JPS6243647B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for supplying green tea leaves at a constant weight and an improvement in the apparatus thereof.

Continuously supplying a constant weight of fresh tea leaves to the steamer produces high-quality tea leaves, regardless of weight fluctuations due to differences in size, new leaves, old leaves, etc. of fresh tea leaves picked in tea gardens. This is extremely important.

Several inventions have been made to continuously supply a constant weight of green tea leaves to a steamer.

What can be seen in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 53-107495 is that a measuring drum rotated at a constant speed by a separate drive motor and supported by a spring is provided on the discharge side of the transfer conveyor, and a displacement detector provided on the measuring drum is used. , the weight of the green tea leaves on the measuring drum is detected, and based on this detected amount, the circulating speed of the forward transfer conveyor is controlled so as to correct the weight of the green tea leaves sent to the measuring drum to a set value. Also, JP-A-55-96425
In the device disclosed in the publication, a feed controller frame is supported by a spring on a support arm that protrudes laterally from above the machine frame of the leaf feeder, the weight of green tea leaves on the frame is detected, and the weight of the green tea leaves on the frame is detected, and the weight of the green tea leaves on the frame is detected. This is to control the circulation speed of the conveyor belt circulating in the frame and the conveyor belt of the main leaf feeder.

In the conventional systems disclosed in these publications, the measuring part (corresponding to the measuring drum in JP-A No. 53-107495, and the feeding controller frame in JP-A-55-96425) receives the green tea leaves. Since the weight is detected while the green tea leaves are being discharged, the feeding speed of the green tea leaves is known. (corresponding to the main body of the machine) is required.

In other words, in conventional methods and devices, the measuring section and the supply feeder section had to be divided into two parts, and two drive motors were indispensable for driving each part.

This meant an increase in the size of the equipment constituting it and an increase in manufacturing costs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is capable of exhibiting sufficient accuracy, and in particular, requires only one drive motor and can be configured with one part, thereby saving space and reducing costs. The present invention provides a method and apparatus for supplying tea leaves by constant weight.

Next, the apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to illustrated embodiments, and then the method of the present invention will be explained using the apparatus of the embodiment.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a vertical conveyor which is simply a transporter for supplying green tea leaves to the constant weight feeder of the present invention, and the conveyor 1 is one whose transport capacity is sufficiently larger than the processing capacity of the steamer 2.

Reference numeral 3 designates a constant weight supply device of the present invention, in which a measuring frame 5 is pivotally supported on a support frame 4 by four-bar parallel links so as to be vertically movable, and a spring 6 is interposed between both frames.

The weighing frame 5 is tilted upward from the starting end to the ending end, rolls 7 and 8 are pivoted on both ends of the weighing frame 5, and a conveyor belt 10 with a large number of crosspieces 9 protruding between both rolls 7 and 8 is installed. A weighing conveyor 14 is constituted by a hopper 11, a drive motor 12 for driving a roller 7 above the terminal end, and a scraper 13 above the transport surface of the conveyor belt 10.

Reference numerals 15, 15 denote levers constituting a four-bar parallel link, one end of which is pivotally attached to the support frame 4, and the other end is pivotally attached to the lower side of the measuring frame 5.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a displacement detector provided between the measuring frame 5 and the support frame 4, and a potentiometer 21 with a rack 19 mounted on the measuring frame 5 and a pinion 20 that meshes with the rack 19 attached to the support frame 4. will be fixed.

Reference numeral 22 designates a control box, and its front panel 23 includes a tea leaf flow rate setting device 24 for setting the desired flow rate of tea leaves as the rotation speed of the drive motor 12, a measuring range for the measuring conveyor 14, and a control box for driving and stopping the vertical conveyor 1. Displacement detector 18 serves as an indicator for control switching.
Upper value setter 25, lower value setter 26, current tea leaf flow rate indicator 27, and cumulative flow rate indicator 28
Inside, there is a counter 29 that measures the time during which the displacement detector 18 is displaced from the upper value to the lower value, and the measured value of the counter 29, the upper value set value, the lower value set value, and the flow rate setting. It has an electric control circuit 30 and the like that calculates values and the like to correct the rotation speed of the drive motor 12 and controls driving and stopping of the vertical conveyor 1.

