JP7573497B2 - Small portioning valve device and small portioning supply system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a portioning valve device and a portioning supply system.

Methods for distributing the contents from an original container to a dispensing container, etc., are to manually tilt the original container to supply the contents to the dispensing container, or to use a manual pump to move the contents from the original container to the dispensing container. In this case, the amount of contents supplied to the dispensing container is adjusted by visually checking the amount of contents in the dispensing container, or by measuring the weight with a scale or the like and making fine adjustments. There are considerations of automating this type of subdivision. When subdivision is performed using equipment consisting of pumps, piping, etc., when the type of object to be subdivided is changed, it is necessary to clean the pumps, piping, etc. equipment to avoid cross-contamination, which creates issues such as laborious work.

Patent Document 1 discloses a weighing container system that controls the degree of opening of the container valve according to control data that is predetermined for each container. In this invention, the degree of opening of the valve for the discharge port is controlled according to the difference between the measured value of the raw material discharged from the container and the target amount of the raw material.

JP 2018-177293 A

However, the invention described in Patent Document 1 requires a dedicated container that enables valve control, and the contents to be divided must be transferred from the container in which the contents are stored to the dedicated container. If the type of contents to be divided changes, a new container must be prepared or the existing container must be cleaned. This need for refilling and cleaning increases the number of steps, which can make the work more complicated. In addition, it is necessary to set control data in advance, which can be time-consuming to prepare for new divided objects.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and the problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide a portioning valve device and portioning supply system that can accurately and efficiently portion with a simple configuration without using dedicated containers and supply devices such as pumps and piping.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means.
In other words, the portioning valve device of the present invention is a portioning valve device that supplies contents to a portioning container located below an original container, and comprises a lid portion that covers the opening of the original container, a supply pipe that penetrates the lid portion to form a flow path for the contents and supplies the contents to the portioning container, an air pipe that penetrates the lid portion to form an air flow path and supplies air to the original container when the contents are supplied, a check valve provided in the air pipe, and an opening/closing valve provided in the supply pipe.
This invention is equipped with a lid that covers the opening of the original container, a supply pipe that supplies the contents, and an air pipe that supplies air to the original container when the contents are being supplied, so that the contents can be efficiently supplied to the subdivided containers by inverting the original container.

The portioning supply system of the present invention is a portioning supply system that supplies contents from an original container equipped with the above-mentioned portioning valve device to a portioning container, and comprises an original container transporting mechanism that transports the original container to a portioning position, an original container inversion holding mechanism that holds the original container inverted at the portioning position, a portioning container transporting mechanism that transports the portioning container to the portioning position, a portioning container weight measuring mechanism that measures the weight of the portioning container including its contents at the portioning position, an opening/closing valve operating mechanism that operates the opening/closing valve of the portioning valve device at the portioning position, and a control device that controls the opening/closing valve operating mechanism based on the output of the portioning container weight measuring mechanism.
In this invention, a control device is provided that controls the opening and closing valve operating mechanism based on the output of the dispensing container weight measuring mechanism, so that the contents can be dispensed into the dispensing containers accurately and efficiently.

In one aspect of the present invention, a detection sensor is provided for detecting the presence or absence of the dispensing valve device.
In this embodiment, a detection sensor is provided for detecting the presence or absence of the subdivision valve device, so that the presence or absence of the subdivision valve device can be detected, thereby preventing forgetting to attach the subdivision valve device to the original container.

In one aspect of the present invention, a source container weight measuring mechanism is provided that measures the weight including the contents of the source container.
In this embodiment, a source container weight measuring mechanism for measuring the weight of the source container is provided, so that the amount of content supplied from the source container to the subdivision container can be measured.

In one aspect of the present invention, when the opening/closing valve is in an open state, the control device determines the viscosity of the contents of the original container based on the output of the portioning container weight measuring mechanism, and controls the degree of opening of the opening/closing valve using the opening/closing valve operating mechanism based on this determination.
The control device determines the viscosity of the contents and controls the degree of opening of the opening/closing valve based on this determination, so that the contents can be efficiently supplied to the subdivision containers.

In one aspect of the present invention, the control device controls the sub-portioning container transport mechanism and the on-off valve operation mechanism to supply a preset number of times and weight to the sub-portioning container.
In this embodiment, the control device supplies the predetermined number of times and weights to the subdivision containers, so that the desired number of subdivision containers can be supplied automatically.

