JP2000272740A - Method and device for selecting agricultural product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To package an agricultural product protruded from the outer shape of a receiving tray by stopping receiving trays one by one in each stop section set at line directional intervals so as to prevent the mutual contact of the agricultural products placed on the receiving trays in the carrying passage from a branch discharge conveyor to a packaging part. SOLUTION: Air cylinder type stoppers 213 for stopping the carrying of a receiving tray (free tray) with an agricultural product P thereon by protruding upward from the carrying surface of each storing and collecting conveyor 121 are arranged so that one free tray 42 can be stopped within the range partitioned by each stopper 213. Each stopper 213 is recessed down from the carrying surface at the same timing to release the stop of the free tray 42, and the stopper 213 is returned to the stopping operation position so that the carrying of each free tray 42 is stopped by the next stopper 213. This operation control of the stopper 213 is performed according to a flow set by a computer, or by a worker 500.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for sorting agricultural products such as fruits such as apples, persimmons and pears, or vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants and cucumbers at a fruit sorting place, and packaging the same. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to sort and discharge agricultural products, a tray is transported without being restrained by a transport means. Agricultural products are placed one by one on the trays, and the trays are placed on sorting lines (routes) according to sorting categories. 2. Description of the Related Art A sorting apparatus of a type that discharges the whole and packs it in a box or the like has been conventionally used. It should be noted that this type of apparatus and the tray used therefor are generally referred to as a free tray or a free tray type since the tray is not restrained by the conveying means (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-175).
No. 610, etc.), and this will be followed in this specification.

[0003] The system using the free tray type receiving tray is different from the so-called bucket type in which agricultural products are placed and transported on a traveling bucket (dish) inseparable from the conveyor from the supply process to the measuring process of the sorting classification determining element. Even in the sorting route that is later in the measurement process, agricultural products can be transported from the free tray to the packaging process without changing, since the agricultural products can be conveyed without changing over while being placed on the receiving tray, reducing external loads such as impacts on agricultural products. It is excellent in that it can greatly reduce the risk of damaging agricultural products.

[0004] In addition, the sorting and packaging of agricultural products using a free tray type saucer can reduce the operating efficiency of the packaging device as much as possible, even if the sorting of the agricultural products to be sorted is multi-section and the distribution rate is greatly different. Since an averaging device can be adopted, it is also excellent in that the investment cost for the productivity of the entire facility can be reduced. For example, for sorting categories where the number of agricultural products (pans) discharged is large due to a large distribution ratio, multiple sorting lines are connected to an automatic packaging device for automatic packaging according to the ratio, and the distribution ratio is adjusted according to the size of the distribution ratio. The number of sorting lines can be set to match the processing volume. On the other hand, for sorting lines with extremely small number of discharges (accumulation) in the sorting section, do not connect to the automatic box packing device, but use This is because it can be configured to be connected. In this way, it is possible to configure an apparatus and equipment having an appropriate balance between the work efficiency of the packaging process and the investment cost for the productivity of the equipment.

[0005]

By the way, when the above-mentioned free tray type sorting apparatus is employed in each sorting place, it is necessary to ensure high productivity (processing efficiency, equipment operation rate, etc.) in the sorting place. Naturally, it is desirable to use the most processed products and varieties of agricultural products at the sorting plant (agricultural products that have a long harvest time or the most amount to be harvested throughout the year). It is common to design good equipment and facilities.

[0006] On the other hand, on the other hand, the harvest of agricultural products is rarely constant throughout the year and is usually limited in time. There is a problem that the operation rate (utilization rate) of the apparatus or the like is stopped at a time, and the equipment cost per processed agricultural product increases. Therefore,
For example, it is generally required that the operation rate (utilization rate) of other agricultural products whose harvest time differs from that of the main target agricultural product be increased by selectively using the same device.

By the way, the sharing of equipment and facilities for such different agricultural products is theoretically simple, but there is a problem that it is not always simple in actual use of equipment and facilities. One of the problems arises when some agricultural products to be treated are different in size due to differences in items, varieties and the like. That is, when performing the free tray type sorting, the free tray (pan) has a size suitable for the size of the target agricultural product, and if the free tray is too much larger than the agricultural product, the transport interval of the agricultural product increases. As a result, the transfer efficiency is reduced, and the area of a pool portion such as a large number of pool lines provided as a box standby position is increased. Conversely, if the free tray is too small than the produce, the produce will stick out of the outer shape of the free tray, and the produce will come into contact with each other when the trays are approaching during transportation or at the pool, and the produce will be transported at a high speed in recent years This is because, in the sorting operation to be performed, there is a great risk that the agricultural product is damaged by the collision, and the advantage of the free tray type sorting apparatus that the sorting operation can be performed without damaging the agricultural product is impaired.

It is also conceivable to prepare a plurality of types of free trays each having a size suitable for each agricultural product to be treated. However, as a result of using various types of trays, the investment cost of the trays increases, and non-use trays are used. It is not practical because securing the storage place of the tray and the trouble of replacing the tray at the time are serious problems. It should be noted that sharing one type of free tray larger than all the agricultural products to be treated has the problem of reduced processing capacity except in special cases where the main target agricultural product is the largest agricultural product. As you did.

[0009] Based on these facts, a general fruit sorting place basically uses a free tray (a saucer) having a size suitable for a main target agricultural product having a large throughput, and a size equal to or smaller than this. The same free tray is used for processing agricultural products, but agricultural products large enough to stick out of the outer shape of the free tray (dish) should be manually sorted without using this sorting device. Often have.

The inventor of the present invention makes use of the advantages of automatic sorting in a free tray type sorting apparatus using a free tray as a tray as described above, even for agricultural products having a size that causes the outer shape of the free tray (dish) to come out. The inventors of the present invention have intensively studied the possibility of this and have developed a method of the present invention and a sorting apparatus suitable for performing the method.

[0011]

The object of the present invention is attained by the inventions described in the claims.

[0012] The invention of a method for sorting agricultural products using a free tray type tray according to claim 1 of the present invention is to transport a large number of trays on which agricultural products are placed in a line at a predetermined interval on a sorting conveyor. The sorting means of the agricultural products on the tray is determined by the measuring means, and based on the determination result, the agricultural product is discharged together with the tray by selecting one of a plurality of branch discharge conveyors to which the sorting categories are assigned, and the discharged material is discharged. A method of sorting agricultural products that packs agricultural products on a tray in a packaging section downstream of each branch discharge conveyor, wherein the trays are conveyed in a line in a range from the branch discharge conveyor to a packaging section, and the branch discharge is performed. In the transport path from the conveyor to the packing section, each tray is addressed to one of the stop sections set at intervals in the row direction so that the agricultural products placed on the tray do not come into contact with each other. Characterized in that to be able to stop.

The tray used for carrying out the above method can be freely transferred between a sorting conveyor such as a belt type and a chain conveyor type and a branch discharge conveyor such as a belt type and a roller conveyor type. The specific structure is not particularly limited as long as it has a structure suitable for carrying agricultural products, and, in general, a circular or rectangular rigid plastic base in plan view, or Further, a type in which the agricultural product is combined with a seat of an elastic body that supports the agricultural product and is assembled so as not to damage the agricultural product is preferably adopted.

In order to determine the sorting category of agricultural products on the sorting conveyor, measurement of so-called class elements such as weight and shape (size, etc.) or measurement of color, scratches, internal quality (sugar content, ripeness, etc.), etc. The measurement of the so-called grading element can be appropriately selected and performed as needed, and it can be determined using a computer or the like in relation to the sorting category set to sort and sort based on these measurement results. it can. In addition,
When the trays are merged and supplied from the two tray supply paths to the one sorting transport path at the supply section on the transport starting end side of the sorting conveyor, the sorting element can be measured in the tray supply path.

