Item conveying device and combination weighing device

Abstract

To improve the efficiency of combinatorial weighing operation.SOLUTION: An article conveyance device 110 comprises an article ejection container 10, an article conveyance mechanism 30, an article detection mechanism 60, and a control unit 90. The article ejection container 10 has an ejection opening 20 and ejects an accommodated article A from the ejection opening 20. The article conveyance mechanism 30 has a plurality of feeders 40 including a first feeder 41 to an n-th feeder 4n. The plurality of feeders 40 convey the article A received from the ejection opening 20. The article detection mechanism 60 has a plurality of sensors 70. The plurality of sensors 70 includes a first sensor 71 to an n-th sensor 7n. The first sensor 71 to the n-th sensor 7n detect the presence of the article A in the first feeder 41 to the n-th feeder 4n, respectively. The control unit 90 determines the occurrence of jamming of the article A in the ejection opening 20 on the basis of the output of the article detection mechanism 60. The control unit 90 increases the conveyance strength of some of the feeders that receive the article A from a place where there is occurrence of jamming in the ejection opening 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an article transport device and a combination weighing device using an article transport device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 (JP 2009-174912 A) discloses a combination weighing device. The combination weighing device separates a predetermined target weight of an object, for example, a granular object. A packaging device arranged downstream of the combination weighing device completes a product by packaging the object of the predetermined target weight.

[0003] The combination weighing device includes an article conveying device, a plurality of weighing devices, and a calculation device. The article conveying device is for removing a plurality of divided articles from a batch of articles. The article conveying device includes an article discharge container having at least one discharge outlet, and a plurality of feeders. The plurality of weighing devices weigh each of the divided articles. The calculation device finds a combination of the divided articles that achieves a predetermined target weight. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A clogging of the outlet of the article discharge container may occur. In this case, at least a part of the feeders may become unusable. As a result, the operation of dispensing the articles by a predetermined target weight may not be performed properly.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to improve the efficiency of a combination weighing operation in a combination weighing device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An item transport device according to a first aspect includes an item discharge container, an item transport mechanism, an item detection mechanism, and a control unit. The item discharge container has a discharge outlet and discharges stored items from the discharge outlet. The item transport mechanism has a plurality of feeders including a first feeder to an n-th feeder. The plurality of feeders transport items received from the discharge outlet. The item detection mechanism has a plurality of sensors. The plurality of sensors include a first sensor to an n-th sensor. The first sensor to the n-th sensor detect the presence of items in the first feeder to the n-th feeder, respectively. The control unit determines whether or not an item has become clogged at the discharge outlet based on an output of the item detection mechanism. The control unit increases the transport strength of some of the feeders that receive items from a location at the discharge outlet where a clog has occurred.

[0007] According to this configuration, the conveying strength of the part of the feeders corresponding to the location where the blockage occurs is increased, and this process makes it easier to clear the blockage at the discharge port.

[0008] An article transport apparatus according to a second aspect is an article transport apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the clogging is an event in which parts of the articles become entangled at the discharge outlet.

[0009] An item conveying device according to a third aspect is an item conveying device according to the first or second aspect, in which, when the item detection mechanism detects that no items are detected during conveyance in only some of the multiple feeders, and items are detected during conveyance in the remaining feeders, and the control unit determines that an item is present in the item discharge container, the control unit determines that a blockage has occurred in the discharge port that discharges items to the some of the feeders in which no items are detected.

[0010] According to this configuration, when no articles are detected in only some of the feeders, it is determined that a clogging has occurred, and therefore it is possible to avoid a false detection of a clogging occurring due to a state in which no articles are present in the article discharge container.

[0011] An item conveying device according to a fourth aspect is an item conveying device according to any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, wherein, for all natural numbers k between 1 and n, if it is confirmed that the kth sensor installed in the kth feeder detects an item within a first period after the kth feeder starts conveying, the control unit determines that an item is present in the item discharge container for a second period.

[0012] According to this configuration, the control unit determines the presence of an object in the object discharge container based on the operation of the feeder and the response of the object, thereby preventing the control unit from erroneously determining that an object has been jammed due to the absence of an object in the object discharge container.

