JP2018072058A - Article feeding device to combinational balance - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To feed articles to a combinational balance with little damage by reducing to the utmost drop of articles to be fed, by a simple structure.SOLUTION: An ejection guide 26 including a curved guide face s facing to a rotating conveyance surface at an interval is arranged on a conveyance path trailer of a conveyance belt 21 for placing thereon and conveying an article w. Preferably, a partition 22 is projected at a fixed pitch in a belt longitudinal direction on the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt 21, and the curved guide face s is bent along a tip rotation locus of the partition 22 on the conveyance path trailer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an article supply apparatus for supplying articles to be weighed to a combination weigher.

  As an apparatus for supplying an article to a combination weigher, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an article discharged from the end of a conveyor is once dropped and supplied to an input chute, and then a dispersion feeder of the combination weigher. The article discharged from the terminal of the article supply device is supplied to the supply funnel through the chute as shown in Patent Document 2, and the article is spirally formed in the supply funnel. And the like configured to be supplied to a dispersion feeder of a combination weigher.

JP 2008-203087 A JP 2011-47789 A

  In the supply device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a product having a large drop from the end of the conveyor to the throwing chute is soft and easily damaged, and is easily damaged by a drop impact.

  Moreover, since the supply apparatus shown by patent document 2 needs to provide the supply funnel for sliding down articles | goods spirally on a dispersion | distribution feeder, the fall of that part will arise.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such points, and with a simple structure, the head of the supplied article can be reduced as much as possible, and the article can be supplied to the combination weigher with little damage. The purpose is to.

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

  (1) The present invention is an article supply apparatus for supplying an article to be weighed with a combination weigher, and includes a discharge guide for guiding discharge of the article at a conveyance path terminal portion of a conveyance belt on which the article is placed and conveyed. The discharge guide has a curved guide surface facing the conveyance surface of the rotating conveyance belt with a gap.

  According to the present invention, the article that has been placed and conveyed to the terminal end of the conveyance path is guided by the discharge guide along with the rotation and reversal of the conveyance belt, and moves downward along the curved guide surface. It is dropped and discharged from the lower end of the discharge guide.

  Accordingly, the article is guided by the discharge guide and the drop to the article supply destination is reduced, so that the supply of the impact is suppressed.

  (2) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a partition extending in the belt width direction with a constant pitch in the longitudinal direction of the belt is projected on the transport surface of the transport belt, and the curved guide surface of the discharge guide is configured so that the end of the transport path is It is curved along the tip turning locus of the partition in the section.

  According to this embodiment, the article is placed on the transport surface of the transport belt partitioned by the partition and transported. When the article reaches the end of the transport path, the article is moved to the guide region by the discharge guide along with the downward rotation of the transport belt. Finally, the article on the conveying surface of the conveying belt shifts to the upper surface of the partition that is inclined downward as the belt rotates. As the tip-down slope of the partition becomes tighter as the belt rotates, the article moves to the leading end side of the partition and is guided and moved downward while being received by the curved guide surface of the discharge guide. To the curved guide surface having a gentle slope. In the lower part of the discharge guide, some articles are placed on a curved guide surface with a gentle inclination and do not move, and only the partition moves away from the discharge guide in advance as the belt rotates. . The article placed on the curved guide surface of the discharge guide and stopped moving is pressed and moved by the subsequent partition that continues to rotate, and is scraped and discharged from the lower end of the discharge guide. As a result, the starting point of the drop and discharge of the articles discharged from the article supply device is the lower end position of the curved guide surface of the discharge guide, and the drop is supplied to the combination weigher with a small drop compared to the height position of the conveyor belt with little impact. Will be.

  (3) In another embodiment of the present invention, a gap smaller than an article is formed between the curved guide surface of the discharge guide and the tip rotation locus of the partition of the conveyor belt.

  According to this embodiment, there is no friction due to sliding contact between the leading end of the partition and the curved guide surface, and an increase in driving resistance of the conveyor belt and generation of wear powder are prevented.

  (4) In still another embodiment of the present invention, the discharge guide is detachably attached to the end of the conveyor frame supporting the conveyor belt on the end of the conveyance path.

  According to this embodiment, it is possible to remove the discharge guide and perform cleaning, and it is possible to efficiently perform cleaning work accompanying periodic inspections and article replacement.

  (5) In another embodiment of the present invention, the discharge guide includes connecting fittings at both ends in the width direction, and the pair of conveyor frames arranged on both sides of the conveyor belt include mounting brackets, respectively. The connecting fitting of the guide is engaged and supported so as to be detachable from the mounting bracket of the conveyor frame.

