JP2000270781A - Positioning machine for eggs - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a positioning machine for eggs capable of certainly holding eggs free from breaking in positioning to process the eggs in a processing means and without movement caused from a shock in the processing. SOLUTION: A fine lock cylinder 14 installing a lock cylinder 22 to elevate and lower a rod 16, a locking means 24 locking the rod 16 pushes up and presses an egg 2 held in a tray 4 to the positioning plate 18 upward. A through hole 18a capable of protruding the upper part of the egg 2a of the egg 2 is formed on the positioning plate 18 and the egg 2 is positioned in a state that the upper part of the egg is protruding. The fine lock cylinder 14 is liftably installed by an elevating and lowering cylinder 8. The rod 16 is energized upward by a force weaker than the load applied by a processing head 21 and the rod 16 is locked with the locking means 24 after positioning in the positioning process pushing up and pressing the egg 2 to the positioning plate 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an egg positioning device, and for example, an egg having a variation in size and strength, such as a chicken egg, is pushed up from below to press it against an upper positioning plate, thereby forming an upper portion. The present invention relates to an egg positioning device that positions an egg so that the height is constant.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An apparatus for simultaneously positioning and processing a plurality of eggs is already known (JP-A-9-28302).
No.). The device described in this publication includes an egg receiving case provided with a plurality of egg receiving holes that penetrates up and down and can receive and hold an egg, and an egg receiving case that is provided above the egg receiving case and has an upper end of the egg. A support plate provided with an egg protruding hole that can protrude a part of the egg receiving case, corresponding to the egg receiving hole of the egg receiving case,
Egg push-up means for pushing up the egg so that the upper end of the egg in the egg receiving hole projects from the egg projection hole of the support plate.

[0003] The egg push-up means has coil springs arranged upwardly corresponding to the egg receiving holes on a base plate which is moved up and down by an air cylinder. Each coil spring pushes up the egg, and the outer periphery of the upper end is brought into close contact with the inner periphery of the hole for projecting the egg of the support plate to perform positioning.

[0004]

As described above, the positioning device using the coil spring as the push-up means can be positioned by closely contacting the inner periphery of the egg projecting hole of the support plate regardless of the size of the egg. It is possible. However, there is a problem that the load applied to the egg is not constant because the amount of extension of the coil spring varies depending on the size of the egg.

[0005] The egg positioning device is for performing some processing in a state where a plurality of eggs are positioned. For example, the device described in the above-mentioned publication is characterized in that the eggs are positioned by an eggshell cutting blade that slides on a support plate. This is an egg breaking device that cuts the upper ends of a plurality of eggs at once. In this egg breaking device, when the egg is cut by the cutting blade, unless the egg is pressed against the support plate with a strong force, the egg may shift due to the impact of the cutting blade and may not be cut accurately. is there. In addition, when a virus is inoculated into a chicken egg and cultured to produce a vaccine, a plurality of chicken eggs are positioned and the injection needle is inserted into the eggshell to inject the eggs. When the needle is pierced, the egg must not be lowered by the pressing force from above, so it must be pushed up by a spring having a larger force than a predetermined force.

As described above, in a conventional positioning device that uses a spring to position an egg, there is a problem that if the size of the egg is different, the magnitude of the force acting on the spring changes. In order to perform processing such as cutting of the eggshell or piercing of the injection needle in a state in which it has been performed, it is necessary to use a spring having a strong force enough to withstand such processing. Therefore, the conventional positioning device uses a spring having a strong spring force capable of imparting a necessary holding force when processing eggs of any size. However, when a spring having such a strong spring force is used, an article having a low strength such as a chicken egg may be damaged by an impact at the time of positioning.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and when positioning an egg, the egg is pushed up with a weak force without damaging the egg, and when the positioned egg is processed. An object of the present invention is to provide an egg positioning device capable of holding the egg with a necessary and sufficient force.

[0008]

The egg positioning apparatus according to the present invention comprises a push-up means for pushing up the eggs held in the egg holding means from below, an elevating means for raising and lowering the push-up means, and an egg holding means. A positioning plate disposed above the held egg and having a through hole through which the upper part of the egg can protrude is provided, and processing means for performing a predetermined process on the upper part protruding from the through hole of the positioned egg is provided. In particular, the lifting means has a cylinder for raising and lowering the rod, and a locking means for locking the lifting rod, and when the egg is pushed up and pressed against the positioning plate, the processing is performed by the processing means. The rod is urged upward with a force weaker than the load, and after positioning, the lifting rod is locked.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is a device for positioning an egg having a variation in size and strength, such as a chicken egg. The egg held by the egg holding means is pushed up from below by an uplifting means, so that the upper part of the egg can protrude. It is positioned by pressing against a positioning plate having a large through hole. The positioned egg is in a state where the upper portion protrudes from the through hole of the positioning plate, and a predetermined process is performed on the upper portion by the processing means.