[0015] Any known method can be used to assign a branch discharge conveyor for discharging trays on which agricultural products are placed from the sorting conveyor. For example, sorting of agricultural products received by each of the plurality of branch discharge conveyors is performed in advance. A method that is fixedly determined, or a method that changes the classification of agricultural products that can be accepted according to the difference in distribution based on the result of the above determination (updates and changes the classification of agricultural products that are accepted under predetermined conditions) And so on.

The specific structure of the branch connection of the branch discharge conveyor to the sorting conveyor is not particularly limited as long as the tray on which the agricultural product is placed can be smoothly transferred.

In the packaging section for packing agricultural products, for example, in a box at the downstream side of the branch discharge conveyor, either a manual packing process or a machine packing process can be adopted. Machine stuffing is preferably used, and hand stuffing is preferably used for priority on preventing damage to agricultural products and special packaging. Furthermore, for each of the packaging units linked in any one-to-one, one-to-many, or plural-to-one manner with respect to the plurality of branch discharge conveyors, the stage for performing the above-described manual or machine-packing processing is arbitrarily set. be able to. Specifically, it is possible to provide a wrapping section dedicated to machine stuffing processing, a wrapping section dedicated to manual stuffing processing, and to provide a wrapping section capable of selecting manual stuffing or machine stuffing processing as needed. You can also. The mechanical stuffing process is not limited, but, for example, automatic boxing using a boxing device or the like that two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally drives a link mechanism or the like in which suction cups are suspended in a line. Refers to processing.

According to the apparatus and equipment including the mechanical elements as described above, for the main target agricultural product (an agricultural product having a size that does not stick out from the outer shape of the saucer), the agricultural product is transferred from the sorting discharge section to the packaging section. Sorting and discharging to packaging can be performed while the loaded trays are packed and conveyed without gaps. In the case of agricultural products that come out of the outer shape of the pan (hereinafter referred to as “large agricultural products”), the pan where the agricultural products are placed from the sorting discharge section to the packaging section is kept with a predetermined gap. It can be conveyed and packaged. To give a specific example of the above-mentioned main target agricultural products and large-scale agricultural products, as the same varieties, for example, the main target agricultural products are ordinary pears (about 300 to 350 g in the 20th century, etc.).
On the other hand, large agricultural products are Atago pear (1-2 kg),
The case of Niitaka (about 0.5 kg) and emerging (about 0.5 kg) can be exemplified, and the case of pear and melon can be exemplified for different varieties.

That is, an apparatus including the above mechanical elements,
When the sorting operation of the agricultural products is performed by using the equipment, it is possible to put the agricultural products on all the trays that are continuously conveyed by the mode of the supply in the supplying section of the agricultural products. In some cases, implementation in that mode may be performed. On the other hand, when the agricultural product is large (hereinafter, this agricultural product is referred to as a “large agricultural product”) and causes the above-described problem that the agricultural product is damaged due to collision because it comes out of the plane outer shape of the saucer, a gap is always provided between the saucers. Sorting and discharging to packaging can be performed while maintaining an empty state. In addition, on the sorting conveyor, it is possible to maintain a state in which a gap between the receiving trays is provided by a conveyor driven at a constant speed.

When the tray is stopped in the range to be stopped, it is natural that the trays are sequentially stopped one by one from the most downstream stop section in the range. For example, from the sorting discharge section to the packaging section, When the tray is directly conveyed, one stop is sequentially stopped for each stop section on the upstream side from the stop section at the most downstream side of the packaging section (if the packaging section is manually packed, it becomes the hand-packing position). . On the other hand, when the range in which the tray is stopped during the sorting and discharging to the packaging process is set to be divided into two or more ranges, for example, the branch discharge conveyor stop section group and the packing section stop section group are set as described later. In the case where the setting is made separately in the transport direction, each stop section group is sequentially stopped from the most downstream position to each one of the stop sections on the upstream side.

According to the present invention, the main target agricultural products can be conveyed and waited while closing the gaps of a large number of saucers from the sorting discharge section to the packaging section, while the large agricultural products can be transported on standby. Since the receiving tray can be transported while holding the gap, and can be put on standby, the advantage of preventing collision of agricultural products and not damaging the agricultural products can be satisfied.

In addition, it is possible to use devices and the like prepared for sorting classification determination, and to effectively use sorting devices and equipment that have not been used in the past because of the size of agricultural products and saucers.
Operation efficiency can be improved.

Furthermore, there is a possibility that agricultural products which are not likely to collide with each other (that is, agricultural products whose agricultural product is smaller than the tray outer shape (hereinafter referred to as "small agricultural products")) and agricultural products to be sorted and processed, such as the above-mentioned large agricultural products. Even when switching to a different size, there is no need to replace the tray with a different standard, so that the processing target can be switched quickly and smoothly, and the burden on capital investment can be reduced. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above invention, the stop section set to stop the trays is a group of branch discharge conveyor stop sections in which a plurality of trays are sequentially stopped in the branch discharge conveyor. Group, and a plurality of trays sent out from the branch discharge conveyor stop section group are divided into two groups of a packing section stop section group in which the plurality of trays are sequentially stopped at the packing section, and one packing section is stopped. The tray group is selectively sent out from the plurality of branch discharge conveyor stopped section groups to the section group.

With this configuration, after performing a process of packing a group of agricultural products from one branch discharge conveyor on one packing unit, the next group of agricultural products is accumulated on another branch discharge conveyor. Since it can be sent out quickly as a group, it is possible to reduce breaks in the packaging process.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned invention, the trays stopped at each stop section of the transport path of the packaging section from the branch discharge conveyor are sequentially sent one by one to the stop section on the downstream side of the transport with the same timing. It is characterized by doing so.

[0027] In the above, the next stop section is not set in the tray stopped at the stop section at the most downstream side of the packaging section. Therefore, in the single feeding, the tray is simply sent out from the stop section. It is returned to the first stage of the sorting device by the return conveyor.

In the above configuration, the feeding of the trays stopped in the stop section one by one to the downstream side of the transport at the same timing is performed simultaneously for all the stop sections on the transport path of the packaging section from the branch discharge conveyor. If the branch discharge conveyor stop section group and the wrapping section stop section group are set separately in the transport direction as in the invention of claim 2, at least one of the one in the wrapping section stop section group is set. Feeding may be performed, and when sending out a group of trays from the branch discharge conveyor stop section group, the leading tray is, for example, a stop section before the empty stop section of the packaging section stop section group until it is stopped. This is because it is sufficient to simply pass through. In short, during the packaging process after the large agricultural product is discharged at the sorting discharge unit, if the state of single feed of the saucer can be ensured so that the state that the agricultural product on the adjacent saucer is not contacted before and after transportation is secured. Good.

[0029] In the above, "aligning the timing" generally means that the operations are performed synchronously. However, it is not always necessary to strictly synchronize the operations. It is only necessary that there be no contact.

According to the present invention, when the packaging section performs the packing operation in the manual filling process, a large-sized agricultural product can be supplied to the site of the manual filling operation under certain conditions, so that the efficient manual filling process is performed. be able to. In addition, when carrying out the machine stuffing process in the packaging section, it is possible to lift large agricultural products from multiple saucers at once, so in this case, collect the multiple empty trays by lifting. Then, a plurality of receiving trays on which large-scale agricultural products are placed are successively applied and stopped one by one from the lowest empty stop section to the upstream side in accordance with the above-described agreement.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in each of the above-mentioned inventions, the trays conveyed from the branch discharge conveyor on the conveying path of the packaging section are in a state in which the pans are lined up in the column direction without any gap.
It is characterized in that it is possible to switch between a state of stopping at a stop section set in the column direction and a line with a gap.

According to the present invention, when small agricultural products are sorted, they can be conveyed on the conveying path between the branch discharge conveyor and the packaging section without leaving a space between the front and rear of the tray, thereby improving the conveying efficiency. Processing can be performed, and when large agricultural products are selected, contact between agricultural products can be prevented by always transporting the trays before and after transportation with a predetermined gap.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in each of the above-mentioned inventions, the packaging process of the agricultural product in the packaging section is performed by either a manual stuffing process or a mechanical stuffing process, or these processes can be selected. It is characterized by the following.

