Combination scale

Abstract

To provide a combination balance that can smoothly discharge items from a collection funnel and also can limit the falling rate of falling items.SOLUTION: A combination balance includes: a sutter 21 with a surrounding wall; and shutter driving mechanisms 22 and 23 for lifting or dropping or rotating the shutter 21 in the inner center part of the collection funnel 10. The shutter driving mechanism 22 drops the shutter 21, closes the lower end opening of the collection funnel 10 by surrounding the lower end opening with the surrounding wall, increases the shutter 21, and opens the lower end opening of the collection funnel 10. The shutter driving mechanism 23 rotates the shutter 21 around a vertical supporting point p.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a combination weigher, and more particularly to a combination weigher provided with an aggregate funnel for aggregating articles discharged from a plurality of hoppers and discharging them downward.

Background Art

[0002] As a combination weigher, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, articles discharged from a plurality of hoppers selected as an appropriate combination within a predetermined weight range by a combination operation are slid and guided downward below the center of the apparatus through an aggregate chute, and are configured to be collected in an aggregate funnel provided with a ring shutter, temporarily held, and discharged.

[0003] In this combination weigher, the lower end opening of the aggregate funnel is opened and closed by raising and lowering a cylindrical ring shutter. By the lowered ring shutter, the articles sliding down the aggregate chute are temporarily stopped so that the falling speed of the articles does not increase, thereby preventing damage to the articles.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In Patent Document 1, as described above, the cylindrical ring shutter is raised and lowered. However, when the ring shutter is raised to open the aggregate funnel, for example, in the case of a long article, one end thereof abuts against the outer peripheral surface of the ring shutter and the other end abuts against the inner peripheral surface of the aggregate funnel, and the one end moves upward in accordance with the raising of the ring shutter, causing the article to rise, and the article may be caught in a bridge shape across the outer peripheral surface of the ring shutter and the inner peripheral surface of the aggregate funnel.

[0006] In this case, the caught article remains in the collecting funnel without being discharged, and is discharged from the collecting funnel together with the next article sliding down from the collecting chute, and the weight of the discharged article may deviate from the predetermined weight range.

[0007] If the ring shutter is raised significantly above the height at which the one end of the article cannot come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ring shutter and the bridge-shaped catch is released when opened, the above-mentioned problem can be avoided. However, in this case, the lifting stroke of the ring shutter becomes large, and accordingly, the apparatus becomes larger in size and the time required for the opening and closing operation becomes longer.

[0008] Also, the caught article does not remain in the collecting funnel, but the catch is released as the ring shutter rises, and the article falls behind other article groups that have fallen earlier and is fed into the packaging apparatus arranged below the collecting funnel with a delay, and there may occur a sealing defect due to the biting of the article in the packaging apparatus.

[0009] The present invention has been made paying attention to such points, and an object thereof is to provide a combination scale that can limit the falling speed of the sliding article and smoothly discharge the article from the collecting funnel.

Means for Solving the Problems

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

[0011] (1) The combination scale according to the present invention includes a dispersion feeder that radially disperses and conveys supplied articles, a plurality of linear feeders disposed around the dispersion feeder for conveying the articles from the dispersion feeder respectively, a plurality of hoppers that hold and discharge the articles supplied through each linear feeder, a collecting chute that collects and discharges the articles discharged from the plurality of hoppers, and a collecting funnel disposed below the collecting chute for collecting the articles discharged from the collecting chute and discharging them downward, and is a combination scale comprising: a shutter having a peripheral wall, and a shutter drive mechanism that raises and rotates the shutter at the inner central portion of the collecting funnel, wherein the shutter drive mechanism lowers the shutter to close the lower end opening of the collecting funnel surrounded by the peripheral wall, and raises the shutter to open the lower end opening of the collecting funnel, and the shutter drive mechanism rotates the shutter around a vertical fulcrum.

