighing bucket provided with an opening / closing lid at a discharge outlet and for receiving the food dropped from each end of the chute and the pipe feeder, respectively, and an opening / closing means for opening and closing the opening / closing lid of the weighing bucket. This food conveying device comprises a weighing device which weighs the food received by the weighing bucket, and a control unit which controls the angle changing means, the rotation means and the opening and closing means based on weighing data from the weighing device, and the control unit feeds the food discharged from the first discharge section into the weighing bucket via the chute up to a predetermined target weight vicinity based on the weighing data from the weighing device, and then feeds a small amount of food cut out from the second discharge section into the weighing bucket via the pipe feeder until the target weight is reached.

[0009] The structure of the food conveying device is not limited as long as it can take out food from a hopper, weigh it, and deliver food of a target weight from a weighing bucket. The target weight is not limited. For example, it may be 500g to 1000g. The type of food is arbitrary. For example, grains such as rice and wheat can be used. Other types of food may include dried vegetables and powders. The hopper may have any shape and size. A first discharge section and a second discharge section for discharging food are formed at the bottom of the hopper. For example, multiple pairs of the first and second discharge sections may be provided.

[0010] The chute may be of any construction that allows the food to slide down an inclined conveying surface, for example, the conveying surface may be vibrated by a vibrator to allow the food to slide smoothly down the conveying surface. The structure of the angle changing means may be any as long as it can change the inclination angle of the chute. For example, the tip of a rod such as an air cylinder or a liquid cylinder may be connected to the chute, and the inclination angle of the chute may be changed by extending and retracting the rod up and down. The inclination angle of the chute affects the time and accuracy of food supply, and is therefore changed appropriately depending on the food. For example, the inclination angle may be 15° to 25°.

[0011] The pipe feeder may be any type that has a structure that allows a small amount of food to be dispensed from the bottom of a hopper by rotating a cylindrical body in a circumferential direction using a rotating means such as an electric motor. The pipe feeder generally has an axis inclined downward, but may be arranged horizontally. The diameter of the pipe feeder is arbitrary, but is preferably, for example, 30 mm to 40 mm so that a small amount of food can be cut out near the target weight. Of course, a general hole diameter (large diameter) of 60 mm to 100 mm is also acceptable.

[0012] The weighing bucket may have any shape as long as it has an opening and closing lid for the inlet for inserting cut out food and for the outlet for discharging weighed food. Additionally, the size of the weighing bucket is also optional. One measuring bucket usually has one chute and one pipe feeder, but is not limited to this. For example, two chutes and one pipe feeder may be provided. The number of weighing buckets is arbitrary. It may be one or more. In the case of more than one, each weighing bucket is provided with at least one chute and one pipe feeder.

[0013] The means for opening and closing the opening / closing cover is arbitrary, and for example, a solenoid, an air cylinder, or the like can be used. The type of the weighing device is arbitrary. For example, a load cell or the like can be adopted. The number of weighing scales used increases or decreases depending on the number of weighing buckets used.

[0014] The invention recited in claim 2 is the food conveying device of claim 1, characterized in that a feed means for feeding the food is provided near the first discharge portion of the hopper.

[0015] The type of the feeding means may be any type that is disposed near the first discharge portion of the hopper and can feed the food therefrom. For example, the feeding means may be one that rotates feeding blades with a motor or one that feeds the food by rotating a screw.

[0016] The invention described in claim 3 is a food conveying device as described in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that multiple pairs of the first discharge section and the second discharge section are arranged in parallel below the hopper, a corresponding chute or a corresponding pipe feeder is arranged in each of the first discharge sections and each of the second discharge sections, and a corresponding weighing bucket and weighing scale are arranged below each end of the paired chute and pipe feeder, and the control unit has a selection program that selects a combination of food of the target weight placed in each of the weighing buckets that is closest to a predetermined total target weight, and a lid opening and closing program that opens only the opening and closing lid of each of the weighing buckets selected by the selection program using a corresponding opening and closing means to discharge the food.

