Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Specific application – apparatus or process – Article handling
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-03
2001-09-04
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Specific application, apparatus or process
Article handling
C053S502000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06285918
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a weighing and packaging system in which a weighing apparatus and a packaging apparatus are run in an operatively associated relation with each other.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A weighing and packaging system has been well known, in which the combination weighing apparatus and the packaging apparatus are controlled in an operatively associated fashion. Such a weighing and packaging system is controlled according to operating conditions predefined for each marketable product The operating condition for each of the weighing and packaging apparatuses includes common parameters such as, for example, the number of bags (handling capacity) that are to be handled in a predetermined length of time, which parameters are common to those apparatuses and, hence, ought to be identical with each other. Accordingly, an operating condition collator for collating the respective operating conditions of the weighing and packaging apparatuses has been proposed in, for example, the Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-31564 published Jul. 29, 1992 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,830 issued Oct. 25, 1988. The operating condition collator disclosed in the patent publication referred to above is capable of checking the presence or absence of a mismatch between the operating conditions of those apparatuses.
However, in the prior art technique described above, in order for the common parameters to be changed, it is necessary to cause separate setting devices one for each of the apparatuses, to input the operating conditions of the same contents, requiring a complicated and time-consuming procedure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been devised to provide an improved weighing and packaging system comprising the weighing and packaging apparatuses that are controlled in an operatively associated fashion with each other, which is effective to eliminate waste in inputting the operating conditions to each apparatus and to eliminate any possible erroneous inputting to thereby render the system to be substantially free from any possible mismatch between the operating conditions.
In order to accomplish the foregoing object, the weighing and packaging system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a weighing apparatus for weighing an article and discharging an article having a predetermined weight, a packaging apparatus operatively associated with the weighing apparatus for receiving the article discharged from the weighing machine and packaging the article, and an override means for changing an operating condition of one of the weighing and packaging apparatuses automatically when an operating condition of the other of the weighing and packaging apparatuses is changed.
According to the present invention, since if one of the operating conditions is changed, the other of the operating conditions can be changed automatically, a single manipulation is sufficient to set the respective operating conditions for the weighing and packaging apparatuses to be set to the same parameter, thereby eliminating any possible wasteful inputting operation, rendering the setting to be easily accomplished and eliminating any possible erroneous inputting.
In the weighing and packaging system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the weighing and packaging apparatuses have the respective operating conditions set to establish a master and slave relation with each other, and wherein the override means is operable to change automatically an operating parameter of the operating condition of one of the weighing and packaging apparatuses, which then serves as a slave machine, when an operating parameter of the operating condition of the other of the weighing and packaging apparatuses which then serves as a master machine.
By setting up the master and slave relationship for the operating conditions, the setting of the master machine will ensure altering of the setting of the slave machine.
The master and slave relation may be defined for a marketable product.
Prefererably, the weighing and packaging system comprises means for determining if, when an inputting is carried out to change the operating condition of one of the weighing and packaging apparatuses, the operating condition of the other of the weighing and packaging apparatuses is to be changed, whereby when the determinin means determines that the operating condition of the other of the weighing and packaging apparatuses should not be changed, change of a setting of the operating condition of such one of the weighing and packaging apparatuses is inhibited. With this construction, the setting of one of the machines will not be altered where the setting of the other of the machines should not be altered and, therefore, there is no possibility that the respective operating conditions may represent contradictory values.
The operating condition may be an operating cycle.
A weighing and packaging system according to another aspect of the present invention includes a combination weighing apparatus for combining respective weights of articles supplied into a plurality of hoppers to determine a combination having a total weight within an allowance including a target weight and for discharging the articles of the combination from the hoppers; a packaging apparatus for receiving the articles discharged from the combination weighing apparatus and packaging such articles, said combination weighing apparatus and said packaging apparatus being operatively run at respective operating cycles which are identical with each other, and an override means for changing a parameter of the operating cycle of one of the combination weighing and packaging apparatuses when a parameter of the operating cycle of the other of the combination weighing and packaging apparatuses is changed and, as a result thereof, the respective parameters of the operating cycles of those combination weighing and packaging apparatuses come to be different from each other.
In the present invention, the term “article” is of a kind out of which when a few or a number of articles are collected and filled in a bag, a marketable product can be produced.
The term “marketable product” is intended to mean a few or a plurality of the articles filled in the bag in readiness for sake to customers.
The term “operating condition” herein used includes an operating cycle, an operating timing or a capacity.
The term “operating cycle” herein used is intended to mean the number of marketable products produced per unitary time from a few or a plurality of articles, or the cycle time of the production, which may vary depending on the kind of the marketable product produced.
The term “operating timing” herein used is intended to mean a timing with which each apparatus operates and includes a delay time from the timing at which weighing hopper is opened to the timing at which the bag is sealed with its opening closed, which time may vary depending on the kind of the article handled.
The term “capacity” is intended to mean a target weight of the article to be discharged and the size of the bag which may vary depending on the target weight.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4520883 (1985-06-01), Fukuda
patent: 4587630 (1986-05-01), Straton et al.
patent: 4780830 (1988-10-01), Omi et al.
patent: 4811256 (1989-03-01), Yamada et al.
patent: 4853881 (1989-08-01), Yamada
patent: 5753867 (1998-05-01), Konishi et al.
patent: 0160512 A2 (1985-11-01), None
Ellis Christopher P.
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Ishida Co. Ltd.
Tran Khoi H.
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