Transport device, and weighing and serving system

Abstract

A transport device 2 comprises: a container pull-in mechanism 20 for pulling in a container 11, which is used for serving up a food material, from a belt conveyor 10 on which the container 11 is transported and temporarily fastening the container 11 to a container accumulation mechanism 30; a transport unit 40 for transporting the container 11 from the container accumulation mechanism 30 to a prescribed serving position at a timing interlocked with a serving operation performed by a weighing and serving device 50; and a container discharge mechanism 60 for discharging, to the belt conveyor 10, the container 11 from which the food material has been served up.

Description

Conveyor and serving system

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying device and a measuring and serving system.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which a robot arranges ingredients in containers.

[0003] Patent No. 3602817

[0004] There is a system in which containers are transported by a belt conveyor, and a robot, such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, weighs and plates ingredients into these containers. This type of system requires a belt conveyor-side measure, such as matching the robot's processing speed with the belt conveyor speed or stopping the belt conveyor in front of the robot. Furthermore, if the time it takes for the robot to plate ingredients is not consistent, throughput will decrease if the plating process takes a long time. Thus, conventional weighing and plating systems have the problem that the time required for plating affects throughput.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to reduce the effect that the work time of the serving work has on the throughput of the entire measuring and serving system.

[0006] One aspect of the conveying device of this invention has a retraction section that retracts containers for plating ingredients from a line along which the containers are transported and temporarily stores them in a waiting area, a conveying section that transports the containers from the waiting area to a predetermined plating position at a timing linked to the plating operation by the weighing and plating device, and a discharge section that discharges the containers with the plated ingredients onto the line.

[0007] According to this aspect, the dispensing operation by the measuring and dispensing device is asynchronous with the container transport operation by the line, thereby reducing the impact of the dispensing operation time on the throughput of the entire system.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the conveying device further includes a waiting area for temporarily storing the container filled with the ingredients before it is discharged from the discharge section.

[0009] According to this aspect, the timing of discharging the containers onto the line can be adjusted so that the containers being discharged onto the line do not collide with the containers being transported by the line.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the transport device further includes an elevator mechanism for moving the transport device up and down between each waiting area.

[0011] According to this aspect, the area occupied by the waiting area in the horizontal plane can be reduced.

[0012] A measuring and dispensing system according to another aspect of the present invention includes the above-described conveying device and a measuring and dispensing device.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the system includes a plurality of the measuring and dispensing systems connected to the line, and a control unit that determines the number of containers drawn into one measuring and dispensing system per unit time based on the number of containers drawn into another measuring and dispensing system per unit time.

[0014] According to this aspect, the multiple measuring and dispensing systems share the work of dispensing food into containers transported along the line, thereby increasing the overall throughput.

[0015] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a measuring and dispensing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the measuring and dispensing system; Fig. 3 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a part of a conveying device of the measuring and dispensing system; Fig. 4 is a view for explaining the operation of the conveying device; Fig. 5 is a view showing an outline of the configuration of a measuring and dispensing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0017] 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a plan view, respectively, showing the configuration of a measuring and dispensing system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figures, a belt conveyor 10 is a line along which containers 11 for dispensing ingredients are transported. As shown in the figures, the measuring and dispensing system 1 is disposed to the side of the belt conveyor 10 and includes a conveying device 2 and a measuring and dispensing device 50. The conveying device 2 in this embodiment includes a container retraction mechanism 20, a container accumulation mechanism 30, a conveying unit 40, and a container discharge mechanism 60.

[0018] The container retraction mechanism 20 is a retraction unit that retracts the container 11 from the belt conveyor 10, which is a line, and temporarily stores the container 11 in a waiting area. The container accumulation mechanism 30 functions as a waiting area where the container 11 is temporarily stored.

[0019] The conveying unit 40 is a means for conveying the container 11 from the container accumulation mechanism 30 , which is a waiting location, to a predetermined serving position at a timing linked to the serving operation by the measuring and serving device 50 .

[0020] The measuring and dispensing device 50 is made up of a container containing ingredients, a robot arm, a weight sensor, etc., and is a means for measuring and dispensing ingredients into the container 11. The measuring and dispensing device 50 in this embodiment adjusts the amount of ingredients dispensed if the amount does not match a target value, so generally, the time required for the dispensing operation (the time from the start to the end of dispensing) is not constant.

