Dispersion tray and combination weigher equipped with same

Abstract

To provide a distribution tray that can sufficiently distribute articles to be supplied and carry out the articles, and a combination weigher including the same.SOLUTION: A distribution tray 7 is driven to vibrate and distributes articles supplied to a center part and conveys them to the outside, and comprises: a main conveying part 7a that is inclined downward from the center side toward the outside; and an edge part 7b that is inclined upward toward the outside over the entire circumference of an outer peripheral part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a distribution tray that constitutes a distribution feeder of a combination weigher, and a combination weigher equipped with this distribution tray. [Background technology]

[0002] In general, in a combination weigher, the articles fed are distributed and conveyed by a dispersion feeder to a number of linear feeders arranged around it, and the linear feeders convey the articles further outward to a number of supply hoppers. The multiple supply hoppers supply the articles to a number of weighing hoppers, which weigh the articles. Various combinations of the weights of the articles in the multiple weighing hoppers result in a combined weight within a predetermined weight range, and the articles are discharged from the appropriate combination of weighing hoppers and fed into a packaging device or the like below via a collecting chute or the like.

[0003] A dispersion feeder generally includes a conical dispersion tray onto which articles are dropped and a vibration mechanism that vibrates the dispersion tray (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-15600 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the dispersion feeder, the articles that are dropped and fed into the center of the conical dispersion tray are dispersed and conveyed outward by vibrating the dispersion tray, but some articles may not receive sufficient vibration on the dispersion tray and may be conveyed along the conical surface to the surrounding linear feeders. In such cases, the articles cannot be uniformly dispersed on the dispersion tray, and may be conveyed out in a concentrated state to one part of the linear feeder.

[0006] If articles are conveyed unevenly from the dispersion feeder to the straight feeder in this way, the amount of articles supplied from the straight feeder to the weighing hopper via the supply hopper will not be stable, making it difficult to achieve an appropriate combination, reducing the combination accuracy and reducing the yield.

[0007] The present invention has been made with attention to these points, and aims to improve the dispersion of articles on the dispersion tray and prevent the articles from being conveyed out unevenly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

[0009] (1) The dispersion tray of the present invention is a dispersion tray that is vibrated to disperse and transport articles supplied to the center outward, and is equipped with a main transport section that slopes downward from the center to the outside, and an edge section that slopes upward toward the outside around the entire outer periphery.

[0010] According to the dispersion tray of the present invention, the edge portion has a function of blocking the movement of the items from the outer periphery of the dispersion tray with an appropriate resistance. As a result, the items on the dispersion tray are blocked and can be sufficiently vibrated, during which the items are loosened, their postures are aligned, and they are carried out over the edge portion. Therefore, it is possible to prevent some of the items from being unevenly carried out in a clumped state from the outer periphery of the dispersion tray.

[0011] (2) In one embodiment of the present invention, a flat portion is formed in an annular shape between the main transfer portion and the edge portion.

[0012] According to this embodiment, a shallow recess is formed in an annular shape near the outer periphery of the dispersion tray by the downwardly inclined main conveyor section, the upwardly inclined edge section, and the flat section between them. The articles are blocked and retained in this recess with moderate resistance, and are sufficiently subjected to vibration to be uniformly dispersed. In addition, the amount of articles retained in the recess can be adjusted by setting the width of the flat section, etc.

[0013] (3) In another embodiment of the present invention, the edge portion is inclined linearly upward toward the outside.

[0014] According to this embodiment, by setting the height of the edge portion at the outer peripheral end of the distribution tray and the outward inclination angle, etc., it is possible to block the objects with an appropriate resistance according to the shape, size, etc. of the objects.

[0015] (4) In still another embodiment of the present invention, the dispersion tray is provided with a conical center cone on the central side of the main transport section, the center cone being inclined downward toward the outside at a steeper incline than the incline of the main transport section.

[0016] In this embodiment, the steeply inclined center cone can quickly guide the falling items down outward and into the main conveying section, so that the items in the main conveying section can be smoothly pushed outward by the following items flowing down along the center cone, which is effective when dispersing and conveying items that are difficult to move smoothly outward.

[0017] (5) In one embodiment of the present invention, the center cone is configured separately from the distribution tray and is detachable from a vibration mechanism that vibrates the distribution tray.

