JPH0629696Y2 - Goods supply equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial field of application of the present invention> The present invention relates to an article supply device for radially unloading articles that are dropped and supplied from above.

<Prior Art> For example, combination weighing in which objects to be weighed by a plurality of weighing units (weighing hoppers) are combined and selected based on the measured values, and the objects to be weighed that are close to (or equal to) a set amount are collectively discharged. In the device, for the purpose of making the device compact and facilitating the supply of the weighing articles, the plurality of weighing units are arranged in an annular shape along the outer periphery of the housing in a state of being close to each other.

In such a weighing device, an article feeding device is provided on the upper part of the housing in order to feed the objects to be weighed to these weighing units.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing an outline of a main part of an article supply device conventionally used in a combination weighing device.

In the figure, reference numeral 2 denotes a conical dispersion feeder arranged in the center of the upper part of the casing 1, which is slightly vibrated up and down by a driving unit (not shown) to move the object to be weighed from the upper supply conveyor 10 to the top 2a. And are radially distributed from the outer peripheral portion 2b to the outer peripheral portion 2b.

Around the dispersion feeder 2, a linear feeder 3 is provided in an annular shape, which linearly conveys the objects to be weighed received from the outer peripheral portion 2b and drops and supplies them to a hopper (not shown) outside the housing 1. .

In the article supply apparatus configured as described above, when the object to be weighed is discharged from the hopper of the weighing unit, the corresponding linear feeder 3 is driven for a predetermined time to supply a new object to be weighed.

However, in such a combination type weighing device, in order to obtain high combination efficiency, the amount of the objects to be weighed supplied to each weighing unit is always constant (for example, an integral fraction of the combination target amount). Is desirable.

Therefore, the linear feeder 3 driven for a predetermined time at the time of supply
The layer thickness of the object to be weighed on the top portion 2a of the dispersion feeder 2 is monitored by a light emitter / receiver (not shown) so that the object to be weighed from The conveyor 10 is operated so that a new object to be weighed is controlled to fall onto the dispersion feeder 2.

If the articles from the supply conveyor 10 are not uniformly dropped on the top portion 2a of the dispersion feeder 2, the outer peripheral portion 2 is formed along the slope.
Since there is a large variation in the layer thickness of the article conveyed to the b side, conventionally, the weighing device and the supply conveyor 10 are monitored while observing the conveyed state of the objects to be weighed that have actually dropped from the supply conveyor 10 to the dispersion feeder 2. Positioning is performed so that the most stable supply can be achieved by changing the relative position of.

<Problems to be solved by the present invention> However, the above-mentioned positioning work alone cannot provide a stable supply for a long time, and the supply state changes when the type of the supplied article changes. Positioning work must be performed each time the switch is made.

In addition, the work of frequently moving a large and heavy device is very labor-intensive and dangerous.

Further, in the above-described article supply device, depending on the type of the article to be supplied, the article dropped from the supply conveyor 10 may hit the dispersion feeder 2 and be scattered to a place other than the straight advance feeder 3.

This leads to waste of the articles, and the scattered articles adversely affect the operation of other mechanism parts, and various problems such as inclusion of foreign matter occur.

An object of the present invention is to provide an article supply device that solves the above problems.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to solve the problems, the article supply device of the present invention is formed in a substantially conical shape, and the articles received in the vicinity of the top are directed in the outer peripheral direction along the inclined surface. In an article supply device including a dispersion feeder for distributed conveyance and an annular body arranged above the dispersion feeder and discharging the articles dropped and supplied from above onto the dispersion feeder, the articles dropped and supplied from above are large. It is received by the upper opening surface having a large diameter, concentrated above the top of the dispersing feeder, discharged from the lower opening surface having a small diameter centered above the top of the dispersing feeder, and below the lower opening surface. A funnel-shaped first restricting portion that conveys an article in the outer peripheral direction of the dispersive feeder from a gap between an edge and the inclined surface of the dispersive feeder, and the lower opening downward from the outer periphery of the first restricting portion. Of the dispersion feeder, the lower part of which is open to a diameter smaller than that of the dispersion feeder, the lower edge of which is upwardly spaced from the inclined surface of the dispersion feeder, and which is lower than the lower opening surface of the first restriction portion. In addition, the tubular second restricting portion for restricting the layer thickness of the article conveyed in the outer peripheral direction on the dispersion feeder by the gap between the lower edge and the inclined surface of the dispersion feeder, The body has.