[0012] According to the combination scale of the present invention, when holding an article in the collecting funnel with the shutter lowered to a closed state and then raising the shutter to discharge the article, even if the article is caught in a bridge shape across the outer peripheral surface of the shutter and the inner peripheral surface of the collecting funnel, by rotating the shutter, the catch can be prevented and the article can be surely dropped and discharged.

[0013] Therefore, the shutter only needs to be raised to a height at which the lower end opening of the collecting funnel is opened with a minimum opening sufficient for article discharge, and the shutter can be quickly raised and lowered with a small stroke to smoothly and surely discharge the article.

[0014] (2) In one embodiment of the present invention, the shutter drive mechanism rotates the shutter in conjunction with raising the shutter.

[0015] According to this embodiment, by rotating the shutter in conjunction with raising the shutter, the article is not caught in a bridge shape, and the article can be surely dropped and discharged.

[0016] (3) In another embodiment of the present invention, the shutter drive mechanism includes a lifting drive mechanism for lifting and lowering the shutter and a turning drive mechanism for turning the shutter.

[0017] According to this embodiment, the turning timing and turning speed of the shutter can be arbitrarily set and changed with respect to the lifting operation, and the bridged catch of the article can be effectively prevented.

[0018] (4) In still another embodiment of the present invention, the shutter has the cylindrical peripheral wall.

[0019] According to this embodiment, since the shutter has a cylindrical peripheral wall and is hollow inside, it can be configured to be lightweight, and the drive mechanism for lifting and turning can be of a small output, and high-speed operation becomes possible.

[0020] (5) In one embodiment of the present invention, the shutter has a metal support cylinder and a shutter body made of an elastic material attached to the outside of the support cylinder.

[0021] According to this embodiment, articles flowing down and supplied to the collecting funnel can be buffered and received by the shutter body, which is effective in preventing damage to the articles.

[0022] (6) In another embodiment of the present invention, at least the lower part of the shutter body extends downward from the support cylinder.

[0023] According to this embodiment, articles flowing down and supplied to the collecting funnel are received by the lower part of the shutter body that has descended to the closed position, that is, a cylindrical part that is easily elastically deformed, so that the buffering effect becomes higher.

[0024] Also, when the shutter is lowered to close the lower end opening of the collecting funnel, even if the lower end of the shutter body abuts against the inner surface of the metal collecting funnel at high speed, no large collision sound will occur.

[0025] (7) In still another embodiment of the present invention, a shutter support member that is lifted, lowered, and rotated by the shutter drive mechanism is provided, and the shutter is detachably attached to the shutter support member.

[0026] According to this embodiment, since the shutter is detachable from the shutter support member, the shutter can be easily cleaned and replaced, and the maintainability is excellent.

Advantages of the Invention

[0027] Thus, according to the present invention, after holding an article in the collective funnel with the shutter lowered to the closed state, when raising the shutter to discharge the article, even if the article is caught in a bridge shape across the outer peripheral surface of the shutter and the inner peripheral surface of the collective funnel, by rotating the shutter, the catch can be prevented and the article can be surely dropped and discharged.

[0028] Thereby, the shutter only needs to be raised to a height at which the lower end opening of the collective funnel is opened with a minimum opening sufficient for discharging the article, and the shutter can be quickly lifted and lowered with a small stroke to smoothly and surely discharge the article.

[0029] Also, since the article sliding down the collective chute is once received by the shutter so that the falling speed of the article does not increase, breakage of the article can be prevented.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0030]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal front view showing the schematic configuration of a combination scale according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] The combination scale of this embodiment measures and discharges articles such as various foods by a predetermined amount, and is installed on the floor surface F of the upper floor in a frame assembled in a lattice shape that allows an operator to go up and down. It is also used in a packaging line that puts the measured articles into a packaging device installed downstairs and bags them.

[0033] A hollow base 1 with a vertically penetrating opening in the center is installed on the floor surface F, and a center base body 2 having a hollow structure formed in a polygonal short column shape is supported above the center thereof via a plurality of legs 3.

