Article supply device

Abstract

To prevent articles from falling out of a conveyance path and to move a storage hopper downward from an article supply position to an article replenishment position.SOLUTION: An article supply device comprises: a hopper elevating mechanism 30 that supports a storage hopper 13 comprising a shutter 40 so that it can move up and down between an article supply position and an article replenishment position; and a shutter opening / closing mechanism 29 that opens and closes the shutter 40 in conjunction with the elevation of the storage hopper 13 so as to open the shutter 40 at the article supply position and close the shutter 40 at the article replenishment position. The shutter opening / closing mechanism 29 moves the shutter 40 linearly to open and close the lower end opening part of the storage hopper 13.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an article supplying device suitable for supplying articles to a combination weighing device that mixes and weighs a wide variety of articles. [Background technology]

[0002] As an example of a combination weighing device that mixes and weighs a variety of items, as shown in Patent Document 1, a so-called batch-type item supplying device is known in which multiple weighing units, each consisting of a supply hopper, a weighing hopper, and a memory hopper, are arranged in parallel in a horizontal row, and a storage hopper is arranged above the starting end of a linear feeder that supplies items to the supply hopper of each weighing unit, and items are manually replenished into the storage hopper when the remaining amount of items becomes low as the working time progresses. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-77074 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a batch-type article supply device, a storage hopper is supported so that it can be raised and lowered between a high article supply position facing the start of an article conveying path by a straight feeder, and a low article supply position offset rearward from the start of the article conveying path, and an operator can comfortably supply articles to the storage hopper which has been lowered to the low position.

[0005] The speed at which different types of goods are fed out and consumed by multiple storage hoppers storing different kinds of goods is not necessarily uniform, and the timing of replenishment required for each storage hopper is often different. In this case, if replenishment work is performed for each storage hopper that requires replenishment, the frequency of replenishment work increases, making the goods replenishment work complicated and reducing work efficiency.

[0006] Therefore, in general, when replenishing a storage hopper that needs replenishing, replenishing is also carried out at the same time for storage hoppers that still have items remaining and do not necessarily require immediate replenishment, thereby reducing the frequency of replenishment and making the work less complicated.

[0007] When a storage hopper containing remaining items is moved downward from an item supply position to an item replenishment position in order to replenish the remaining items, it is desirable to prevent the remaining items from spilling out of the storage hopper. One possible solution is to equip the lower opening of the storage hopper with a shutter that swings open and closed, for example.

[0008] In this case, when a storage hopper with remaining items is initially moved downward from the item supply position to the item replenishment position, the shutter is swung to close the lower opening. However, at the lower opening of the storage hopper, the remaining items are easily scooped up by the tip of the shutter as it swings in the closing direction, and tend to spill out of the conveying path.

[0009] The present invention has been made in response to this situation, and aims to provide an item supplying device that can prevent items from spilling outside the conveying path and move a storage hopper downward from an item supply position to an item replenishment position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

[0011] (1) The article supplying device of the present invention comprises a hopper lifting mechanism that supports a storage hopper having an openable and closable shutter at its lower end so that it can be raised and lowered between a high article supply position above the starting end of an article conveying path and a low article supply position located below and outwardly of the article conveying path, and a shutter opening and closing mechanism that opens and closes the shutter in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the storage hopper so as to open the shutter at the article supply position and close the shutter at the article supply position, and the shutter opening and closing mechanism moves the shutter linearly to open and close the lower end opening of the storage hopper.

[0012] According to the item supply device of the present invention, the shutter moves linearly to close the lower opening of the storage hopper in conjunction with the storage hopper being moved from the item supply position to the item replenishment position, so that the tip of the swinging shutter does not scoop up items remaining at the starting end of the item conveying path, as is the case when the shutter is swinging to close, and it is possible to prevent items from spilling outside the conveying path.

[0013] (2) In one embodiment of the present invention, the storage hopper is provided at a lower end portion on the closing direction side of the shutter with a movable gate that is displaceable backward in a direction away from the tip of the shutter.