[0018] According to this embodiment, it becomes easy to select and replace a center cone having any desired inclination angle, etc., and it is possible to easily configure a suitable dispersion tray according to the shape, size, or properties, etc. of the article.

[0019] (6) A combination weigher according to the present invention is a combination weigher comprising a dispersion feeder which disperses and transports supplied articles outward, a plurality of straight feeders arranged around the dispersion feeder, a plurality of supply hoppers arranged corresponding to each of the straight feeders and which temporarily hold and discharge the articles transported by the straight feeders, and a plurality of weighing hoppers arranged corresponding to each of the supply hoppers and which temporarily hold the articles discharged from the supply hoppers and weigh the articles, wherein the dispersion feeder has a dispersion tray at the center of which the articles are supplied, and a vibration mechanism which vibrates the dispersion tray, and the dispersion tray is any one of the dispersion trays described above in (1) to (5).

[0020] According to the combination weigher of the present invention, it is possible to prevent some articles from being unevenly conveyed from the dispersion tray to the straight feeder in a bundled state, thereby stabilizing the amount of articles supplied to the supply hopper and weighing hopper via the straight feeder, thereby improving the combination accuracy and improving the yield. Effect of the Invention

[0021] In this way, the dispersion tray of the present invention allows the articles to be sufficiently dispersed and carried out, and a combination weigher equipped with this dispersion feeder is able to perform combination weighing with high accuracy. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of a combination weigher according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the upper part of the combination weigher. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the dispersion tray portion of the dispersion feeder. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view with a portion of the distribution tray of the distribution feeder cut away. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the dispersion tray of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a plan view that shows a schematic diagram of the dispersed conveyance of articles. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 of another embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of the embodiment of FIG. 7, corresponding to FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of a combination weigher equipped with a dispersion tray according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the upper part of the combination weigher.

[0025] The combination weigher of this embodiment is used in a packaging line or the like, which weighs out predetermined amounts of various foods and other articles and discharges them into a packaging device (not shown) to pack the articles into bags.

[0026] The configuration and operation of the combination weigher is basically the same as conventional ones, with a dispersion feeder 1 provided at the top center of the combination weigher, and items dropped from a supply device 2 are guided and supplied to the center of the dispersion feeder 1 via an input funnel 3, and the items are dispersed and transported outward by the dispersion feeder 1.

[0027] Around the dispersion feeder 1, multiple linear feeders 4 (14 in this example) are arranged radially, which vibrate and transport articles conveyed from the outer periphery of the dispersion feeder 1 in a linear fashion further outward.

[0028] Below the conveying end of each straight feeder 4, there is provided a supply hopper 5 having a gate 5a whose opening and closing is controlled by the control device 21, and below each supply hopper 5, there is provided a weighing hopper 6 having a gate 6a whose opening and closing is controlled by the control device 21.

[0029] The dispersion feeder 1 is configured to vibrate a dispersion tray 7 having a circular planar shape by a vibration mechanism 8, and to radially distribute and convey the articles dropped and supplied to the center of the dispersion tray 7 outward in the radial direction. Specifically, the dispersion tray 7 is given a circumferential vibration by the vibration mechanism 8 in the same manner as in the conventional case, and the articles supplied onto the dispersion tray 7 are conveyed outward in the radial direction while moving in the circumferential direction.

[0030] The detection output from the weight sensor 9 supporting the vibration mechanism 8 is given to the control device 21, and based on this detection output, the control device 21 controls the amount of goods supplied from the supply device 2 to the dispersion tray 7 so that the weight of the goods on the dispersion tray 7 is within a predetermined range.

[0031] The linear feeder 4 vibrates a gutter-shaped trough 10 by a vibration mechanism 11, and conveys the articles discharged from the dispersion feeder 1 further outward in a linear manner.

[0032] The supply hopper 5 temporarily holds the articles supplied from the linear feeder 4, and supplies articles to a weighing hopper 6 disposed below the supply hopper 5 when the weighing hopper 6 becomes empty.

[0033] Weight sensors 12 for measuring the weight of the articles in the weighing hoppers 6 are connected to the weighing hoppers 6 , and the detection outputs of the weight sensors 12 are provided to a control device 21 .

