Weighing System Foreign Matter Detection and Quality Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In weighing and packaging systems, foreign matter can mix with articles discharged from the weighing unit and potentially contaminate subsequent articles due to differences in falling speed, leading to the distribution of foreign matter mixed articles.
Innovation Solution
A system with a weighing unit, discharge chute, foreign matter detecting unit, memory unit, and control unit that forcibly stores the quality information of preceding articles as poor if foreign matter is detected, and includes a gate mechanism to manage article discharge, ensuring that contaminated articles are not distributed as foreign matter mixed articles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If articles are discharged sequentially from the weighing unit through the discharge chute, then the packaging process can proceed continuously, but foreign matter may mix with articles and contaminate subsequent articles due to differences in falling speed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of foreign matter in articles passing through the discharge chute before they reach the packaging unit. By detecting foreign matter in advance and storing quality information for preceding articles, the system can prevent contaminated articles from being packaged, thus resolving the contradiction between continuous operation and contamination prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The foreign matter detecting unit provides feedback information about the quality of articles to the control unit. This feedback mechanism allows the system to identify contaminated articles and adjust the discharge control accordingly, preventing foreign matter from affecting subsequent articles while maintaining continuous packaging operation.
2Reliability
If the foreign matter detecting unit detects foreign matter in the Nth article, then contaminated articles can be identified, but the (N-1)th article may have already been distributed as a defective article
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of foreign matter in articles as they pass through the discharge chute. By storing quality information for preceding articles (N-1)th and (N-2)th articles when foreign matter is detected in the Nth article, the system can retrospectively identify and prevent distribution of contaminated articles that were previously discharged, thus resolving the timing issue between detection and article distribution.
3Productivity
If the gate mechanism is added to temporarily retain and control article discharge, then operation rate can be improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gate mechanism dynamically adjusts its state (open/closed) based on real-time foreign matter detection results and stored quality information. This dynamic control allows the system to temporarily retain articles when contamination is detected and resume normal discharge when quality is confirmed, thereby improving operation rate by preventing rework while adding minimal structural complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a weighing and packaging system including: a weighing unit which weighs and sequentially discharges articles; a discharge chute which is disposed below the weighing unit and through which the articles discharged from the weighing unit pass; a foreign matter detecting unit which detects the foreign matter contained in the article passing through the discharge chute; a memory unit which stores quality information pertaining to the quality of the article based on a detection result of the foreign matter detecting unit; and a control unit which controls the memory unit, in which in a case where the foreign matter is detected by the foreign matter detecting unit with respect to the Nth (N is an integer of 2 or more) article discharged from the weighing unit, the control unit controls the memory unit to forcibly store the quality information of the (N-1)th article discharged from the weighing unit as a poor quality.