[0014] When the shutter moves linearly to close the lower opening of the storage hopper, if there are articles remaining at the bottom of the storage hopper or if there are piled-up articles at the beginning of the article conveying path, there is a risk that the articles will become caught between the closing direction tip of the shutter moving forward and backward in the closing direction and the wall surface of the lower opening of the hopper. According to this embodiment, since there is a movable gate on the closing direction side of the shutter, the movable gate is pushed backward by the article caught between the movable gate and the shutter tip, and the lower opening of the storage hopper is closed by the shutter without catching and damaging the articles.

[0015] The article that pushes aside the movable gate then moves toward the storage hopper or falls to the starting end of the article transport path as the storage hopper changes its position.

[0016] (3) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the movable gate is biased to swing toward the shutter with its upper end portion as a fulcrum.

[0017] According to this embodiment, the movable gate is pushed by the caught article and smoothly swings back, and when the caught article is released from the caught portion, it returns to a position adjacent to and facing the front end of the shutter.

[0018] (4) In another embodiment of the present invention, the movable gate is biased to swing toward the shutter by its own weight.

[0019] In this embodiment, an item caught between the movable gate and the tip of the shutter is clamped by the load caused by the movable gate's own weight, but by setting the movable gate to an appropriate weight, the item will not be damaged.

[0020] (5) In still another embodiment of the present invention, the shutter opening / closing mechanism includes a linear guide rail, and a slide member that supports the shutter and is slidable along the guide rail.

[0021] According to this embodiment, the slide member supporting the shutter can be slid linearly along the guide rail to open and close the bottom opening of the storage hopper. Effect of the Invention

[0022] According to the present invention, the shutter is moved linearly to close the lower opening of the storage hopper in conjunction with the movement of the storage hopper from the item supply position to the item replenishment position, so that the tip of the swinging shutter does not scoop up items remaining at the starting end of the item conveying path, as is the case when the shutter is swinging to close, and it is possible to prevent items from spilling outside the conveying path. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a combination weighing device equipped with an article supplying device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an overall plan view of the combination weighing device of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the weighing device of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the weighing device of FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a side view of the article supplying device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a front view of the article supplying device as seen from the front. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a part of the shutter opening and closing mechanism. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional side view of a part of the shutter opening / closing mechanism when the shutter is fully open. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a side view of the article supplying device when the storage hopper is in the article supplying position. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a side view of the article supplying device in a state where the storage hopper is slightly away from the article supplying position. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a side view of the article supplying device in a state where the storage hopper is far away from the article supplying position. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a side view of the article supplying device when the storage hopper is in the article replenishing position. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a vertical sectional side view of a portion of the shutter opening / closing mechanism in an initial state in which the storage hopper has started to move from the article supply position toward the article replenishment position. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a vertical sectional side view of a portion of the shutter opening / closing mechanism in a state in which the storage hopper is slightly away from the article supply position. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional side view of a portion of the shutter opening / closing mechanism in a state in which the storage hopper is further away from the article supply position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the entire combination weighing device equipped with an article supply device in one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the weighing device, and FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the weighing device.

[0026] The combination weighing device of this embodiment combines and weighs a wide variety of items, such as various foods and sweets, in predetermined weight increments, and mixes and weighs them so that the overall weight falls within a predetermined weight range.It is mounted on floor F, and the combined and weighed items are fed into a packaging machine (not shown) installed on the floor below and bagged.

[0027] In order to make the structure easier to understand, in the following explanation, the horizontal direction in Figures 1 to 3 and the front-to-back direction of the paper in Figure 4 will be referred to as the front-to-back direction, and the front-to-back direction of the paper in Figures 1 and 3, the up-down direction in Figure 2, and the horizontal direction in Figure 4 will be referred to as the left-to-right direction.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 1, this combination weighing device has a structure in which two weighing devices 1 are arranged facing each other on either side of a central passage R where workers can walk left and right. Each weighing device 1 is basically constructed to the same specifications, and the basic structure of one of the weighing devices 1 will be explained below with reference to Figs. 3 and 4.

[0029] On the inside (the central aisle R side) of the weighing device 1, two base bodies 3 formed in a horizontally long box shape are installed side by side on a frame 2 installed on a floor surface F. On the outside (the opposite side to the central aisle R) of each base body 3, multiple (7 in this example) weighing units 4 are installed in a row on the left and right, as shown in Fig. 4. Therefore, in this example, each weighing device 1 is equipped with 14 weighing units 4 in a row, and the front and rear weighing devices 1 are used to weigh a mixed and combined variety of items (e.g. 8 types) with a total of 28 weighing units 4.