According to the present invention, it is possible to select a packaging section dedicated to manual filling processing, a packaging section dedicated to mechanical filling processing, a manual filling processing and a mechanical filling processing in consideration of the overall efficiency and equipment cost of the fruit sorting facility. The packaging unit configured as described above can be appropriately selected and adopted, and particularly, large agricultural products that are often subjected to manual packing according to the frequency of sorting large agricultural products and the amount of processing, or generally It becomes easy to design the arrangement of the hand-packed stage (hand-packed site) for the hand-packing process prepared for the job according to the different requirements for each sorting place.

In the above-mentioned inventions, the agricultural products to be sorted are, for example, peach,
In the case of pears and unshu mandarin oranges, large agricultural products that come out of the saucer outside the flat outer shape are, for example, large pears, melons,
It can be suitably used in the case of large citrus fruits (for example, sweet summer, hassaku, iyo citrus, etc.).

According to the invention of the apparatus for sorting agricultural products according to claim 7 of the present invention, a large number of trays not connected to the conveyor are lined up from the supply section on the transport start end side where the agricultural products are placed on the tray toward the sorting discharge position on the transport end side. Sorting conveyor to be transported to
A measuring and judging means for measuring and sorting the sorting of agricultural products during the transportation of the sorting conveyor, and a plurality of branches which are sequentially connected to the sorting conveyor at the sorting and discharging position in the direction of their transport and which transport the trays in a line. A discharge conveyor, a discharge means for discharging a tray loaded with agricultural products of a sorting category corresponding to a sorting category assigned to each branch discharge conveyor to a corresponding branch discharge conveyor, and a discharging means for packaging the agricultural products on the discharged tray. And a packaging unit having a packaging transport conveyor connected to a branch discharge conveyor.The sorting apparatus for agricultural products, wherein the packaging transport conveyor from the branch discharge conveyor of the sorting discharge unit to the transport path of the packaging unit includes: A plurality of stop sections are sequentially set at intervals in the row direction so that the produce on the tray does not come into contact with each other, and a tray is placed on each of these stop sections. Stop means for stopping, and feed control means for controlling the stop-stop release by the stop means for sequentially feeding one stopped tray to a stop section on the downstream side of the conveyance at the same timing and provided. I do.

As the sorting conveyor used in the above apparatus, any suitable one such as a belt conveyor type, a chain conveyor type, and a roller conveyor type may be used as long as it can be conveyed without being connected to a tray. Can be. The same applies to the branch discharge conveyor.

The above-mentioned measuring and judging means is conventionally known according to the measuring element, such as an illuminating optical system arranged in the middle of the sorting conveyor, an optical measuring means comprising a light receiving optical system, a weight measuring means using a scale or the like. Means can be used, and the elements for sorting classification obtained by these various measuring means are used to classify agricultural products into a plurality of preset sorting categories. The determination is made using a computer device including an MPU (microprocessor unit) to determine the sorting category of agricultural products.

Further, the discharging means capable of transferring the trays containing agricultural products from the sorting conveyor to the branch discharge conveyor is, for example, a branch discharging apparatus in which a predetermined sorting section is set or assigned to the trays conveyed on the sorting conveyor. The tray on which the corresponding agricultural product is placed can be discharged from the sorting conveyor.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned packing conveyor can be constructed in the same manner as the above-mentioned sorting conveyor or branch discharge conveyor.

A plurality of receiving tray stop sections, which are set at predetermined intervals over the range from the branch discharge conveyor to the transport conveyor for packaging (all of this range or a range obtained by dividing a predetermined section), are transported. Stop sections are set at intervals in which large agricultural products on the front and rear adjacent trays do not come into contact with each other, and a stopping section including a driving mechanism such as an air cylinder can be provided for each stopping section to form a stopping section, or a plurality of stops can be formed. It is also possible to form a stopping section by providing a stopping means including a link mechanism that operates collectively for the sections and a driving mechanism such as an air cylinder.

According to the present invention, similarly to the method described above, it is possible to secure a state in which the large-sized agricultural product tray is always kept in contact with one another before and after transport in the predetermined range. In addition, the advantage that the agricultural products of the free tray type sorting are not damaged can be satisfied, and the devices and the like prepared for the sorting classification determination in the sorting device can be used as they are, so that the sorting device and the equipment can be effectively used. Thus, the operation efficiency can be improved.

According to the present invention, while the apparatus and equipment designed for improving the sorting efficiency of the main target agricultural products are efficiently operated, the sorting of the agricultural products other than the main target is performed by the apparatus, "Large-scale agricultural products", which were considered to be unsuitable for processing using conventional equipment and equipment because they are larger than the standard of the main target agricultural products. In addition, it is possible to sort quickly and smoothly using the apparatus and the equipment.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the device invention of the seventh aspect, the stopping means for stopping the tray in each stop section is provided by controlling the stop-stop release so that a plurality of the trays are sequentially arranged in one section with a gap. Alternatively, it is characterized in that a switchable state is provided between a state in which a plurality of compartments are fed and a state in which stop release is continued and a plurality of trays are sent without leaving a gap.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned apparatus invention, a pool portion for stacking and waiting the trays in a line is provided on the branch discharge conveyor, and a plurality of the branch discharge conveyors are provided.
It is linked so that selective feeding can be performed to one packaging unit.

The reason why the stacking section is made to stand by in a state of “single trays” in the pool section is to improve the operation efficiency of the apparatus, particularly when one packaging section is an apparatus that performs a machine filling process. In addition, by efficiently sending out a group of trays from a plurality of branch discharge conveyors while ensuring a state in which damage to agricultural products can be prevented, it is possible to realize the above-described efficiency of the machine packing process.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in each of the above-described device inventions, each of the plurality of packaging sections connected to the branch discharge conveyor has at least one of a hand-packed packaging stage and a machine-packed packaging stage. And

The packing section connected to the branch discharge conveyor is generally machine-packed for packing mainly processed agricultural products having a large throughput. However, for agricultural products whose processing volume is smaller than the main target agricultural products, it is not necessary to pack them in machines, especially for large-scale agricultural products or agricultural products that require special careful handling. Often. For this purpose, a dedicated stage for manual packing can be provided, but a packaging unit can be provided so that manual packing and mechanical packing can be switched and selected as necessary.

According to the present invention, a packaging section dedicated to machine stuffing, a packaging section dedicated to manual stuffing, or a packaging section that can be used by switching between them as needed, is provided with an efficient configuration according to the demands of the sorting yard. A sorting device can be provided.

[0050]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. The feature of this example is that it is mainly used for sorting the main target agricultural products (hereinafter referred to as “ordinary use”) and when it is used to sort large agricultural products that come out from the outer shape of the saucer (hereinafter “exceptional use”). ")
Although it is characterized in that it is shared, the following describes the operations necessary for exceptional use and implements this, while explaining the above-mentioned exceptional use and normal use together. The features of the mechanism required for this will be described.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a part of a sorting place (measurement for sorting agricultural products to a box) from which a sorting device for agricultural products according to the present invention is provided. The sorting device of this example is
It is roughly divided into a supply unit that places agricultural products on a tray (free tray), a sorting unit that measures and determines the grade and rank of agricultural products conveyed on the sorting conveyor, and determines the sorting category. The sorting section that discharges the produced agricultural products to the branch discharge conveyors to which predetermined sorting sections are individually assigned so as to be received for each sorting section, and the branch transport conveyors of the sorted and discharged sorting sections, are connected to and sent to the sorting section. It is composed of four packaging units for packing a group of agricultural products (for example, one unit of packaging). In the following description, empty free trays are indicated by reference numeral 41, and free trays containing agricultural products are indicated by reference numeral 42, and when these are collectively indicated, reference numeral 4 is used.

