JPS6315765Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a disposable chopstick inspection device for detecting and sorting the shape of disposable chopsticks, such as curves, and the orientation of the disposable chopsticks.

Since disposable chopsticks are produced in large quantities, it is desirable to automate each process. Conventionally, manual inspection has been performed in the inspection process for curvature, etc., but automation is now required.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a disposable chopstick inspection device that automatically inspects the curvature of disposable chopsticks in the plane direction and the aligned orientation of the disposable chopsticks, and selects good items, defective items, and items that are oriented in a direction that is inconvenient for the next process. In particular, the gist is that a large number of approximately rectangular protrusions are arranged in parallel on the surface of an endless caterpillar at intervals slightly larger than the width of the disposable chopsticks, and in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement. The disposable chopsticks to be inspected are placed one by one in the spaces between these convex stripes, and the transport device transports the disposable chopsticks with the ends protruding from the side edges of the caterpillar, and the caterpillar is placed almost vertically downward. In the guiding inspection section, two sets of photoelectric detectors each having a fine beam diameter are placed one above the other at each position corresponding to the wide and narrow parts of the disposable chopsticks being transported, and these photoelectric detectors The beam irradiation point is set such that the interval between the two upper and lower points of the narrow part is narrower than the interval between the upper and lower two points of the wide part, and the beam irradiation point on the lower side of both parts is set along the protrusion. Then, in the inspection section, the lower side of the disposable chopsticks is brought into contact with the upper surface of the convex strip located on the lower side by the weight of the disposable chopsticks being transported, and made horizontal, and in this state, the disposable chopsticks The shape and orientation of the disposable chopsticks are identified, and the ends of the identified good or defective disposable chopsticks protruding from the edge of the caterpillar are tapped by a discharge mechanism to send out the disposable chopsticks laterally along the convex stripes. This is a characteristic feature.

The present invention will be explained in detail based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of this inspection device, in which an endless caterpillar 4 is provided around the outer periphery of sprockets 1, 2, and 3, and one of the sprockets 1, 2, and 3 is driven by a drive device (not shown). The caterpillar 4 is moved by driving. A large number of approximately rectangular protrusions 5 are arranged in parallel on the caterpillar 4, and the width of the space 6 between adjacent protrusions 5 is equal to the width of the wide part of the disposable chopsticks S, as shown in FIG. One disposable chopstick S is placed in each space 6, which is slightly larger than the width. The disposable chopsticks S are supplied from the hopper 10, pass through the gate 11, pass through the slope 12, are placed on the space 6 of the caterpillar 4, and are transferred in the direction of the arrow. The positions of the rear end, the wide part of the tip, and the narrow part of the disposable chopsticks S are accurately determined by a guide (not shown), so that both ends of the disposable chopsticks S protrude from the caterpillar 4 as shown in FIG. .

The caterpillar 4 is provided with a horizontal part for arranging disposable chopsticks S, followed by a hanging part 13 for inspecting the disposable chopsticks S, and a hanging part 1 facing downward in the path of the caterpillar 4.
3, a total of four photoelectric detectors 14 having a fine beam diameter of, for example, about 1 mm are arranged, and each of these photoelectric detectors 14 is connected to the light emitting part 1.
5 and a light receiving section 16, which are arranged to face each other across the path of the caterpillar 4. Then, when the disposable chopsticks S block the beam emitted from the light emitting section 15, an electrical signal is emitted from the light receiving section 16.

In the embodiment, the beam irradiation positions of the four sets of photoelectric detectors 14 are set at four points A, B, C, and D on the outside of the caterpillar 4 and on the surface of the disposable chopsticks S, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the distance between points A and B that detect the wide portion of disposable chopsticks S is wider than the distance between points C and D that detect the narrow portion.
Furthermore, points B and D are set on the same horizontal line along the protrusion 5.

