JP2000312861A - Automatic preparing and sorting apparatus of welsh onion - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prepare and sort a Welsh onion efficiently at a higher speed. SOLUTION: A pretreatment line 2 having a root cutting means 4 and an unnecessary leaf peeling means 5 and a post treatment line 3 having an unnecessary leaf removing means 6, a sorting means 7 and a fractionating discharge means 8 are provided. A plurality of the pretreatment lines 2 are allowed to meet with one post treatment line and an arranging conveyor 12 wherein arranging parts charging Welsh onions 1 on the arranging belts 12a moved in the feed direction of the post treatment line 3 one by one are formed at a constant interval and a hanging feed conveyor 13 wherein receiving belts 13a holding the leaf parts of Welsh onions to feed them along the post treatment line 3 and pressing belts 13b are arranged so that the start end parts of the belts 13a, 13b are positionally shifted are arranged to the confluent part 11 of the lines 2, 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically preparing and sorting white onions, which automatically performs preparation (root cutting, peeling, leaf cutting) and grade sorting in the collection and shipping of white onions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional onion processing apparatuses include, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-108657.
Supply the green onions sequentially and manually, root cutting, peeling off unnecessary leaves,
Some cut the leaves. Also, JP-A-10-146
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 180, a batch process of performing a peeling operation for each piece is performed.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, there is a problem that the entire processing speed cannot be increased because it takes time particularly for stripping and removing unnecessary leaves. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an automatic white onion preparation and sorting apparatus capable of improving the processing speed.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a pretreatment line having root cutting means and unnecessary leaf peeling means, unnecessary leaf removing means, sorting means, and sorting and discharging means. And a plurality of pre-processing lines are merged into one post-processing line, and the merging portion is placed on the alignment belt moved in the conveying direction of the post-processing line, one by one. An alignment conveyor in which alignment portions into which green onions are introduced is formed at regular intervals, and a hanging and conveying conveyor having a receiving belt and a holding belt for holding the upper part of the white onion and conveying the green onion along a post-processing line are arranged. It was established.

[0005] According to the above arrangement, pre-processed white onions from a plurality of pre-processing lines are transferred to one line via an alignment conveyor.
Since it is supplied to this post-processing line, the entire processing speed can be significantly improved by arranging the root cutting means and unnecessary leaf peeling means which require time in the pre-processing line,
Preparation and sorting can be performed efficiently. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above configuration, the alignment conveyor is disposed so as to be inclined such that the lower part of the white onion is at a lower level, and a regulating guide means for positioning the white onion is provided at a lower part of the alignment conveyor. The suspension conveyor is provided with a diverting portion where the receiving belt and the presser belt are twisted from the inclined position along the arranging conveyor to the vertical position near the exit of the arranging conveyor, and below the diverting portion. And a guide member for guiding the white onion.

[0006] According to the above construction, each of the white onions can be positioned with reference to the lower end by the regulating guide means by inclining the alignment conveyor, and the belt of the suspended conveyance conveyor is twisted and the guide member is used. By guiding the white onion, it is possible to smoothly change from the inclined posture to the hanging posture, and the white onion is not damaged.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, the pretreatment line is provided with an ascending / descending transport path perpendicular to an alignment belt of an alignment conveyor, and a white onion is held down at regular intervals along the ascending / descending transport path. An onion elevating / lowering transporting means, and a pair of peeling guide plates arranged on the upper side of the white onion on both sides of the elevating / lowering transporting path so that unnecessary leaves are exposed to the outside from an unnecessary leaf space therebelow. The lower edge of the white onion is inclined such that the peeling edge of the lower edge is closer to the lower part of the white onion, and / or the guide bottom plate for guiding the lower end of the white onion is inclined upward so as to be lower. A peeling air nozzle for jetting high-pressure air toward the white onion is provided at the edge.