[0030] Further, on the outer side of the group of weighing units 4 in each weighing device 1, as shown in FIG. 3, a supply unit 5 that supplies a wide variety of articles to the upper part of each weighing unit 4 is provided.

[0031] The weighing unit 4 itself is similar to that of a known structure, and is configured by arranging in a vertical row a supply hopper 6 having an openable and closable gate which receives articles transported from the supply unit 5, temporarily stores them before discharging them, a weighing hopper 7 having an openable and closable gate which stores the articles discharged from the supply hopper 6, measures their weight and discharges them, and a memory hopper 8 having an openable and closable gate which receives the articles weighed and discharged by the weighing hopper 7, temporarily stores them, and discharges them.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 3, the weighing hopper 7 is equipped with an outer gate 7a on the side farthest from the central aisle R, and an inner gate 7b on the central aisle R side, each of which can be opened and closed independently. By swinging open only the outer gate 7a, the weighed articles are sent directly downward, and by swinging open only the inner gate 7b, the weighed articles are sent to the memory hopper 8 and temporarily stored therein.

[0033] Since each weighing unit 4 is provided with a memory hopper 8, the number of hoppers that can participate in the combination calculation can be increased.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 4, below the weighing hoppers 7 and memory hoppers 8, four first collecting chutes 9 for collecting articles discharged from the multiple weighing hoppers 7 or memory hoppers 8, which are combined and selected to achieve a predetermined weight, are arranged in a row on the left and right, and below each pair of adjacent first collecting chutes 9, two first collecting hoppers 10 for temporarily receiving and storing the articles collected by the first collecting chutes 9 are arranged. Also, below the first collecting hoppers 10, a second collecting chute 11 for guiding and sliding down the articles discharged from each first collecting hopper 10 and collecting them, and a second collecting hopper 12 for temporarily collecting and storing the articles weighed and collected using the 14 consecutive weighing units 4 are arranged in one place.

[0035] 3, the supply unit 5 is provided with storage hoppers 13 for storing articles, and fixed hoppers 14 supported by a supply frame 16 so as to communicate with the lower ends of the storage hoppers 13. In addition, the supply unit 5 is provided with 14 linear feeders 15 arranged in parallel on the left and right sides above the supply frame 16, which linearly vibrate and transport the articles fed from the fixed hoppers 14 toward the weighing units 4.

[0036] The linear feeder 15 is configured by vertically arranging an upper feeder 15a and a lower feeder 15b, which place articles on a trough shaped like a gutter and transport them by vibration, in a descending staircase shape in the transport direction.

[0037] Above the straight feeder 15, there are provided article detection sensors 17a, 17b which detect the pile height of articles at the starting and ending ends of the lower feeder 15b. Based on this detection information, the drive of the upper feeder 15a and the lower feeder 15b is controlled so that articles are transported uniformly at each straight feeder 15.

[0038] The supplying section frame 16 of the supplying unit 5 is provided with a reject mechanism 20 for discharging an excess amount of articles when an excessive amount of articles exceeding the appropriate amount range is supplied to the weighing hopper 6. The reject mechanism 20 is equipped with a reject chute 21 that can move back and forth horizontally, a recovery chute 22 that recovers the articles introduced into the reject chute 21, and a recovery container 23.

[0039] The reject chute 21 is disposed facing the delivery path from the weighing hopper 7 to the first collecting chute 9 from the outside, and is driven to move forward and backward by an actuator 24 such as an air cylinder. Normally, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the reject chute 21 retreats to the outside, and does not prevent the discharge of articles to the first collecting chute 9 when the outer gate 7a of the weighing hopper 7 is opened. When the weight value measured by the weighing hopper 7 is excessive, the reject chute 21 advances to a reject state, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 3. In this state, the outer gate 7a is opened, and the articles in the weighing hopper 7 are discharged to the reject chute 21, and the excess articles are guided down through the recovery chute 22 to a recovery container 23 and are recovered. When the recovery is completed, the reject chute 21 retreats to the original retreat position, and the outer gate 7a of the weighing hopper 7 is closed to prepare for the next weighing.

