Method and apparatus for collecting weighed articles discharged from combinatorial weighing system.

摘要

First and second compound chutes constituting a collecting chute assembly each comprises an outer chute of inverted, bisected frusto-conical shape having a semicircular upper opening and a semicircular lower opening, and an inner chute of inverted, bisected conical shape disposed within the outer chute via a partitioning plate. The overall chute assembly is of inverted frusto-conical shape and is constructed by uniting the compound chutes by bringing their respective partitioning plates into face-to-face contact, the assembly defining two discharge routes. At the lower ends of the chutes, one discharge route communicates the inner chute of the first compound chute with the outer chute of the second compound chute, and the other communicates the inner chute of the second compound chute with the outer chute of the first compound chute. Weighed articles introduced into the inner chute of one of the compound chutes will be guided into the outer chute of the other compound chute to join weighed articles introduced directly into the outer chute, the combined articles being discharged from said outer chute to a point outside the system. The arrangement is such that time required for articles to be discharged from both discharge passages is approximately the same. Furthermore, a collecting chute for collecting weighed articles discharged from an automatic weighing system is divided into left and right sections and has an inner article receiving portion defining an opening and an outer article receiving portion defining an opening at the upper end thereof, and two article discharge portions provided side-by-side at the bottom end thereof. The left and right sections each include an upper, outer chute and a contiguous lower, outer chute, an upper, inner chute and a contiguous lower, inner chute, and a discharge chute contiguous to the lower, outer chute. The left lower, inner chute has an outlet which extends solely into the right lower, outer chute, and the right left, lower outer chute, thereby communicating the left and right lower, inner chutes with the right and left discharge chutes, respectively. The upper, outer chutes and the upper, inner chutes are capable of being disassembled into plural component parts.