According to the above construction, a pair of peeling guide plates are arranged in the lifting / lowering transport path, and the white onion and the peeling edge are brought closer to each other as they descend, whereby the peeling edge is peeled off and the lower outer side of the guide plate. Unnecessary leaves can be effectively peeled off by blowing high pressure air from the peeling air nozzle while pressing against the base of the unnecessary leaves extending to the bottom.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an automatic white onion preparation / sorting apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the white onion 1 extends from the soft part 1b, the leaf part 1a extending upward from the soft part 1b, the stem part 1c at the root of the soft part 1b, and the stem part 1c as a product. It consists of root hair 1d and unnecessary leaf 1e which is removed at the time of shipment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, this automatic preparation and sorting apparatus comprises a pretreatment line 2 having a root cutting means 4 and an unnecessary leaf peeling means 5, an unnecessary leaf removing means 6, a sorting means 7 and a sorting and discharging means. And a post-processing line 3 having means 8. A plurality of (three in the figure) preprocessing lines 2 having a low processing speed are joined to one postprocessing line 3 having a high processing speed.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 6, and 7, a conveyer drive motor (not shown) with a speed reducer guides a guide roller at a junction 11 where the pre-processing line 2 merges with the post-processing line 3. 12e, the pre-processing line 2 is placed on the alignment belt 12a moved in the conveying direction of the post-processing line 3.
An alignment conveyor 12 in which alignment portions 12b into which the white onions 1 are put one by one is formed at regular intervals. As shown in FIG. 6, the alignment portion 12b may be a plurality of (two in the figure) alignment projections 12c which are provided at regular intervals on the surface of the alignment belt 12a.
As shown in FIG. 0, a semi-cylindrical alignment recess 12f having a bottom 12g, which is a regulating guide member, may be provided at regular intervals on the surface of the alignment belt 12a. Further, a regulating plate 12d, which is a regulating guide member for regulating the position of the lower end of the white onion 1 and aligning it, is provided below the aligning belt 12a.

Above the aligning conveyor 12, a hanging conveyor 13 for holding the leaves 1a of the white onion 1 and conveying the same along the post-processing line 3 is provided. The starting end of the receiving belt 13a of the receiving belt 13a and the holding belt 13b of the hanging and conveying conveyor 13 driven by the motors is arranged so as to coincide with the starting end of the alignment belt 12a. The starting end of the presser-side belt 13b is displaced in the vicinity of the front end of the holding belt 13b. Further, the alignment conveyor 12 is inclined at a predetermined angle α in the width direction so that the lower part of the white onion 1 is lower.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a plurality of (three in FIG. 3) pretreatment lines 2 carry-in conveyors, which are ascending and descending conveying means for feeding the white onion 1 onto an alignment belt 12a of an alignment conveyor 12. 21 </ b> A and 21 </ b> B are provided along the elevating transport path 14, respectively. This vertical transport path 14
Is perpendicular to the alignment belt 12a, the leaf portion 1a of the white onion 1 is inclined at an inclination angle 90 ° -α, which is higher, and the white onion 1 is inclined at an inclination angle α on the alignment belt 12a. It is configured so that it can be put in. Loading conveyor 21
A and 21B are sprockets 22 at the upper end and the lower end.
A pair of left and right endless chains 23 wound in the vertical transport direction are provided with columnar receiving members 24 projecting at a constant pitch, and the white onion held by the receiving members 24 by a drive motor (not shown) is moved up and down the transport path. It is configured to be conveyed downward at a predetermined speed along 14.

Here, α is shown as 30 ° in the figure,
α is preferably in the range of 20 ° to 40 °, which is 2 °.
If it is less than 0 °, the pressing force of the stem portion 1c against the guide bottom plate is insufficient, and if it exceeds 40 °, poor conveyance tends to occur downward. In the pre-processing line 2, a pair of peeling guide plates 25, 25 parallel to each other on both sides of the white onion 1 are arranged below the upper loading conveyor 21A along the elevating conveyance path 15, and the lower loading conveyor 21B. A pair of intermediate guide plates 26 and a pair of lower guide plates 27 parallel to each other on the upper and lower sides are arranged along the elevating transport path 15, and guide the stalk 1 c of the white onion 1 to the lower edge of the lower guide plates 26. A bottom plate 28 is attached. And
The lower edge of the peeling guide plate 25 is formed on the peeling edge 25a in the inclined direction approaching to the lower part of the white onion 1 as the lower position, and the high-pressure air is jetted toward the white onion 1 at the peeling edge 25a. A plurality of air nozzles 29 are arranged at regular intervals. In addition, the guide bottom plate 28 is inclined so that the lower part thereof approaches the upper part of the white onion 1.