  According to this embodiment, the discharge guide connecting bracket is engaged with and supported by the mounting brackets of the pair of conveyor frames, so that the discharge guide can be attached by accurately positioning without using a connecting tool. It can be done easily and quickly.

  (6) In still another embodiment of the present invention, the upper portion of the connecting bracket is engaged with the upper portion of the mounting bracket, and the lower portion of the connecting bracket is supported in contact with the lower portion of the mounting bracket.

  According to this embodiment, the upper portion of each coupling fitting of the discharge guide is engaged with the upper portion of each mounting bracket of the pair of conveyor frames and the lower portion is abutted and supported, so that the discharge guides are positioned at predetermined positions of the pair of conveyor frames. Therefore, the discharge guide can be supported by only its own weight. As a result, the discharge guide attaching / detaching structure can be simplified, and the attaching / detaching operability is excellent.

  According to the present invention, the article that has been conveyed to the end of the conveyance path moves downward along the curved guide surface by the discharge guide as the conveyance belt rotates, and then from the lower end of the discharge guide. Since the paper is dropped and discharged, the head to the article supply destination is reduced by the amount of guidance lowered by the discharge guide. Accordingly, even a soft and easily damaged article having a simple structure can be supplied to the combination weigher with little damage.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a part of a combination weigher provided with an article supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the article supply apparatus. FIG. 3 is a side view of the article supply apparatus. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal side view of the article supply apparatus. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the article supply apparatus. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the article supply apparatus. FIG. 7 is a front view of a part of a combination weigher provided with an article supply apparatus according to another embodiment. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an article supply apparatus according to another embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a part of a combination weigher 1 to which articles are conveyed and supplied by an article supply apparatus A according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The combination weigher 1 of this embodiment measures an article supplied from the upper article supply apparatus A by a predetermined weight, and the measured article is put into a packaging machine (not shown) installed below. And bagged.

  The article weighed by the combination scale 1 is not particularly limited, but is suitable for an article that is relatively soft and easily damaged by impact, such as cut fruit.

  In the center of the combination weigher 1, a polygonal column base body 2 is arranged. The center base 2 is supported on the base 4 via a plurality of legs 3. The base 4 has a hollow structure with a large central portion that is vertically opened and opened.

  A dispersion feeder 5 is provided on the center base 2. The dispersion feeder 5 scatters and conveys the articles discharged from the conveyance end of the article supply apparatus A and supplied in a radial manner by vibration.

  The dispersion feeder 5 includes a top cone 6 having a conical shape and an electromagnetic excitation mechanism 7 that drives the top cone 6 to vibrate. The vibration mechanism 7 is mounted and supported on a support frame 8 in the center base 2.

  A plurality of rectilinear feeders 9 are arranged radially around the dispersion feeder 5. The rectilinear feeder 9 conveys the articles transferred from the dispersion feeder 5 further outward by vibration.

  The rectilinear feeder 9 includes a transport trough 10 that is formed like a bowl toward the inside and outside, and an electromagnetic vibration mechanism 11 that drives the transport trough 10 to vibrate.

  The vibration mechanism 11 is mounted and supported on the support frame 8 so as to surround the vibration mechanism 7 of the dispersion feeder 5.

  A supply hopper 12 and a weighing hopper 13 are respectively provided below the conveyance end of the linear feeder 9. A plurality of weighing units including a series of the linear feeder 9, the supply hopper 12, and the weighing hopper 13 are arranged so as to surround the center base body 2.

  A collecting chute 14 is disposed below each weighing hopper 13. The articles discharged from the plurality of weighing hoppers 13 selected by the combination calculation so as to be in the predetermined weight range are collected in the collecting hopper 16 via the collecting chute 14 and the lower collecting funnel 15 and temporarily stored. . The collecting hopper 16 is opened based on a discharge request command from the packaging machine side, and articles in a predetermined weight range are discharged.

  A drive unit 17 such as a gate opening / closing device for the supply hopper 12 and the weighing hopper 13 is housed and supported in the center base 2. Each weighing hopper 13 is provided with a weight sensor (for example, a load cell) for measuring the weight of the article in the weighing hopper 13, and this weight sensor is also housed in the center base 2 together with the drive unit 17. Yes.

  In this embodiment, the article discharged from the article supply apparatus A is devised so as to be prevented from being damaged when dropped and supplied to the top cone 6 of the dispersion feeder 5, and the detailed structure thereof will be described below. To do.

  2 is a plan view of the article supply apparatus A, FIG. 3 is a side view thereof, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal side view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view thereof.