[0034] The control device 21 performs combination calculations based on the weights of the articles weighed in the weighing hoppers 6, selects an appropriate combination of weighing hoppers 6 that falls within a predetermined weight range, and discharges the articles from the weighing hoppers 6 selected as the appropriate combination. The discharged articles are temporarily held in the collecting hopper 15 via the collecting chute 13 and collecting funnel 14. In response to an input of a discharge request signal from a packaging device (not shown), the control device 21 opens the gate 15a of the collecting hopper 15, discharges the held articles, and feeds them into the packaging device.

[0035] In conventional combination weighers, some items may not be subjected to sufficient vibration on the distribution tray and may be transported along the conical surface to the surrounding linear feeders, resulting in some items being transported unevenly to the linear feeders with some items clumped together rather than being distributed evenly.

[0036] In this embodiment, articles dropped onto the distribution tray 7 of the distribution feeder 1 are sufficiently vibrated on the distribution tray 7, appropriately distributed in the circumferential direction, and transported to the surrounding linear feeder 4.

[0037] The configuration will be described in detail below.

[0038] 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the distribution tray 7 portion of the distribution feeder 1, FIG. 4 is a perspective view with a portion cut away of the distribution tray 7 portion of the distribution feeder 1, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of FIG.

[0039] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the distribution tray 7 is formed by pressing a metal plate into a disk shape and connecting it to a central boss portion 16 by welding or the like. The central boss portion 16 is fastened and fixed to a drive shaft portion 17 extending from a vibration mechanism 8 by a connecting bolt 18, so that the distribution tray 7 is vibrated.

[0040] A main transport section 7a that slopes gently downward toward the outside is formed in the majority of the center side of the dispersion tray 7. An edge section 7b that slopes upward toward the outside is formed around the entire circumference of the outer periphery of the dispersion tray 7. Furthermore, a flat section 7c is formed in an annular shape between the main transport section 7a and the edge section 7b.

[0041] The downward inclination angle θ of the main transfer section 7a shown in FIG. 5 is preferably, for example, not less than 3° and not more than 10°.

[0042] The height H of the outer peripheral end of the outwardly inclined upwardly slanted edge portion 7b shown in Fig. 5 is preferably 2 mm or more and 5 mm or less, and the width W1 of the edge portion 7b is preferably 5 mm or more and 25 mm or less.

[0043] In this embodiment in which the diameter of the distribution tray 7 is 350 mm, the height H of the edge portion 7b is, for example, 2 mm, and the width W1 is, for example, 15 mm.

[0044] The width W2 of the flat portion 7c between the main transfer portion 7a and the edge portion 7b shown in FIG. 5 is preferably 5 mm or more.

[0045] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, when a long, thin item w, such as beef jerky for pets, is dropped and fed into the center of the upper surface of the dispersion feeder 1, the item w is subjected to the circumferential vibration of the dispersion tray 7 and is transported outward while moving in the circumferential direction, and the longitudinal direction of the item w gradually changes its position so that it is aligned with the circumferential direction, which is the vibration direction.

[0046] Articles w that reach the outer periphery of the distribution tray 7 are retained circumferentially in a shallow annular recess with an inverted trapezoidal cross-section formed by the downward-sloping main conveying section 7a, the flat section 7c, and the upward-sloping edge section 7b.

[0047] The upwardly inclined edge portion 7b exerts a function of blocking the articles w from immediately moving outward from the outer periphery of the hopper, that is, from being conveyed to the linear feeder 4, with an appropriate resistance.

[0048] The blocked articles w are sufficiently vibrated while they are retained, so that they are loosened from their clumped state and their postures are aligned. Then, as the articles w continue to be gradually conveyed and moved from the main conveying section 7a toward the outer periphery, the articles w that were blocked by the edge section 7b are pushed outward over the edge section 7b, starting from the outer periphery, and are conveyed to the start end of the linear feeder 4.

[0049] In this way, the edge portion 7b around the entire outer periphery of the dispersion tray 7 provides an appropriate blocking function for the articles w, allowing the articles w to be sufficiently subjected to vibration on the dispersion tray 7, and the clumped articles are loosened and uniformly dispersed, and are transported without bias to the straight feeders 4 around the dispersion tray 7.