The above-mentioned agricultural product supply section includes an empty free tray 41 returned by the return conveyor 51 from the packaging section.
Is transported on a tray supply conveyor (which forms a part of a sorting transport path) 52 which is a low-speed conveyor,
The agricultural products are picked up from the receiving conveyor 57 for randomly transporting the agricultural products brought to the fruit sorting place, and the agricultural products are placed on the empty free tray 41. At this time, the grades (Shu,
(Good, good, three grades such as A, B, C, etc.) and visually determine the position of the agricultural product-containing free tray 42 in the receiving tray supply conveyor 5
2 is moved to a predetermined position on the center, right side or left side to indicate that it is any of the three grades by tracking, and the tracking state of the free tray 42 containing agricultural products is detected by a tracking detection device 53 such as a photoelectric sensor. The grade of the agricultural product may be detected from the tracking position of the free tray 42.

At the end of the return conveyor 51,
A pitching screw having a helical groove is arranged, and a beam is divided on the tray supply conveyor 52 by a rail at predetermined intervals in the transport direction, and one empty free tray 4
The free trays 4 conveyed on the sorting conveyor can be set at a constant interval by inserting 1s.

After the tracking is detected, the free tray 42 is passed through an imaging device 54 in this example. The imaging device 54 is for imaging the appearance of agricultural products using a color camera, a sensor camera, or the like, and classifying or classifying each agricultural product by an appropriate calculation method.

Reference numeral 55 denotes a bar code reader for reading different identification marks, for example, bar codes, displayed on the free tray 4 one by one.

As described above, the identification information (individualization information) of the specific free tray 42 containing the agricultural product is detected by the bar code, and the grade and the rank of the agricultural product placed on the specific free tray 42 are required. Sorting information, for example, information detected by the tracking detection device 53 or the imaging device 54, is converted into an electric signal and sent to a computer (not shown), and the agricultural products placed on the specific free tray 42 are classified into the same class. Is determined and recorded, or is recorded as classification result information as a result of the determination. This recording information is used as information for discharging the free tray 42 from the sorting conveyor 1 described later to the storage conveyor, and further as information for price settlement.

The management and use of the sorting information of each agricultural product is not limited to the above-mentioned method. For example, a non-contact type information recording means may be provided on an IC card (integrated circuit card) mounted on each tray. It is also possible to read and use the sorting section information recorded on the IC card on the free tray 4 by arranging information reading means in association with each of the discharging devices described later.

As described above, the free tray 42 on which the agricultural products P for which the sorting of the grades and grades has been determined in the agricultural product supply section is transported on the sorting conveyor 1. Then, on the sorting conveyor 1, there is no cause for the free tray 42 containing the agricultural product which moves forward and backward in the transport direction, so that the free tray before and after transport does not directly contact. Therefore, it is ensured that not only small-sized agricultural products but also large-sized agricultural products do not come into contact with those before and after transportation. In addition, by changing the speed difference at the time of connecting the free tray 42 between the tray supply conveyor 52 and the sorting conveyor 1,
For small agricultural products, priority is given to reducing the interval before and after transport of the free tray 42 to enhance transport efficiency, while for large agricultural products, the interval before and after transport of the free tray 42 can be increased. In this way, it is possible to more reliably prevent a large agricultural product coming and going from coming into contact during transportation.

Next, the sorting section 2 of the sorting apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the packaging unit 3 is divided into two types. One of them is that one branch discharge conveyor 20 has two storage / accumulation conveyors 202 (20
21 and 2022), and two of the branch discharge conveyors 20 (therefore, a total of four storage / accumulation conveyors 202) are associated with a storage / collection unit 3 having two stages of mechanical packing and manual packing. It is an integrated conveyor 202 group (four lines on the lower side in FIG. 1). The other one is arranged on the upper side of FIG. 1 and has one branch discharge conveyor (therefore, the storage / accumulation conveyor 212 has two lines) 21
Are storage / accumulation conveyors 212 (the three lines on the upper side in FIG. 1) linked to the packaging unit 3 dedicated to manual filling by the operator. Note that a discharge line (not shown) for extra goods not packed in a box can be provided at the upper side of the figure. However, the line 21 dedicated to manual filling and the discharge line for extra goods not packed in a box are not essential and are omitted. You can also.

Then, each of these storage / accumulation conveyors 2
The free tray 42 containing the agricultural products in the corresponding sorting section is discharged to the sorting section fixedly assigned or changed to 12.

Next, the linking relationship between the branch discharge conveyor 21 in which the two storage / accumulation conveyors 202 or 212 of the above configuration are linked to the work unit dedicated to manual filling and the packaging unit will be described first.

In the branch discharge conveyor 21 of this example, two storage / accumulation conveyors 212 (2121, 122) connected laterally from the sorting conveyor 1 by the discharge device 201.
Then, the free tray 42 on which the agricultural products P in the sorting category assigned to these are placed is discharged. The state of feeding (standby) of the free tray 42 at the time of the packaging process performed when the agricultural products P discharged at this time are all the above-mentioned large agricultural products (sizes that stick out from the outer shape of the free tray) is shown in FIG. 2, shown in FIG.

That is, this branch discharge conveyor 21 is
The storage / accumulation conveyor 212 (2121, 1222: which linearly transports the free tray 42 from the discharge device 201 to the vicinity of the boxing position 325 where the boxing worker 500 is located.
(They also serve as a conveyor for the packaging section.) Are extended, and at the terminal position thereof, they are turned 180 ° in the horizontal plane to the boxing position 325, and the boxing standby stopper 3251
, The free tray 42 is temporarily stopped, and the worker 500 performs the packing operation. An elevator 3252 lifts and lowers the packaging box 6 arranged beside the packing position 325,
At the time of packing the agricultural products, the packaging box 6 is raised to a position suitable for the packing operation. At the end of the packaging, the packaging box 6 is lowered and the finished packing box 6 is sent out to the product transport conveyor 122 by a pusher (not shown). It is configured as follows. The empty free tray 41 that has been temporarily stopped by the box standby stopper 3251 and picked up the agricultural products P is sent out to the return conveyor 51 when the stop of the box standby stopper 3251 is released.

The branch discharge conveyor 21 is provided with a free tray stop means at a predetermined constant interval along the transport direction. That is, at these predetermined positions, air cylinder type stoppers 213 which protrude upward from the transport surface of each storage / accumulation conveyor 212 to stop the transport of the free tray are arranged, respectively. It is provided so that one free tray 42 can be stopped within the sectioned area. Each of the stoppers 213 is immersed downward from the conveyance surface at the same timing so that the free tray 4
2 is released, and each free tray 42 is stopped by the next stopper 213 so that the transport is stopped by the next stopper 213.
Is returned to the stop operation position. The operation control of the stopper 213 for this purpose can be performed according to a flow set by a computer (not shown) or the like, or can be performed by an artificial command of the operator 500.

As described above, the branch discharge conveyor 21
The free tray 42 on which the large agricultural products discharged in
While the conveyance is intermittently stopped in the entire range from the position discharged by the discharge device 201 to the boxing position, a predetermined gap can always be maintained between the adjacent free tray 42 before and after the conveyance, and Box packaging can be performed in a state where the components before and after P do not come into contact with and damage them.

FIG. 4 shows a free tray 4 on which small agricultural products (the agricultural products do not stick out from the outer shape of the free tray) are placed in the branch discharge conveyor 21 dedicated to the manual filling operation described above.
2 shows a state in which the product No. 2 is packed in a hand-box.

That is, in this case, the free tray 4
Even if 2 comes in contact, the agricultural products P placed on the free tray before and after the transportation do not come into contact with each other, so that the stoppers 213 as the above-mentioned free tray stopping means are all set in the retreat position where they are immersed downward from the transportation surface, Thus, the front and rear free trays 42 can be packed and efficiently transported without leaving a gap therebetween.