  As shown in these drawings, in the article supply apparatus A of this embodiment, articles are conveyed by a belt conveyor that is wound around a wide conveyance belt 21 made of a resin material and rotates. On the outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 21, a partition 22 having a constant height extending in the belt width direction at a constant pitch in the belt longitudinal direction is provided. The article w put on the belt on the conveyance path is placed between the partitions 22 and conveyed along a predetermined conveyance path, and will be described later at the end of the conveyance path where the conveyance belt 21 rotates in the downward direction. It is dropped and discharged.

  The conveyor belt 21 is disposed between a pair of left and right conveyor frames 23, and is wound around rollers 25 supported horizontally across the conveyor frames 23 via bearings 24.

  In this embodiment, a discharge guide 26 that guides the discharge of the article w is detachably attached to the end portion of the conveyance path of the conveyor frame 23.

  As shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 6, the discharge guide 26 is formed in a width direction (left-right direction) of a guide body 27 formed by bending a thin steel plate made of a stainless steel plate having the same width as the conveyor belt 21 into a partial arc shape. ) The side plates 28 are welded and fixed to both ends, respectively, so that the curved shape of the guide body 27 is maintained. Each side plate 28 is connected to a connection fitting 29 for mounting on the conveyor frame 23 by bolts so as to protrude toward the upper side of the conveyance.

  The curved guide surface s formed on the inner surface of the guide body 27 is slightly smaller than the tip rotation trajectory of the partition 22 in the conveyor belt 21 as shown in FIGS. The guide body 27 is curved so as to be curved with a small gap (for example, about 2 to 3 mm), and the lower end of the guide body 27 is set to be located almost directly below the roller rotation axis p.

  In this way, a slight gap is formed between the curved guide surface s formed on the inner surface of the guide body 27 and the tip rotation trajectory of the partition 22 in the transport belt 21, so that the tip of the partition 22 and the curve are curved. There is no friction due to sliding contact with the guide surface s, and an increase in driving resistance of the conveyor belt 21 and generation of wear powder are prevented. The gap between the curved guide surface s of the guide main body 27 and the tip rotation locus of the partition 22 of the conveyor belt 21 is preferably smaller than the article w, but may be larger than the article w.

A mounting bracket 30 for mounting the discharge guide is bolted to the end of each conveyor frame 23 so that the connecting bracket 29 of the discharge guide 26 is detachably supported by the mounting bracket 30. That is, a downward hook portion 29a is cut out at the upper portion of the connecting fitting 29, while the lower portion of the connecting fitting 29 protrudes toward the upper transport side (left side in FIG. 3). A contact portion 29b is formed.

  On the other hand, a mounting vertical side 30a having substantially the same height as that of the connection fitting 29 is refracted at the rear end of the mounting bracket 30 toward the laterally outer side, and a step portion 30b is formed at the upper end corner of the mounting vertical side 30a. Notches are formed.

  When the discharge guide 26 is attached, first, the discharge guide 26 is brought close to the rear end rotation portion of the conveyor belt 21 from above with an inclined posture in which the lower end of the guide body 27 is swung up rearward (upper right in FIG. 3). . Next, the hook portions 29 a of the left and right connecting fittings 29 are respectively engaged with the step portions 30 b of the mounting bracket 30, and the entire discharge guide 26 is swung down forward and downward with the engaging portion as the center to partition the conveyor belt 21. The guide body 27 is caused to wrap around the belt rotating portion so as not to interfere with the belt 22. Finally, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the hook portion 29 a of the connection fitting 29 is engaged with the stepped portion 30 b of the mounting bracket 30, and the contact portion 29 b of the connection fitting 29 is connected to the vertical side of the attachment bracket 30. The lower part of 30a is contacted and supported from the rear.

  As a result, the discharge guide 26 is engaged and supported by the mounting bracket 30 in a state in which the discharge guide 26 is positioned in the up-down direction, the left-right direction, and the front-rear direction. At this time, since the center of gravity of the discharge guide 26 is behind the hook portion 29a, the discharge guide 26 swings forward about the upper locking portion by its own weight, and the contact portion 29b is received by the vertical side 30a. Thus, the attachment state of the discharge guide 26 is maintained without using a special connector.

  When removing the discharge guide 26 for cleaning or the like, the above operation may be reversed.

  Thus, the hook portion 29a of the connecting bracket 29 is engaged with the step portion 30b of the mounting bracket 30, and the abutting portion 29b of the connecting bracket 29 is abuttingly supported and attached to the vertical side 30a of the mounting bracket 30. The discharge guide 26 can be correctly positioned at a predetermined position of the mounting bracket 30 to support the discharge guide 26 only with its own weight, and the detachability of the discharge guide 26 is excellent.