<Operation> Because of the above-mentioned configuration, the article supply apparatus of the present invention
The articles dropped and supplied from above are received from the upper opening surface of the first restricting portion of the annular body and gathered above the top of the dispersion feeder, and from the lower opening surface of the small diameter whose center coincides with the top, the top is reached. Is discharged to. The article discharged onto the top is conveyed in the outer peripheral direction of the dispersion feeder from the gap between the lower edge of the lower opening surface and the inclined surface near the top of the dispersion feeder. The articles conveyed near the outer circumference of the dispersion feeder are
The sheet is discharged from the dispersion feeder with a layer thickness regulated by the gap between the lower edge of the cylindrical second regulation portion surrounding the lower opening surface of the first regulation portion and the inclined surface of the dispersion feeder.

<Embodiment of the Invention> (FIGS. 1 to 3) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view of an essential part showing an example in which the article supply device of the present invention is applied to a combination weighing device, FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged side sectional view of the essential part. It is a figure.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a combination weighing device,
An object to be weighed in a bucket 16 that is conveyed on a supply conveyor 15 called a Z-type conveyor is received from above and a set amount of the object to be weighed is discharged to a packaging line or the like.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a weighing housing supported above the base 23 via a supporting member 22, and the intermediate hopper 2 is provided on the upper stage of the outer peripheral portion thereof.
4 are arranged in an annular shape, and the intermediate hopper 24
Weighing hopper 2 for receiving the objects to be weighed discharged from
5 is attached annularly. The weighing hoppers 25 are directly connected to the weighing devices 26 in the weighing housing 21, and the objects to be weighed stored in the weighing hoppers 25 are weighed based on the weighing signal from the corresponding weighing device 26.

Below the weighing case 21, there is provided a collecting chute 27 which collects the objects to be weighed which are selected in combination and discharged from the weighing hopper 25 and discharges them to a packaging line (not shown) arranged below. There is.

An article supply unit for supplying an object to be weighed to each intermediate hopper 24 is formed on the upper surface portion 21 a of the weighing case 21.

A conical dispersion feeder 30 is arranged in the center of the upper surface portion 21a.

The dispersion feeder 30 disperses and conveys the objects to be weighed received by the central top portion 30a to the outer peripheral portion 30c along the inclined conveying surface 30b.

The dispersion feeder 30 is provided at the edge of the upper surface 21a of the weighing housing 21.
Straight-moving feeders 31 for radially feeding the objects to be weighed conveyed from the intermediate hoppers 24 are radially arranged.

At the top of the dispersion feeder 30, the top 3 of the dispersion feeder 30 is provided.
An annular body 35 formed in a tubular shape so as to surround 0a is provided in a pair between the linear feeders 31 so as to stand in an L shape.
Supported by 7.

The upper surface of the annular body 35 has a large opening, and the guide portion 36 is formed in a funnel shape so as to incline from the upper edge portion 35a of the upper opening surface toward the lower opening surface having a small diameter below the center thereof. Is provided as a first restricting portion, and the lower end 36a of the guide portion 36 is opened in a circular shape centered on the top portion 30a of the dispersion feeder 30 when viewed from above.

The outer periphery of the annular body 35 also serves as the second restricting portion, the upper surface thereof is closed by the outer peripheral surface of the guide portion 36, and the opened lower edge portion 35b of the lower surface side is a lower opening of the guide portion 36. The height is lower than the surface, and is set to a height at which a constant gap is formed between the inclined feeder surface 30b of the dispersion feeder 30.

This gap uniformly regulates the layer thickness of the objects to be weighed supplied to each straight feeder 31.

The dispersion feeder 3 is provided on the outer peripheral surface 35c of the annular body 35.
In order to detect that the layer thickness of the object to be weighed on the top portion 30a of 0 has become equal to or less than a predetermined value, the projector 40 that transmits and receives the light passing through the upper portions of the top portion 30a through the two passage holes 38 and 39. And the light receiver 41 is attached so as to face a symmetrical position.

<Operation of the Embodiment> Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described.

The intermediate hoppers 24, the weighing hoppers 25, and the linear feeders 31 all contain the objects to be weighed in advance, and the objects to be weighed from the supply conveyor 15 are also supplied onto the dispersion feeder 30 as shown in FIG. It has been done.

If there is a request from the packaging line or the like, the combination of the objects to be weighed by the weighing device 26 is selected, the selected objects to be weighed are discharged all at once, and are collectively discharged to the packaging line by the collecting chute 27. It

The intermediate hopper 24 corresponding to the empty weighing hopper 25
A new object to be weighed is stored and the next weighing is performed.