The above-described discharging device 201 will be described.
No. 8848, it is possible to use a sorting and discharging device disclosed in JP-A-8848, and for example, an agricultural product in which the classification of the grade / class is determined (for example, the size of the class is L and the grade is A), When (AL) passes through the position of the discharge device 201 associated with the assigned branch discharge conveyor 21, the rotation of the discharge device on the turntable is performed by a command from control means (not shown) such as a computer. An exciting unit 2 in which an electromagnetic attraction unit is fixedly arranged at a predetermined position.
When the free tray 42 is excited by the rotation of the rotary table 11, the free tray 42 is attracted to the free tray 42, and is turned laterally and discharged from the sorting conveyor 1 in accordance with the rotation of the rotary table. Then, the excitation release unit 2012 or 20 provided at the position of the predetermined angle
13, the free tray 42 discharged from the sorting conveyor 1 is de-energized.
Is separated from the turntable and sent to one of the two lanes 2021 and 2022 of the storage / accumulation conveyor.

The operation of discharging the agricultural products of a specific sorting category to the corresponding storage / accumulation conveyor 2121 or 2122 by the predetermined discharge device 201 is performed as follows in this example. That is, a free tray 4 is provided by a barcode reader 5 (see FIG. 1) disposed upstream of the sorting conveyor 1.
By reading the unique sign (barcode) of the agricultural product, the sorting section of the agricultural product recorded in a one-to-one relationship with the sign is detected, and from the arrangement position of the barcode reader 5, the sorting section of the corresponding sorting section is detected. The transfer distance (or time) to the discharge device 201 associated with the storage / accumulation conveyor 212 to which the reception of the agricultural products is assigned is determined based on the number of pulses output from an encoder device or the like corresponding to the moving amount of the sorting conveyor. When the corresponding free tray 4 passes through the device, the corresponding discharge device 2
Activate 01. In this way, agricultural products having different sorting categories are sorted and discharged to the branch discharge conveyor 21 to which each sorting category is assigned.

Next, a branch discharge conveyor 2 linked to a packaging section 3 having two working stages of mechanical packing and manual packing.
One line of 0 will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in these figures, the branch discharge conveyor 20 which constitutes the sorting section 2 of the present embodiment includes a free tray 42 in one of the discharge devices 201 for discharging the free tray 4 from the sorting conveyor 1. Two of the storage / stacking conveyors 202 (2021, 2022) for storing and receiving in each row are linked, and two of the branch discharge conveyors 20 having these two storage / stacking conveyors 202 are linked to one packaging unit 3. Is provided as follows. One packing unit is linked to a total of four storage / accumulation conveyors 202, and these packing units 3 have two working stages of mechanical packing and manual packing. Further, there are provided linkage switching devices 71 and 72 for switching the sending source for sending out the free tray 4 after selecting one of the four storage / accumulation conveyors 202.

Next, a description will be given of a configuration in which the two branch discharge conveyors 20 are linked to the two packing work stages of mechanical packing and manual packing.

In each of the branch discharge conveyors 20 of this embodiment, a four-story storage / stacking conveyor 202 is linked to a packaging section 3 in which a machine-packing and packing work stage 31 and a manual-packing and packing work stage 32 are combined, and these four-story storage / stacking conveyors 202 are combined. Integrated conveyor 2
02 controls which conveyor sends out a group of free trays 4 when sending the accumulated agricultural products to a box packing stage, and sends out the sent out groups of free trays 4 to a machine-packing and packaging work stage, or It can be decided whether to send it to the hand-packed packaging work stage. These selections are possible because, for example, when it is necessary to attach a fruit cap, it is usually sent to the hand-packing work stage, and in other cases, it is better to be sent to the machine-packing work stage It is. In order to satisfy the above, in the present example, the first linkage switching device 71 for controlling the switching of the transmission source is provided at the end position of each storage / accumulation conveyor 202 constituting the branch discharge conveyor 20. And a second for the destination switching control for switching between sending out the group of free trays 4 to the machine-packing and packing work stage 31 or sending out the group of free trays 4 to the hand-packing and packing work stage 32. Is provided. The linkage switching device 71 can be configured by combining a stopper mechanism that protrudes and retracts on the transport surface of the conveyor 202 to stop the free tray 4, for example, a stopper plate and a cylinder device.

In this embodiment, the branch discharge conveyor 20
The downstream end of the storage / accumulation conveyor 202 has a first track-
The first of the relay conveyors 8 on which the third tracks 81 to 83 are arranged
The first track 81 is connected to the track 81, and the first track 81 is provided so as to extend in the width direction orthogonal to the four storage / accumulation conveyors 202. In parallel with this, a machine-packing and packaging work stage 31 or a hand-packing and packaging work stage 32
Of the third track 83 (831 or 833),
2) are provided, and a second track 82 (821, 822) that forms a vertical drawing portion of a “U” is provided therebetween.

The first linkage switching device 71 comprising the above-mentioned stopper mechanism for controlling the switching of the sending source normally stops the transport of the free tray 4 and, for example, the number of free trays accumulated by a sensor (not shown) is reduced to a predetermined number. When it is detected that the number of packing units (for example, the number of pieces to be packed in one box or a pack in a box packing operation described later) is accumulated, the sheet is conveyed based on a command from control means (not shown) according to the progress of the subsequent box packing operation. The stopper mechanism is transported so that the predetermined number of free trays 4 are sent out to the box standby position and the predetermined number of free trays 4 are sent out, and then the subsequent free trays 4 are stopped again. It returns to the state where it protrudes above the surface.

Further, the second track 8 of the relay conveyor 8
2, a sorting lever device is provided as a second linkage switching device 72 for controlling the switching of the delivery destination, and the group of free trays 4 sent out as described above is controlled based on a command from control means (not shown). , Machine stuffing and packaging work stage 31
Is controlled to be switched to the feeding stage or the hand-packed packaging work stage 32. FIG. 5 shows a state in which a group of free trays 4 sent out from the storage / accumulation conveyor 202 on the right end lane of the four branches of the branch discharge conveyor 20 are sent to the hand-packing and packing work stage 32.

The distribution lever device constituting the second linkage switching device 72 is provided on the second track 8 of the relay conveyor 8.
2 (821, 822), and the lever 722 is pivoted about the pivot shaft 721 by a cylinder device or the like (not shown) by the cylinder device or the like (not shown). The free tray 4 is moved straight on the second track 821 and is sent to the machine-packing / packaging work stage 31 when it is in the retracted position. When the free tray 4 is at the moving position, the free tray 4 is moved to the second track 822 on the side of the manually packed and packed work stage 32 and is sent to the manually packed and packed work stage 32.

As described above, in the case of normal use for packing small agricultural products, the free tray 4 is connected to the branch discharge conveyor 20.
From the storage / accumulation conveyor 202 to the machine-packing operation stage 31 of the packaging unit 3 or the manual-packing operation stage 3
2 can be conveyed in a line and packaged.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the following configuration is provided for sorting and sorting large-sized agricultural products, and between the storage / accumulation conveyors 202 of the branch discharge conveyor 20 and the packaging section 3 before and after the free tray 42 in the transport direction. It can always be transported with a predetermined gap.

That is, a total of four storage / accumulation conveyors 202 (2021, 202) of the two branch discharge conveyors 20
2) In a position at a predetermined constant interval along the transport direction,
Air cylinder type stopper 2 which is the same free tray stopping means as described in the configuration of the branch discharge conveyor 21
13 are arranged. In other words, by projecting upward from the transport surface of the storage / accumulation conveyor 212, the transport of the free tray is stopped, and one free tray 42 can be stopped within a range defined by these stoppers 213. Has become. The stopper 21 is provided at the end of each storage / accumulation conveyor 212 in this example.
3, not the above-mentioned linkage switching device 71 for switching the transmission source.
However, the linkage switching device 71 may be replaced with the stopper 213.

Then, each stopper 213 (linkage switching device 7)
1), the stop of the free tray 42 is released by sinking downward from the conveyance surface at the same timing, and the conveyance of each free tray 42 is stopped by the next stopper 213 returning to the protruding state. . Thereby, the transport of the free tray 42 one by one is performed. The operation control of the stopper 213 can be performed by a computer or the like (not shown).