[0013] An item conveying device according to a fifth aspect is an item conveying device according to any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, wherein, when increasing the conveying strength, the control unit executes a first process of temporarily increasing the conveying strength and a second process of reducing the conveying strength to its original state.

[0014] According to this configuration, the conveying strength of the clogged feeder is temporarily increased and then returns to the original state, so that the conveying strength of the clogged feeder is prevented from remaining in a permanently high state, and the conveying amount of articles per unit time is maintained near the design value.

[0015] An item transport apparatus according to a sixth aspect is the item transport apparatus according to the fifth aspect, wherein the control unit alternately repeats the first process and the second process when increasing the transport strength.

[0016] According to this configuration, the conveying strength of the feeder in which a blockage occurs changes periodically, so that the blockage can be easily cleared.

[0017] An item conveying device according to a seventh aspect is an item conveying device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, further comprising an alarm that alerts a user that no items are present in the item discharge container if the item detection mechanism does not detect items in any of the multiple feeders.

[0018] According to this configuration, the user is notified that there are no articles in the article discharge container, and therefore the user can replenish the article discharge container with articles.

[0019] An article transport apparatus according to an eighth aspect is the article transport apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the article transport mechanism further comprises a plurality of vibration devices that transport articles by vibrating each of the plurality of feeders. The transport intensity is the amplitude of the vibration of the feeder.

[0020] According to this configuration, each of the plurality of feeders conveys an article by vibration, so that an article made up of a large number of granular objects can be conveyed with high precision.

[0021] An article conveying device according to a ninth aspect is the article conveying device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the multiple feeders have a guide that guides articles and a screw that conveys the articles along the guide by rotating. The conveying intensity is the rotation speed of the screw.

[0022] According to this configuration, each of the plurality of feeders transports the article by a screw, so that the slurry-like article can be transported efficiently.

[0023] A combination weighing device according to a tenth aspect includes an article conveying device, a plurality of hoppers, a plurality of weighing devices, an arithmetic device, and a chute. The article conveying device relates to any one of the first aspect to the ninth aspect. The plurality of hoppers store articles received from the plurality of feeders, respectively. The plurality of weighing devices measure the weight of the articles stored in each of the plurality of hoppers. The arithmetic device selects a portion of the combinations such that a total weight of the articles stored in some of the plurality of hoppers is close to a target weight. The chute collects the articles from some of the plurality of hoppers.

[0024] According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent clogging of the discharge outlet of the item discharge container in the item transport device mounted on the combination weighing device, and therefore the appropriate combination operation of the combination weighing device is less likely to be hindered. Effect of the Invention

[0025] According to the article transport device or combination weighing device of the present invention, article jams are easily eliminated, and the efficiency of the combination weighing operation is improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0026] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a combination weighing device 200 according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a combination weighing device 200 according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an article transport device 110. FIG. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart showing a process for determining the presence or absence of an item A. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart showing a clogging detection process. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart showing a clogging removal process. [Figure 7] 13 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an item conveying device 110B mounted on a combination weighing device 200B according to a second embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are specific examples of the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[0028] First Embodiment (1) Overall structure 1 is a schematic diagram of a combination weighing device 200 according to the first embodiment. The combination weighing device 200 separates a predetermined target weight of an item A, for example, a granular material. The combination weighing device 200 includes an item conveying device 110, a plurality of pool hoppers 120, a plurality of weighing hoppers 140, a calculation device 170 shown in FIG. 2, and a chute 180.

[0029] (2) Detailed configuration (2-1) Item transport device 110 The article transport apparatus 110 shown in Fig. 1 is for removing a plurality of divided articles A from a bundle of articles A. The article transport apparatus 110 has a channel number n. The channel number n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2. The article transport apparatus 110 divides the articles A into small amounts equal to the channel number n.

[0030] The article transport device 110 has an article discharge container 10, an article transport mechanism 30, an article detection mechanism 60, an alarm 80, and a control unit 90.