[0021] The container discharge mechanism 60 discharges the containers 11 in which ingredients have been weighed and plated onto the line, i.e., the belt conveyor 10. The container discharge mechanism 60 has a container accumulation mechanism that temporarily stores the containers 11 in which ingredients have been weighed and plated by the weighing and plating device 50, and a conveying unit that removes the containers from the container accumulation mechanism and discharges them onto the belt conveyor 10.

[0022] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a partial configuration of the conveying device 2 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the container accumulation mechanism 30 includes a lifting accumulator 31 and an actuator 32 that drives the lifting accumulator 31 in the vertical direction. The lifting accumulator 31 includes a plurality of horizontal plate portions 31h for placing the containers 11 thereon, and vertical support portions 31v that extend in the vertical direction and support the horizontal plate portions 31h while spaced apart in the vertical direction. The actuator 32 moves the vertical support portions 31v up and down, thereby moving the lifting accumulator 31 up and down.

[0023] The container accumulation mechanism 30 receives the container 11 drawn in by the container drawing mechanism 20 on one horizontal plate portion 31h. The container accumulation mechanism 30 moves the lifting accumulator 31 up and down to receive a new container 11 on the horizontal plate portion 31h or to discharge the received container 11 to the conveying section 40.

[0024] The conveying unit 40 conveys the containers 11 from the container accumulation mechanism 30 to a predetermined serving position in accordance with the timing of the serving operation by the measuring and dispensing device 50. Specifically, the conveying unit 40 removes and conveys the next container 11 from the container accumulation mechanism 30 immediately (or after a predetermined time margin) as soon as the weighed and dispensed container 11 is discharged from the measuring and dispensing device 50. Alternatively, the measuring and dispensing device 50 may start removing the subsequent container 11 from the container accumulation mechanism 30 at the same time as it completes weighing and dispensing the preceding container 11. Note that the conveying unit 40 may also be provided with a location separate from the container accumulation mechanism 30 for temporarily waiting the containers 11. This allows the process of drawing the containers 11 from the belt conveyor 10 to the container accumulation mechanism 30 and the process of transporting the containers 11 to the serving position to be performed simultaneously.

[0025] In this embodiment, the container discharge mechanism 60 also includes mechanisms similar to the container accumulation mechanism 30 and the transport unit 40 described above.

[0026] 3 shows an example of the operation of the conveying device 2 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 3, the working time required for the measuring and dispensing device 50 to measure and dispense ingredients into one container 11 is not constant but varies. From another perspective, the working speed at which the measuring and dispensing device 50 measures and dispenses ingredients into one container 11 is not constant but fluctuates over time.

[0027] Therefore, if weighing and dispensing were to be performed directly on the containers 11 on the belt conveyor 10, in order to obtain a satisfactory yield rate, it would be necessary to lengthen the time interval between supplying the containers 11 to the weighing and dispensing device 50 (slow down the supply speed of the containers 11) to match the maximum working time for weighing and dispensing (minimum working speed), which would significantly reduce throughput.

[0028] Therefore, in this embodiment, the weighing and dispensing work is performed by a weighing and dispensing device 50 outside the line (belt conveyor 10), and a buffering means, i.e., a container accumulation mechanism 30, is provided on the transport path of the container 11 to absorb the speed difference between the supply speed of the container 11 and the working speed of the weighing and dispensing work.

[0029] In this embodiment, the supply speed of the containers 11 by the belt conveyor 10 is set to a value that matches, for example, the average working speed of measuring and dispensing by the measuring and dispensing device 50. In other words, the transport speed of the belt conveyor 10 is set so that the containers 11 arrive at the container retraction mechanism 20 at a time interval that corresponds to the average working time for measuring and dispensing one container 11 by the measuring and dispensing device 50.

[0030] Therefore, during periods when the measuring and dispensing operation speed by the measuring and dispensing device 50 is slower than the average value, the speed at which the conveying unit 40 removes the containers 11 from the container accumulation mechanism 30 is slower than the speed at which the container retraction mechanism 20 retains the containers 11 in the container accumulation mechanism 30, and the number of containers 11 retained in the container accumulation mechanism 30 increases.

