JPH11208602A - Abnormality detecting device of auger-type filling machine, and its production method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely detect abnormal contact of a funnel tube with an auger shaft to cause the mixing of metallic pieces in a filling material in the funnel tube by providing an oscillation detecting sensor or the funnel tube, and judging the abnormal contact of the auger shaft to the funnel tube. SOLUTION: In an auger type filling machine in which an auger shaft 4 provided with screw-like fins 4a is concentrically arranged in a hollow part of a funnel tube 3, a sensor head 11 to detect the oscillation of the funnel tube 3, convert the oscillation level into the oscillation detection signal and output the signal is mounted on a connection part 3a of the funnel tube 3. When the oscillation detection signal of the level exceeding the pre-set threshold is inputted from the oscillation detection sensor head 11, it is judged that the auger shaft 4 is brought into abnormal contact with the funnel tube 3. Danger of mixing metallic pieces in the funnel tube 3 is correctly detected, and rapidly coped with.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an abnormality detection apparatus and a method for accurately detecting abnormal contact of an auger shaft with a funnel tube in an auger-type filling machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, an auger type filling machine has an auger shaft provided with screw-shaped fins coaxially disposed in a hollow portion of a cylindrical body called a funnel tube, and is supplied into the funnel tube. The package is filled with the filled filler by rotation of the auger shaft and packaged.

[0003] Many objects (filling materials) to be filled by the auger-type filling machine enter the mouth of consumers, such as medicines and foods. Therefore, be careful not to mix foreign matter into the filling in the funnel tube.
When foreign matter is mixed, it is important to provide a detecting means capable of reliably detecting the foreign matter.

[0004] One of the causes of foreign matter entering the funnel tube is related to a defective auger shaft. In other words, when the auger shaft is improperly mounted or an excessive load acts on the auger shaft to bend, the auger shaft (especially, the fin portion) comes into contact with the inner wall of the funnel tube, and the funnel tube or the auger shaft is scraped and metal It may become a piece and be mixed into the filler.

[0005]

The conventional auger-type filling machine does not have a means for detecting the mixing of metal pieces in the funnel tube, and the metal detection is performed exclusively in the subsequent process (inspection process). A metal piece (foreign matter) mixed into the weighted object was detected using a detector. However, the detection accuracy of metal pieces by metal detectors is limited,
Even if fine metal pieces were mixed in the filler, there was a possibility that they could not be found.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and reliably detects an abnormal contact between a funnel tube and an auger shaft, which causes a metal piece to be mixed into a filler in a funnel tube. The purpose is to:

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an abnormality detection device according to the present invention has an auger shaft disposed coaxially in a hollow portion of a funnel tube and fills the funnel tube with the auger shaft. In an auger-type filling machine having a configuration in which filling is performed by rotation of a shaft, a vibration detection sensor provided in a funnel tube and a determination means for determining abnormal contact of the auger shaft with the funnel tube based on a vibration detection signal from the vibration detection sensor And characterized in that:

When the auger-type filling machine is operating normally, the auger shaft rotates in the funnel tube without contacting the funnel tube, so that no abnormal vibration occurs in the funnel tube. However, when the auger shaft comes into contact with the inner surface of the funnel tube due to improper mounting of the auger shaft or an excessive load acting on the auger shaft, abnormal vibration is generated based on the contact. In the present invention, the abnormal vibration is detected by the vibration detecting sensor, and the abnormal contact of the auger shaft with the funnel tube is determined. This makes it possible to quickly detect the risk of mixing of metal pieces (foreign matter) into the filler due to abnormal contact of the auger shaft with the funnel tube.

The discriminating means discriminates that the auger shaft is in abnormal contact with the funnel tube when a vibration detection signal having a level exceeding a preset threshold value is input from the vibration detection sensor. Can be configured.

The threshold value for judging abnormal contact depends on the level of the vibration detection signal output from the vibration detection sensor when the auger shaft is operating normally and the threshold value when the auger shaft abnormally contacts the funnel tube. In this case, the level of the vibration detection signal output from the vibration detection sensor may be measured in advance, and the level may be set to an arbitrary level located therebetween.