In the present embodiment, the free tray 42 sent out from the storage / accumulation conveyor 212 is conveyed in the order of the first track 81, the second track 822, and the third track 832 of the relay conveyor 8, and the hand-filled packaging work stage Therefore, similarly to the stopper 213 described above, a section for stopping the transfer of the free tray is set in each of the tracks 81, 822, and 832 of the relay conveyor 8, and A stopper 84 is provided for each section, and one free tray 42 stops in these sections.

As described above, in this example, the free tray 42 on which the large-sized agricultural products discharged on the branch discharge conveyor 21 are discharged from the discharge device 201 and waited on the storage / accumulation conveyor 212 from In the entire range of the manual packing work stage, while the conveyance is intermittently stopped, a predetermined gap can always be maintained between the adjacent free tray 42 before and after the conveyance, and the thing before and after the large agricultural product P comes into contact. Then, box packaging can be performed without damaging the package.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the above-mentioned large agricultural products (when the agricultural products come out from the outer shape of the free tray) are manually packed.

The machine-packing and packaging work stage 3 of this example
The packaging section 3 having the packing stage 1 and the packing work stage 32 is constructed as follows.

That is, the machine-packing and packaging work stage 31
Is sent out from a predetermined storage / accumulation conveyor 202 by the operation of the above-described first linkage switching device 71, and the second linkage switching device 72 is set to the retracted position (two-dot chain line in the figure) to pack agricultural products. The free tray 4 transported to the standby position 831 includes an automatic box packing device 311 that performs a box packing operation and peripheral devices related to the automatic box packing device 311.

The group of free trays 4 sent to the above-mentioned boxing position 831 is stopped by the stopper mechanism 312 provided at the end of the boxing standby position 831 to be in a boxing standby state. The stopper mechanism 312 can be configured in the same manner as the first linkage switching device 71, and is switched to a state in which the transport is permitted at the time of completion of the picking of the agricultural product (or at the time when the transport has no trouble after the picking). After the empty free tray 41 is sent out to the return conveyor 51 and a predetermined number is sent out, the subsequent free tray 4 is returned to a state where it is stopped again. The terminal end of the return conveyor 51 is connected to the tray conveyor 52 shown in FIG.

In the packaging section 31 of the present embodiment, the relay conveyer 8 forms a U-shaped conveyance path as described above. I have.

A known robot can be used for the automatic box packing device 311. For example, a work robot having a vertical articulated arm mechanism (hereinafter referred to as “work robot 311”) can be used as the box packing position 831. Can be used as a device that lifts agricultural products P from a predetermined number of free trays 4 arranged in a row on a conveyor and sequentially packs the agricultural products P line by line into a packaging box 6 in which a tray pack is inserted. It is to be noted that the number of boxes to be packed is usually changed depending on the difference in size, and therefore, it is preferable to provide them so as to cope with the difference in the number of boxes.

As described above, for the free tray 4 to which the agricultural product P is sent out so as to correspond to one box, a box packing operation is performed by, for example, the multi-joint type working robot 311 described above.

The operation of the multi-joint type working robot 311 will be described by way of example. First, the working robot 311 attaches the tray pack 1401 for 18 balls (pieces) loaded on the tray pack supply device 14 to the suction cup. 3112
To the position and orientation shown by the solid line in FIG.
The arm mechanism 3111 is operated. At this time, the rotator 1405 of the tray pack supply device 14 places the tray pack 1401 for the 18 balls (pieces) in the box standby position 313 (see FIG. 5).
Are rotated so as to be located in a state close to the state (state in FIG. 5). And the collected tray pack 14
01 moves the arm mechanism of the work robot 311 to the position / posture indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
Is inserted into the packaging box 6.

As described above, at the box standby position 313,
In a state where the packaging box 6 supplied from the packaging box supply device 12 and into which a predetermined tray pack is inserted is on standby, and the free tray 4 containing the agricultural product P is stopped at the packing position 831, the agricultural product P is free. The packing operation of agricultural products by the work robot 311 transferred from the tray 4 to the box is started.

That is, a case of normal use for packing main target agricultural products (small agricultural products) will be described. First, an arm mechanism 311 having a predetermined number of cup hanging bodies 3113 is used.
1 is moved to the position / posture indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, and a row of agricultural products P is sucked and picked up by the suction cup 3112.

Next, the work robot 311 for sucking and suspending the picked-up agricultural products P moves the cup hanging body to the box standby position 313 by controlling the posture of the arm mechanism 3111. In the course of this movement, for example, a pantograph By the operation of the mechanism, the adjacent distance between the row of cup hanging bodies 3113 is changed to a state suitable for packing. On the other hand, the empty free tray 41 in which the agricultural product P has been picked up is retracted by the stopper mechanism 312 and sent out to the return conveyor 51, and the free tray 4 on which the subsequent agricultural product P is loaded is moved to the boxing position 831 and returned. One row of free trays 42 is sent to the standby position by the stopper mechanism 312 for packing the next row. Then, a series of boxing work for each row described above is performed.

The above operation is repeated for a predetermined number of rows, thereby completing the packing operation for one box. After the operation is completed, the box 6 is discharged from the discharge conveyor 121 via the product transfer conveyor 122 to the predetermined position. Is transported to the product accumulation location.

When there are a plurality of arrangement patterns of boxes packed by one work robot 311, a plurality of types of tray packs may be prepared and used in the tray pack supply device 14.

On the other hand, the hand-packing operation stage 32 is configured as follows.

That is, the second track 82 of the relay conveyor 8
The second track 821 linked to the machine-packing and packaging work stage 31 and the second track 822 linked to the hand-packing and packing work stage 32 are adjacently arranged in parallel.

The second trajectory 822 to the hand-packing and packaging work stage 32 extends to the side of the work robot 311 and its peripheral devices as shown in FIG.
Is connected to a third track 832 parallel to the first track 831.

The third track 832 has the same configuration as that of the machine-packing / packaging work stage 31. A stopper mechanism 321 having the same mechanism as the stopper mechanism 312 is arranged to stop the fed free tray 4. And worker 5
00 is manually packed. Reference numeral 322 denotes a work table for the worker, and 324 denotes a box table on which the packaging box 6 is placed for this manual filling operation.

The free tray 4 that has been manually packed is returned to the return conveyor 511 extending to the side of the work robot 311.
And is joined to the above-mentioned return conveyor 51 by the guide bar 512.

The above has described the packaging operation to be performed on the main target agricultural product in which the agricultural product is placed on all the free trays 4 that are continuously conveyed.

On the other hand, in the case of packing the large-sized agricultural products which are waiting in a state where a predetermined gap is left by the operation of the stopper 213 in the storage / accumulation conveyor 202 as described above, the following operation is performed. That is, the large-sized agricultural product-containing free tray 42 is sequentially fed one by one while always keeping a predetermined gap before and after the conveyance, and a series of operations of this feeding, stopping, packing, and discharging the empty free tray 41 after packing to the return conveyor. Is performed basically in the same manner as in the above-described hand-packed packaging work stage.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the agricultural product-containing free tray 42 is conveyed to the packaging section by a section at a time while maintaining a state in which a gap is left and right, and stopped by the stopper mechanism 321 as described above. .

In this example, only the case where large agricultural products are packaged in the manual packing operation stage is shown. However, this large agricultural product can be packed in the machine packaging operation stage 31, and both can be selected. A stopper may be provided at a predetermined position (each relay conveyor 8) at a predetermined interval, and in the process of performing such packaging work,
As described above, the agricultural product-containing free tray 42 on which the large agricultural product P is placed is always intermittently transported with a predetermined gap in the forward and backward directions after being sent out from the branch discharge conveyor 20. 4 does not come into contact, so that the possibility that the large-sized agricultural products P come and go before and after transporting can be reliably prevented.

As described above, according to the apparatus of the present embodiment, the large agricultural product P having a size that sticks out of the outer shape of the free tray 4.
Can be implemented using a series of machinery that performs the normal use of sorting and discharging small agricultural products.