[0017] The number of pairs of first and second discharge sections arranged in parallel below the hopper may be any number as long as it is two or more pairs. The number of chutes and pipe feeders used is changed according to the number of corresponding first and second discharge units. Similarly, the number of weighing buckets and weighers used is also changed according to the number of corresponding first and second discharge units.

[0018] The number of target weight foods placed in the weighing bucket that results in the combination that is closest to the total target weight can be any number, for example two, three or more. The selection program may have any logic that selects, from among the food items with target weights, a combination that is closest to the total target weight. Furthermore, the lid opening / closing program may be of any type so long as it opens only the opening / closing lid of each selected weighing bucket by the corresponding opening / closing means and discharges the selected target weight of food. Effect of the Invention

[0019] According to the present invention, food in the lower part of the hopper is first continuously discharged from the first discharge section into the chute, slides down the inclined conveying surface, and is dropped from the tip of the chute into a weighing bucket and weighed by a scale. After that, the chute continues to feed food until the measured value (actual value) of the scale reaches near the target weight based on the weighing data from the scale.

[0020] Thereafter, when the measured value of the weighing scale approaches the target weight, only the pipe feeder is operated to dispense small amounts of food until the measured value reaches the target weight. Specifically, the rotating means rotates the cylinder in the circumferential direction, so that the food in the lower part of the hopper is gradually dispensed from the second discharge section until the measured value of the weighing scale reaches the target weight. After the measured value reaches the target weight, the opening and closing means opens the opening and closing lid of the weighing bucket, and the food is discharged from the bucket.

[0021] In this way, when food is discharged from the hopper, the chute roughly cuts out food up to the target weight with emphasis on speed, and when the remaining amount becomes small, the pipe feeder is used to cut out food with high precision, so that food can be cut out more accurately in a shorter time than with conventional devices.

[0022] In particular, according to the invention described in claim 2, an extrusion means for extruding food is provided near the first discharge section of the hopper, so that food within the lower part of the hopper can be smoothly discharged from the first discharge section.

[0023] Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 3, a selection logic is used to select, from among the food products of the target weights placed in each weighing bucket, the combination that is closest to the total target weight, and then the discharge outlets of each selected weighing bucket are opened by the corresponding opening / closing means to discharge the food products. As a result, even when there is a large amount of food, the food can be cut with greater precision. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view of a food conveying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is an enlarged side view of a main portion of a first discharge section that constitutes a part of the food conveying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical system of the food conveying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 4 is a flow chart showing a method for controlling the electrical system of the food conveying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 1 is an overall side view of a food conveying device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is an overall front view of a food conveying device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an electrical system of a food conveying device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 10 is a flow chart showing a method for controlling an electrical system of a food conveying apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below. Here, a food conveying device that weighs rice with a target weight of 500g and conveys it to a bagging device is taken as an example. For convenience of explanation, the front of the device is defined as the X1 direction, the rear of the device is defined as the X2 direction, the left side of the device is defined as the Y1 direction, the right side of the device is defined as the Y2 direction, the upward direction is defined as the Z1 direction, and the downward direction is defined as the Z2 direction. EXAMPLES

[0026] In Figs. 1 and 2, reference numeral 10 denotes a food conveying device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This food conveying device 10 comprises a hopper 14 for storing rice (food) 11 and having a first discharge section 12 and a second discharge section 13 disposed at the bottom, a chute 15 for causing the rice 11 discharged from the first discharge section 12 to slide down along a conveying surface that is inclined downward toward the tip, an angle changing motor (angle changing means) 60 for changing the inclination angle of the chute 15, a cylinder 17 for cutting out a small amount of rice 11 from the second discharge section 13, and an electric motor for rotating this cylinder 17 in the circumferential direction. The weighing bucket 20 is equipped with a pipe feeder 19 having a motor (rotation means) 18, a weighing bucket 20 having an opening / closing lid 41 at its discharge outlet for receiving the rice 11 dropped from each end of the chute 15 and the pipe feeder 19, a solenoid (opening / closing means) 21 for opening and closing the opening / closing lid 41 of the weighing bucket 20, a load cell (weigher) 22 for weighing the rice 11 received by the weighing bucket 20, and a control unit for controlling the air cylinder 16, the electric motor 18, and the solenoid 21 based on the weighing data from the load cell 22.