[0031] (2-1-1) Goods discharge container 10 The article discharge container 10 has a plurality of discharge outlets 20. The plurality of discharge outlets 20 includes a first discharge outlet 21 to an n-th discharge outlet 2n. The number of the discharge outlets 20 is the number of channels n. The article A stored in the article discharge container 10 can be discharged from each of the plurality of discharge outlets 20.

[0032] (2-1-2) Item transport mechanism 30 The article transport mechanism 30 is for transporting a small amount of articles A. As shown in FIG.

[0033] 1, the plurality of feeders 40 includes a first feeder 41 to an n-th feeder 4n. The number of feeders 40 is the number of channels n mentioned above. Each of the plurality of feeders 40 receives an article A from a corresponding one of the plurality of outlets 20.

[0034] The multiple vibration devices 50 collectively shown in FIG. 2 include a first vibration device 51 to an n-th vibration device 5n. The number of vibration devices 50 is the number of channels n described above. The first vibration device 51 to the n-th vibration device 5n are installed on the first feeder 41 to the n-th feeder 4n, respectively. Each of the multiple vibration devices 50 conveys an article A placed on a corresponding one of the multiple feeders 40 by applying vibration to the corresponding one of the multiple feeders 40. Each of the multiple feeders 40 can individually start and stop vibration.

[0035] (2-1-3) Object detection mechanism 60 The article detection mechanism 60 has a plurality of sensors 70, which are collectively shown in Fig. 2. The plurality of sensors 70 includes a first sensor 71 to an n-th sensor 7n. The number of sensors 70 is the number of channels n described above. The first sensor 71 to the n-th sensor 7n are installed at the first feeder 41 to the n-th feeder 4n, respectively. The first sensor 71 to the n-th sensor 7n detect the presence of an article A at the first feeder 41 to the n-th feeder 4n, respectively.

[0036] (2-1-4) Alarm 80 The alarm 80 notifies a user of a message. The specific configuration of the alarm 80 is not limited, and may be, for example, a speaker, a buzzer, a display, or a lamp.

[0037] (2-1-5) Control unit 90 The control unit 90 manages the operation of each unit of the article conveying device 110. For example, the control unit 90 starts and stops the vibration generation operation of the multiple vibration devices 50. In addition, the control unit 90 adjusts the magnitude of the amplitude of the vibration generated by each vibration device 50. The control unit 90 can increase the conveying strength of the corresponding feeder 40 by increasing the amplitude of the vibration of the vibration device 50. The control unit 90 can decrease the conveying strength of the corresponding feeder 40 by decreasing the amplitude of the vibration of the vibration device 50.

[0038] Furthermore, the control unit 90 determines whether or not the article A is present at a predetermined position of the multiple feeders 40 based on the received outputs of the multiple sensors 70.

[0039] Furthermore, the control unit 90 controls the alarm device 80 .

[0040] (2-2) Multiple Pool Hoppers 120 1 includes a first pool hopper 121 to an n-th pool hopper 12n. The number of pool hoppers 120 is equal to the number of channels n described above. The first pool hopper 121 to the n-th pool hopper 12n receive and store the item A from the first feeder 41 to the n-th feeder 4n, respectively.

[0041] The multiple pool hoppers 120 are provided with multiple pool hopper gates 130. The number of pool hopper gates 130 is the number of channels n described above. The first pool hopper 121 to the n-th pool hopper 12n are provided with the first pool hopper gate 131 to the n-th pool hopper gate 13n, respectively. Each of the multiple pool hoppers 120 continues to store item A when its own pool hopper gate 130 is closed. On the other hand, each of the multiple pool hoppers 120 discharges item A when its own pool hopper gate 130 is opened.

[0042] (2-3) Multiple weighing hoppers 140 1 includes a first weighing hopper 141 to an n-th weighing hopper 14n. The number of the weighing hoppers 140 is the number of channels n described above. The first weighing hopper 141 to the n-th weighing hopper 14n receive and store the articles A from the first pool hopper 121 to the n-th pool hopper 12n, respectively.