The present invention provides a portioning valve device and portioning supply system that can accurately and efficiently portion with a simple configuration without using dedicated containers and supply devices such as pumps and piping.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a dispensing valve device attached to an original container according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of the dispensing valve device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a portioned supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a perspective view of a portioned supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a portioned supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a portioned supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portioning supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a portioned supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the portioned supply system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control device of the portioned supply system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a graph illustrating control of the portioned supply system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a description will be given of an embodiment of a portioning valve device and a portioning supply system according to the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(Subdividing valve device)
Fig. 1 shows a side view of a portioning valve device attached to an original container according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the main part of the portioning valve device. As shown in Fig. 1, the portioning valve device 1 includes a lid part 5 that closes an opening P of an original container 2, a supply pipe 7 that penetrates the lid part 5 to form a flow path for the contents of the original container 2 and supplies the contents to the portioning container, an air pipe 9 that penetrates the lid part 5 to form an air flow path and supplies air to the original container 2 when the contents are supplied, a check valve 9a provided in the air pipe 9, and an opening/closing valve 8 provided in the supply pipe 7.

The subdivision valve device 1 is used in an inverted state as shown in FIG. 2 in order to invert the original container 2 and supply the contents of the original container 2 to the subdivision containers in a subdivision supply system described later. The opening/closing valve 8 includes a handle 8a and a valve body 8b, and the degree of opening of the valve body is adjusted by rotating the handle 8a. In this embodiment, a globe valve is used as the opening/closing valve 8, but this is not limited to this, and any valve that can adjust the degree of opening of the valve with a simple operation may be used. When only opening and closing is to be controlled, a gate valve, a ball valve, etc. may be used. When precise flow rate control is required, a diaphragm valve, etc. may be used.
As shown in FIG. 2, the handle 8a is gripped by a handle gripping portion 67 of a subdivision supply system, which will be described later, and the amount of content supplied can be controlled by rotating the handle 8a.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air pipe 9 extends to near the bottom of the original container 2, and is provided at its tip with a check valve 9a to prevent backflow of the contents. The air pipe 9 bends 90 degrees outside the original container 2 after penetrating the lid 5, and opens to the outside of the original container 2 after penetrating the supply pipe 7. A silencer 9b is provided at the end of the external opening.

The portioning valve device 1 configured as described above is inverted together with the original container 2 by the portioning supply system while attached to the original container 2. When the handle 8a of the opening/closing valve 8 is rotated in this inverted state to open the valve body 8b, the contents are supplied from the supply pipe 7 forming the flow path of the contents to the external portioning container described below. At this time, air of a volume equal to the volume of the contents moved to the outside is sucked from the silencer 9b, passes through the air pipe 9, and is supplied to the inside of the original container 2 from the check valve 9a, and the same volume of air as the contents supplied to the outside of the original container 2 is replaced inside the original container 2.

As described above, the subdivision valve device 1 in this embodiment is provided with a supply pipe 7 that supplies the contents and an air pipe 9 that replaces air of approximately the same volume as the supplied contents, both of which penetrate the lid 5 that closes the opening P of the original container 2. Therefore, the contents can be efficiently supplied from the original container to the subdivision container with a simple structure. The opening degree of the valve body 8b of the opening/closing valve 8 is adjusted with the handle 8a, so simple control can be implemented without the need for complex valve control.

(Small-portion supply system)
3 to 22 are perspective views including enlarged views of the main parts of a portioning supply system 10 that supplies contents from an original container 2 equipped with the above-mentioned portioning valve device 1 to a portioning container 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the portioning supply system 10 includes an original container transport mechanism 11 that transports the original container 2 to a portioning position K, an original container inverting and holding mechanism 13 that inverts and holds the original container 2 at the portioning position K, and a portioning container transport mechanism 15 that transports the portioning container 3 to the portioning position K.

The original container transport mechanism 11 includes a roller conveyor 31 and a lifting device 35. The roller conveyor 31 is composed of three roller conveyors 31a, 31b, and 31c, and transports the original container 2 up to the front of the lifting device 35. Between the rollers of each of the roller conveyors 31a, 31b, and 31c, there are provided chain conveyors 33a, 33b, and 33c that can move up and down to transport the original container 2 in a direction that is 90 degrees different from the transport direction of each of the roller conveyors 31a, 31b, and 31c.

