1. A combination weigher comprising:
a plurality of weighing hoppers which are arranged in a circular shape and are each configured to hold products, and then to discharge the products selectively in an inward direction of the circular shape or in an outward direction of the circular shape, the weighing hoppers being each configured to measure weight of the products which are held therein;
a collecting chute which is positioned below the weighing hoppers, the collecting chute being configured to collect the products which have been discharged from the weighing hopper in the inward direction and to discharge the products from a discharge outlet at a bottom part thereof;
a recycle conveyor which is positioned below the weighing hoppers so as to surround the collecting chute, the recycle conveyor being configured to convey, in one direction around the collecting chute, the products which have been discharged from the weighing hopper in the outward direction and have been loaded onto the recycle conveyor;
a discharge means which is configured to discharge the products on the recycle conveyor in a predetermined position from the recycle conveyor;
a combination calculation means which is configured to determine a discharge combination which is a combination of weighing hoppers holding the products whose total weight falls within a predetermined weight range;
a recycle hopper determination means configured to determine a weighing hopper whose products should be recycled, based on a predetermined recycle condition; and
a control means configured to cause the weighing hoppers selected to form the discharge combination to discharge the products in the inward direction, and to cause the weighing hopper determined by the recycle hopper determination means to discharge the products in the outward direction.
2. The combination weigher according to claim 1, further comprising:
a dispersion feeder configured to disperse the products which have been supplied to a center portion thereof toward a peripheral edge thereof;
a plurality of linear feeders which are arranged radially around the dispersion feeder, the linear feeders being each configured to convey, in a direction away from the dispersion feeder, the products which have been fed from the dispersion feeder, and to discharge the products;
a plurality of feeding hoppers which are arranged in a circular shape above the weighing hoppers, and are configured to hold the products which have been discharged from the linear feeders and to then feed the products to the weighing hoppers; and
a transport means of the products which is configured to feed, to the dispersion feeder, the products which have been discharged from the recycle conveyor by the discharge means.
3. The combination weigher according to claim 1, wherein
the recycle conveyor includes an annular rotary table onto which the products are loaded, the rotary table being rotatable around a vertical axis extending through a center of the circular shape in which the weighing hoppers are arranged; and
the discharge means includes a guide plate which guides, to outside the rotary table, the products on the rotary table which is rotating.
4. The combination weigher according to claim 3, further comprising:
an inner guide plate which is configured to guide, to an inner edge portion of the rotary table, the products which have been discharged from the weighing hoppers in the outward direction.
5. The combination weigher according to claim 3, further comprising:
an outer guide plate provided to extend along an outer edge portion of the rotary table.
6. The combination weigher according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined recycle condition is such that a weight of the products which are held in the weighing hopper has a predetermined weight value or larger which is larger than a target feed amount for the weighing hopper.
7. The combination weigher according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined recycle condition is such that a weight of the products which are held in the weighing hopper has a value that is larger than an upper limit value in the predetermined weight range.
8. The combination weigher according to claim 1, wherein
the combination calculation means is configured to determine a discharge combination which is a combination of the weighing hoppers which hold the products whose total weight falls within a predetermined weight range and whose total number is a target number; and
wherein the recycle hopper determination means is configured to determine that the predetermined recycle condition is such that the number of the products which are held in the weighing hopper is a predetermined number or larger.
9. The combination weigher according to claim 1, wherein
the combination calculation means is configured to determine a discharge combination which is a combination of the weighing hoppers which hold the products whose total weight falls within a predetermined weight range and which hold the products whose total number is a target number; and
wherein the recycle hopper determination means is configured to determine that the predetermined recycle condition is such that the number of the products which are held in the weighing hopper is larger than the target number.
10. The combination weigher according to claim 1, wherein
the predetermined recycle condition is such that the weighing hopper is not selected for the discharge combination during a predetermined time period or longer.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A rigid, rod-shaped endoscope for medical applications, comprising:
a distal end including a light-permeable distal window and a light outlet disposed adjacent to the distal window, the distal window including a device configured to prevent the incidence of stray light onto sides of the deflection prism facing the distal window;
an endoscope shank including a plurality of telescoping hollow tubes, two of the hollow tubes forming an outer jacket tube with the distal window;
an inner fixed optical tube including a moveable optical deflection prism disposed so as to face the distal window and an optical system disposed inside the inner fixed optical tube and configured to transmit light beams, the optical deflection prism being mounted rotatably on a shaft that is disposed at a right angle to a longitudinal axis of the endoscope, the inner fixed optical tube being disposed in a tightly and hermetically sealed chamber formed by the outer jacket tube so as to allow an outside of the outer jacket tube to be sterilized by steam;
at least one moveable sliding tube disposed between the outer jacket tube and the inner fixed optical tube and configured to move relative to the inner fixed optical tube in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the endoscope using magnetic forces generated by a plurality of moveable permanent magnets, at least one of the permanent magnets being disposed inside the hermetically sealed chamber and at least one of the permanent magnets being disposed outside of the hermetically sealed chamber, the sliding tube being connected to the optical deflection prism at the distal end such that movement of the sliding tube in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the endoscope causes the optical rotation prism to rotate around the shaft; and
a proximal end including at least one of an optical observation device and a camera adapter.
2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the device configured to prevent the incidence of stray light onto sides of the deflection prism facing the distal window includes a blackening over approximately half of the surface of the deflection prism.
3. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the device configured to prevent the incidence of stray light onto sides of the deflection prism facing the distal window includes an axially moveable shutter connected to the optical deflection prism such that a movement of the axially moveable shutter is directly coupled to a rotation, in a distal range, of the optical deflection prism.
4. The endoscope according to claim 3, wherein the axially moveable shutter is moveable by a shutter sliding tube configured to slide relative to the inner fixed optical tube in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the endoscope using magnetic forces generated by a plurality of moveable permanent magnets, at least one of the permanent magnets being disposed inside the hermetically sealed chamber and at least one of the permanent magnets being disposed outside of the hermetically sealed chamber.
5. The endoscope according to claim 3, wherein the axially movable shutter is moveable in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the endoscope by an articulation that has a movement that is coupled to the rotation of the optical deflection prism.
6. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the optical deflection prism includes a toothed gear segment on a side facing away from the distal window configured to engage with a toothed rack connected to the sliding tube, and wherein the shaft is connected to the inner fixed optical tube.
7. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic forces are generated by at least one pair of the permanent magnets, at least one of the pair of the permanent magnets being disposed on an outside of at least one of the inner fixed sliding tube and a shutter sliding tube and at least the other one of the pair of the permanent magnets being disposed so as to slide on the outside of the outer jacket tube.
8. The endoscope according to claim 7, wherein the at least one pair of the permanent magnets are configured as annular magnets and include a polarity so as to be pulled into the same cross sectional plane.
9. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the endoscope includes a continuously settable angle of view of 10\xb0 to 110\xb0 relative to the longitudinal axis and a field of view is about 60\xb0\xb110\xb0.