Embodiment 2 This embodiment is shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, and as in Embodiment 1 described above, the third track 853 of the relay conveyor 8 having a flat U-shape is used for the machine-packing and packing work stage and the manual-packing work stage. The third track for the machine-packed packaging work stage and the hand-packed packaging work stage is shared (hereinafter referred to as "shared box standby conveyance path") as compared with the configuration provided at the independent position for each. Different, and also common box standby conveyance path 853
Is characterized in that the machine-packing / packaging work stage 35 is arranged on one side and the hand-packing / packaging work stage 36 is arranged on the opposite side of the shared box standby conveyance path 853.

The automatic box packing device 351 provided on the machine-packing / packaging work stage 35 is placed on standby in the common box standby conveyance path 853 as the cup hanging body 3511 travels in the x and y directions in a horizontal plane. The present embodiment is also different from the first embodiment in that the agricultural product is lifted from the free tray 42 and then packed into the packaging box 6 waiting at a predetermined position.

In addition, the two storage / accumulation conveyors 202 of the branch discharge conveyor 20 are connected to one discharge device (not shown).
Are the same as in the first embodiment, and two of the branch discharge conveyors 20 are linked to one packaging unit.

Therefore, in this example, the points different from the configuration of the first embodiment will be described below, and the same components as those of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

In these figures, relay conveyor 85
Is the Shijo storage and accumulation conveyor 202 (2021, 20
The downstream portion of 22) is a first U-shaped track 851 having a flat U-shape, and the third track 851 is formed in parallel with the first track 851 to form the common package standby transfer path 853.
The track is provided to have a second track 852 that connects the first track and the third track so as to form a vertical U-shaped portion.

The storage / accumulation conveyor 20 described above
In the second embodiment, in order to select the free tray 42 on which the large agricultural products are placed, the first embodiment described above in the first embodiment so that the free tray 42 containing the large agricultural products discharged from the sorting conveyor 1 can wait until a predetermined time. Similarly, stoppers 213 are provided at predetermined intervals.

Further, a stopper mechanism 854 disposed at the end of the common box standby conveyance path 853 for performing the box packing operation.
The above-mentioned relay conveyor 85 which forms a conveying path upstream of the position
The first or third track of each storage / accumulation conveyor 20
A stopper 855 is provided so that a group of free trays 42 sent from the second unit are stopped by being allocated to a section set at a predetermined interval.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a state in which a large agricultural product is packed in a box using the automatic packing apparatus 351 in the sorting apparatus of the present example having the above configuration. In this case, the box packing operation may be performed by repeatedly packing the agricultural products one by one, or by packing a plurality of (for example, two or three in a row) agricultural products P at a time. You may do so.

As described above, the automatic box packing device 351 of this embodiment is provided so that the cup hanging member 3511 can run on the x-direction rail 3514 extending in the x direction in the horizontal plane. Both ends of the x-direction rail 3514 are provided so as to be able to run on a pair of y-direction rails 3515, whereby the cup hanging member 3511 can be moved in the x and y directions. The movement of the cup hanging body 3511 and the control of the stop section are controlled by a control device such as a computer (not shown). The cup hanging body 3511 moved to the predetermined position moves the hanging cup 3513 at the lower end up and down by an air cylinder device incorporated in the hanging rod 3512,
The agricultural product P is sucked up and lifted, or the agricultural product P is released and lifted down.

As described above, the group of free trays 42 sent to the common package standby transfer path 853, which is the third track of the relay conveyor 85, while maintaining a predetermined gap between the front and rear, is kept in a state of progress of the box packing process. In accordance with the above, one section (in the case of a plurality of batch lifting, a plurality of sections) sequentially in the downstream stopper 855 (including the stopper mechanism 854 at the terminal end).
Sent and machine packed.

When performing manual packing for large agricultural products P, the automatic box packing device 351 is retracted to a position where the manual packing operation of the worker 500 is not hindered, and the worker 500 of the work table 361 is placed on the box table 362. The large agricultural product is manually packed in a packaging box 6.

On the other hand, when a small agricultural product is placed on the free tray 4, each of the stoppers 855
(Not including the stopper mechanism 854 at the terminal end) in a state where the free tray 42 is not stopped (in this example, a state where the free tray 42 is immersed below the conveying surface), and the standby in each storage / stacking conveyor 202 is performed. The waiting on the shared box standby conveyance path 853 by sending out from the conveyor is performed.

Therefore, in this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the free trays 42 come into contact with each other before and after the transfer, so that the packing process with a high transfer efficiency can be performed.

[0121]

As described above, according to the method of claim 1 of the present application, for example, an apparatus for performing an automatic machine-packing process for performing a sorting-packing process on a main target agricultural product is conventionally used. Can be used for packing agricultural products that come out from the outer shape of the saucer, which could not be sorted by the same equipment.Furthermore, there are few additional devices and mechanisms to achieve this, greatly reducing the burden of installing equipment. On the other hand, the simple and easy operation provides the effect that the most suitable work mode for packaging each agricultural product can be selected.

Further, according to the present invention, the work of manual stuffing and automatic machine stuffing can be selected in various ways, and various items,
It is extremely effective as a sorting machine that requires different packaging work depending on the product type or sorting category. Through the above, it is a general-purpose system that achieves effective use of the equipment installation area, space saving, and increased layout flexibility. There is also obtained an advantage that the device can be mass-produced as a highly reliable device.

Further, since the large-size agricultural product tray can be transported with a predetermined gap left between the trays and kept on standby, the advantage of not damaging the agricultural products during the free tray type sorting operation can be satisfied. The apparatus or the like prepared for the classification determination can be used as it is, and the sorting apparatus and equipment that have not been used in the past because of the size of the agricultural product and the saucer can be effectively used and the operation efficiency can be improved.

Further, even when the processing method is switched due to a difference in the size of the processing object, such as a small agricultural product in which there is no collision between agricultural products and a large agricultural product in which there is a possibility of collision, the trays having different specifications are also used. Since there is no need for replacement, switching of the processing target can be performed quickly and smoothly.

In addition to the above effects, each invention has the following effects.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, for example, the operation rate of one automatic box packing device can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the processing of small agricultural products and large agricultural products can be switched as required.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, one of the trays alternately joining from the two tray supply paths to the one sorting transport path is always an empty tray, and the other (except for forgetting to put the tray) is always a tray with agricultural products. Therefore, very simply in the supply department,
The state where the empty tray is present between the trays with agricultural products can be ensured.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in consideration of the overall efficiency and equipment cost of the sorting facility, a packing section dedicated to manual filling processing, a packing section dedicated to machine packing processing, or a manual filling processing and machine packing processing. The packaging unit is configured so that you can select
It can be appropriately selected and adopted according to the demands of the fruit sorting place, especially large agricultural products that are often sorted and discharged according to the frequency and amount of processing of large agricultural products or the amount of processing. It becomes easy to design the arrangement of the hand-packed packaging stage for the hand-stuffing process prepared for each of the sorting places according to different requirements.

Further, according to the invention of the agricultural product sorting apparatus according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, similarly to the above-mentioned method invention, the predetermined gap is set so that the large agricultural product on the saucer containing the large agricultural product does not come into contact. The trays can be conveyed and the trays can be kept on standby, so that the advantage of not damaging the agricultural products of the free tray type sorting can be satisfied, and moreover, the device prepared for the sorting classification judgment in the sorting device concerned And the like can be used as it is, and effective use of the sorting device and equipment and improvement of operation efficiency can be achieved.

Furthermore, while the equipment and facilities designed to improve the sorting and sorting efficiency of the main target agricultural products are operated efficiently, the sorting of agricultural products other than the main target is performed using the equipment and facilities. In particular, large-scale agricultural products, which were conventionally considered to be unsuitable for processing using this because they are larger than the standards of the main target agricultural products of the equipment and facilities, It can be used to sort quickly and smoothly.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, a gap between the large agricultural product receiving trays can be reliably ensured by feeding one section or a plurality of sections.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, a packaging section dedicated to machine stuffing, a packaging section dedicated to manual stuffing, or a packaging section which can be used by switching between them as needed, can be efficiently used according to the demands of the sorting place. It is possible to provide a sorting device having a simple configuration.

