JP2000253861A - Onion posture-setting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a nonbulky device capable of automatically setting the posture of an onion in order without damaging the onion. SOLUTION: In this onion posture-setting device 1, an onion-receiving section 4 is formed by disposing at least three rollers 3 at such positions that the circumference is evenly divided and also so that their rotating shaft 8 is inclined downwardly on the circular center side, motors 10 are connected to the respective rollers 3, a rotatable onion-pressing section 5 is provided above the center of the onion-receiving section 4 so as to come into contact/get out of contact with the onion-receiving section 4, and under the center of the onion-receiving section 4, an onion lifting section 6 is provided so as to be vertically movable by passing through the center, and the rollers 3 are provided in vertically swingable manner under being urged upward. The underside of the onion- pressing section represents a surface inclined with its center side turned upward or curved surface so as to promote raising the central axis of the onion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an onion attitude determining device which arranges the attitude of onions to be processed in a large amount so that a central axis thereof extends along a vertical direction, and arranges a head and a root thereof vertically.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to process a large amount of onions, it is general to cut off the head and roots sideways, peel off the epidermis, and then perform appropriate processing such as cutting and heating.
Conventionally, onions are manually arranged in a cutting device having a cutting blade, and the onions are arranged one by one so that the central axis is orthogonal to the cutting blade. The root was cut off with a cutting blade. In such a method, it was very troublesome to adjust the posture of the onion, and the working efficiency was poor.

[0003] Further, by dropping the onion discharged from the onion supply device into an inclined road to another inclined road, the onion in any state is changed to a rolling state in which the center axis is the rotation axis, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-74272 discloses an attitude determining device for positioning the head and root of an onion at both ends in the horizontal direction.
No. 6,009,045. However, this device may damage onions when dropped from a ramp to another ramp, and requires a large installation space to roll a ramp of a certain length or more to adjust the posture of the onions. There are drawbacks.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to automatically adjust the posture of an onion without damaging it.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bulky onion attitude determining device.

[0005]

According to the present invention, at least three rollers are arranged at positions equally dividing the circumference and the rotation axis thereof is inclined downward toward the center of the circle. Forming an onion receiving portion, connecting a motor for driving the rollers to rotate in the same direction to each roller, and an onion holding portion rotatable about an axis of the central portion above a central portion of the onion receiving portion. Are provided so as to be able to contact and separate from the onion receiving portion along the axis, and below the center of the onion receiving portion,
An onion push-up portion that can be raised and lowered by passing through the center portion is provided, and a roller is provided so as to be capable of swinging up and down and biasing upward.

[0006] The onion is placed on each roller of the onion receiving portion so that the central axis connecting the head portion and the root portion does not have an angle close to horizontal. When the roller is rotated by operating the motor in this state, the onion rotates horizontally and its central axis gradually rises. When the central axis of the onion approaches a certain degree of vertical, the onion holding part is brought close to the onion receiving part and lightly abuts on the upper surface of the onion. Then, the onion receiving portion elastically supports the onion, and the diameter of the onion receiving portion changes according to the size of the onion. In this state, the onion is further rotated so that the central axis thereof extends along the vertical direction. When the attitude of the onion is determined, raise the onion push-up section above the center of the onion tray, hold the onion between the onion hold section and the onion push-up section, and further raise the onion hold section and the onion push-up section. , Push the onion up from the onion receiving part.

[0007] The lower surface of the onion holding portion may be an inclined surface or a curved surface inclined upward to the center. This allows
If you rotate the onion while holding it in the onion holder,
The erecting of the central axis is further encouraged. Further, a bar for preventing the onion from falling can be provided between the rollers. With this configuration, even if the distance between the rollers is large and the onion is small, the onion is prevented from falling from the onion receiving portion. The roller can be made of metal having a smooth surface. This configuration prevents the onion from catching on the surface of the roller and jumping out of the onion receiving portion.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Onion attitude determining apparatus 1 of the present invention
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on the upper surface of the base 2, an onion receiving portion 4 composed of three rollers 3 arranged at equally-divided circumferences, and a central portion of the onion receiving portion 4. An onion holding portion 5 is provided above and below the onion receiving portion 4 along the axis of the center so as to be able to approach and separate from the onion receiving portion 4, and can be moved up and down through the center below the center of the onion receiving portion 4. And an onion push-up section 6 provided.