[0027] These components will now be described in detail. 1 and 2, the hopper 14 is a rectangular container whose lower portion tapers in two directions in the X1-X2 direction, and is fixed to the upper portion of a main body case 24 which is erected on an upper plate 23a of a base case 23. The base case 23 is mounted on a top plate 27 of a stand table 26 having four support columns 25. In addition, a first discharge portion 12 is formed on the X1 side of the lower portion of the hopper 14, and a second discharge portion 13 is formed on the X2 side thereof.

[0028] An electric screw (extraction means) 28 for extruding the rice 11 into the first discharge section 12 is housed in the hopper 14 near the first discharge section 12. A lid 30 is provided at the lower end opening 12a of the first discharge section 12, and is opened and closed by the projection and recession of a rod 29a of a lid air cylinder 29 (see FIG. 2).

[0029] The chute 15 is a rectangular trough-shaped member with a lower plate 31, the upper surface of which serves as the conveying surface, extending in the X1-X2 direction. When the chute 15 is in a horizontal position, the solenoid 22 completes weighing the rice 11 in the weighing bucket 20, and the lid 30 closes the lower end opening 12a of the first discharge section 12. The inclination angle of the chute 15 during operation of the device (when discharging rice from the first discharge section 12) is 20°.

[0030] Furthermore, the tip of a lifting rod 32a protruding upward from a vertically long slide guide 32 abuts against the vicinity of the middle part in the longitudinal direction of the lower plate 31 of the chute 15. An angle-changing motor 60 is connected to the X1 side of the lower end of the slide guide 32, and its output shaft is disposed inside the slide guide 32. A cam 61 is fixed to the tip of this output shaft, and as the cam 61 rotates vertically together with the output shaft, the lifting rod 32a, whose lower end face abuts against the outer circumferential surface of the cam 61, moves up and down, thereby changing the inclination angle of the chute 15. In addition, a vertically long air cylinder 16 having a rod 16a that abuts against the middle part of the lower plate 31 of the chute 15 via a cam floor is fixed to the X1 side of the upper part of the slide guide 32. By projecting and retracting this rod 16a, the chute 15 is moved in the vertical direction.

[0031] The pipe feeder 19 has a support column 33 erected on the X2 side of the upper plate 23a of the base case 23. A feeder mounting plate 34 is connected to the upper end of the support column 25 via another pin shaft extending in the Y1-Y2 direction so as to be vertically rotatable. A lower hopper section 35 constituting a part of the second discharge section 13 is erected on the X2 side end of the feeder mounting plate 34. A storage case 36 for an electric motor 18 that rotates the cylinder 17 in the circumferential direction is protruded from the X1 side of the feeder mounting plate 34.

[0032] The cylinder 17 is a long cylinder 17 having a diameter of 50 mm that extends in the X1-X2 direction, and here the axial direction is horizontal. The cylinder 17 is journaled on the feeder mounting plate 34 via a pair of front and rear bearings 37 spaced apart in the X1-X2 direction.

[0033] The electric motor 18 is disposed directly above the middle part of the cylindrical body 17 in the longitudinal direction via a gate-shaped motor fixing bracket (not shown) erected on the feeder mounting plate 34. A drive gear 38 is fixed to the output shaft of the electric motor 18, and a driven gear 39 meshing with the drive gear 38 is fitted externally near the end of the cylindrical body 17 on the X2 side. When the output shaft of the electric motor 18 rotates, the rotational force is transmitted from the drive gear 38 to the driven gear 39, and the cylindrical body 17 rotates in the circumferential direction via a pair of bearings 37.