Accordingly, while the white onion 1 is inserted between the guide members 25, 26, 27, the unnecessary leaves 1e
Is peeled out of the unnecessary leaf space 30 between the guide plate 25 and the intermediate guide plate 26, so that the peeling edge of the peeling guide plate 25 is at the base of the unnecessary leaf 1e of the white onion 1 lowered by the vertical conveyor 21. At the same time as the portion 25a is gradually pressed, the white onion 1 is gradually lifted by the guide bottom plate 28, and high-pressure air is blown from the air nozzle 29 to the root of the unnecessary leaf 1e. Thereby, the unnecessary leaf 1e is reliably peeled off from the soft white portion 1b. Here, both the peeling edge 25a and the guide bottom plate 28 are brought close to each other, and the root of the unnecessary leaf 1e is peeled off and pressed against the edge 25a, but either one may be used.

The pretreatment line 2 is provided with a root hair cutter device 31 and a stalk cutter device 32 constituting the root cutting means 4. This root hair cutter device 31
Is provided with a slit portion 28a in which a number of slits are formed in a guide direction in a guide bottom plate 28 at an entrance portion, and a disk cutter 31b which is rotated and driven by a drive motor 31a facing the bottom portion is provided. Part 28
It is possible to cut and remove the root hair 1d coming out of a. The stalk cutter device 32 includes, for example, a soft white portion diameter sensor 33 including a photoelectric switch, a holding roller 34, a disk cutter 32b with a drive motor 32a, and a cylinder or an actuator that moves the disk cutter 32b with the drive motor 32a up and down. And a position adjusting device (not shown).

If the cutting position of the stem portion 1c of the onion 1 is too high, the sheath tube of the soft part 1b grows. On the other hand, if it is too low, the root hair 1d grows and the product value is lowered. Need to cut the position. Therefore, in the present invention, the soft part 1 of the white onion is detected by the soft part diameter sensor 33.
Calculate the diameter A of the soft white part 1b from the time when b interrupts the optical axis,
From the function formula B = α × A + β (where α and β are constants statistically obtained), the position adjusting device is operated based on the calculated value to position the cutting position of the stem 1c by the cutter disk 32b. Is configured.

The suspended and conveyed conveyor 13 is pressed against each other at an appropriate pressure by a holding roller 13c disposed on the back of the receiving side belt 13a and the pressing side belt 13b, which are driven synchronously by a conveyor driving motor 13d with a speed reducer. As shown in FIG. 7, a turning portion 41 is twisted from an inclined posture to a vertical posture by a guide roller 13c near an outlet of the alignment conveyor 12, as shown in FIG. Is formed. At this time, white onion 1
A curved guide rod 42, which is a guide member that guides the lower portion of the housing to prevent damage or drop due to shaking, is disposed.

As shown in FIG. 7, the unnecessary leaf removing means 6 disposed downstream of the diverting section 41 is vertically installed along the horizontal transport path 15 with a certain interval on both sides of the white onion 1. A pair of guide covers 43, 43 are provided, and a removal air nozzle 44, which is disposed above the guide covers 43, 43 and blows high-pressure air obliquely downward, respectively. Therefore, when the white onion 1 hung by the hanger conveyor 13 and hung and conveyed along the horizontal conveyance path 15 reaches the unnecessary leaf removing means 6, the guide cover 4
Unnecessary leaf 1e hanging down from air nozzle 44 between three
High-pressure air is blown toward the white onion 1, and the unnecessary leaves 1e can be effectively removed from the white onion 1. At this time, the high-pressure air is blown in the space blocked by the guide cover 43, so that the high-pressure air reflected by the guide cover 43 effectively acts on the unnecessary leaves 1e, and the removed unnecessary leaves 1e are also removed from the guide cover 43. And is dropped on the unnecessary leaf discharge conveyor 45 below, so that it does not fly around. The suspended conveyor 13 is set so as to be held by the unnecessary leaf removing means 6 with such a frictional force as not to fall.

The sorting means 7 disposed downstream of the unnecessary leaf removing means 6 images one white onion 1 one by one or a plurality of CCD cameras 51, and the sorting control device 52 converts the white onion 1 from this image. The length, bend, scratches and the like of the soft white portion 1b are recognized, and each white onion 1 is classified and sorted by grade. Further, the separation and discharge means 8 on the downstream side thereof
Are provided with discharge conveyors 53A to 53D and sorting cutter devices 54A to 54D respectively disposed above the discharge conveyors 53A to 53D. These sorting cutter devices 54A
8 to 9, a passing sensor 56 for detecting the passage of the white onion 1 on the upstream side and a driving motor 5
The disk cutter 58 is provided with a disk cutter 58 that is driven to rotate by the cutter 7 and a cutter retracting device (such as an air cylinder) 59 that moves the disk cutter 58 into and out of the horizontal transport path 15. When the passage of the target white onion 1 is detected by the passage sensor 56 based on a signal from the separation control device 52, the cutter retracting device 59 is driven, and the disk cutter 58 is protruded to the horizontal transport path 15. The leaves 1a of the target white onion 1 are cut to discharge the respective conveyors 53A-53.
Can be discharged to 53D. Further, the discharge conveyors 53A to 53D are inclined such that the downstream side is lower, and a guide hopper 60 is disposed below the horizontal transport path 15 so that the fallen white onion 1 is positioned downstream. Can be received and discharged.