Although the scale on the front panel 23 of the tea leaf flow rate setting device 24 is displayed as (Kg/h), it actually shows the relationship between the scale flow rate (Kg/h) and the rotation speed (rpm) of the drive motor 12. It is determined experimentally using the most standard tea leaves, and the rotation speed (rpm) of the drive motor 12 is substantially varied.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a leaf feeder having sufficient transportation capacity to feed the tea leaves discharged from the constant weight feeder 3 to the steamer 2 one after another.

The purpose of using this leaf feeder 31 is that if the constant weight feeder 3 is directly connected to the steamer 2, the steam that will be ejected from the inlet of the steamer 2 will cause rust and damage to the metering mechanism. This is because it will have a negative impact.

Next, the method of the present invention will be explained.

First, the upper value and lower value of the displacement detector 18 are set in the upper value setting device 25 and the lower value setting device 26. For example, since the weight of the weighing conveyor 14 itself is about 15 kg, the upper value is set as W ₁ = 19 kg, assuming that 4 kg of fresh tea leaves are added, and the lower value is set as W 1 = 19 kg. Sometimes W ₂ is set to 15.5Kg.

Next, after starting the steamer 2, the leaf feeder 31, and the constant weight feeder, the processing capacity of the steamer 2, the amount of steam,
The tea leaf flow rate is determined in consideration of the degree of steaming, etc., and the tea leaf flow rate setting device 24 on the front panel is set to that value. Then, the optimal rotation speed (rpm) for flowing the set flow rate, for example, standard tea leaves at QKg/h, is output to the drive motor 12 via the electric control circuit 30, and the conveyor belt 10 of the weighing conveyor 14 is The rotation speed of the drive motor 12 is
It begins to circulate at a constant speed of Rrpm (let's call this V now).

Next, the vertical conveyor 1 is driven to feed the green tea leaves into the hopper 11 of the weighing conveyor 14. On the weighing conveyor 14 side, since the conveyor belt 10 circulates at a constant speed V, the green tea leaves received by the hopper 11 are discharged one after another from the end to the leaf feeder 31. Since the capacity is made large enough, green tea leaves will eventually accumulate in the hopper 11. Then, due to the increase in the number of green tea leaves, the weight of the weighing conveyor 14 as a whole increases, so the weighing frame 5 gradually descends, and the rack 19 of the displacement detector 18 and the pinion 20 of the support frame 4
is rotated to change the indicated value of the potentiometer 21. Then, before long, weighing conveyor 1
When 4 kg of green tea leaves are accumulated in 4, resulting in a total of 19 kg, and the value W ₁ set by the upper setting device 25 is reached, a stop command is issued from the electric control circuit 30 to the vertical conveyor 1 by a signal from the potentiometer 21, and at the same time, Counter 29 starts.

After the vertical conveyor 1 stops, the conveyor belt 10 of the weighing conveyor 14 continues to circulate at the same speed V to discharge only the accumulated green tea leaves.

Then, the weight of the weighing conveyor 14 as a whole becomes lighter as the number of green tea leaves decreases, and eventually reaches the value W ₂ set by the lower value setter 26. To explain the weight change of the entire weighing conveyor 14 during this time using FIG. 3, the section (a) is between the vertical conveyor 1 and the weighing conveyor 1.
The conveyor belts 10 of 4 are driven together, and the weighing conveyor 14 performs receiving and discharging while the weight of the entire weighing conveyor 14 increases. It shows a discharge reduction section in which the conveyor belt 10 of the weighing conveyor 14 is stopped, only the conveyor belt 10 of the weighing conveyor 14 is driven, and only discharge is performed by the weighing conveyor 14, so that the weight of the weighing conveyor 14 as a whole decreases.