[0034] The X2 side end of the cylinder 17 is inserted into the lower part of the lower hopper section 35. A circular attachment having a claw portion for scraping out the rice 11 in the lower hopper section 35 is attached to this inserted portion (not shown). The X1 side end (tip) of the cylinder 17 faces the X2 side end (tip) of the chute 15 with a predetermined gap therebetween. A weighing bucket 20 is disposed directly below the gap between the tips of the chute 15 and the cylinder 17.

[0035] The weighing bucket 20 is a generally rectangular box tapered at the bottom. It is supported at one end by a load cell 22 on a small bucket stand 40 fixed to the top plate 23a of the base case 23. The weighing bucket 20 has an inlet for the rice 11 formed on its top surface, and an inclined outlet 20a formed on its end surface on the X1-Z2 side. The discharge port 20a is closed so as to be freely opened and closed by an opening / closing lid 41 which is substantially gate-shaped in plan view. The opening / closing lid 41 is pivotally supported by the left and right side plates of the measuring bucket 20 via a pair of left and right pivot pins at the ends of each of the tapered side plates on the Y1-Y2 side.

[0036] Further, the tip portions of the side plates on the Y1-Y2 side of the opening / closing lid 41 protrude outward from the X2-direction side plates of the measuring bucket 20. Further, an operating rod 42 extending in the Y1-Y2 direction is hung on these protruding portions. The vertically long solenoid 21 is provided upright on a portion of the upper plate 23a of the base case 23 near the X2 side of the measuring bucket 20. An operating member 43 for opening and closing the opening-closing lid 41 is fixed to the tip of a rod 21a protruding upward from the solenoid 21. The operating member 43 is hooked onto a portion of an operating rod 42 and is fixed to the tip of the rod 21a.

[0037] When the solenoid 21 is operated, the rod 21a descends and pushes down the operating rod 42, causing the opening / closing lid 41 to rotate upward around each pivot pin. This causes the discharge port 20a of the weighing bucket 20 to open for a predetermined time and discharge the rice 11. Thereafter, the rod 21a of the solenoid 21 returns to its original position, closing the discharge port 20a. The rice 11 discharged from the weighing bucket 20 is transferred to a packaging device (not shown) via a discharge chute 50 fixed to the X1 side of the base case 23.

[0038] Next, the electrical system of food conveying apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The electrical system of food conveying device 10 is housed in base case 23 and has a control unit 42 equipped with a CPU (central processing unit). The input side of control unit 42 is connected to load cell 22 and memory unit (RAM) 43 in which the adjustment start weight of rice 11 (90% of the target weight) and the target weight of rice 11 are stored. Meanwhile, the output side of control unit 42 is connected to electric motor 18, solenoid 21, air cylinder 16, and angle changing motor 60.

[0039] Next, a method of operating food conveying apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in the flow sheet of Fig. 4, first, the power of food conveying device 10 is turned on to start control. That is, based on a command from control unit 42, load cell 22 is turned on, while screw 28 is rotated to continuously feed rice 11 in the lower part of hopper 14 to first discharge unit 12 (S101).

[0040] Thereafter, the rod 29a of the lid air cylinder 29 is retracted to rotate the lid body 30, thereby opening the lower end opening 12a of the first discharge section 12. Also, the output shaft of the angle changing motor 60 is rotated vertically in a predetermined direction together with the cam 61, thereby lowering the lifting rod 32a, whose lower end face abuts against the outer circumferential surface of the cam 61, and tilting the chute 15 downward by 20° (S102). As a result, rice 11 in the lower part of hopper 14 is continuously dropped from the opened lower end opening 12a of first discharge section 12 onto the X1 side end of the conveying surface of chute 15. The dropped rice 11 slides down the conveying surface and is fed from the lower end of chute 15 into weighing bucket 20.