A collection box 61 for receiving the remaining portion of the cut leaf portion 1a is disposed at the end of the suspended transport conveyor 13. In the above configuration, at the entrance of the pretreatment line 2, the white onion 1 is supplied to the carry-in conveyors 21 </ b> A and 21 </ b> B of each of the elevating / lowering transport paths 14 by the operator, and the unnecessary leaves 1 e are peeled out of the peeling leaf space 30. And inserted between the guide members 25, 26, and 27. Then, when the white onions 1 are lowered by the carry-in conveyors 21A and 21B, first, the root hair 1d protruding from the slit portion 28a of the guide bottom plate 28 is cut and removed by the root hair cutter device 31. Next, the white onion 1 is pushed up by the guide bottom plate 28, and at the same time, the peeling edge 25a of the guide plate 25 is removed.
Is peeled off and pressed against the root of the unnecessary leaf 1e, and high-pressure air is blown from the air nozzle 29 to the root of the unnecessary leaf 1e.
Peeled off. Next, in the stem cutter device 32, the soft part 1 of the white onion 1 measured by the soft part diameter sensor 33 is used.
The position adjusting device is operated based on the diameter A of B, and the cutter disk 32b cuts an appropriate position of the stem 1c corresponding to the diameter of the soft white portion 1B.

Further, at the confluence section 11, the white onion 1 is sequentially fed from each of the carry-in conveyors 21A and 21B to a predetermined aligning section 12b of the aligning conveyor 12. When the aligning belt 12 is moved, the leaves 1a of the white onions 1 of the aligning section 12b are moved to the receiving side belt 1 of the hanging and conveying conveyor 13.
3a and the pressing-side belt 13b,
5 is transferred.

The turning portion 4 at the exit of the alignment conveyor 12
1, the receiving side belt 13a and the holding side belt 13b are twisted, and the lower part of the white onion 1 is guided by the guide rod 42, so that the white onion 1 is suspended from the inclined position along the alignment belt 12 in the vertical direction. Is changed to Then white onion 1
Comes between the guide covers 43 of the unnecessary leaf removing means 6,
High-pressure air is blown from the air nozzle 44 toward the root of the unnecessary leaf 1e hanging downward, and the unnecessary leaf 1e is removed from the soft white portion 1b.

Next, in the sorting means 7, each white onion 1 is CC
The white onion 1 is picked up by the D camera 51 and sorted by the classification control device 52. Then, according to a signal from the separation control device 52 in the separation and discharge unit 8,
When the target white onion 1 passes above the predetermined discharge conveyors 53A to 53D, the passage is detected by the passage sensor 56, the cutter retracting device 59 is driven, and the disk cutter 58 cuts the leaf 1a. Then, it is discharged to target discharge conveyors 53A to 53D.

According to the above embodiment, the preprocessed white onion 1 is supplied from the plurality of preprocessing lines 2 to one postprocessing line 3 via the alignment conveyor 12.
By arranging the root cutting means 4 and the unnecessary leaf peeling means 5 which require time in the pretreatment line 2, the entire processing speed can be greatly improved, and the preparation and separation can be performed efficiently.

Further, by inclining the receiving belt and the holding belt of the alignment conveyor 12 by α ° in the width direction,
Each white onion 1 can be positioned with reference to the lower end by the regulating plate 12d. In addition, the suspended conveyor 1
By twisting the third belts 13a and 13b and guiding the lower part of the white onion 1 with the guide rod 42, it is possible to smoothly change from the inclined position to the suspended position, without damaging the white onion 1. .

Further, in the pre-processing line 2,
A pair of peeling guide plates 25 are arranged, and the peeling edge 25a is pressed against the root of the unnecessary leaf 1e of the white onion 1 by descending. At the same time, by blowing high-pressure air from the peeling air nozzle 29, the unnecessary leaves 1e can be effectively peeled off.

