Weighing station with conveyor element
AssigneeWipotec Wiege- und Positioniersysteme GmbH
InventorTheo Duppre
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The subject matter of the present invention relates to a weighing station for weighing and sorting objects to be weighed, comprising a rotating conveyor element for transporting the objects further in that, in a conveying step, said conveyor element can rotate by a specifiable angle of rotation about its axis.
Claims16
A weighing station (W) for weighing and sorting objects (K) to be weighed, in particular tablets,
- a) with a load receiver (L) for picking up a gravity force to be applied in a load transfer direction (U), and
- b) with a support element (E) borne by the load receiver (L) of a load cell for temporarily holding and weighing at least one object (K), and
- c) with a conveyor element (F) which rotates about an axis (A) for transporting at least the one object (K) further during and/or after the weighing procedure,
- d) with said conveyor element (F) comprising a number (n) of segmented areas (S1, S2, S3 . . . Sn) that are disposed about its axis A in such a manner that during the weighing step, the object (K) to be weighed comes to lie in a segmented area (S1, S2, S3 . . . Sn), and
- e) with said conveyor element (F), in a conveying step, rotating by a specifiable angle of rotation (α) about its axis (A) to transport at least the one object (K) further,
- characterized in that
- f) the axis (A) of the conveyor element (F) forms an angle (B)<90° with the load transfer direction (U) and that, as the object (K) is transported further by the conveyor element E, said object can optionally be transported into at least two different discharge areas (Bg, Bs).
The weighing station (W) as in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that during the transport, a segmented area (S1, S2, S3 . . . Sn) of the conveyor element (F) sweeps over the area of the support element (E) in which the object (K) to be weighed is located.
The weighing station (W) as in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the segmented areas of the conveyor element (F) are disposed about the axis (A) in such a manner that after one concluded conveying step, a subsequent, preferably an adjacent, segmented area is available for the further transport of the next object (K).
The weighing station (W) as in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the segmented areas (S1, S2, S3 . . . Sn) are uniformly spaced about the axis (A) and that the angle of rotation (α) meets the requirement (α)=360°/n.
The weighing station (W) as in the preceding claim, characterized in that the selection of the discharge area (Bg, Bs) can be defined by the speed of the conveyor element (F).
The weighing station (W) as in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support element (E) substantially has the shape of a downwardly tapering funnel segment so as to allow the object (K) to be weighed to rapidly assume a position of rest.
The weighing station (W) as in the preceding claim, characterized in that the angle of aperture of the funnel segment substantially corresponds to the angle that defines a segmented area (S1, S2, S3 . . . Sn) about the axis (A).
The weighing station (W) as in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor element (F) has the form of a blade-type wheel (R) with blades (P) and segmented areas (S1, S2, S3 . . . Sn) in between said blades in such a manner that to transport the weighed object (K) further, a blade (P) can laterally act upon said object and push it off the support element (E) as the blade-type wheel (R) is rotating.
The weighing station (W) as in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor element (F) and its driving mechanism as well as the support element (E) are borne by the load receiver (L) of the load cell.
The weighing station (W) as in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support element (L) [sic;
- E] is designed so as to be able to receive and discharge, regardless of the format, objects (K) of different shapes.
The weighing station (W) as in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor element (F) is designed for the continuous or quasi-continuous rotation into a first direction, with the rotation being interruptable and/or reversible in specifiable cases.
The weighing station (W) as in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveyor element (F) can be driven by means of a stepping motor or a magnetic drive.
The weighing station (W) as in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one, preferably a contactless, sensor M is provided for detecting the angle of rotation (α).
A configuration of weighing stations as in one of the preceding claims, with the objects (K) to be weighed of each weighing station (W) being transportable into at least two different discharge areas (Bg Bs), characterized in that the discharge areas (Bg Bs) of the same type in neighboring weighing stations use a common discharge area (Bg Bs).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.