[0040] Next, a description will be given of the article supplying device provided in the supply unit 5. Fig. 5 is a side view of the article supplying device, and Fig. 6 is a front view of the article supplying device as viewed from the front.

[0041] The article supply device of this embodiment is equipped with a hopper lifting mechanism 30 that supports the storage hopper 13 so that it can be raised and lowered. When the articles in the storage hopper 13 are fed out and consumed and the remaining amount of storage becomes low, the storage hopper 13 is manually lowered to a low article supply position, and after the articles are supplied to the storage hopper 13 in a comfortable position, it is raised to the original article supply position where it is connected to the fixed hopper 14.

[0042] The storage hopper 13 is provided with a shutter opening / closing mechanism 29 that opens and closes the opening at the bottom end of the hopper in conjunction with the lifting and lowering operation of the storage hopper 13. Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a part of the shutter opening / closing mechanism 29, and Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional side view of a part of the shutter opening / closing mechanism 29 when the shutter is fully open.

[0043] Hereinafter, the hopper lifting mechanism 30 and the shutter opening / closing mechanism 29 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0044] 5, the hopper lifting mechanism 30 includes a pair of left and right lifting arms 32 supported on the back of the supply unit frame 16 via brackets 31 so as to be vertically swingable about a fulcrum q, a frame-shaped lifting frame 33 connected and fixed to the free end of the lifting arms 32, and a pair of left and right lifting links 36 supported on the brackets 31 so as to be vertically swingable about a fulcrum s and supported on the lifting frame 33 via long holes 34 and rollers 35. The storage hopper 13 is detachably supported on the lifting frame 33, which is supported by the lifting arms 32 and swings up and down. An opening 13a is formed in the upper front half of the storage hopper 13 for supplying articles to the storage hopper 13 when the storage hopper 13 is lowered to the article supply position.

[0045] Guide rails 37 are fixed along the lower edges of the left and right side plates of the lift frame 33 in opposing relation to each other, and slide members 38 are fitted and embraced so as to be linearly movable around each guide rail 37. A stay 39 is horizontally bridge-connected across the left and right slide members 38, and a flat shutter 40 with its left and right end edges bent upright is detachably supported by the stay 39 with bolts.

[0046] A cam plate 41 is supported on the inside of the side plate of the lifting frame 33 so as to be rotatable around a fulcrum t, and an operating roller 43 provided at the upper end of the lifting link 36 is engaged with a curved cam groove 42 formed in this cam plate 41. When the relative position of the lifting link 36 with respect to the lifting frame 33 changes and the operating roller 43 moves, the cam plate 41 is rotated.

[0047] In addition, an operating link 44 is supported on the upper part of the lifting frame 33 so as to be able to swing back and forth around a fulcrum u. The lower end of this operating link 44 is connected to the front part of the slide member 38 by a linking link 45, and the upper part of the operating link 44 is connected to the cam plate 41 by a linking link 46.

[0048] The shutter opening / closing mechanism 29 comprises a shutter 40 supported via a stay 39 on a slide member 38 that moves linearly along a guide rail 37, as well as a cam plate 41 and an operating link 44 each supported on the lifting frame 33, a connecting link 45 that connects the operating link 44 to the slide member 38, and an interlocking link 46 that connects the operating link 44 to the cam plate 41.

[0049] In this embodiment, the position and attitude of the lifting link 36 changes relative to the lifting frame 33, and the operating roller 43 moves in position, causing the cam plate 41 to rotate around the fulcrum t, and in conjunction with the rotation of the cam plate 41, the operating link 44 is swung back and forth, causing the shutter 40 to slide back and forth.

[0050] The storage hopper 13 is formed in a square funnel shape with handles 48 on the top and front. After inserting this storage hopper 13 into the lift frame 33 and positioning it front, back, left and right, the storage hopper 13 can be connected and fixed to the lift frame 33 by engaging and tightening the dead-point operation type fasteners 50 provided on the left and right outer surfaces of the lift frame 33 with hooks 49 provided on the upper parts of the left and right outer surfaces of the storage hopper 13. Conversely, by removing the fasteners 50 from the hooks 49, the storage hopper 13 can be removed from the lift frame 33 and the storage hopper 13 can be cleaned at any desired location.