A circular hole 7 is formed in the base 2, and a support 8 for supporting the roller 3 is fixed to the upper surface of the base 2 at a position where the outer periphery of the hole 6 is equally divided into three. A hollow roller mounting member 21 is axially mounted on the upper end of the support bracket 8 via a pin 24 extending in the normal direction of the onion receiving portion 4. A fin 22 is integrally protruded from the outer peripheral lower end of the roller mounting member 21, and a coil spring 23 is bridged between the fin 22 and the lower end of the support fitting 8, and an inner peripheral end of the roller mounting member 21 is provided. Is urged upward.

Further, inside the roller mounting member 21,
The rotating shaft 9 of the roller 3 is inserted so as to be inclined downward on the center of the hole 7, and the roller 3 is attached to the inner peripheral end thereof. In other words, the roller 3 is installed at a position obtained by equally dividing a circumference corresponding to the outer periphery of the hole 6 into three parts so as to be vertically swingable and urged upward. Each roller 3 is made of a metal having a smooth surface so that the onion A is not caught and does not jump out of the onion receiving portion 4.

A motor 10 is mounted on the outer peripheral side of the support fitting 8. The bevel gear 11 fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 9 and the bevel gear 11 'connected to the output shaft of the motor 10 mesh with each other. When the motor 10 is operated, the rollers 3 move in the same direction at the same speed. It is designed to rotate. In addition, between the support brackets 8 (between the rollers 3), rods 12 for preventing onions from falling are provided on the upper surface of the base 2 respectively.

The onion holder 5 has a plane circular shape,
And as shown in FIG. 3, the lower surface which is the onion contact surface is an inclined surface or a curved surface which is inclined upward on the center side. Further, the onion holding portion 5 is rotatably attached to the lower end of a sliding rod 13 extending vertically along the axis of the center of the onion receiving portion 4 via a swivel joint around the axis of the center. Have been. The sliding rod 13 is attached to a base 14 provided above the base 2 so as to be able to move up and down.
Further, an air cylinder 15 is installed on the upper surface of the gantry 14, and an upper end of a piston rod 16 protruding above the air cylinder 15 and an upper end of the sliding rod 13 are connected to reciprocate the piston rod 16. The sliding rod 13 and the onion holding portion 5 attached to the lower end thereof move up and down along the axis of the central portion, and come into contact with and separate from the onion receiving portion 4.

Further, longitudinal grooves 17 are formed on the front and rear side surfaces of the sliding rod 13 over substantially the entire length. Then, two pairs of guide rollers 18 installed on the upper and lower portions of the gantry 14 with the sliding rod 13 therebetween are engaged with the vertical grooves 17 before and after the sliding rod 13, respectively. 4 are guided so as to move up and down without being shifted from above the center. In addition,
The up and down movement of the piston rod 16 reaches the home position until the onion holding part 5 and the onion receiving part 4 reach a distance corresponding to the diameter of a small onion, and when the onion A is pressed,
The onion holding part 5 rises momentarily once, then descends again and reaches the distance to hold the onion A, and once again the onion holding part 5 momentarily rises slightly and then descends to hold the onion A. Is controlled.

The onion push-up portion 6 has a concave portion on its upper surface, and is horizontally connected to the upper end of another piston rod 20 projecting upward from another air cylinder 19 erected vertically by a swivel joint. Is mounted so as to be rotatable. Further, another air cylinder 19 is disposed below the center of the onion receiving portion 4, and another piston rod 20.
Is reciprocated, the onion push-up portion 6 is turned into the hole 7 of the base 2.
And it passes through the center of the onion receiving part 4 and rises and falls.

The onion attitude determining apparatus 1 of the present invention adjusts the attitude of the onion A so that the central axis thereof is along the vertical direction as follows. In advance, the onion holding part 5 is raised and separated from the onion receiving part 4, and the onion pushing part 6 is
It is lowered below the central part of the onion receiving part 4. First, the onion A is placed on the onion receiving portion 4 such that the central axis of the onion A does not fall down too much. This operation may be performed manually, or the onion A may be dropped from the onion supply gutter or the like onto the elastic roller 3 and corrected only when the center axis of the onion A has fallen too much. In addition, the onion A of the roller 3 is engaged with the onion receiving portion 4 even if the size of the onion A is different, because the rotation shaft 9 of the roller 3 is tilted downward on the center of the circle and the onion receiving portion 4 has a substantially mortar shape. You. Also,
Even if the distance between the rollers 3 is large and the onion A is small, the rods 12 are erected between the rollers 3, respectively.
There is no worry that the onion A will fall from the onion receiving part 4.