The lifting device 35 includes a lifting motor 37, a lifting chain 39, and a lifting cage 41. A chain conveyor 33d is provided at the bottom of the lifting cage 41 for transporting the original containers 2 transported by the roller conveyor 31 to the lifting cage 41. The lifting cage 41 is movable up and down in conjunction with the lifting chain 39, which is driven by the rotation of the lifting motor 37.

The original container inversion holding mechanism 13 includes clamping arms 45, 45, a clamping motor 47, a lifting motor 49, a lifting chain 51, and an inversion motor 53. A chain conveyor 33e is provided below the clamping arms 45, 45 of the original container inversion holding mechanism 13, which conveys the original container 2 lifted by the lifting device 35 to the clamping arms 45, 45. The clamping arms 45, 45 clamp the original container 2 between the left and right arms when driven by the clamping motor 47, and are movable up and down together with the clamped original container 2 in conjunction with the lifting chain 51 driven by the rotation of the lifting motor 49. The inversion motor 53 is driven to invert the clamping arms 45, 45 together with the clamped original container 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the roller conveyor 31 and the lifting device 35 from a different angle than that of Figure 3. A source container weight measuring mechanism 27 for measuring the weight of the source container 2 including its contents is provided below the chain conveyor 33b. A detection sensor 23 is provided on the lifting cage 41 of the lifting device 35, which detects the subdivision valve device 1 and can confirm that the subdivision valve device 1 is attached to the source container 2. The detection sensor 23 can be, for example, an image recognition camera or a light-shielding sensor. In this embodiment, two pairs of light-shielding sensors arranged diagonally are used as the detection sensor 23.

Figure 12 is an enlarged view of the main part that supplies the contents to the portioning container 3 while the original container 2 is held inverted. As shown in Figure 12, the portioning supply system 10 includes a portioning container weight measuring mechanism 17 that measures the weight of the portioning container 3 including the contents at the portioning position K, an opening/closing valve operating mechanism 19 that operates the opening/closing valve of the portioning valve device at the portioning position K, and a control device 21 shown in Figure 3 that controls the opening/closing valve operating mechanism 19 based on the output of the portioning container weight measuring mechanism 17.

The opening/closing valve operating mechanism 19 includes a handle gripping portion 67, an operating cylinder 69, an opening/closing gear 71, and an opening/closing motor 73. The operating cylinder 69 reciprocates to move the handle gripping portion 67 to a position where it grips the handle 8a. The opening/closing motor 73 cooperates with the opening/closing gear 71 to rotate the handle gripping portion 67, thereby opening and closing the handle 8a gripped by the handle gripping portion 67.

The portioning container transport mechanism 15 is composed of multiple chain conveyors 55 and transports the portioning container 3 to the portioning position K. On both sides of the chain conveyor 55 at the portioning position K, a positioning guide 57, a guide cylinder 59, a vibration prevention guide 61, and a positioning cylinder 63 are provided. The positioning guide 57 positions the portioning container 3 so that the injection port 3a is located directly below the portioning valve device 1 by pushing the portioning container from both sides with the reciprocating motion of the guide cylinder 59. During positioning, the vibration prevention guide 61 also moves to a vibration prevention position of the portioning container 3 by the reciprocating motion of the guide cylinder 59. The positioning guide 57 can then be separated from the portioning container 3 by the positioning cylinder 63. A lifting cylinder 65 is provided on the upper part of the portioning container weight measuring mechanism 17, and the portioning container 3 can be moved up and down with the positioning guide 59 separated from the portioning container 3.

A detection sensor 25 is provided at the subdivision position K, which detects the subdivision valve device 1 and can confirm that the subdivision valve device 1 is attached to the original container 2 and that the orientation of the attachment is correct. The detection sensor 25 can be, for example, an image recognition camera or a light-shielding sensor. In this embodiment, two pairs of light-shielding sensors arranged diagonally are used as the detection sensor 25.

24 is a block diagram of the control device 21 of this embodiment. The control device 21 includes an input unit 81, a measurement value acquisition unit 82, a control data update unit 83, a control data storage unit 84, a control data management unit 85, an output unit 86, and a drive control unit 87. The input unit 81 accepts registration of the weight of the contents to be subdivided into the subdivision containers 3 and the number of subdivision containers 3 to be subdivided. The measurement value acquisition unit 82 receives outputs from the subdivision container weight measurement mechanism 17, the original container weight measurement mechanism 27, the detection sensors 23, 25, etc. The control data storage unit 84 stores parameters related to the operation and control of the roller conveyor 31, the lifting device 35, the original container inversion holding mechanism 13, the subdivision container transport mechanism 15, the opening and closing valve operation mechanism 19, etc. of the original container transport mechanism 11, which are read out by the control data management unit 85 to define the operation of the subdivision supply system 10, for example, the flowchart shown in FIG. 23.