[0034] Above the center of the center base body 2, a dispersion feeder 4 is equipped to radially disperse and convey articles supplied from a supply conveyor (not shown) by a vibration-driven top cone 4a. Surrounding this dispersion feeder 4, a number of linear feeders 5 are radially provided to place the dispersed and conveyed articles on a vibration-driven trough 5a and linearly convey them outward. Note that the supply path of the articles to the dispersion feeder 4 is surrounded by a supply guide 6 to prevent the articles from scattering around.

[0035] Furthermore, on the outer peripheral wall of the center base 2, there are provided a supply hopper 7 for temporarily storing and discharging the articles conveyed by each linear feeder 5, and a weighing hopper 8 for weighing and discharging the articles discharged from each supply hopper 7. The combined weighing and discharging of the articles are performed by a number of weighing units including these linear feeders 5, supply hoppers 7, and weighing hoppers 8 in series.

[0036] Below each weighing hopper 8, a collecting chute 9 is provided to guide the articles discharged from a plurality of weighing hoppers 8 selected by combination calculation so as to fall downward toward the lower part of the center of the apparatus. Below the collecting chute 9, a collecting funnel 10 is provided to collect the articles flowing down along the collecting chute 9 to the central part of the apparatus. Further, below the collecting funnel 10, a collecting hopper 11 is provided to temporarily hold the articles collected by the collecting funnel 10 and discharge them based on a discharge request command from the packaging apparatus side.

[0037] In the present embodiment, in order to prevent the falling speed of the articles from increasing and the articles from being damaged when the articles slidingly guided along the collecting chute 9 are supplied to the collecting hopper 11 through the collecting funnel 10, a shutter device 20 for temporarily holding the articles with the collecting funnel 10 is provided. Hereinafter, the detailed structure of this shutter device 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6.

[0038] FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view showing the shutter open state of the shutter device 20, FIG. 3 is a front view showing the shutter closed state of the shutter device 20, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the shutter device, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the attachment / detachment structure of the shutter, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the shutter.

[0039] The shutter device 20 includes a cylindrical shutter 21 having a peripheral wall, an air cylinder 22 as a lifting drive mechanism for lifting the shutter 21 within the collective funnel 10, and an air motor 23 as a turning drive mechanism for turning the shutter 21 around the vertical fulcrum p at its center. In the shutter device 20, the shutter 21 is lifted and lowered to open and close the lower end opening of the collective funnel 10, and is configured to turn the shutter 21 around the vertical fulcrum p in conjunction with the lifting and lowering.

[0040] The air motor 23 is connected and fixed to the center of the bottom plate 2a of the center base 2, and a support bracket 24 bent in an inverted L shape is connected to a rotation shaft (not shown) protruding from the lower surface of the motor. The air cylinder 22 is vertically connected and supported by the support bracket 24.

[0041] A horizontally long shutter support member 25 is connected to the lower end of a piston rod 22a protruding from the lower surface of the air cylinder 22. On both sides of the piston rod 22a, a pair of guide shafts 26 vertically erected upward from the shutter support member 25 are inserted into the casing of the air cylinder 22 so as to be vertically slidable.

[0042] As shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 6, the shutter 21 externally fits a cylindrical shutter body 28 made of an elastic material such as urethane rubber to a metal support cylinder 27 having a top plate portion 27a, and winds and fixes a fastening band 29. In this embodiment, the lower half of the shutter body 28 extends below the lower end of the support cylinder 27. In the shutter closed state, the articles collected in the collective funnel 10 are cushioningly received by the lower half of the shutter body 28, and when the shutter descends, the lower end of the shutter body 28 elastically contacts the collective funnel 10 without generating noise.

[0043] In addition, a large number of vent holes 30 are formed in the ceiling portion and the peripheral portion of the support cylinder 27 to reduce the weight of the entire shutter 21.