[0031] As long as there is space in the container accumulation mechanism 30 (a horizontal plate portion 31h on which no container 11 is placed), the container retraction mechanism 20 retracts and stores the containers 11 that arrive after being transported by the belt conveyor 10 in the container accumulation mechanism 30. When the container accumulation mechanism 30 becomes full, the container retraction mechanism 20 allows the containers 11 transported by the belt conveyor 10 to pass through.

[0032] On the other hand, during periods when the measuring and dispensing operation speed by the measuring and dispensing device 50 is higher than the average value, the speed at which the conveying section 40 removes the containers 11 from the container accumulation mechanism 30 is higher than the speed at which the container retraction mechanism 20 retains the containers 11 in the container accumulation mechanism 30, and therefore the number of containers 11 retained in the container accumulation mechanism 30 decreases.

[0033] In this way, in this embodiment, buffering is performed to absorb the speed difference between the supply speed of the container 11 and the measuring and dispensing work speed, and on average, the measuring and dispensing work for the container 11 is performed at a speed corresponding to the supply speed of the container 11.

[0034] In order to reduce the rate of defective products, it is effective to increase the maximum number of containers 11 that can be stored in the container accumulation mechanism 30. The maximum number of containers 11 that can be stored in the container accumulation mechanism 30 is determined based on the degree of variation in the measuring and dispensing work speed and the desired rate of non-defective products.

[0035] In this embodiment, the container discharge mechanism 60 also includes a mechanism equivalent to the container accumulation mechanism 30 and the conveying unit 40, and has a buffering function. That is, when discharging containers 11 filled with ingredients onto the belt conveyor 10, the container discharge mechanism 60 adjusts the discharge timing of the containers 11 using the buffering function so that the discharged containers 11 do not collide with the containers 11 being conveyed by the belt conveyor 10. For example, the maximum number of containers 11 that the accumulation mechanism of the container discharge mechanism 60 can hold can be determined based on, for example, the waiting time until discharge and the work speed of measuring and dispensing.

[0036] As described above, according to this embodiment, the system includes a container retraction mechanism 20 that retracts the container 11 from the belt conveyor 10 along which the container 11 for plating ingredients is transported and temporarily stores it in the container accumulation mechanism 30, a transport unit 40 that transports the container 11 from the container accumulation mechanism 30 to a predetermined plating position in synchronization with the plating operation by the weighing and plating device 50, and a container discharge mechanism 60 that discharges the container 11 with the plated ingredients onto the belt conveyor 10. This makes it possible to asynchronously perform the plating operation by the weighing and plating device 50 and the transport operation of the container 11 by the belt conveyor 10, thereby reducing the impact of the plating operation time on throughput. Furthermore, the weighing and plating system 1 can be easily introduced because it does not require modification of existing equipment, including the belt conveyor 10.

[0037] 4 shows an outline of the configuration of a weighing and dispensing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. This weighing and dispensing system is configured by connecting a plurality of weighing and dispensing systems (two weighing and dispensing systems 1A and 1B in the illustrated example) similar to the weighing and dispensing system 1 of the first embodiment to a belt conveyor 10. In this embodiment, weighing and dispensing systems 1A and 1B share the task of dispensing food into containers 11 transported by the belt conveyor 10.

[0038] Specifically, in this embodiment, when the belt conveyor 10 transports N containers per unit time, the weighing and serving system 1A pulls in NA containers out of the N containers per unit time and performs the serving operation, and the weighing and serving system 1B pulls in the remaining NB = N - NA containers per unit time and performs the serving operation.

[0039] To enable such task sharing, the container retraction mechanism 20 (see the first embodiment) of each of measuring and dispensing systems 1A and 1B of this embodiment is configured to enable setting of the number of containers 11 to be retracted per unit time. When performing task sharing as described above, the container retraction mechanism 20 of measuring and dispensing system 1A can be set to retract NA containers 11 per unit time, and the container retraction mechanism 20 of measuring and dispensing system 1B can be set to retract NB containers 11 per unit time.