Since the position of this inspection part is in the middle of vertically descending the disposable chopsticks S on the caterpillar 4, the lower side S1 of the disposable chopsticks S comes into contact with the upper surface of the protrusion 5 due to the weight of the disposable chopsticks S. For this reason, while the disposable chopsticks S are being lowered, the wide part blocks the beams irradiating points A and B, and the narrow part blocks the beams irradiating points C and D, so that the disposable chopsticks are aligned normally and are not curved. In S, a moment occurs when four beams are simultaneously blocked. A control circuit (not shown) detects simultaneous light blocking signals from the four sets of photoelectric detectors 14, operates the ram 21 of the air cylinder 20, and taps the end of, for example, good disposable chopsticks S protruding from the caterpillar 4. Then, the disposable chopsticks S are discharged to the right side in FIG.

For example, if disposable chopsticks S are curved in the plane direction as shown by the dotted line, the beam at point D will not be blocked,
Only the beams at points A, B, and C are blocked, and the disposable chopsticks S are recognized as having a curve. In this case, the air cylinder 20 does not operate, and the disposable chopsticks S are transported downward by the caterpillar 4 as a defective product, and fall into the collection section below. Similarly, when the wide and narrow portions of disposable chopsticks S are reversed, the beam at point A is not blocked and the air cylinder 20 does not operate.

In this way, this disposable chopstick inspection device can sort out disposable chopsticks that are bent in the plane direction of the disposable chopsticks and disposable chopsticks that are oriented in the opposite direction, and no confusion will occur in the next automated process. In an embodiment, the photoelectric detector 14
Although the device is of a light transmission type, it is of course possible to use a light reflection type in which the light emitter and receiver are integrated. It is also conceivable that the number of photoelectric detectors 14 is five or more to detect the degree of curvature.

As explained above, the disposable chopsticks inspection device according to the present invention takes advantage of the unique shape of disposable chopsticks, which gradually become narrower as they move toward the tip, and utilizes their own weight in the vertically descending section of the transport device. Two sets of photoelectric detectors are used on each of the wide and narrow parts of the disposable chopsticks to recognize the shape and orientation of the disposable chopsticks, making it extremely easy and reliable to use the disposable chopsticks. It is possible to select good products and defective products by inspecting the linearity of the disposable chopsticks, and it is also possible to sort out disposable chopsticks that are oriented in opposite directions in the same way, so that the orientation of the disposable chopsticks can be aligned in only one direction.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the disposable chopsticks inspection device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the inspection section. 1, 2, 3 are sprockets, 4 is a caterpillar, 5 is a protrusion, 6 is a space, 10 is a hopper, 1
4 is a photoelectric detector, 15 is a light emitter, 16 is a light receiver,
20 is an air cylinder, 21 is a ram, A, B, C,
D is the beam irradiation point, and S is disposable chopsticks.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A large number of approximately rectangular protrusions are arranged in parallel on the surface of the endless caterpillar at intervals slightly larger than the width of the disposable chopsticks, and in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement, and the gaps between these protrusions are During transportation, a transport device places disposable chopsticks to be inspected one by one in a space and transports the disposable chopsticks with their ends protruding from the side edge of the caterpillar, and an inspection section guides the caterpillar almost vertically downward. Two sets of photoelectric detectors each having a fine beam diameter are arranged above and below at each position corresponding to the wide and narrow parts of the disposable chopsticks, and the beam irradiation points of these photoelectric detectors are set at the positions corresponding to the wide and narrow parts of the disposable chopsticks. The distance between the upper and lower two points of the portion is narrower than the distance between the upper and lower two points of the wide portion, and the beam irradiation point on the lower side of both portions is set along the ridge,
In the inspection section, the weight of the disposable chopsticks being transported brings the lower side of the disposable chopsticks into contact with the upper surface of the convex strip located below and makes it horizontal, and in this state, the shape of the disposable chopsticks is determined by the combination of the outputs of the photoelectric detector. The method is characterized in that the direction of the disposable chopsticks is identified, and the ends of the identified good or defective disposable chopsticks protruding from the edge of the caterpillar are tapped by a discharge mechanism to send out the disposable chopsticks laterally along the convex stripes. Disposable chopsticks inspection device.