The parameters of the control data storage unit 84 are updated by the control data update unit 83. The output unit 86 reads data required for driving each part of the subdivision supply system 10 from the control data management unit 85, and outputs it to the drive control unit 87. Specifically, the drive control unit 87 controls the drive of motors such as the motor of the roller conveyor 31, the lift motor 37 of the lift device 35, the clamp motor 47, lift motor 49, and inversion motor 53 of the original container inversion holding mechanism 13, and the opening/closing motor 73 of the opening/closing valve operation mechanism 19, as well as cylinders such as the operation cylinder 69 of the opening/closing valve operation mechanism 19, the guide cylinder 59 arranged at the subdivision position K, the positioning cylinder 63, and the lift cylinder 65.

The control device 21 is implemented on an information processing device such as a personal computer. The control device 21 may be software or a program executed by a CPU or GPU in the information processing device. As described above, the control device 21 includes a control data storage unit 84, which may be implemented on a hard disk or a flash disk implemented in the personal computer.

23 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the portioned supply system 10 of this embodiment. The operation of the portioned supply system 10 will be explained according to the flowchart of FIG.
(1) Attach the dispensing valve device 1 to the original container 2 (FIG. 1, S01).
(2) The dispensing information is input to the control device 21 (FIG. 3, S02). At this time, the dispensing information includes the weight of the contents to be supplied to the dispensing container 3, the number of dispensing containers to be supplied, etc.

(3) The original container 2 is placed on the roller conveyor 31 of the original container transport mechanism 11 (FIG. 3, S03). The original container 2 is transported on the roller conveyor 31a to the chain conveyor 33a. When the chain conveyor 33a detects the original container 2, it rises, lifts up the original container 2, and transports it to the roller conveyor 31b. The roller conveyor 31b transports the original container 2 to the chain conveyor 33b (FIG. 3).
(4) When the chain conveyor 33b detects the original container 2, it rises and lifts up the original container 2. An original container weight measuring mechanism 27 is provided below the chain conveyor 33b, which measures the weight of the original container 2 including the contents (FIG. 3, S04).

(5) The chain conveyor 33b lifts the original container 2 and transports it into the lifting cage 41 in cooperation with the chain conveyor 33d of the lifting device 35 (Fig. 4). A detection sensor 23 is provided inside the lifting cage 41 and detects whether the subdivision valve device 1 is attached to the original container 2 in a predetermined position, and issues a warning if it is not attached. If it is attached, proceed to the next step (Fig. 5, S05).

(6) The lifting cage 41 is raised by the lifting chain 39 driven by the lifting motor 37 to the position of the chain conveyor 33e of the original container inversion holding mechanism 13 (Figure 6). The original container 2 is then transported to the original container inversion holding mechanism 13 by the chain conveyor 33d and the chain conveyor 33e (Figure 7, S06).

(7) In the original container inversion holding mechanism 13, the clamping arms 45, 45 clamp the original container 2 from the left and right sides of the original container 2 by driving the clamping motor 47 (Figure 8). After that, the clamping arms 45, 45 rise while clamping the original container 2 by the lifting chain 51 driven by the rotation of the lifting motor 49 (Figure 9). The clamped and raised original container 2 is inverted by driving the inversion motor 53 (Figure 10, S07).

(8) The original container 2 clamped between the clamping arms 45, 45 is lowered by the drive of the lifting chain 51 driven by the rotation of the lifting motor 49 (Fig. 11). As shown in Fig. 12, a detection sensor 25 is provided at the position where the original container 2 is lowered and held, and it is possible to check whether the subdivision valve device 1 is placed in the specified position. If it is not in the specified position, a warning is issued. The specified position is the position where the injection port 3a of the subdivision container 3 is located just below the subdivision valve device 1 when the subdivision container 2 is placed in the subdivision position K. (Fig. 12, S08).

(9) After that, the subdivision container 3 is transported to the subdivision position K by the subdivision container transport mechanism 15 (FIG. 13, S09).