[0040] In this embodiment, the control unit 3, which controls the entire system, sets the number of containers 11 to be retracted by each container retraction mechanism 20. In this case, the control unit 3 determines the number of containers 11 to be retracted per unit time in one measuring and dispensing system (e.g., measuring and dispensing system 1A) based on the number of containers 11 to be retracted per unit time in another measuring and dispensing system (e.g., measuring and dispensing system 1B). For example, in the above example, this would be equivalent to setting NB to N-NA.

[0041] There are various methods for determining the numbers of containers NA and NB assigned to each system. In a preferred embodiment, the control unit 3 measures the working speed of the measuring and dispensing device 50 of each measuring and dispensing system 1A and 1B, and changes the numbers of containers NA and NB assigned to each system based on the measurement results. For example, if the working speed of the measuring and dispensing device 50 of measuring and dispensing system 1A decreases, the number of containers 11 NA assigned to measuring and dispensing system 1A is reduced, and the number of containers 11 NB assigned to measuring and dispensing system 1B is increased. In this way, a decrease in the throughput of the entire system can be avoided.

[0042] In this embodiment, the control unit 3 that controls the entire weighing and serving systems 1A and 1B determines the number of containers 11 that each weighing and serving system will draw in per unit time, but the weighing and serving systems 1A and 1B may communicate with each other to determine the number of containers 11 that each weighing and serving system will draw in per unit time.

[0043] In addition, in FIG. 4, two weighing and dispensing systems are connected to the belt conveyor 10, but three or more weighing and dispensing systems may be connected to the belt conveyor 10.

[0044] <Other Examples> In each of the above-described embodiments, the container accumulation mechanism 30 and the container discharge mechanism 60 are of the lifting type (i.e., multiple waiting locations move vertically), but the position, shape, size, movement method, and other specifications of the waiting locations are not limited to those exemplified above, and they may be moved horizontally (e.g., in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 10) using a transport mechanism such as a conveyor and chain.

[0045] Furthermore, the waiting location for the container 11 may be either the container accumulation mechanism 30 (i.e., before food is served) or the container discharge mechanism 60 (i.e., after food is served).

[0046] Furthermore, the direction in which the container 11 is drawn by the container drawing mechanism 20 does not need to be 90 degrees relative to the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 10, and may be at any angle (diagonal direction). Alternatively, the container 11 may be drawn in a vertical direction (upward) rather than in the direction within the conveying plane of the belt conveyor 10.

[0047] In short, the device of the present invention has a retraction section that retracts the containers for serving ingredients from a conveying line and temporarily stores them in a waiting area, a conveying section that conveys the containers from the waiting area to a predetermined serving position in accordance with the serving operation of the weighing and serving device, and a discharging section that discharges the containers filled with ingredients from the serving position back onto the line. Here, the waiting area may be located immediately after retraction (before the containers start to be conveyed to the serving position), at a position midway through the conveying, or at a position after the serving operation.

[0048] 1, 1A, 1B...measuring and dispensing system, 2...conveying device, 3...control unit, 10...belt conveyor, 11...container, 20...container retraction mechanism, 30...container accumulation mechanism, 40...conveying unit, 50...measuring and dispensing device, 60...container discharge mechanism, 31...lifting and lowering accumulator, 31h...horizontal plate unit, 31v...vertical support unit, 32...actuator.

Claims

1. A conveying device having: a retraction section which retracts containers for plating ingredients from a line along which the containers are transported and temporarily stores them in a waiting area; a conveying section which conveys the containers from the waiting area to a predetermined plating position at a timing linked to the plating operation of a weighing and plating device; and a discharge section which discharges the containers with the ingredients plated therein onto the line.

2. The conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising a waiting area for temporarily storing the container containing the food materials before the container is discharged from the discharge section.

3. The conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising a lifting mechanism for moving each waiting area up and down.

4. A measuring and serving system comprising: the conveying device according to claim 1; and the measuring and serving device.

5. A measuring and serving system comprising a plurality of measuring and serving systems according to claim 4 connected to the line, and a control unit that determines the number of containers drawn in per unit time in one measuring and serving system based on the number of containers drawn in per unit time in another measuring and serving system.

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