Further, a new object to be weighed is supplied to the emptied intermediate hopper 24 by driving the corresponding straight-moving feeder 31, and thereafter, the same weighing discharge operation is sequentially performed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the object to be weighed supplied from the dispersion feeder 30 to the linear feeder 31 is once in the gap between the lower opening surface of the guide portion 36 of the annular body 35 and the conveying surface near the top of the dispersion feeder 30. The layer thickness is regulated so that the layer thickness is regulated, and the lower edge portion 35b of the annular body 35 regulates the layer thickness to be substantially constant.
The amount of the object to be weighed supplied to the intermediate hopper 24 after being driven for a predetermined time becomes substantially constant.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the top portion 3 of the dispersion feeder 30 is
If there is a considerable amount of the object to be weighed on 0a, the light from the light projector 40 is blocked, so that the object to be weighed from the supply conveyor 15 is not supplied.

When the weighing and discharging operation progresses and the amount of the object to be weighed on the dispersion feeder 30 decreases, the light from the projector 40 reaches the light receiver 41, so that a new object to be weighed from the supply conveyor 15 as shown in FIG. Is dropped and supplied.

At this time, a part of the objects to be weighed discharged from the bucket 16 is directly supplied to the dispersion feeder 30, and the remaining objects to be weighed dropped on the guide portion 36 of the annular body 35 are guided along the guide portion 36. Collected on the top 30a of the dispersion feeder 30.

Therefore, if the object to be weighed from the bucket 16 is dropped into the annular body 35 without strictly positioning the supply conveyor 15 and the weighing device 20, the object to be weighed is placed on the top of the dispersion feeder 30. It is uniformly supplied to 30a.

Further, the objects to be weighed which fall from the bucket 16 and hit the dispersion feeder 30 and are scattered outward are reflected by the guide portion 36 of the annular body 30, the inner peripheral wall and the like, and are not scattered to the outside.

In this way, by the stable supply of the objects to be weighed from the article supply unit, the combination weighing device 20 continues the weighing and discharging operation of the objects to be weighed with high combination efficiency.

<Other Embodiments of the Present Invention> In the above embodiment, the layer thickness of the object to be weighed on the top of the dispersion feeder 30 is detected on the outer peripheral surface of the annular body 35 through the passage holes 38 and 39. Although the light emitters / receivers 40, 41 are provided, the light emitters / receivers 40, 41 may not be integrated with the annular body 35, and may be attached to the support member 37 or another support member. Further, if the portion of the annular body through which light passes or the entire annular body is made of a light-transmissive material, it is not necessary to provide a hole for passing light.

In the above embodiment, the article supply device of the present invention is applied to the article supply section of the combination weighing device. It can be applied to various devices for evenly distributing to a plurality of lines.

<Effects of the Present Invention> Since the article feeding apparatus of the present invention is configured as described above, it is not necessary to perform strict positioning of the article feeding with respect to the dispersion feeder, and the dispersion feeder is stable and the layer thickness is uniform. Goods can be supplied. In addition, it is possible to prevent waste and damage of the device due to scattering of the articles that are dropped and supplied.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a weighing device to which the present invention is applied,
FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged side sectional view of a main part of FIG. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are schematic sectional views showing the operation of the main part of one embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic side sectional view showing a part of a weighing device to which a conventional device is applied. 20 ... Combination weighing device, 21 ... Weighing case, 23 ...
Base, 25 ... Weighing hopper, 30 ... Dispersion feeder, 3
1 ... Straight feeder, 35 ... annular body, 36 ... guide part, 35b ... lower edge part, 40 ... projector, 41 ... photoreceiver.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A dispersion feeder, which is formed in a substantially conical shape, and which conveys articles received near the top in an outer peripheral direction along an inclined surface, and an article arranged above the dispersion feeder and dropped and supplied from above. And an annular body for discharging the above onto the dispersion feeder, wherein an article dropped and supplied from above is received by a large-diameter upper opening surface, concentrated above the top of the dispersion feeder, and above the top. A funnel that discharges from a small-diameter lower opening surface having a center to the top of the dispersion feeder and conveys articles from the gap between the lower edge of the lower opening surface and the inclined surface of the dispersion feeder toward the outer circumference of the dispersion feeder. -Shaped first restricting portion, extending downward from the outer periphery of the first restricting portion so as to surround the lateral side of the lower opening surface, and the lower portion is opened to a diameter smaller than that of the dispersion feeder, and a lower edge thereof is formed. The upper surface of the dispersion feeder is separated from the inclined surface of the dispersion feeder, and is located at a height lower than the lower opening surface of the first restriction portion. The article supply device, wherein the annular body has a cylindrical second regulation portion that regulates the layer thickness of the article conveyed in the outer peripheral direction.