(10) At the portioning position K, the guide cylinder 59 is driven to move the positioning guide 57 and the anti-vibration guide 61 from both sides toward the portioning container 3. The positioning guide 57 contacts the portioning container 3 from both sides and positions the portioning container 3 in a predetermined position. The predetermined position here is the position where the injection port 3a of the portioning container 3 is located directly below the portioning valve device 1. The anti-vibration guide 61 is positioned in a non-contact position so as to sandwich the left and right sides of the portioning container 3 from both sides (Fig. 14, S10).

(11) Thereafter, the positioning cylinder 63 is driven to move the positioning guide 57 away from the portioning container, and the lifting cylinder 65 is driven to raise the portioning container 3 so that the injection port 3a of the portioning container 3 is positioned immediately below the portioning valve device 1. The vibration prevention guide 61 remains in a position close to but not in contact with the portioning container 3 to prevent the portioning container 3 from vibrating when the contents are supplied to the portioning container 3 (FIG. 15, S11).
(12) A dispensing container weight measuring mechanism 17 is provided below the lifting cylinder 65, and measures the weight of the dispensing container 3 including the contents (FIG. 15, S12).

(13) In the opening/closing valve operating mechanism 19, the operating cylinder 69 is driven to move the handle gripping portion 67, which grips the handle 8a of the opening/closing valve 8 of the dispensing valve device 1 (Figure 16, S13).

(14) As shown in FIG. 17, the opening/closing gear 71 is driven by the rotation of the opening/closing motor 73, and the handle 8a gripped by the handle grip portion 67 is rotated to open the opening/closing valve 8 (FIG. 17, S14).
(15) Even while the on-off valve 8 is open and the contents are being supplied to the dispensing container 3, weight measurement by the dispensing container weight measuring mechanism 17 continues (S15).

(16) Figure 25 is a graph showing time on the horizontal axis and weight measured by the portioning container weight measuring mechanism 17 on the vertical axis. As will be described later, the control device 21 shown in Figure 3 controls the opening/closing valve operating mechanism 19 based on the output of the portioning container weight measuring mechanism 17. Specifically, the control of the opening/closing valve operating mechanism 19 involves rotating the handle 8a with the handle grip 67 to adjust the degree to which the opening/closing valve 8 is opened (Figure 17, S16, S17).

(17) The control device 21 constantly judges whether the output of the portioning weight measuring mechanism 17 has reached a predetermined weight (S18). If it has not reached the predetermined weight, the control device 21 continues to control the opening/closing valve operating mechanism 19 with the opening/closing valve 8 open (S18: NO), and if it has reached the predetermined weight, the control device 21 proceeds to the process of fully closing the valve (S18: YES).

(18) When the control device 21 determines that a predetermined weight of contents has been supplied to the portioning container 3, the opening/closing gear 71 is driven by the rotation of the opening/closing motor 73, the handle 8a held by the handle gripping portion 67 is rotated, and the opening/closing valve 8 is fully closed (Figure 18, S19).
(19) Thereafter, the guide cylinder 59 is driven to move the anti-sway guide 61 away from the dispensing container 3, and the lifting cylinder 65 lowers the dispensing container 3 (Figure 18, S20).

(20) The container 3 into which a predetermined amount of content has been supplied is transported by the chain conveyor 55 of the container transport mechanism 15 (FIG. 19, S21).
(21) If there is a next subdivision container 3 to be supplied, the process repeats from the above-mentioned step (9) (S22: Yes). If there is no next subdivision container, the process proceeds to the step of transporting the original container 2 (S22: No).

(22) The original container 2 clamped between the clamping arms 45, 45 is raised by the drive of the lifting chain 51 driven by the rotation of the lifting motor 49. The raised original container 2 is then inverted by the drive of the inversion motor 53, returning it to its original state with the subdivision valve device 1 at the top (FIG. 20, S23).

(23) The original container 2 is lowered by the lifting chain 51 driven by the rotation of the lifting motor 49, and the clamping arms 45, 45 are moved away from the original container 2 by the drive of the clamping motor 47 (Fig. 21). After that, the original container 2 is transported to the roller conveyor 31b by the operation of the chain conveyor 33b through the reverse steps of the above-mentioned steps (4) to (6). The roller conveyor 31b transports the original container 2 to the roller conveyor 31c, and then the roller conveyor 31c transports it to the outside of the subdivision supply system 10 (Fig. 22, S24).

