Automatic weighing apparatus

• US 4,501,339 A
• Filed: 09/20/1982
• Issued: 02/26/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1981
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Ishida KOKI Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Ishida KOKI Seisakusho
• Inventors: Fukuda, Masao
• Primary Examiner(s): MILLER JR, GEORGE
• Application Number:
  US06/420,113
• Time in Patent Office: 890 Days
• Field of Search: 177/25, 177/122, 177/123, 177/DIG. 11, 141/83, 141/102, 141/103
• US Class Current: 177/25.14
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 13/00 Weighing apparatus with automatic feed or discharge for weighing-out batches of material for weighing a continuous stream G01G11/00; check-weighing G01G15/00; for fluids G01G17/04; apportioning by weight materials to be mixed G01G19/22; combinatorial weighing G01G19/387
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 13/16 Means for automatically discharging weigh receptacles under control of the weighing mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 13/242 Twin weighing apparatus; weighing apparatus using single load carrier and a plurality of weigh pans coupled alternately with the load carrier; weighing apparatus with two or more alternatively used weighing devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/393 using two or more weighing units

Abstract

A combinatorial weighing apparatus is provided with a plurality of weighing heads arranged in a row which is diagonal with respect to the direction of travel of collection buckets in which articles are collected. Discharge buckets are disposed in a row between each weighing head and the path along which collecting buckets are advanced. Each weighing head comprises a weighing machine, a weighing hopper and a device for feeding articles into the weighing hopper. Chutes which are small in length are provided between each row of discharge buckets and the path along which the collecting buckets travel, and serve to guide articles, discharged by the discharge buckets, into a collecting bucket as it is advanced in the collecting direction. The number of discharge buckets in each row increases by one in the direction of travel of the collecting buckets, and the discharge buckets are adapted to be inverted at a position adjacent the corresponding chute to facilitate the discharge operation. Synchronization is established between movement of the discharge and collecting buckets.

Claims

1. A combinatorial weighing apparatus for automatically weighing articles, comprising:

a plurality of collecting buckets for collecting the articles, adapted to be advanced along a path having an advancing direction;

a plurality of weighing heads, arranged on a diagonal row with respect to the advancing direction of the path, for receiving batches of the articles, obtaining weight values of the batches of articles received, computing weight combinations on the basis of the weight values of the batches of articles, selecting a combination of batches of articles having a total weight equal or closest to a set weight, and discharging the selected batches of articles; and

a plurality of groups of discharge buckets, each group of discharge buckets corresponding to one of the weighing heads, being arranged in a row, and extending from the corresponding one of the weighing heads to the path in a direction substantially perpendicular to the advancing direction of the path, the number of discharge buckets in each row increasing by one in the advancing direction of the path so as to determine the angle of the diagonal row of weighing heads with respect to the advancing direction of the path, the discharge buckets being adapted to move along the rows from the weighing heads to the path in synchronization with the advance of the collecting buckets so that the discharge buckets receive batches of articles from the weighing heads and discharge the batches of articles into the collecting buckets and so that each collecting bucket receives a selected combination of batches of articles.

2. A combinatorial weighing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the discharge buckets is adapted to invert so as to discharge the batches of articles received by the discharge bucket into one of the collecting buckets.

3. A combinatorial weighing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each row of discharge buckets has a downstream end adjacent to the path, further comprising a plurality of chutes, the number of chutes corresponding to the number of rows, each chute being disposed between the downstream end of a corresponding row and the path so as to guide the batches of articles discharged from the most downstream discharge bucket into the collecting buckets.

4. A combinatorial weighing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said weighing heads includes a feeder, a weighing machine and a weighing hopper associated with the weighing machine.

5. A combinatorial weighing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each group of discharge buckets travels along a row in a circulating fashion.

6. A combinatorial weighing apparatus for automatically weighing articles, comprising:

segmented collecting means having a plurality of segments for collecting batches of articles, adapted to be transported along a path having a transporting direction;

a plurality of segmented transporting rows, each segmented transporting row having an upstream end, a downstream end and a plurality of segments, the downstream end of each transporting row being adjacent to the path, the transporting rows being substantially parallel to each other and substantially perpendicular to the transporting direction of the path, each transporting row having a length defined by the number of segments in the transporting row, the number of segments in at least some of said rows increasing along the length of the row in the transporting direction of the path, said transporting rows being transportable toward the path in synchronization with the transporting of the segmented collecting means; and

a plurality of weighing heads, the number of weighing heads corresponding to the number of transporting rows, each weighing head being disposed at the upstream end of a corresponding transporting row, the weighing heads receiving batches of articles, obtaining weight values of the batches of articles, computing weight combinations on the basis of the weight values of the batches of articles, selecting a combination of batches of articles having a total weight equal or closest to a set weight, and discharging the selected combination of batches of articles onto segments of corresponding transporting rows so that each segment of the segmented collecting means collects a selected combination of articles.