Next, the motor 10 is operated to drive each roller 3
Is turned, the onion A whose lower half is supported by the onion receiving portion 4 rotates horizontally, and the central axis of the onion A gradually rises. When the center axis of the onion A rises to a certain extent, the piston rod 16 is retracted to lower the sliding rod 13 and the onion holding portion 5. When the onion holding portion 5 and the onion receiving portion 4 approach each other up to a distance corresponding to a diameter of a generally small onion, the piston rod 16 is slightly extended and the onion holding portion 5 rises once, and then the piston rod 16 retreats again. Then, the lower surface of the onion holding part 5 contacts the upper surface of the onion A.

When the lowered onion holding portion 5 presses the onion A against the onion receiving portion 4, the roller 3 swings downward, and the diameter of the onion receiving portion 4 changes in accordance with the size of the onion A. . After the onion holding part 5 has once escaped upward as described above, the onion A is lowered again to hold the onion A, and the onion receiving part 4 elastically supports the onion A. The onion A does not jump out of the onion receiving portion 4 due to the abutting shock, and the onion A is not compressed more than necessary. If the rotation of the onion A is continued while the onion holding portion 5 is in contact with the onion A, the onion holding portion 5 also rotates horizontally in conjunction with the onion A, and is guided by the inclination of the lower surface of the onion holding portion 5. In addition, the erecting of the central axis of the onion A is further promoted.

When the center axis of the onion A is completely erected, the other piston rod 20 is extended, and the onion push-up portion 6 is raised. The upper surface of the onion push-up part 6 is onion A
When the abutment is in contact with the lower surface of the onion, the piston rod 6 is extended to raise the onion holding portion 5, and the onion A sandwiched between the onion pushing up portion 6 and the onion holding portion 5 is pushed upward above the center of the onion receiving portion 4. When the onion holder 5 starts to rise, the motor 10 is stopped to stop the rotation of the roller 3. The onion A, which has been pushed up above the onion receiving portion 4, is transferred to the next step such as a head / root cutting step while maintaining its posture by a sandwiching roller or the like. Note that the number of rollers 3 can be greater than three.
If the distance between the bars is small, the bar 12 need not be erected.

[0019]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the onion center axis can be automatically raised almost vertically by simply placing the onion on the onion receiving portion and rotating the roller. The efficiency of the work of adjusting the posture of the onion is greatly improved. In addition, compared to a method in which a slope is rolled to adjust the posture of the onion, the onion does not take up much space and the onion is not damaged. Also, since the onion receiving part elastically supports the onion, and its diameter changes according to the size of the onion,
The onion is not squeezed by being pressed more than necessary, and the rotation is not hindered.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the top of the onion is guided by the inclination of the lower surface of the onion holding portion and approaches the center of the onion. . According to the configuration of the third aspect, even when the distance between the rollers is large and the onion is small, there is no possibility that the onion falls from the onion receiving portion. According to the configuration of the fourth aspect, it is possible to prevent the onion from catching on the roller and jumping out of the onion receiving portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an onion attitude determination device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the above.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an onion holder.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Onion attitude | position determination apparatus 2 Base 3 Roller 4 Onion receiving part 5 Onion holding part 6 Onion pushing-up part 7 Hole 8 Support metal fitting 9 Rotating shaft 10 Motor 11,11 'Bevel gear 12 Bar 13 Sliding rod 14 Base 15 Air cylinder 16 Piston rod 17 Vertical groove 18 Guide roller 19 Other air cylinder 20 Other piston rod 21 Roller mounting member 22 Fin 23 Coil spring 24 Pin

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An onion receiving portion is formed by arranging at least three rollers at equally-divided positions on a circumference and in such a manner that a rotation axis thereof is inclined downward on the center of a circle, and an onion receiving portion is formed. A motor for driving the onion in the same direction is connected, and an onion holding portion rotatable around an axis of the central portion is connected to the onion receiving portion along the axis above the central portion of the onion receiving portion. Along with the onion push-up portion, which can be lifted up and down through the center portion, below the center portion of the onion receiving portion, the roller can swing up and down and urge upward. An onion attitude determining device, characterized in that the onion attitude determining device is provided. 2. The onion attitude determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a lower surface of the onion holding portion is a sloped surface or a curved surface inclined upward toward the center. 3. The onion attitude determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an onion drop prevention rod is provided between the respective rollers. 4. The onion attitude determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said roller is made of a metal having a smooth surface.