That is, the agricultural products in the respective sorting sections discharged and stored in the plurality of storage / accumulation conveyors linked to the common packaging unit are discharged in a timely manner according to the storage / accumulation state. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently operate and operate the operation of the automatic stuffing packaging or the manual stuffing packaging in the packaging unit so as to minimize waste.

Further, the machine-packed or hand-packed packaging units can be used by simply switching the transport path, and are provided on a branch discharge conveyor dedicated to machine packing or a branch discharge conveyor dedicated for manual packing. In comparison with the above, since most of the configuration of the branch discharge conveyor can be shared, there is a great advantage such as prevention of increase in installation area and reduction of installation cost.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, at least one of the plurality of wrapping parts can be stuffed by machine and stuffed by hand, which facilitates designing according to the demands of the sorting place. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall outline of an agricultural product sorting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a case where large-sized agricultural products are packaged in the packing section dedicated to manual filling work in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a case where small agricultural products are packaged in the packing section dedicated to manual filling work in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a line of a branch discharge conveyor having each of a mechanically packed and a manual packed packing operation stage of the agricultural product sorting device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a partial plan view of the agricultural product sorting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which a large agricultural product is packaged in each of the mechanical and manual packing operation stages.

FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a partial plan view when packaging small agricultural products with the apparatus of FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sorting conveyor, 2 ... Sorting part, 3 ... Packaging part, 5 ... Barcode reader, 6 ... Packaging box, 5
0,500: worker, 51: return conveyor, 52: tray supply conveyor, 53: tracking detection device, 54: imaging device, 55: bar code reader, 57 ...・ Agriculture supply conveyor, 71 ・
..First link switching device, 72 ... Second link switching device, 20, 21 ... Branch discharge conveyor 201 ... Discharge device 2111 ... Exciting section 2012, 2013 ... Excitation releasing section 202 (2021, 2022) ··· Storage / stacking conveyor 213 ··· Stopper 3 ··· Packing unit 31 ··· Machine packing and packaging work stage 311 ··· Automatic box packing device (work robot) 3111 ··· Arm Mechanism 3112 ・ ・ ・ Suction cup 3113 ・ ・ ・ Cup suspension 312 ・ ・ ・ Stopper mechanism 313 ・ ・ ・ Box standby position 32 ・ ・ ・ Hand packed packaging work stage 321 ・ ・ ・ Stopper mechanism 322 ・ ・ ・ Work table 324 ・ ・・ Box stand 325 ・ ・ ・ Packing position 3251 ・ ・ ・ Stopper for packing standby 3252 ・ ・ ・ Elevator 35 ・ ・ ・ Machine packing work stage 351 ・ ・ ・ Own Moving box packing device 3511 ... Cup hanging body 3512 ... Hanging rod 3513 ... Suction cup 3514 ... X-direction rail 3515 ... Y-direction rail 36 ... Hand-filled packaging work stage 361 ... Work Table 362 ・ ・ ・ Box stand 361 ・ ・ ・ 4 ・ ・ ・ Free tray 41 ・ ・ ・ Empty free tray 42 ・ ・ ・ Free tray with agricultural products 8 ・ ・ ・ Relay conveyor 81 ・ ・ ・ First track 82 (821, 822) ) Second track 83 (831, 832) third track 84 stopper 12 feeding device 14 for packaging box 14 tray feeding device 71 first switching of linkage Mechanism 72: second linkage switching mechanism 721: pivot axis 722: lever 85: relay conveyor 851: first track 852: second track 853: third track (Shared box Stand-by conveying path) 854 ... stopper mechanism 855 ... stopper

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Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A large number of trays on which agricultural products are placed are conveyed in a line at predetermined intervals on a sorting conveyor, and during the transportation, sorting of the agricultural products on the trays is determined by measuring means,
Based on the determination result, the agricultural product is selected from one of a plurality of branch discharge conveyors to which the sorting division is assigned, and the tray is discharged for each tray, and the agricultural product on the discharged tray is packed on the downstream side of each branch discharge conveyor. In the method for sorting agricultural products to be packaged in the above, the trays are conveyed in a line in a range from the branch discharge conveyor to the packaging unit, and are placed on the tray in the transport path of the packaging unit from these branch discharge conveyors. A method for sorting agricultural products, wherein each of the trays can be stopped at each stop section set at intervals in the row direction so that the agricultural products do not come into contact with each other. 2. The stop discharge section according to claim 1, wherein the stop section set to stop the tray is a group of branch discharge conveyor stop sections that are configured to sequentially stop a plurality of trays on the branch discharge conveyor. The plurality of trays sent from the branch discharge conveyor stop section group are divided into two groups, a packing section stop section group configured to sequentially stop the plurality of trays in the packaging section, and one packaging section stop section group. Wherein a tray group is selectively sent out from a plurality of branch discharge stopping section groups. 3. The tray according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the trays stopped at each stop section of the transport path of the packaging section from the branch discharge conveyor are sequentially fed one by one to the stop section on the downstream side of the transport at the same timing. A method for sorting agricultural products, characterized in that: 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The trays conveyed from the branch discharge conveyor on the transport path of the packaging unit can be switched between a state in which the trays are arranged in a line in the column direction without a gap, and a state in which the trays are stopped in a stop section set in the column direction and are spaced with a gap. A method for sorting agricultural products, characterized in that: 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A method for sorting agricultural products, wherein the packaging process of the agricultural product in the packaging section is performed by either manual packing or mechanical packing, or these processes are selectably provided. 6. The large agricultural product according to claim 5, wherein the stop is made in a stop section set in the row direction and the trays are lined up with a gap therebetween, wherein the agricultural products protrude outside the planar outer shape of the tray. A method for sorting agricultural products, characterized in that: 7. A sorting conveyor for transporting a large number of trays not connected to the conveyor in a line from a supply portion on the transport starting end side for loading agricultural products to a sorting discharge position on the transport end side, and a sorting conveyor for the sorting conveyor. Measurement determination means for measuring the sorting of agricultural products in the middle of the transport, and a plurality of branch discharge conveyors that are sequentially branched and connected to the sorting conveyor at the sorting discharge position along the transport direction and transport the trays in a line, Discharge means for discharging the trays loaded with the agricultural products of the sorting categories corresponding to the sorting categories assigned to each branch discharge conveyor to the corresponding branch discharge conveyor, and to each branch discharge conveyor for packing the agricultural products on the discharged trays. An agricultural product sorting device comprising: a packaging unit having a connected packaging conveyor; and a branch discharge conveyor from the sorting discharge unit to a packaging unit. A plurality of stop sections are sequentially set at intervals in the column direction so that the agricultural products placed on the tray do not come into contact with each other on the transport conveyor for packaging that constitutes the feed path, and the tray is stopped at each of these stop sections A stop means for stopping and a feed control means for controlling the stop-stop release by the stop means in order to feed the stopped trays one by one to a stop section on the downstream side of the conveyance in sequence and sequentially. Produce sorting equipment. 8. A stop means for stopping a tray in each stop section according to claim 7, wherein the stop-stop release control controls a plurality of trays to be sequentially fed one or more sections with a gap therebetween, and a stop state. An agricultural product sorting apparatus characterized by being provided so as to be switchable between a state in which a plurality of trays are continuously released and a plurality of trays are sent without leaving a gap. 9. The branch discharge conveyor according to claim 7 or 8, wherein a pool unit for stacking and waiting the trays in a line is provided on the branch discharge conveyor, and a plurality of the branch discharge conveyors can be selectively fed to one packaging unit. An agricultural product sorting device, which is linked so that it can be operated. 10. The agricultural product sorting apparatus according to claim 7, wherein at least one of the packaging units connected to the branch discharge conveyor has a hand-packed packaging stage and a machine-packed packaging stage. .