[0051] A movable gate 52 is provided at the lower end of the front wall of the lower opening of the storage hopper 13 so as to be able to swing freely back and forth about a fulcrum v via a hinge 51. When the storage hopper 13 is set at the article supply position, the movable gate 52 hangs down under its own weight so as to face closely the front end of the shutter 40 which is in the closed position.

[0052] The hopper lifting mechanism 30 and the shutter opening / closing mechanism 29 are constructed as described above, and their operation will be described below.

[0053] 9, when the storage hopper 13 is set at the article supply position communicating with the fixed hopper 14, the lifting link 36 is in a substantially vertical position and the cam plate 41 is rotated rearward. Accordingly, the operating link 44 is swung rearward and the shutter 40 is held in an open position retreated from the downward opening at the bottom end of the storage hopper 13.

[0054] Furthermore, when the storage hopper 13 is raised to the item supply position, the forward swing of the lifting link 36 is prevented by abutment with a stopper bolt 53 provided on the bracket 31, thereby positioning the storage hopper 13 in the fore-and-aft direction.

[0055] In addition, lock arms 54 are supported on the upper left and right side surfaces of the lifting frame 33 so as to be swingable back and forth around a fulcrum x, and when the storage hopper 13 is raised to the article supplying position, the lock arms 54 are engaged from behind with a lock pin 55 protruding from the upper end of the lifting link 36. This disables the rearward swinging of the lifting link 36 relative to the lifting frame 33. In other words, the hopper lifting mechanism 30 is in a lowering locked state in which it is unable to operate in the lowering direction, and the storage hopper 13 is fixed and held at the article supplying position. The left and right lock arms 54 are bridge-connected at their lower ends by a handle bar 54a, and the left and right lock arms 54 can be swung together by gripping the handle bar 54a.

[0056] When replenishing the storage hopper 13 with goods, as shown in FIG. 10, first, the lock arm 54 is swung backward to release the lowering lock, and then the handle 33a on the back of the lifting frame 33 is grasped and the storage hopper 13 is pulled backward.

[0057] As the storage hopper 13 makes its initial rearward movement, the lifting link 36 moves upward relative to the lifting frame 33, and the cam plate 41 rapidly rotates forward due to the cam action of the moving operating roller 43 and the lower half of the curved cam groove 42, causing the shutter 40 to slide forward in one go, and the lower end opening of the storage hopper 13 is closed by the shutter 40 which traverses in a straight line.

[0058] At this time, as shown in Figures 13 and 14, even if an item w remaining in the storage hopper 13 or the fixed hopper 14 is about to become caught between the tip of the shutter 40 and the lower end of the front wall of the storage hopper 13, the lower end of the front wall of the storage hopper 13 is formed of a movable gate 52 that is urged to swing by its own weight, so that the item w that is about to become caught will push the movable gate 52 forward against the urging force of its own weight, causing it to swing, thereby preventing the shutter 40 from biting into the item w too hard and causing damage.

[0059] As the storage hopper 13 is further lowered, the lifting link 36 moves further upward relative to the lifting frame 33, as shown in FIG. 11. However, the cam plate 41 is stably held in the forward pivot position by the cam action of the moving operating roller 43 and the upper half of the curved cam groove 42, thereby maintaining the shutter 40 in the closed state.

[0060] In this case, as shown in Figure 15, as the storage hopper 13 is rotated backward, the self-weight force of the movable gate 52 acts to push back the item w sandwiched between the tip of the shutter 40 and the movable gate 52, and the item w flows down along the shutter 40 and is collected at the bottom of the storage hopper 13 in the rotated position.

[0061] When the storage hopper 13 is further tilted backward, as shown in Fig. 12, the lifting arm 32 is received by the stopper bolt 56 provided on the bracket 31 with the lifting arm 32 in a substantially horizontal position, preventing further downward swing, and the storage hopper 13 is lowered and held at a predetermined goods supply position. In this goods supply position, the lower end opening of the storage hopper 13 faces forward and backward.