[0043] The weighing hoppers 140 are provided with a plurality of weighing hopper gates 150. The weighing hopper gates 150 include a first weighing hopper gate 151 to an n-th weighing hopper gate 15n. The number of the weighing hopper gates 150 is the number of channels n described above. The first weighing hopper 141 to the n-th weighing hopper 14n are provided with a first weighing hopper gate 151 to an n-th weighing hopper gate 15n. Each of the weighing hoppers 140 continues to store the article A when its own weighing hopper gate 150 is closed. On the other hand, each of the weighing hoppers 140 discharges the article A when its own weighing hopper gate 150 is opened.

[0044] The weighing hoppers 140 are further provided with a plurality of weighing devices 160 shown in FIG. 2. The weighing devices 160 collectively shown in FIG. 2 include a first weighing device 161 to an n-th weighing device 16n. The number of weighing devices 160 is the number of channels n described above. The first weighing hopper 141 to the n-th weighing hopper 14n are respectively provided with the first weighing device 161 to the n-th weighing device 16n. Each of the weighing devices 160 measures the weight of the article A contained in the corresponding weighing hopper 140. The article A contained in the weighing hoppers 140 has been divided into smaller pieces by the article conveying device 110.

[0045] (2-4) Arithmetic device 170 The calculation device 170 shown in Fig. 2 is for finding a combination of subdivisions that achieves a predetermined target weight.

[0046] The arithmetic device 170 can receive information on the weight of the articles A stored in the first weighing hopper 141 to the nth weighing hopper 14n from the multiple weighing devices 160. Furthermore, the arithmetic device 170 can open and close the multiple pool hopper gates 130 and the multiple weighing hopper gates 150 individually.

[0047] The arithmetic device 170 selects a portion of the first weighing hopper 141 to the n-th weighing hopper 14n based on information about the weight of the articles A stored in the multiple weighing hoppers 140 so that the total weight of the contents is closest to the target weight. Next, the arithmetic device 170 opens the weighing hopper gates 150 of the selected portion of the weighing hoppers 140, thereby discharging the articles A stored in the selected portion of the weighing hoppers 140. In this way, the articles A of the target weight are discharged from the chute 180 to the container C.

[0048] The computing device 170 may exchange information with the control unit 90 through communication. Alternatively, the computing device 170 may be configured as a processor or computer integrated with the control unit 90.

[0049] (2-5) Shoot 180 The chute 180 gathers up the articles A discharged from the multiple weighing hoppers 140 and sends them to a container C.

[0050] (3) Processing of the item transport device 110 (3-1) The phenomenon of clogging A phenomenon called clogging may occur in the article discharge container 10 of the article transport apparatus 110. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining clogging. In Fig. 3, the k-th channel of the article transport apparatus 110 is shown.

[0051] The article A discharged from the kth discharge outlet 2k of the article discharge container 10 is delivered to the kth feeder 4k of the article transport mechanism 30. At this time, depending on the shape or mass of the individual granular material constituting the article A, the shape of the article discharge container 10, and the temperature or humidity, as well as other conditions, a phenomenon may occur in which the article A is not discharged from the kth discharge outlet 2k even though it is present in the article discharge container 10. At this time, at a certain point on the transport path of the article A in the kth channel, typically near the kth discharge outlet 2k, some of the articles A become entangled with each other. This is the clogging of the article A that occurs at the kth discharge outlet 2k.

[0052] (3-2) Determining the presence or absence of items The item transport device 110 does not have a dedicated sensor for detecting whether or not an item A is present in the item discharge container 10. The control unit 90 determines whether or not an item A is present in the item discharge container 10 by performing the control shown in FIG.

[0053] In step S102, for all natural numbers k (1≦k≦n) equal to or less than the number of channels n, the control unit 90 checks whether or not the kth sensor 7k installed in the kth feeder 4k has detected an item A during a first period P1 from when the kth feeder 4k starts conveying. If the item A is detected in any of the multiple feeders 40, the process proceeds to step S104. On the other hand, if the item A is not detected in any of the multiple feeders 40, the process proceeds to step S106.

[0054] In step S104, the control unit 90 determines that the item A is present in the item discharge receptacle 10 over the second period P2.

[0055] In step S106, the control unit 90 activates the alarm 80 to notify the user that the item A is not present in the item discharge container.