The lifting means can be raised and lowered by lifting means. The push-up means includes a cylinder that raises and lowers a rod, and pushes up the egg held by the holding means by raising the rod. When raising the lifting rod, so as to raise with a smaller force than the egg holding force required when processing eggs,
Introduce a relatively weak force into the cylinder. Further, the push-up means is provided with a lock means for locking the elevating rod, and after the egg is positioned, when the egg is processed, the elevating means is locked so that the egg can be lowered or slipped. Hold with strong force to prevent

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the entire configuration of the “egg positioning device” according to one embodiment of the present invention.
A plurality of chicken eggs 2 (e.g., 6 chickens in a total of 36
A predetermined position in the path along which the aligned and held trays 4 are conveyed (that is, positions where processing such as inoculation of a virus or the like with an injection needle or cutting of an eggshell with a cutter) is performed.
P.

The tray 4 is formed with a plurality of eggs receiving holes which penetrate vertically, and the eggs 2 are respectively accommodated in the respective holes.
Is held with its large diameter side facing upward. The lower side of the accommodation hole is smaller in diameter than the largest diameter portion of the egg, and has a size that allows the insertion of a coupling 6 for lifting an egg described below from below. The tray 4 is intermittently transported by a transport conveyor (not shown) and stops at the processing position P.

Below the processing position P, a table elevating cylinder 8 is arranged, and a table 12 is mounted on an operating rod 10 thereof. This table 12 has the same arrangement as the arrangement of the egg accommodation holes of the tray 4,
Fine lock cylinders (cylinders provided with a lock mechanism for the lifting rod 16) of the same number as the eggs 2 in the tray 4
Is provided. Each of these fine lock cylinders 1
A lifting coupling 6 for lifting the eggs 2 housed and held in the tray 4 is attached to the upper end of the lifting rod 16 of 4.

A positioning plate 18 is fixed above the table 12 on which the fine lock cylinder 14 is provided. The positioning plate 18 has the same number of through holes 18a in the same arrangement as the arrangement of the eggs 2 in the tray 4 and the arrangement of each fine lock cylinder 14. These through holes 18a have an inner diameter such that a part 2a of the upper end projects upward when the egg 2 is pressed from below. Further, above the positioning plate 18, a chicken egg processing head 21 provided with the same number of injection needles 20 in the same arrangement as the arrangement of the chicken eggs 2 in the tray 4 is provided so as to be able to move up and down.

The structure of the fine lock cylinder 14 will be described with reference to FIG. Fine lock cylinder 1
4, a cylinder portion 22 for raising and lowering the rod 16 is disposed at a lower portion, and a lock mechanism 24 for locking the lifting rod 16 is provided at an upper portion. The cylinder part 22
The piston 26 is connected to the lower end of the lifting rod 16 and divided into a first air pressure chamber 28 on the lower side and a second air pressure chamber 30 on the upper side. These two air pressure chambers 28, 30
Can supply and discharge air from the air supply / discharge ports 27 and 29, respectively. Air is introduced into one of them, and exhausted from the other chamber.
6 and the rod 16 can be raised and lowered.

The lifting rod 16 penetrates through an upper locking mechanism 24 and protrudes above a housing 28.
The coupling 6 for lifting the eggs is attached to the upper end 16a. A tapered portion 3 is provided on the outer periphery of a portion of the lifting rod 16 located inside the lock mechanism 24.
A brake piston 31 having 1a is fitted to be able to move up and down. The brake piston 31 is constantly urged upward by a spring 32 disposed below. Above the brake piston 31, a brake arm 36 that can swing around a fulcrum 34 is provided. A roller 38 is attached to a swinging end (lower end in FIG. 2) of the brake arm 36, and the brake piston 31
Is in elastic contact with the tapered portion 31a. On the other hand, the upper end of the brake arm 36 is engaged with a brake shoe 40 fitted on the outer periphery of the lifting rod 16.

Air can be introduced into the pressure chamber 42 above the brake piston 31 from an air passage 43. When air is introduced into the pressure chamber 42, the brake piston 31 is pushed down and the rollers 38 are pressed. Moves inward in the radial direction, and the brake shoe 40
The lock is released apart from. When exhausted from the pressure chamber 42 above the brake piston 31, the brake piston 31 is raised by the spring 32, and the tapered portion 31a pushes the roller 31a outward, so that the brake shoe 40 is pressed against the lifting rod 16. Then, the lifting rod 16 is locked. The chamber 4 in which the spring 32 below the brake piston 31 is accommodated.
Inside 4, air can be supplied and discharged when the brake piston 31 moves up and down by an air release passage 46.

The operation of the "egg positioning apparatus" according to the above configuration will be described. The tray 4 containing the eggs 2 with the large diameter side facing upward is intermittently transported by a transport conveyor (not shown) and stops at the processing position P. At this time, the table lifting cylinder 8 is
2 is lowered, and the coupling 6 attached to the lifting rod 16 of each fine lock cylinder 14 is
Are located at a height that does not interfere with the tray 4 being conveyed. Further, each fine lock cylinder 14 is supplied with air to the pressure chamber 42 of the upper lock mechanism 24, the brake piston 31 descends to release the lock of the elevating rod 16, and the fine lock cylinder 14 A weak air pressure is introduced into the first air pressure chamber 28, the upper second air pressure chamber 30 is exhausted, and the lifting rod 16 is raised.