[0062] In addition, an extended gas damper 57 is installed across the lifting arm 32 and bracket 31 in the hopper lifting mechanism 30, and an upward biasing force equal to the weight of the storage hopper 13 storing articles is applied to the hopper lifting mechanism 30. In order to prevent the storage hopper 13, which has been lowered to the article supply position, from being inadvertently raised by the upward biasing force of the gas damper 57, the lock arm 54 is engaged with the lock pin 55 of the lifting link 36 to lock the storage hopper 13 from being raised, and article supply work is performed through the opening 13a described above while the storage hopper 13 is stably held in the low article supply position.

[0063] When the goods supplying work is completed, first, the lock arm 54 is swung backward to release the lift lock, and then the storage hopper 13 is raised forward and upward. The shutter 40 is closed until the storage hopper 13 is hung on the fixed hopper 14 (the state shown in FIG. 10), and then the shutter 40 is rapidly opened as the storage hopper 13 moves upward (forward), and at the original goods supplying position, as shown in FIG. 8, the lower end opening of the storage hopper 13 is completely opened and the storage hopper 13 returns to a state in which it is connected to the fixed hopper 14.

[0064] In this embodiment, when the storage hopper 13 is moved slightly from the article supply position toward the article resupply position, the shutter 40 closes, and the shutter 40 is maintained in the closed state when the hopper subsequently moves downward. Conversely, when the storage hopper 13 is moved upward from the article resupply position toward the article supply position, the shutter 40 is maintained in the closed state until it approaches the article resupply position, preventing articles from accidentally spilling out while the storage hopper 13 is being raised or lowered.

[0065] Furthermore, when the storage hopper 13 is moved from the article supply position toward the article replenishing position, the lower end opening of the storage hopper 13 is closed by the shutter 40 which slides linearly, so that the tip of the swinging shutter does not scoop up and spill articles remaining in the fixed hopper 14, as occurs when the shutter is swung to close.

[0066] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when replenishing multiple storage hoppers 13 with goods in a batch manner, replenishing a storage hopper 13 that still has goods remaining and does not necessarily require immediate replenishment can be performed simultaneously with the replenishment of goods to the other storage hoppers 13, thereby reducing the frequency of replenishment work and improving work efficiency.

[0067] [Other embodiments] The present invention can also be implemented in the following forms.

[0068] (1) A weight may be attached to the movable gate 52 that swings by its own weight so that it is biased by its own weight. In this case, it is preferable to make the weight of the weight adjustable so that the biasing force by its own weight can be set according to the properties of the article.

[0069] (2) The movable gate 52 may be lightly biased toward the shutter side by a spring.

[0070] (3) In the above embodiment, an example is given of the case where the attitude of the storage hopper 13 changes significantly (by approximately 90 degrees) between a high-level item supply position and a low-level item replenishment position. However, by using a four-link mechanism in the hopper lifting mechanism 30, it is also possible to lift and lower the storage hopper 13 while maintaining its attitude constant or approximately constant. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 4 Weighing Unit 5 Supply Unit 13 Storage hopper 29 Shutter opening and closing mechanism 30 Hopper lifting mechanism 32 Lifting arm 33 Lifting frame 36 Lifting link 37 Guide Rail 38 Slide member 40 Shutter 41 Cam plate 43 Operation roller 44 Operation Link 52 Movable Gate

Claims

1. a hopper lifting mechanism that supports a storage hopper having an openable and closable shutter at its lower end so that the storage hopper can be raised and lowered between a high-level item supply position above a starting end of the item conveying path and a low-level item supply position located below and outwardly of the item conveying path; and a shutter opening and closing mechanism that opens and closes the shutter in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the storage hopper so as to open the shutter at the item supply position and close the shutter at the item supply position, The shutter opening / closing mechanism linearly moves the shutter to open and close a lower end opening of the storage hopper, A movable gate is provided at a lower end of the storage hopper in the closing direction of the shutter, the movable gate being movable backward in a direction away from the tip of the shutter, The movable gate is biased to swing toward the shutter side with the upper end portion as a fulcrum. An article supplying device comprising:

2. An article supplying device as described in claim 1, wherein the movable gate is biased to swing toward the shutter side by its own weight.

3. An article supplying device as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the shutter opening and closing mechanism comprises a linear guide rail and a sliding member that supports the shutter and is capable of sliding along the guide rail.

Images