[0044] Above the top plate portion 27a in the support cylinder 27, a horizontally long connecting plate 31 is provided. Bolts 32 implanted and fixed to the lower surface of the connecting plate 31 are inserted through the top plate portion 27a, and upper and lower lock nuts 33, 34 equipped on the bolts 32 are tightened, so that the connecting plate 31 is connected and fixed to the shutter 21.

[0045] From one side of both ends of the connecting plate 31, a pair of connecting pieces 31a are continuously provided in a cantilever shape, and each connecting piece 31a is formed with a connecting groove 35 that opens toward the cantilever free end side.

[0046] As shown in Fig. 5, near both ends of the shutter support member 25, connecting bolts 36 with handles are provided. While placing the connecting piece 31a of the connecting plate 31 on the upper surface of the shutter support member 25, engaging it with the connecting bolt 36 until the inner end of the connecting groove 35, and tightening the connecting bolt 36, the shutter 21 can be connected and fixed to the shutter support member 25. Also, by loosening the connecting bolt 36, the shutter 21 can be removed laterally from the shutter support member 25.

[0047] The shutter device 20 is configured as described above. As shown in Fig. 3, until the lower end of the shutter main body 28 abuts against the inner surface of the collective funnel 10, the shutter 21 is lowered, so that the lower end opening of the collective funnel 10 is surrounded and closed by the peripheral wall of the shutter 21, and the articles discharged from the weighing hopper 8 selected by the combination operation flow down and are input through the collective chute 9, and the articles within a predetermined weight range are temporarily held in the annular space formed between the peripheral wall of the shutter 21 and the inner peripheral surface of the collective funnel 10.

[0048] At this time, the lower half of the shutter 21 is formed only by the shutter main body 28 made of an elastic material such as urethane rubber, so the articles flowing down and being input are buffered and received by the lower half of the peripheral wall of the shutter 21, and the articles are collectively held without being damaged.

[0049] After the shutter 21 is closed and the articles are once assembled and held, as shown in FIG. 2, the shutter 21 is driven to rise, opening the lower end opening of the collecting funnel 10, and the articles assembled and held are discharged and fed into the collecting hopper 11. Further, in conjunction with the upward driving of the shutter 21, the shutter 21 is driven to rotate, for example, through 90 degrees.

[0050] Therefore, due to the upward movement of the shutter 21, one end of the article abuts against the outer peripheral surface of the shutter 21 and the other end abuts against the inner peripheral surface of the collecting funnel 10, and the one end moves upward in response to the upward movement of the shutter 21 so that the article stands up. Even if the article is caught in a bridge shape across the outer peripheral surface of the shutter 21 and the inner peripheral surface of the collecting funnel 10, the contact between the one end of the article and the outer peripheral surface of the shutter 21 is released by the rotation of the shutter 21, and the article cannot stand up and cannot be caught in a bridge shape, and the article is surely dropped and discharged.

[0051] As a result, for example, the articles to be discharged this time are not caught in a bridge shape across the outer peripheral surface of the shutter 21 and the inner peripheral surface of the collecting funnel 10 and remain in the collecting funnel 10, and are not discharged from the collecting funnel 10 together with the next articles, and articles having a weight outside the predetermined weight range are not discharged, so that incorrect weighing can be prevented.

[0052] Furthermore, the articles caught in a bridge shape across the outer peripheral surface of the shutter 21 and the inner peripheral surface of the collecting funnel 10 do not remain in the collecting funnel 10, but fall behind the other group of articles that have fallen earlier and are fed into the packaging device arranged below the collecting funnel with a delay. There is also no such thing as a sealing defect caused by the biting of the articles fed in with a delay in the packaging device.

[0053] In this embodiment, in conjunction with the downward driving of the shutter 21, the shutter 21 is driven to rotate in the direction opposite to that during upward movement through 90 degrees.