After the tray 4 holding and holding the eggs 2 is supplied to the processing position P and stopped, the table lifting cylinder 8 is operated to raise the table 12. When the table 12 is raised, the egg lifting coupling 6 attached to the end of the raised rod 16 of each fine lock cylinder 14 provided on the table 12 is connected to the egg storage hole of the tray 4. Push in egg 2 from below. The pushed up egg 2 is pressed against the through hole 18a of the positioning plate 18 from the lower surface side,
Positioning is performed with the upper portion 2a protruding above the plate 18. At this time, a weak air pressure is introduced into the first air pressure chamber 28 of the cylinder portion 22 of each fine lock cylinder 14, and the lock mechanism 24 is in a free state. Therefore, even if there is a difference in the height of chicken egg 2,
Since it can be pressed against the positioning plate 18 by the same air pressure, the positioning can be performed gently without giving an impact to the eggs 2.

The egg 2 is pushed up and the positioning plate 18
After the upper portion 2a is positioned with the upper portion 2a protruding above the positioning plate 18, the air is discharged from the pressure chamber 42 of the lock mechanism 24 of the fine lock cylinder 14. When the air is discharged, the brake piston 31 rises by the force of the lower spring 32, and the tapered portion 31a
Swings the brake arm 36 to lock the lifting rod 18. In this embodiment, the supply and discharge of air to and from the lock mechanism 24 of the fine lock cylinders 14 are performed using a single solenoid valve. Fine lock cylinder 1
4 is determined to be locked and the next operation is performed. Therefore, an abnormality of each fine lock cylinder 14 cannot be detected. However, if an electromagnetic valve is provided for each fine lock cylinder 14, it is possible to detect an abnormality of each fine lock cylinder 14.

With the lifting rod 16 locked by the lock mechanism 24, the processing head 2 having the injection needle 20 is provided.
Lower 1 The chicken egg 2 is pressed from below into the through hole 18a of the positioning plate 18 and the lower lifting rod 16 is locked, so that it is held in an extremely stable state, and the chicken egg 2 is displaced or lowered. Without being inserted, the injection needle 20 surely penetrates the eggshell and is inserted into the chicken egg 2, and a virus or the like for vaccine production is inoculated. As described above, when positioning the egg 2, the egg 2 is pressed against the positioning plate 18 with a force smaller than the load applied during the processing of the egg 2, so that there is no possibility that the egg 2 will be broken or damaged by an impact. In addition, during processing such as insertion of the injection needle 20, the lifting rod 16
Is locked by the lock mechanism 24 with a stronger force than the load applied during the processing, and the egg 2 is held in a state where it does not move, so that the processing can be reliably performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the apparatus for positioning the chicken egg 2 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the chicken egg, and can be applied to other eggs having variations in size. . In addition, although the cylinder 8 is used as the elevating means for elevating the fine lock cylinder,
A servo motor or the like may be used.

[0023]

As described above, the egg positioning apparatus according to the present invention comprises push-up means for pushing up the eggs held by the egg holding means from below, lifting means for raising and lowering the push-up means, A positioning plate that is disposed above the egg held by the means and has a through hole through which the upper part of the egg can protrude, and processing means that performs predetermined processing on the upper part protruding from the positioned egg through hole. And in particular, the lifting means includes a cylinder for raising and lowering the rod,
Lock means for locking the lifting rod, when pushing up the egg and pressing it against the positioning plate, urge the rod upward with a force weaker than the load applied when processing by the processing means, and after positioning, Since the lifting rod is locked, there is no possibility that eggs such as eggs may be damaged at the time of positioning, and when performing the processing, the eggs can be firmly held and a reliable processing can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an entire egg positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fine lock cylinder provided in the egg positioning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Egg holding means (tray) 8 Elevating means (table elevating cylinder) 14 Push-up means (fine lock cylinder) 16 Rod (elevating rod) 18 Positioning plate 18a Through hole 21 Processing means (processing head) 22 Cylinder (cylinder part) 24 Locking means (locking mechanism)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A push-up means for pushing up an egg held by an egg holding means from below, an elevating means for raising and lowering the push-up means, and an upper part of the egg which is arranged above the egg held by the egg holding means. A positioning plate having a through hole through which a protruding hole is formed, and a processing means for performing a predetermined process on an upper portion protruding from the positioned through hole of the egg, wherein the push-up means includes a rod. It has a cylinder to raise and lower and a lock means to lock this lifting rod, and when pushing up the egg and pressing it against the positioning plate,
An egg positioning device, wherein the rod is urged upward with a force smaller than a load applied when processing by the processing means, and after positioning, the lifting rod is locked with a force higher than the load.