  In the state where the discharge guide 26 is attached, the article w that has reached the end of the transport path enters the guide area of the discharge guide 26 as the transport belt 21 rotates downward, and as shown in FIG. It moves to the upper surface of the partition 22 inclined downward from the mounting surface.

  When the forward tilt of the partition 22 becomes tight as the belt rotates, the article w moves to the front end side of the partition 22, and the article w is guided and moved downward while being received by the curved guide surface s of the guide body 27. The

  In the lower part of the guide main body 27, some articles w are placed on the curved guide surface s with a gentle inclination and do not move, and only the partition 22 moves away from the guide main body 27 in advance.

  The article placed on the lower portion of the curved guide surface s and stopped moving is pressed and moved by the subsequent partition 22 that continues to rotate, and is scraped and discharged from the lower end of the guide body 27.

  As a result, the starting point of the drop and discharge of the article w discharged from the article supply apparatus A becomes the lower end position of the guide main body 27, and the central portion of the top cone 6 of the dispersion feeder 5 with a small drop compared to the height position of the conveyor belt 21. Will be supplied in a drop with little impact.

  As described above, the discharge guide 26 having the curved guide surface s is attached to the conveyor frame 23 at the end of the conveyance path, and the drop of the article w is reduced to be supplied to the dispersion feeder 5 of the combination weigher. It becomes possible. Thereby, the impact at the time of drop supply can be reduced, and even a soft and easily damaged article can be supplied to the combination scale with little damage.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention can also be implemented in the following forms.
(1) As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the article from the article supply apparatus A may be supplied to the central portion of the dispersion feeder 5 in the combination weigher 1 through the crosshead feeder 32. The crosshead feeder 32 has a well-known structure in which a bowl-like feeder pan 33 inclined slightly downward is driven by an electromagnetic excitation mechanism 34.

  In this case, even the articles discharged together from the article supply apparatus A are dispersed while being oscillated and conveyed by the crosshead feeder 32, so that the supply amount to the combination weigher can be made appropriate.

 (2) As the conveyor belt 21, in addition to the one provided with the high partition 22 as described above, one having a low partition or one having no partition can be used.

 (3) In the above embodiment, the discharge guide 26 is attached to the mounting bracket 30 by positioning and engaging with the weight of the discharge guide 26, but when the discharge guide 26 is lightweight, Fixing means such as a form that is tightened and fixed using a manually operated butterfly screw or a butterfly bolt, or a form that is attached and detached by a one-touch lever operation using a buckle mechanism can also be used.

 (4) The guide body 27 of the discharge guide 26 may be slightly elastically deformed.

 (5) The transport belt 21 may be a wire mesh belt or a flexible slat-type metal belt, depending on the article to be transported, in addition to using an integral resin belt.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Combination scale 21 Conveyor belt 22 Partition 23 Conveyor frame 26 Discharge guide 27 Guide main body 29 Connecting metal fitting 30 Attachment bracket 32 Crosshead feeder s Curved guide surface w Goods

Claims (6)

An article supply device for supplying an article to be weighed with a combination weigher,
A discharge guide for guiding discharge of the article at a conveyance path end portion of a conveyance belt for placing and conveying the article;
The discharge guide has a curved guide surface that is opposed to the conveying surface of the rotating conveying belt with an interval.
An apparatus for supplying articles to a combination weigher. A partition extending in the belt width direction with a constant pitch in the longitudinal direction of the belt protrudes from the transport surface of the transport belt, and the curved guide surface of the discharge guide follows the trajectory of the leading end of the partition at the end of the transport path. Is curved,
The article supply device to the combination weigher according to claim 1. A gap smaller than the article is formed between the curved guide surface of the discharge guide and the tip rotation locus of the partition of the conveyor belt.
The article supply apparatus to the combination weigher according to claim 2. The discharge guide is detachably attached to an end of a conveyor frame that supports the conveyor belt on the end of the conveyance path.
The article supply device to the combination weigher according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The discharge guide includes connecting fittings at both ends in the width direction, and the pair of conveyor frames disposed on both sides of the conveyor belt includes mounting brackets, respectively.
The connection fitting of the discharge guide is detachably engaged with and supported by the mounting bracket of the conveyor frame.
The article supply device to the combination weigher according to claim 4. The upper part of the connection bracket is engaged with the upper part of the mounting bracket, and the lower part of the connection bracket is supported by the lower part of the mounting bracket.
The apparatus for supplying articles to the combination weigher according to claim 5.

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