[0041] In the weighing bucket 20, the rice 11 is weighed by the load cell 22. During weighing, the rice 11 is rapidly discharged by the chute 15 from the start of weighing until the weight approaches the target weight (adjustment start weight, here 90% of the target weight) (S103). Thereafter, when the measured value of the load cell 22 reaches the adjustment start weight, the rod 29a of the lid air cylinder 29 is extended based on a command from the control unit 42, and the lower end opening 12a of the first discharge unit 12 is closed by the lid 30. In addition, the output shaft of the angle changing motor 60 is vertically rotated together with the cam 61 in the opposite direction to the previous rotation to raise the lifting rod 32a, whose lower end face abuts against the outer circumferential surface of the cam 61, and the chute 15 is returned to a horizontal state. When the chute 15 is to be moved up or down, the rod 16a of the air cylinder 16 is extended or retracted.

[0042] Next, the control unit 42 operates the pipe feeder 19. Specifically, the electric motor 18 rotates the cylinder 17 in the circumferential direction (S105), and the rice 11 in the lower part of the lower hopper portion 35 is continuously fed in small amounts until the measured value reaches the target weight (S106).

[0043] When the measured value of the load cell 22 reaches the target weight, the rotation of the cylinder 17 by the electric motor 18 is stopped (S107) based on a command from the control unit 42, and the rod 21a of the solenoid 21 is retracted for a predetermined time (S108). This causes the opening and closing lid 41 to rotate upward around both pivot pins for a short time, opening the discharge port 20a of the weighing bucket 20 and discharging the rice 11. The discharged rice 11 is carried out via the discharge chute 50 to a bagging device for the rice 11 in the subsequent process. Thereafter, the above-mentioned control operation is repeated until a preset amount of rice 11 is obtained to be packed into a bag (S109). After the preset amount is obtained, the load cell 22 and the screw 28 are turned off, and the control of weighing and conveying the rice 11 is terminated (S110).

[0044] In this way, when rice 11 is dispensed from hopper 14, the chute 15 dispenses the rice roughly with an emphasis on speed up to the adjustment start weight, and then, once the adjustment start weight is reached and there is little remaining rice, the pipe feeder 19 dispenses the rice with high precision. Therefore, even when weighing and transporting a large amount of rice 11, for example 1000g, the rice 11 can be dispensed accurately in a short time, compared to the conventional system in which the large-diameter cylinder 17 of the pipe feeder 19 is rotated at high speed to roughly transport the rice, and then, once the adjustment start weight is reached, the cylinder 17 is rotated at a low speed to adjust a small amount of rice.

[0045] Second Embodiment Next, a food conveying apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in Figs. 5 to 7, food conveying apparatus 10A of embodiment 2 is characterized in that four pairs of first discharge sections 12 and second discharge sections 13 are arranged in parallel in the Y1-Y2 direction below hopper 14, and a corresponding chute (including first to fourth air cylinders 16 and first to fourth angle-changing motors 60) 15 is arranged in each first discharge section 12, while a corresponding pipe feeder (including first to fourth electric motors 18) 19 is arranged in each second discharge section 13. In addition, four electric motors 18 are arranged below the gap between the ends of the cylinders 17 of the chutes 15 and pipe feeders 19 arranged in pairs. The weighing buckets 20 (including the first to fourth solenoids 21) and the first to fourth load cells 22 are arranged, while the control unit 42 has a selection program 51 that selects the combination (here, two) of rice 11 of each target weight (1000g) placed in the four weighing buckets 20 that is closest to a preset total target weight (2000g), and a lid opening / closing program 52 that opens only the opening / closing lids 41 of the selected weighing buckets 20 by the corresponding solenoids 21 and discharges the rice 11 stored therein into the discharge chutes 50, respectively.

[0046] In Figures 5 and 6, reference numeral 53 denotes a large rice supplying device which supplies rice 11 to the hopper 14, 54 denotes an air cylinder for a shutter, 55 denotes an opening / closing shutter section which opens and closes the lower end opening of the discharge chute 50 by extending and retracting the rod 54a of the air cylinder for the shutter 54, and 56 denotes a bucket conveyor extending in the X1-X2 direction which transports the rice 11 discharged from the discharge chute 50 to a bagging device not shown.

