Patent ID: 8035041

Claim:
A combination weigher comprising: a plurality of base groups including a plurality of circular-arc-shaped hopper lines into which a combination hopper line including a plurality of combination hoppers which are circularly arranged and fed with objects to be weighed are divided; a plurality of collecting chutes which are respectively disposed below the base groups to respectively correspond to the base groups and have outlets at lower parts thereof, each of the collecting chutes collecting the objects to be weighed discharged from the combination hopper in the corresponding base group and discharging the objects to be weighed from the outlet; a plurality of collecting hoppers respectively provided at the outlets of the collecting chutes to respectively correspond to the base groups and the collecting chutes, the collecting hoppers temporarily accumulating the objects to be weighed discharged from the outlets of the collecting chutes and thereafter discharging the objects to be weighed; and a control means; wherein the control means is configured to perform: a combination process to determine p discharge groups, wherein p is a plural number and is less than the number of all base groups, each discharge group including a plurality of base groups, the combination process also to perform combination calculation based on weights of the objects to be weighed which have been fed into the combination hoppers in the discharge groups to select combination hoppers forming combination in which total weight of the objects to be weighed with respect to a target weight is in an allowable range and a difference with respect to the target weight is smallest; an internal discharge process to cause the combination hoppers forming all combinations selected in the discharge groups to discharge the objects to be weighed simultaneously; and an external discharge process to sequentially select the discharge groups and to cause the collecting hoppers corresponding to the base groups including the combination hoppers forming combinations in the discharge groups to discharge the objects to be weighed, according to the selected sequence.