Further, abnormal contact of the auger shaft with the funnel tube may occur periodically or continuously with the rotation of the auger shaft. Focusing on this point, the discriminating means, when a vibration detection signal of a level exceeding a preset threshold value is input a plurality of times from the vibration detection sensor within a predetermined time, or when the vibration detection signal is input continuously for a predetermined time In addition, it is preferable that the configuration is such that it is determined that the auger shaft is in abnormal contact with the funnel tube.

With this configuration, even if the vibration detection signal suddenly exceeds the threshold value even though the auger shaft is operating normally, the vibration detection sensor outputs the vibration detection signal to the funnel tube. On the other hand, there is no possibility of erroneously determining that the auger shaft is in abnormal contact.

Further, according to the abnormality determining method of the present invention, an auger shaft is coaxially arranged in a hollow portion of a funnel tube,
In an auger-type filling machine having a configuration in which the filling material in the funnel tube is filled by rotation of the auger shaft, the level of a vibration detection signal from a vibration detection sensor provided in the funnel tube is as follows (A) to (C). When any one of the above conditions occurs, it is determined that the auger shaft is in abnormal contact with the funnel tube.

(A) When the level of the vibration detection signal from the vibration detection sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold (b) When the level of the vibration detection signal from the vibration detection sensor is
When a predetermined threshold value is exceeded more than once within a certain time (c) The level of the vibration detection signal from the vibration detection sensor is
When a predetermined threshold value is continuously exceeded for a certain period of time. Thereby, it is possible to quickly detect the risk of mixing of metal pieces (foreign matter) into the filler due to abnormal contact of the auger shaft with the funnel tube.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing the entire structure of an auger-type filling machine incorporating an abnormality detecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the device body 1 of the auger-type filling machine
Is provided with a hopper 2, and an upper end opening of the funnel tube 3 is connected to a lower end opening of the hopper 2. The hopper 2 is an inverted conical container, and the apparatus main body 1
Is supported by the frame 1a.

The funnel tube 3 has a cylindrical shape, and has a flange-shaped connecting portion 3a formed at the periphery of the upper end opening. The connecting portion 3a is connected to the frame 1 by a fastener such as a bolt.
It is fixed to a. An auger shaft 4 having screw-shaped fins 4a is coaxially disposed in the hollow portion of the funnel tube 3. The upper end of the auger shaft 4 penetrates through the hopper 2 and is connected to a power transmission mechanism (not shown) of a drive motor 5, and rotates by receiving a rotational driving force from the motor 5.

The filling material to be filled is stored in the hopper 2, and is sequentially supplied into the hollow portion of the funnel tube 3 with the rotation of the auger shaft 4, and is filled by the auger shaft 4 to fill the funnel tube 3. Is discharged from the lower end opening. Packaging containers (not shown) are sequentially arranged below the funnel tube 3, and the funnel tube 3
The filler discharged from the lower end opening is filled in a fixed amount.

In the auger-type filling machine having the above-described configuration, a sensor head 10 to be described later is attached to the connection portion 3a of the funnel tube 3. This sensor head 1
The reference numeral 0 may be attached to any portion where vibration of the funnel tube 3 can be sensed in addition to the connection portion of the funnel tube 3.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an abnormality detecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The abnormality detection device includes a sensor head (vibration detection sensor) 10, a sensor amplifier 20, a central processing unit (CPU) 21, and an output unit 30.

The sensor head 10 includes the funnel tube 3
, And converts the vibration level into a vibration detection signal (electric signal) and outputs it. When the level of the vibration detection signal sent from the sensor head 10 exceeds a preset threshold value, the sensor amplifier 20 outputs the vibration detection signal to the central processing unit 21. The central processing unit 21
When a vibration detection signal is input from the sensor amplifier 20, abnormal contact of the auger shaft 4 with the funnel tube 3 is determined. That is, the sensor amplifier 20 and the central processing unit constitute a determination unit for determining abnormal contact of the auger shaft 4 with the funnel tube 3.

The threshold value set in the sensor amplifier 20 is, as described above, the level (normal level) of the vibration detection signal output from the sensor head 10 when the auger shaft 4 is operating normally. And the level (abnormal level) of the vibration detection signal output from the sensor head 10 when the auger shaft 4 abnormally contacts the funnel tube 3, and if it is set to an arbitrary level located therebetween. Good.