[0054] [Other Embodiments] The present invention can also be implemented in the following forms.

[0055] (1) When the shutter 21 rises and opens, even if the shutter 21 rotates slightly, the articles caught in a bridge shape across the outer peripheral surface of the shutter 21 and the inner peripheral surface of the collecting funnel 10 will fall. Therefore, the rotation angle of the shutter 21 may be less than 90 degrees.

[0056] (2) In the above embodiment, the shutter 21 is set to reciprocally rotate at a predetermined angle in conjunction with the lifting and lowering. However, the form of rotating the shutter 21 can be arbitrarily set. For example, when the shutter 21 descends, it may not rotate, and it may only reciprocally rotate at a predetermined angle when the shutter 21 ascends. Also, in conjunction with the ascending operation of the shutter 21, it may reciprocally rotate at a small angle multiple times. Alternatively, it may be rotated immediately before the ascending operation of the shutter 21.

[0057] (3) As the drive mechanism for lifting, lowering, and rotating the shutter 21, in addition to using an air cylinder or an air motor, an electric cylinder or an electric motor can also be used.

[0058] (4) The shutter body 28 may be integrally formed in a cylindrical shape, or a shutter body may be formed by cylindrically winding a sheet material made of an elastic material around the support cylinder 27.

[0059] (5) The shutter 21 does not necessarily have to be a hollow cylindrical shape, and it may be a columnar shape. For example, by adopting a structure in which a shutter body formed of a foamed resin material in a columnar shape is connected to the lower surface of a mounting plate made of a metal material, weight reduction can be achieved, and articles can be received in a buffered manner. In this case, it is desirable to make the outer peripheral surface of the columnar shutter body a smooth surface coated with a resin material to which articles do not easily adhere.

[0060] (6) In the above embodiment, the measured articles are temporarily stored in the collecting funnel 10 and then fed into the collecting hopper 11. However, it can also be implemented in a form of directly discharging from the collecting funnel 10 to the packaging device.

Description of Symbols

[0061] 9 Aggregate Shoot 10 Aggregate Funnel 20 Shutter Device 21 Shutter 22 Lifting Drive Mechanism (Air Cylinder) 23 Swivel Drive Mechanism (Air Motor) 27 Support Tube 28 Shutter Body p Vertical Fulcrum

Claims

1. A combination scale comprising a dispersion feeder for radially dispersing and conveying supplied articles, a plurality of linear feeders disposed around the dispersion feeder for conveying the articles from the dispersion feeder respectively, a plurality of hoppers for holding and discharging the articles supplied through each linear feeder, a gathering chute for gathering and discharging the articles discharged from the plurality of hoppers, and a gathering funnel disposed below the gathering chute for gathering the articles discharged from the gathering chute and discharging them downward, a shutter having a peripheral wall, and a shutter drive mechanism for raising and lowering and pivoting the shutter at an inner central portion of the gathering funnel, the shutter drive mechanism lowers the shutter to close the lower end opening of the gathering funnel surrounded by the peripheral wall, and raises the shutter to open the lower end opening of the gathering funnel, and the shutter drive mechanism pivots the shutter around a longitudinal fulcrum, characterized in that it is a combination scale.

2. The shutter drive mechanism pivots the shutter in conjunction with raising the shutter, The combination scale according to claim 1.

3. The shutter drive mechanism includes a lifting drive mechanism for lifting and lowering the shutter and a pivoting drive mechanism for pivoting the shutter, The combination scale according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The shutter has the cylindrical peripheral wall, The combination scale according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The shutter has a metal support cylinder and a shutter body made of an elastic material attached to the outside of the support cylinder, The combination scale according to claim 4.

6. At least the lower part of the shutter body extends downward from the support cylinder, The combination scale according to claim 5. Claim 7 A shutter support member that is lifted, lowered, and rotated by the shutter drive mechanism, and the shutter is detachably attached to the shutter support member. The combination scale according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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