[0028]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, pre-processed white onions are supplied from a plurality of pre-processing lines to one post-processing line via an alignment conveyor. By arranging the root cutting means and the unnecessary leaf peeling means that require a long time, the overall processing speed can be greatly improved, and the processing can be efficiently selected.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by tilting the alignment conveyor in the width direction, each white onion can be positioned with respect to the lower end by the regulating guide means. And the guide member guides the white onion, whereby the inclined posture can be smoothly changed to the suspended posture without damaging the white onion.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, a pair of peeling guide plates are arranged in the lifting / lowering transport path, and the white onion and the peeling edge are brought closer to each other as they descend, thereby peeling the peeling edge. The unnecessary leaves can be effectively peeled off by being pressed against the roots of the unnecessary leaves extending downward and outside the guide plate and blowing high-pressure air from the peeling air nozzle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall process diagram showing an embodiment of an apparatus for automatically preparing and sorting white onions according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of partial names of white onions.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a pretreatment line of the automatic preparation / sorting apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a pretreatment line of the automatic preparation / sorting apparatus.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views illustrating the steps of unnecessary leaf peeling means in a pretreatment line.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an alignment conveyor of the automatic preparation / sorting apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a merging portion and a turning portion of a line of the automatic preparation / sorting apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a partial plan view illustrating a separation / discharge unit of the automatic preparation / sorting apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a separation / discharge unit of the automatic preparation / selection apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the alignment conveyor of the automatic preparation / sorting apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 White onion 1a Leaf part 1b Soft white part 1c Stem part 1d Root hair 1e Unnecessary leaf 2 Pre-processing line 3 Post-processing line 4 Root cutting means 5 Unnecessary leaf peeling means 6 Unnecessary leaf removing means 7 Sorting means 8 Separating means 11 Merging part 12 Alignment conveyor 13 Suspended conveyance conveyor 14 Elevation conveyance path 15 Horizontal conveyance path 21A, 21B Loading conveyor 24 Receiving member 25 Peeling guide plate 28 Guide bottom plate 29 Peeling air nozzle 31 Root hair cutter device 32 Stem cutter device 33 Soft white part diameter sensor 41 Change Direction 42 Guide rod 43 Guide cover 44 Air nozzle for removal

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3F079 AC23 BA12 CA18 CA21 CA24 CA42 CB30 CC01 DA12 DA18 EA08 4B061 AA02 BA03 BB09 BB10 BB13 BB19 CB02 CB16 CB22 CB23 CB25

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pre-processing line having a root cutting means and an unnecessary leaf peeling means, a post-processing line having an unnecessary leaf removing means, a sorting means, and a sorting and discharging means, wherein the plurality of pre-processing lines are one. An alignment conveyor in which alignment portions are formed at regular intervals, where the alignment portions into which the white onions are fed one by one on an alignment belt moved in the conveyance direction of the post-processing line. An automatic white onion preparation / sorting device, comprising a receiving and conveying conveyor having a receiving side belt and a presser side belt for nipping the upper part of the white onion and conveying it along a post-processing line. 2. The aligning conveyor is arranged so that the lower part of the white onion is inclined and the guide means for regulating the white onion is arranged at the lower part of the aligning conveyor. A turning portion is provided near the outlet of the aligning conveyor so that the receiving belt and the presser side belt are twisted from an inclined position along the aligning conveyor to a vertical position, and a guide member for guiding a white onion is provided below the turning portion. 2. The automatic onion preparation / sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 3. A pre-processing line, comprising: an elevating transport path perpendicular to an alignment belt of an alignment conveyor; and a onion elevating transport means for holding and lowering white onions at regular intervals along the elevating transport path. The unnecessary leaf peeling means is disposed on the upper part of the white onion on both sides of the ascending / descending transport path, and peels off a pair of peeling guide plates from which unnecessary leaves are exposed to the outside from the unnecessary leaf space below. The lower edge is inclined so as to approach the lower part of the white onion, and / or the guide bottom plate for guiding the lower end of the white onion is inclined so as to be pushed upward and lower, and these peeling edges are directed toward the white onion. 2. A peeling air nozzle for jetting high-pressure air by pressurization.
Or the apparatus for automatically preparing and sorting white onions according to 2.