[0056] (3-3) Clogging detection process FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the clogging detection process.

[0057] In step S202, the item detection mechanism 60 detects that the item A is not detected during conveyance of only one feeder 4α among the multiple feeders 40, and the item A is detected during conveyance of the remaining feeder 4β. In this case, the process proceeds to step S204. On the other hand, if this is not the case, the process proceeds to step S206.

[0058] In step S204, the control unit 90 determines that a blockage has occurred at the discharge port 2α corresponding to the feeder 4α.

[0059] In step S206, the control unit 90 determines that no clogging has occurred.

[0060] (3-4) Clogging removal process FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the clogging clearing operation.

[0061] In a normal case where no clogging occurs in any of the first discharge outlet 21 to the n-th discharge outlet 2n, the multiple vibration devices 50 apply vibration of normal amplitude Aa to the corresponding feeders 40.

[0062] The control unit 90 determines that a blockage of the article A has occurred at the k-th outlet 2k belonging to the k-th channel. In this case, the following series of operations are carried out to clear the blockage.

[0063] [First Operation] First, in step S302, the k-th vibration device 5k applies vibration of increased amplitude Ab to the k-th feeder 4k for a period T1. The increased amplitude Ab is greater than the normal amplitude Aa. The period T1 is, for example, 500 ms.

[0064] [Second Operation] Next, in step S304, the kth vibration device 5k applies vibration of normal amplitude Aa to the kth feeder 4k for a period T2, for example, 500 ms.

[0065] [Third Operation] In step S306, the kth vibration device 5k again applies vibration of increased amplitude Ab to the kth feeder 4k for a period T3, which is, for example, 500 ms.

[0066] [Fourth Operation] Next, in step S308, the kth vibration device 5k applies vibration of normal amplitude Aa to the kth feeder 4k for a period T4, for example, 500 ms.

[0067] In this way, when a feeder that receives articles from a clogged outlet vibrates with increased amplitude Ab, the vibration is transmitted through the chain of articles A to the location where the clog has occurred, which may clear the clog.

[0068] If the control unit 90 determines that the blockage has been cleared during the series of operations described above, the series of operations may be interrupted.

[0069] (4) Features (4-1) The conveying strength of some of the feeders corresponding to the location where the blockage occurs is increased. This process makes it easier to clear the blockage at the discharge port 20.

[0070] (4-2) The control unit 90 determines that a clog has occurred when the article A is not detected in only some of the feeders 40. This makes it possible to avoid a situation in which a clog is erroneously detected as occurring due to the absence of the article A in the article discharge container 10.

[0071] (4-3) The control unit 90 determines that the item A is present in the item discharge container 10 based on the operation of the feeder 40 and the response of the item A. This prevents the control unit 90 from erroneously determining that a blockage of the item A has occurred due to the item A not being present in the item discharge container 10.

[0072] (4-4) The conveying strength of the clogged feeder 40 is temporarily increased and then returns to the original state. Therefore, the conveying strength of the clogged feeder 40 is prevented from remaining in a permanently high state, and the conveying amount of the article A per unit time is maintained near the design value.

[0073] (4-5) The conveying strength of the clogged feeder 40 changes periodically, so that the clog is easily cleared.

[0074] (4-6) The user is notified that the item A is not present in the item discharge container 10. Therefore, the user can replenish the item A in the item discharge container 10.

[0075] (4-7) Each of the plurality of feeders 40 conveys the article A by vibration. Therefore, the article consisting of a large number of granular materials can be conveyed with high precision.

[0076] <Second embodiment> (1) Composition 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an article conveying device 110B mounted on a combination weighing device 200B according to the second embodiment. This article conveying device 110B is suitable for conveying wet article A such as chicken meat, or article A in a slurry state.

[0077] The article transport apparatus 110B has an article transport mechanism 30B. The article transport mechanism 30B has a plurality of feeders 4B and a plurality of motors 5B. Each of the plurality of feeders 4B has a guide 41B and a screw 42B.

