Combination weighing apparatus having a supply unit

A combination weighing apparatus for weighing articles supplied to a plurality of hoppers, arranged in a rectilinear row, from a supply unit, combining some of the hoppers and grouping together the articles within selected ones of the hoppers, wherein the supply unit comprises:

• a plurality of supply buckets each capable of accommodating an article therein and discharging it onto the hoppers, said plurality of supply buckets being positioned along the array of the plurality of hoppers;
• transport means including an endless support member for drivingly supporting the supply buckets and operable to circulate the supply buckets along a predetermined path together with the support member past a discharge position above the row of the hoppers;
• determining means for determining, in reference to a weight of the article within each of the hoppers, whether or not the respective hopper is ready to receive the article;
• a weight detector for detecting a weight of each of the hoppers onto which the article is to be discharged from the supply unit;
• and
• discharge control means for, when the supply buckets are successively brought to a position corresponding to some of the hoppers ready to receive the articles therefrom, causing the supply buckets to discharge the corresponding articles onto such some of the hoppers, wherein the determining means when receiving an output from the weight detector determines whether or not the weight of the article within the respective hopper is not greater than a predetermined threshold value, and wherein the discharge control means operates, when the supply buckets are successively brought to a position corresponding to some of the hoppers containing the respective articles of the weight not greater than the predetermined threshold value, to cause the supply buckets to discharge the corresponding articles onto such some of the hoppers.

A combination weighing apparatus for weighing articles supplied to a plurality of hoppers, arranged in a rectilinear row, from a supply unit, combining some of the hoppers and grouping together the articles within selected ones of the hoppers, wherein the supply unit comprises:

• a plurality of supply buckets each capable of accommodating an article therein and discharging it onto the hoppers;
• transport means including an endless support member for drivingly supporting the supplying buckets and operable to circulate the supply buckets along a predetermined path together with the support member past a discharge position above the row of the hoppers;
• determining means for determining, in reference to a weight of the article within each of the hoppers, whether or not the respective hopper is ready to receive the article;
• discharge control means for, when the supply buckets are successively brought to a position corresponding to some of the hoppers ready to receive the articles therefrom, causing the supply buckets to discharge the corresponding articles onto such some of the hoppers;
• and
• a weight detector for detecting a weight of each of the hoppers onto which the article is to be discharged from the supply unit,
• wherein the determining means when receiving an output from the weight detector determines whether or not the weight of the article within the respective hopper is not greater than a predetermined threshold value, and wherein the discharge control means operates, when the supply buckets are successively brought to a position corresponding to some of the hoppers containing the respective articles of the weight not greater than the predetermined threshold value, to cause the supply buckets to discharge the corresponding articles onto such some of the hoppers.