Here, if the threshold value is brought close to the normal level, a vibration detection signal is output to the central processing unit 21 even for a slight abnormal vibration, and the auger shaft 4 abnormally contacts the funnel tube 3. Detection sensitivity is improved. However, when the detection sensitivity is increased in this way,
Even when the vibration detection signal is suddenly output from the vibration detection sensor 10 even though the auger shaft 4 is operating normally, the auger shaft 3 is still in contact with the funnel tube 3. There is a possibility that the frequency of erroneously determining that the shaft 4 is in abnormal contact may increase.

Therefore, in this embodiment, one of the determination criteria for determining abnormal contact of the auger shaft 4 with the funnel tube 3 is a plurality of times within a predetermined detection time.
When a vibration detection signal having a level exceeding the threshold value is input, it is determined that the auger shaft 4 is in abnormal contact with the funnel tube 3.

That is, in the central processing unit 21, a detection time for determining abnormal contact of the auger shaft 4 with the funnel tube 3 is set. After inputting the vibration detection signal exceeding the threshold value, the central processing unit 21 applies the auger shaft 4 to the funnel tube 3 when the vibration detection signal having the level exceeding the threshold value is input at least once within the detection time. Is determined to be in abnormal contact.

Normally, abnormal contact of the rotating auger shaft 4 with the funnel tube 3 is caused by defective mounting or bending due to overload, and therefore occurs periodically at a certain rotation angle position during one rotation. There are many. Therefore, when a vibration detection signal having a level exceeding the threshold is input again within a time (detection time) during which the auger shaft 4 makes one rotation or more after the vibration detection signal having a level exceeding the threshold is input. It is highly probable that the auger shaft 4 is in abnormal contact with the funnel tube 3.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing examples of vibration detection signals when the central processing unit 21 determines abnormal contact of the auger shaft 4 with the funnel tube 3. As shown in FIG. 2A, a threshold value a for a vibration detection signal to be inputted is set in the central processing unit 21 in advance, and a vibration detection signal X having a level exceeding the threshold value a is inputted. After that, when the vibration detection signals (Xa, Xb in FIG. 3A) having a level exceeding the threshold value a are input again within the detection time T set in advance, the auger is applied to the funnel tube 3. It is determined that the shaft 4 is in abnormal contact.

Further, in this embodiment, a predetermined threshold value a is continuously set for a certain period of time as a criterion for determining abnormal contact of the auger shaft 4 with the funnel tube 3.
(FIG. 3B), it is determined that the auger shaft 4 is in abnormal contact with the funnel tube 3.

In other words, when the auger shaft 4 is severely bent due to improper mounting or overload, the auger shaft 4 may continue to be in contact with the funnel tube 3 in some cases. In such a case, since the vibration detection signal Xc exceeding the threshold value a is continuously input, such a vibration detection signal Xc
Is input, the central processing unit 21 needs to determine that there is an abnormal contact. Therefore, in this embodiment, the input of the vibration detection signal Xc is added to one of the determination criteria.

When the central processing unit 21 determines that the auger shaft 4 is in abnormal contact with the funnel tube 3, the output unit 30 has a function of notifying an operator of the determination result. For example, the output unit 30 can be configured by a device such as a display 31 that displays an abnormal contact on a display, a buzzer 32 that notifies the abnormal contact by a buzzer sound, and a lamp 33 that notifies the abnormal contact by blinking or lighting of light.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart specifically showing a control operation for detecting an abnormality by the central processing unit. As shown in the figure, the central processing unit 21 first determines whether or not the auger filling machine is operating (S1), and if it is operating, further determines whether or not the auger filling machine is performing a filling operation (S1). S
2).

When the auger-type filling machine is filling, a timer for monitoring whether or not a vibration detection signal exceeding a threshold value is input (S3) and counting the detection time described above when the signal is input is provided. Check whether or not is operating (S
4). If the timer has not been activated, the timer is activated and the input count of the vibration detection signal exceeding the threshold is set to 1 (S5).