[0047] Hereinafter, a method of operating food conveying apparatus 10A of Example 2 will be described based on the flow sheet of Fig. 7. Note that in controlling food conveying apparatus 10A of Example 2, steps S101 to S107, S111, and S112 are substantially similar to the corresponding steps in Example 1 shown in Fig. 4, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. In S108, which is a feature of the control flow of the second embodiment, it is confirmed whether the target weight of rice 11 has been poured into all of the weighing buckets 20. If the pouring has been completed, the process proceeds to S109, and if not, the process returns to S101, and the operations of S101 to S107 are sequentially repeated for the next chutes 15 and pipe feeders 19 arranged in pairs.

[0048] In S109, the selection logic selects two combinations that are closest to the total target weight (2000 g here) from among the rice 11 of the target weights put into each weighing bucket 20, and then the discharge outlets 20a in each selected weighing bucket 20 are opened by the corresponding solenoids 21, and the rice 11 stored in them is dropped into the discharge chute 50 and combined into one (S110). Next, the rod of the shutter air cylinder 54 is extended to open the opening / closing shutter part 56, and the rice 11 is dropped from the lower opening of the discharge chute 50 onto the belt conveyor 55 and transported to a bagging device (not shown). As a result, even when there is a large amount of food, the food can be cut with greater precision. The other configurations, operations, and effects can be inferred from the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted. [Industrial Applicability]

[0049] INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful as a food conveying device for weighing and conveying food cut out from a hopper. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 10,10A Food conveying equipment 11 Rice (food) 12 First discharge section 13 Second discharge section 14 Hopper 15 (1st-4th) Shots 17 Cylinder 18 (1st to 4th) electric motors (rotating means) 19 Pipe Feeder 20 Weighing Bucket 20a outlet 21 (1st to 4th) solenoids (opening and closing means) 22 (1st to 4th) load cells (weighing devices) 28 Screw (cutting means) 41 Opening and closing lid 42 Control section 51 Elective Programs 52 Lid Opening and Closing Program 60 (first to fourth) angle changing motors (angle changing means)

Claims

1. a hopper for storing food and having a first discharge section and a second discharge section disposed at a lower portion thereof; a chute that slides the food discharged from the first discharge section along an inclined conveying surface; An angle changing means for changing the inclination angle of the chute; a pipe feeder having a cylinder for cutting out a small amount of the food from the second discharge portion and a rotating means for rotating the cylinder in a circumferential direction; a measuring bucket having an opening and closing lid at a discharge port for receiving the food dropped from each end of the chute and the pipe feeder; an opening / closing means for opening and closing a cover of the weighing bucket; a weighing scale for weighing the food product received by the weighing bucket; a control unit that controls the angle changing means, the rotation means, and the opening and closing means based on weighing data from the weighing device, The control unit feeds the food discharged from the first discharge unit into the weighing bucket via the chute until the food reaches approximately a predetermined target weight based on the weighing data from the weighing device, and then feeds a small amount of food cut from the second discharge unit into the weighing bucket via the pipe feeder until the food reaches the target weight.

2. 2. The food conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a feed means for feeding the food, the feed means being disposed adjacent to the first discharge portion of the hopper.

3. A plurality of pairs of the first discharge portion and the second discharge portion are arranged in parallel at a lower portion of the hopper, Each of the first discharge sections and each of the second discharge sections are provided with a corresponding chute or a corresponding pipe feeder, A corresponding weighing bucket and a weighing scale are arranged below each end of the paired chute and pipe feeder, The food conveying device of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the control unit has a selection program that selects a combination of food items of the target weight placed in each weighing bucket that is closest to a predetermined total target weight, and a lid opening and closing program that opens only the opening and closing lid of each weighing bucket selected by the selection program using a corresponding opening and closing means to discharge the food items.

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