In the figure, curve A with a slope α represents the increase in weight of the entire weighing conveyor 14 when only the vertical conveyor 1 is driven, and the weight decrease when only the conveyor belt 10 of the weighing conveyor 14 is driven. It is shown by a curve B having a slope β.

Therefore, weighing conveyor 14 in section (a)
The overall "actual weight change" follows a curve (a ₀ -b ₀ ) obtained by subtracting curve B from curve A.

The "actual weight change" of the entire weighing conveyor 14 in section (B) changes at the same slope β as the B curve, so it follows the (b ₀ -a ₁ ) curve.

When the entire weighing conveyor 14 reaches the value _W2 set by the lower value setter 26, the counter 29 is stopped by a signal from the potentiometer 21 of the displacement detector 18, and the counter 29 in the electric control circuit 30 starts measuring. _{( W 1 -} The formula W ₂ )/T ₀ is calculated.

The value of (W ₁ - W ₂ )/T ₀ is just (b ₀ -
_a1 ) The magnitude of the slope of the curve is β, which is the weight reduction rate of the entire weighing conveyor 14 during this period, that is, the actual flow rate of green tea leaves, so this is displayed and output to the display 27 on the front panel, and the weighing conveyor A correction command is issued to the drive motor 12 driving the 14 conveyor belts 10 so that the rotation speed becomes R×QT ₀ /(W ₁ −W ₂ ).

On the other hand, at approximately the same time, the vertical conveyor 1 is driven again, and the weighing conveyor 14 performs feeding and discharging at the same time, and the next input/accumulation section (a) begins.
Since it has been corrected as QT ₀ /(W ₁ -W ₂ ), the circulation speed of the conveyor belt 10 has changed as V×QT ₀ /(W ₁ -W ₂ ).

Then, when the weight of the entire weighing conveyor 14 reaches the upper value _W1 , the vertical conveyor 1 is stopped again, and the conveyor belt 10 of the weighing conveyor 14 is stopped.
is driven, and the emission reduction section (b) begins. Then, the time (T) of this section (b) is again counted as counter 2.
9, the equation (W ₁ - W ₂ )/T ₁ is calculated again, and the rotation speed of the drive motor 12 that drives the conveyor belt 10 of the weighing conveyor 14 is R×
QT ₁ /(W ₁ −W ₂ ), and this is repeated each time the weight of the entire weighing conveyor 14 reaches the lower value W ₂ .

To explain this again using Fig. 3, by measuring the time (Ti) of the i-th emission reduction section (b) from the start, the flow rate of the i-th section (a) and (b) can be calculated as (W). ₁ - W ₂ )/Ti, and the (i+1)th section
The circulating speed of the conveyor belt 10 of the weighing conveyor 14 in (a) and (b) is expressed as R×QTi/(W ₁ −
By modifying W ₂ ) to V×QTi/(W ₁ −W ₂ )
By correcting this, the process is repeated every time the weight of the entire weighing conveyor 14 reaches a lower value so that the tea leaves at the set flow rate QKg/h are constantly flowing.

On the other hand, since the leaf feeder 31 sends out the green tea leaves transferred from the weighing conveyor 14 one after another without delay, it is possible to constantly supply a constant weight of green tea leaves to the next steamer 2 with considerable accuracy. .

The drive motor 12 may be a so-called variable speed motor, a general-purpose motor may be controlled by an inverter to control the rotation speed, or a variable diameter pulley may be attached to the shaft of the general-purpose motor. Of course, the present invention can also be applied in the same way even if the speed is changed by moving the motor base.