Subsequently, it is confirmed whether or not a vibration detection signal having a level exceeding the threshold value is continuously inputted (S
6) If the input is continuous, it is checked whether the detection time counted by the timer has expired (S7), and if it is within the detection time, abnormal contact of the auger shaft 4 with the funnel tube 3 is determined. , After operating the output unit 30 (S
8) Reset the timer and the count to initialize the abnormality detection operation (S9), and monitor the vibration detection signal again (S1). If the detection time has already ended, the timer and the count are reset to initialize the abnormality detection operation without operating the output unit 30 (S9), and the vibration detection signal is monitored again (S1 to S9). ).

In step S4, if the timer has already been activated, it is checked whether or not the detection time counted by the timer has expired (S10). The input count of the vibration detection signal is increased by one (S11), and it is checked whether the input count is 2 or more (S12). If the count is 2 or more, the auger shaft 4 is abnormal with respect to the funnel tube 3 After determining the contact and activating the output unit (S8), the timer and the count are reset to initialize the abnormality detection operation (S9), and the vibration detection signal is monitored again (S8).
1).

In step S10, if the detection time has already expired, the timer and the count are reset to initialize the abnormality detection operation (S9), and the vibration detection signal is monitored again (S1). . If the count is 1 in the step S12, the abnormality detection operation is continued again (S1).

Through the above steps, abnormal contact of the auger shaft 4 with the funnel tube 3 can be reliably detected. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, the abnormal contact of the auger shaft with the funnel tube is determined based on the vibration detection signal from the vibration detection sensor, so that the abnormal contact can be reliably detected. It is possible to accurately detect the danger of mixing of metal pieces in the funnel tube and take a quick response.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing the entire structure of an auger-type filling machine incorporating an abnormality detecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vibration detection signal when the central processing unit determines abnormal contact of the auger shaft with the funnel tube.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart specifically showing a control operation for abnormality detection by a central processing unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Device main body 2: Hopper 3: Funnel tube 4: Auger shaft 10: Sensor head 20: Sensor amplifier 21: Central processing unit 30: Output unit 31: Display 32: Buzzer 33: Lamp

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An auger-type filling machine having a configuration in which an auger shaft is coaxially arranged in a hollow portion of a funnel tube and a filling material in the funnel tube is filled by rotation of the auger shaft. Abnormality detection of an auger-type filling machine, comprising: a vibration detection sensor provided in the apparatus; and determination means for determining abnormal contact of the auger shaft with the funnel tube based on a vibration detection signal from the vibration detection sensor. apparatus. 2. The abnormality detection device for an auger-type filling machine according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit receives a vibration detection signal having a level exceeding a preset threshold value from the vibration detection sensor. An abnormality detection device for an auger-type filling machine, wherein it is determined that the auger shaft is in abnormal contact with the funnel tube. 3. The abnormality detection device for an auger-type filling machine according to claim 1, wherein said determination means outputs a vibration detection signal having a level exceeding a preset threshold value from said vibration detection sensor for a predetermined time. An abnormality detection device for an auger-type filling machine, wherein it is determined that the auger shaft is in abnormal contact with the funnel tube when the input is made a plurality of times. 4. The abnormality detection device for an auger-type filling machine according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit outputs a vibration detection signal having a level exceeding a preset threshold value from the vibration detection sensor for a predetermined time. An abnormality detection device for an auger-type filling machine, wherein it is determined that the auger shaft is in abnormal contact with the funnel tube when continuously inputted. 5. An auger-type filling machine comprising: a structure in which an auger shaft is coaxially arranged in a hollow portion of a funnel tube, and a filling material in the funnel tube is filled by rotation of the auger shaft. When the level of the vibration detection signal from the vibration detection sensor provided in any one of the following (A) to (C), it is determined that the auger shaft is in abnormal contact with the funnel tube. An abnormality detection method for an auger-type filling machine, characterized in that: (A) When the level of the vibration detection signal from the vibration detection sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value (b) The level of the vibration detection signal from the vibration detection sensor is set to a predetermined value several times within a certain time When the threshold value is exceeded (c) When the level of the vibration detection signal from the vibration detection sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value for a certain period of time continuously