(24) The control device 21 checks whether there is a next original container to be subdivided (S25), and if there is a next original container 2a, repeats the series of steps up to this point (Fig. 22, S25: Yes). If there is no next original container, the series of steps ends (S25: No, S26)

<Control of opening and closing valve in response to output of small-portion container weight measuring mechanism>
As described above, Fig. 25 is a graph showing time on the horizontal axis and weight measured by the portioning-container weight measuring mechanism 17 on the vertical axis. Fig. 25 shows an example in which 10 kg of contents is supplied to the portioning container 3. The control device 21 determines the viscosity of the contents of the original container 2 from the output of the portioning-container weight measuring mechanism 17, and controls the degree of opening of the opening/closing valve 8 by the opening/closing valve operating mechanism 19 based on this determination.

Specifically, in the case of content A shown in FIG. 25, since the content reaches 5 kg in a short time shown at time a, content A is determined to be a low-viscosity substance, and the opening degree of the opening valve 8 is changed from full to 50% at this point. Next, the opening degree is changed to 20% at time b when the content reaches 8 kg, and since the content reaches 10 kg at time c, the opening degree of the opening valve 8 is fully closed. In the case of content B, since the content reaches 8 kg in a long time compared to content A shown at time d, content B is determined to be a high-viscosity substance, and the opening degree of the opening valve 8 is changed from full to 80% at this point. Since the content reaches 10 kg at time e, the opening valve 8 is fully closed. In the example shown here, the opening degree of the opening valve 8 is started from full open (100%), but it is not limited to this, and if the viscosity of the content can be predicted to some extent in advance, it may start from an opening degree other than 100%. For example, it may start from an opening degree suitable for any viscosity of the content between 99% and 1%. The weight and time for determining whether to change the opening degree of the on-off valve 8 are to be controlled appropriately according to the circumstances of each implementation, without being limited to the above-mentioned 8 kg, 5 k, and the time when these are reached.

As described above, the portioning supply system 10 in this embodiment supplies the contents to the portioning container 3 by inverting the original container 2 equipped with the portioning valve device 1 of a simple structure, so that the contents can be portioned without using dedicated containers and supply devices such as pumps and piping. During portioning, the portioning container weight measuring mechanism 17 measures the weight of the portioning container 3 containing the contents and controls the opening of the opening/closing valve 8 based on the result, so that the contents can be supplied efficiently in a short time.

1 subdivision valve device 10 subdivision supply system 2, 2a original container 3 subdivision container 5 lid 7 supply pipe 8 opening/closing valve 9 air pipe 9a check valve 11 original container conveying mechanism 13 original container inversion holding mechanism 15 subdivision container conveying mechanism 17 subdivision container weight measuring mechanism 19 opening/closing valve operating mechanism 21 control device 23, 25 detection sensor 27 original container weight measuring mechanism P original container opening K subdivision position

Claims (5)

A subdivision supply system that supplies contents from an original container to a subdivision container,
a portioning valve device including a lid for closing an opening of the original container, a supply pipe penetrating the lid to form a flow path for the contents and supplying the contents to the portioning container, an air pipe penetrating the lid to form an air flow path and supplying air to the original container when the contents are being supplied, a check valve provided in the air pipe, and an opening/closing valve provided in the supply pipe;
an original container transport mechanism that transports the original container to which the subdivision valve device is attached to a subdivision position;
an original container inversion holding mechanism that holds the original container inverted at the subdivision position;
a subdivision container transport mechanism that transports the subdivision container to a subdivision position and further transports a next subdivision container ;
a container weight measuring mechanism for measuring a weight including a content of the container at the dispensing position;
an opening/ closing valve operating mechanism for operating the opening/closing valve at the subdivision position;
a control device that controls the opening/closing valve operating mechanism based on an output of the small-portion container weight measuring mechanism;
A portioned supply system. The portioning supply system according to claim 1 , further comprising a detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the portioning valve device. The portioning and supplying system according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising a source container weight measuring mechanism for measuring a weight including the content of the source container. A portioned supply system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control device determines the viscosity of the contents of the original container based on the output of the portioned container weight measuring mechanism when the opening/closing valve is in an open state, and controls the degree of opening of the opening/closing valve by the opening / closing valve operating mechanism based on this determination. 5. The portioning and supplying system according to claim 1 , wherein the control device controls the portioning container transport mechanism and the opening/closing valve operation mechanism to supply a preset number of times and weight to the portioning containers.

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