The method of the present invention drives a transporter to feed tea leaves into a hopper section of a weighing conveyor almost constantly, while
When the weighing conveyor is driven and the input tea leaves are discharged from the end, and the weight of the entire weighing conveyor reaches the upper value, the weighing conveyor stops the transport machine while being driven, and when the weight reaches the lower value. The transportation machine is driven again, and the weight reduction rate β from the time when the weight of the entire weighing conveyor reaches the upper value until it reaches the lower value is determined, and the weight of the entire weighing conveyor reaches the lower value. Then, the circulating speed of the conveyor belt of the weighing conveyor is corrected based on the weight reduction rate, and this is repeated every time the weight of the entire weighing conveyor reaches a lower value. Unlike methods that measure the weight manually, there is no room for errors in the speed of the feeder section, and extremely accurate constant weight feeding is possible.

In addition, the transport equipment in front of the vertical conveyor etc. is simply
It is only necessary to control ON and OFF, and the other party's leaf feeder can be one with sufficient transportation capacity, so there is no need for large-scale rearrangement of equipment or special linkage control, making it extremely flexible. rich in

Furthermore, according to the device of the present invention, there is no need to provide a conventional supply feeder section in front of the measuring section.
Therefore, only one drive motor is required, and the entire device is compact and can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the present invention apparatus including front and rear equipment, Fig. 2 is a front panel view of the control box, and Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining weight changes and conditions of the weighing conveyor. It is. 1... Vertical conveyor, 3... Constant weight feeding device,
4... Support frame, 5... Weighing frame, 6... Spring, 10... Conveyor belt, 11... Hopper, 12... Drive motor, 14... Weighing conveyor, 18... Displacement detector, 24... flow rate setting device,
25... Upper setting device, 26... Lower setting device, 29
...Counter, 30...Electric control circuit, 31...
...leaf feeder.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Driving a transporter to feed tea leaves into a hopper section of a weighing conveyor almost constantly, while driving the weighing conveyor to discharge the thrown tea leaves from the terminal end,
When the weight of the entire weighing conveyor reaches the upper value, the transporting machine is stopped while the weighing conveyor is driven, and when the weight reaches the lower value, the transporting machine is driven again, so that the weight of the whole weighing conveyor is The weight reduction rate β from the time when the upper value is reached until the lower value is reached is determined, and when the weight of the entire weighing conveyor reaches the lower value, the circulating speed of the conveyor belt of the weighing conveyor is set to the weight reduction rate β. A fixed weight supply method for green tea leaves, which is modified based on the above and repeated every time the weight of the entire weighing conveyor reaches a lower value. 2. Driving a transporter to almost constantly feed tea leaves into the hopper section of a weighing conveyor, while driving the weighing conveyor to discharge the thrown tea leaves from the terminal end;
When the weight of the entire weighing conveyor reaches the upper value _W1 , the weighing conveyor is driven and the transporter is stopped, and when the weight reaches the lower value _W2 , the transporting machine is driven again. Measure the time T from when the overall weight reaches the upper value W ₁ until it reaches the lower value W ₂ , and calculate the weight reduction rate β during this time using the formula β = (W ₁ - W ₂ )/T. At the same time, when the weight of the entire weighing conveyor reaches the lower value _W2 , the circulation speed of the conveyor belt of the weighing conveyor is changed to the target flow rate/β times, and this is done until the weight of the entire weighing conveyor reaches the lower value W2.
The constant weight supply method of green tea leaves according to claim 1, wherein the method is repeated every time W ₂ is reached. 3. A weighing frame that is supported to be able to move up and down is provided with a number of crosspieces protruding from both ends, a conveyor belt driven by a drive motor is installed, and a hopper is installed at the starting end to connect the weighing frame and the support frame. A displacement detector is provided between the displacement detector, and an upper value setter, a lower value setter, a flow rate setter for setting the desired target flow rate of tea leaves as the rotation speed of the drive motor, and a displacement detector are installed between the displacement detector and the displacement detector. A counter that measures the time during the displacement from an upper value to a lower value, and a counter that calculates the measured value of the counter and the set values of each of the setting devices to correct the rotation speed of the drive motor and drive the transport aircraft in front. - A constant weight feeding device for green tea leaves that has an electric control circuit to control stopping.