[0050] In addition, an appropriate amount of articles w can be retained in the annular recess formed by the downwardly sloping main conveying section 7a, the flat section 7c, and the upwardly sloping edge section 7b of the distribution tray 7, and the amount of articles w discharged to the linear feeder 4 can be controlled, and the retained articles can be effectively vibrated and dispersed. Furthermore, the amount of articles retained in the annular recess can be adjusted by setting the width W2 of the flat section 7c, etc.

[0051] As described above, according to this embodiment, the articles w are sufficiently vibrated and uniformly distributed on the distribution tray 7, thereby preventing some articles from being conveyed out in a concentrated state to the linear feeder 4, and stabilizing the supply amount of articles w supplied to the supply hopper 5 and the weighing hopper 6 via the linear feeder 4. This improves the combination accuracy and the yield.

[0052] [Other embodiments] The present invention can also be implemented in the following forms.

[0053] (1) As shown in Figures 7 and 8, a separately manufactured center cone 19 can be arranged in the center of the above-mentioned dispersion tray 7 and fixed to the central boss portion 16 with a connecting bolt 20. This center cone 19 is formed with an outwardly downward inclination angle that is sufficiently larger than the inclination angle of the main conveying portion 7a of the dispersion tray 7, and has a high function of smoothly distributing and conveying articles that are relatively difficult to move toward the outer periphery on the dispersion tray 7.

[0054] (2) The edge portion 7b does not necessarily have to be a linear outwardly inclined surface. For example, it may be formed as an outwardly inclined surface that protrudes upward or an outwardly inclined surface that is concavely curved upward.

[0055] (3) Depending on the size and shape of the article, or the properties of the article, it is also possible to omit the flat portion 7c and have the edge portion 7b directly connected to the outer circumferential edge of the main conveying portion 7a.

[0056] (4) The center cone 19 can be formed integrally with the distribution tray 7.

[0057] (5) The dispersion tray 7 can be constructed by connecting a separate main transport part 7a made of a metal or resin material to the upper surface of a flat circular plate material having only the edge part 7b. The center cone 19 can be integrally formed with this separate main transport part 7a.

[0058] (6) The upper surface of the dispersion tray may be embossed or coated. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1 Dispersion feeder 4 Straight feeder 5 Supply hopper 6 Weighing hopper 7. Dispersion Tray 7a Main conveyor 7b Edge section 7c flat area 8 Vibration mechanism 19 Center Cone w Goods

Claims

1. A flat circular distribution tray that distributes and conveys a plurality of elongated objects dropped into the center in a radially outward direction by vibration drive, A main conveying section that is inclined downward from the center side toward the outside; an edge portion that is inclined upward toward the outside around the entire outer periphery; a flat portion formed in an annular shape between the main transfer portion and the edge portion; With the above in mind, Furthermore, the main conveying section is inclined at an inclination angle of 3° or more and 10° or less, and the edge section has a height of 2 mm or more and 5 mm or less and a width of 5 mm or more and 25 mm or less, thereby forming an annular recessed portion capable of retaining the plurality of articles together with the main conveying section, the edge section, and the flat section; When the plurality of articles are conveyed in a bundled state, the plurality of articles are blocked by the configuration of the annular recess, and the edge portion loosens the blocked plurality of articles so that the articles can be discharged to a linear feeder of a combination weigher. A dispersion tray characterized by:

2. The dispersion tray is provided with a conical center cone on the central side of the main conveying section, the center cone being inclined downward toward the outward side at a steeper inclination than the inclination of the main conveying section. The dispersion tray of claim 1 .

3. The center cone is configured separately from the dispersion tray and is detachable from a vibration mechanism that vibrates the dispersion tray. The dispersion tray of claim 2.

4. A combination weighing scale comprising a dispersion feeder which disperses and conveys supplied articles outward, a plurality of straight feeders arranged around the dispersion feeder, a plurality of supply hoppers arranged corresponding to each of the straight feeders and which temporarily hold and discharge the articles conveyed by the straight feeders, and a plurality of weighing hoppers arranged corresponding to each of the supply hoppers and which temporarily hold the articles discharged from the supply hoppers and weigh the articles, The dispersion feeder has a dispersion tray to which the articles are supplied at the center and a vibration mechanism that vibrates the dispersion tray, and the dispersion tray is the dispersion tray according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A combination weigher characterized by the above.

Images