[0078] In order for the kth feeder 4Bk to transport the article A, the kth motor 5Bk is operated to rotate the kth screw 42Bk. This causes the kth screw 42Bk to move the article A in one direction. To increase the transport strength of the kth feeder 4Bk, the rotation speed of the kth motor 5Bk is increased. The control of the rotation speed is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0079] (2) Features Each of the plurality of feeders 4B conveys the article A by a screw 42B. Therefore, the article A in a slurry state can be conveyed efficiently. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 10: Goods discharge container 20: Multiple outlets 21: 1st outlet 2n: nth outlet 30, 30B: Item transport mechanism 40: Multiple feeders 41: First feeder 4n: nth feeder 50: Multiple vibration devices 51: 1st vibration device 5n: nth vibration device 5B: Multiple motors 5Bk: kth motor 60: Item detection mechanism 70: Multiple sensors 71: First sensor 7n: nth sensor 80: Alarm 90: Control section 110, 110B: Item transport device 120: Multiple Pool Hoppers 121: First pool hopper 12n: nth pool hopper 130: Multiple pool hopper gates 131: First pool hopper gate 13n: nth pool hopper gate 140: Multiple weighing hoppers 141: First weighing hopper 14n: nth weighing hopper 150: Multiple weighing hopper gates 151: First weighing hopper gate 15n: nth weighing hopper gate 160: Multiple weighing devices 161: 1st measuring device 16n: nth measuring device 170: Arithmetic device 180: Shoot 200, 200B: Combination weighing device A:Goods Aa: Normal amplitude Ab: Increased amplitude C: Container P1: First period P2: Second period T1~T4: Period n: Number of channels [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0081] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-174912 A

Claims

1. An article discharge container having a plurality of discharge outlets including a first discharge outlet to an nth discharge outlet, and discharging stored articles from the plurality of discharge outlets; an article transport mechanism including a plurality of feeders including a first feeder to an n-th feeder that transport the articles received from each of the plurality of outlets; an article detection mechanism having a plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors including first to nth sensors detecting the presence of the article in the first to nth feeders, respectively; a control unit that determines whether or not a blockage of the object has occurred at each of the plurality of discharge outlets based on an output of the object detection mechanism, and increases a conveying strength of a portion of feeders that receive the object from a location where the blockage has occurred at any of the plurality of discharge outlets; Equipped with For all natural numbers k between 1 and n, if it is confirmed that the kth sensor installed on the kth feeder detects the item during a first period after the kth feeder starts conveying, the control unit determines that the item is present in the item discharge container over a second period; When the item detection mechanism detects that the item is not detected during transport in only some of the plurality of feeders and the item is detected during transport in the remaining feeders, and when the control unit determines that the item is present in the item discharge container, the control unit determines that the blockage has occurred in one of the plurality of discharge outlets that discharges the item to the some of the feeders in which the item is not detected. Item transport device.

2. The clogging is an event in which parts of the articles become entangled at the outlet.

2. An article transport apparatus according to claim 1.

3. When increasing the conveying strength, the control unit executes a first process of temporarily increasing the conveying strength and a second process of reducing the conveying strength to an original state.

3. An article transport apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The control unit alternately repeats the first process and the second process when increasing the conveying strength.

4. An article transport apparatus according to claim 3.

5. an alarm that notifies a user that the article is not present in the article discharge container when the article detection mechanism does not detect the article in any of the plurality of feeders; Further comprising: An article transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. the article conveying mechanism further includes a plurality of vibration devices that convey the articles by vibrating each of the plurality of feeders; The conveying intensity is the amplitude of vibration of the feeder; An article transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The plurality of feeders each include a guide that guides the article, and a screw that rotates to transport the article along the guide, The conveying intensity is the rotation speed of the screw; An article transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. An article transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 7; a plurality of hoppers for storing the articles received from the plurality of feeders, respectively; a plurality of weighing devices for measuring the weight of the items contained in each of the plurality of hoppers; a calculation device that selects a combination of the part of the plurality of hoppers such that a total weight of the articles stored in the part of the plurality of hoppers is close to a target weight; a chute that collects the articles from the portion of the plurality of hoppers; A combination weighing device comprising:

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