JP2001009778A - Unnecessary part cutting device of farm product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce labor of work, and to increase efficiency by accurately and surely peforming work for cutting off an unnecessary part of farm products by arranging a cutting means for cutting a cutting part of the farm products on the basis of a judgment by a discriminating means. SOLUTION: Preprocessed farm products A are placed on placing parts 12 of a carrier conveyor 2 by a mechanical means or an artificial means, and a root part Aa of the farm products A is carried by being placed in a state of projecting outside from a reference line B of a side part of the carrier conveyor 2. An image of the root part Aa of the farm products A is picked up by an image pickup camera 21 of a judging device 4, and a cutting part of the farm producrs A is discriminated by a device body on the basis of the image data. Since the root part Aa is accurately cut by a cutting device 5 on the basis of a judgment by the judging device 4, work for cutting off an unnecessary part can be simply and easily performed. Since cutoff work can be mechanically performed, labor of cutoff work can be reduced, and efficiency can be increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for cutting unnecessary portions of agricultural products, such as leek, leek, and spinach, which are used for cutting off unnecessary portions (roots, ridges) of the agricultural products.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when the leek of the above-mentioned example is shipped, for example, after the soil adhering to the root of the leek is washed away with water or the epidermis (rough skin) is peeled off, unnecessary roots and ridges of the leek are removed. There is a method of cutting off with a cutting tool, bundling a plurality of leeks into one, and performing shipping processing.

[0003]

However, since the above-mentioned green onion is easily bent and it is difficult to mechanically cut off unnecessary parts, the roots of the green onion must be cut off one by one by hand. If the number of shipments is large, the cutting operation takes time and effort.

[0004] In addition, the portion of the leek to be cut is visually determined by the operator's eyes. However, since the judgment criteria differ depending on the skill of the operator, the difference in the cutout size is large and it is difficult to cut off only the unnecessary portion. There is a problem that is.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention cuts off a portion of a crop to be cut by a cutting means based on the judgment by the discriminating means, thereby accurately and reliably cutting off unnecessary portions of the crop. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for cutting unnecessary parts of agricultural products, which can save labor and improve efficiency.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
On the transport path of the transport means for transporting the crop, a determining means for determining a portion of the crop to be cut, and a cutting means for cutting the portion of the crop to be cut based on the determination by the determining means are provided. It is an unnecessary part cutting device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, a portion to be cut of the crop is corrected to a state in which the portion to be cut of the crop is aligned substantially straight along the transporting means before the determining means. It is a device for cutting unnecessary portions of agricultural products provided with an aligning means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the transporting means and the cutting means are moved to a position where the portion of the crop to be cut and the cutting means face each other. It is a device for cutting unnecessary parts of agricultural products provided with relative moving means.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for cutting unnecessary portions of a crop, on a transport path of a transport means, which determines a portion of the crop to be cut, and a portion of the crop which is to be cut based on the determination by the determiner. By providing cutting means for cutting the crop, it is possible to accurately cut the portion of the crop to be cut by the cutting means based on the judgment by the discriminating means, and to cut off unnecessary portions (for example, roots and ridges) of the crop. Work can be performed easily.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for cutting unnecessary portions of agricultural products, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, which corrects a portion of the agricultural product to be cut into a substantially straight state along the conveying means. By providing the means, the part to be cut of the crop can be accurately determined by the determination means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the unnecessary portion cutting device for crops relatively moves the conveying means and the cutting means so that the cutting means is provided at a portion of the crop to be cut. By providing relative movement means for facing each other,
Only unnecessary portions of crops can be accurately removed.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the portion to be cut of the crop is cut accurately by the cutting means based on the judgment by the discriminating means, so that the unnecessary portion of the crop can be easily and easily cut off. In addition, since the unnecessary portion can be mechanically cut off, labor and efficiency of the cutting operation can be reduced.

In addition, since the portion of the crop to be cut is corrected to be substantially straight by the aligning means and conveyed, the portion to be cut of the crop can be accurately determined by the determining means, and the determination accuracy can be improved. Can be improved.

Further, since the transporting means and the cutting means are relatively moved to make the cutting means face the portion of the crop to be cut, errors in cutting are small and only unnecessary portions of the crop are accurately cut off. Can be.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The drawings show an apparatus for cutting unnecessary parts of a crop used for an operation of cutting off unnecessary parts of a crop. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus 1 for cutting unnecessary parts of a crop is composed of a pre-processing step and a post-processing step. A supply process a, an alignment process b, and
An inspection step c and a cutting step d are set.

The pre-stage of the supply step a is connected to a pre-treatment step of, for example, washing off soil and mud adhering to the root Aa of the crop A with water and peeling off the epidermis (rough), and is conveyed by, for example, a conveyor. The pre-processed agricultural products A (for example, green onions) are aligned and placed on the conveyor 2 in a posture (horizontal posture) substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction by mechanical means such as suction, holding or clamping.

Further, instead of the mechanical means described above, the placing operation may be performed by artificial means such as placing the agricultural product A by the hand of a worker waiting at the side of the supply step a.

In the aligning step a, the root A of the crop A is
a is arranged on the side of the conveyor 2 so as to be aligned substantially straight along a reference line B virtually set. In the inspection step b, the portion of the crop A to be cut is adjusted. A determination device 4 for determining is provided, and in the cutting step c, an unnecessary portion (root portion A) of the crop A is determined based on the determination by the determination device 4.
A cutting device 5 for cutting off a) is provided, and the subsequent stage of the cutting step c is connected to a post-processing step of shipping or storing the crop A from which unnecessary parts (roots) have been cut off.

In the above-mentioned conveyor 2, a circling chain 11 is stretched between sprockets 10 and 10 pivotally supported at a start end and an end, and a concave mounting portion 12 (equipped between the circulating chains 11). For example, trays, cups, buckets, etc.) are placed at a predetermined interval (approximately 30
(Pitch of 0mm).

The motor 13 with a speed reduction function, which is disposed at the lower end on the end side, includes sprockets 13a, 13a and a chain 13
By rotating the circling chain 11 in the transport direction via the line b, the placing parts 12 are continuously (or simply) circulated at a predetermined speed (for example, about 50 mm / min). In addition, you may change the space | interval and speed of the mounting part 12 as needed.

The mounting portion 12 is formed, for example, in a substantially V-shape when viewed from the side, and holds the crop A mounted in the valley portion in a posture substantially orthogonal to the transport direction. Then, the root portion Aa of the crop A is held in a mounted state in which the root portion Aa protrudes outside the side edge of the mounting portion 12 (a state in which the root portion Aa comes into contact with the alignment belt 15 described later). Further, the crop A may be transported while being held by holding means such as a chuck or an arm.

The above-mentioned aligning device 3 is provided with a roll 1 at the beginning and end of a mounting frame 15 laid on the side of the conveyor 2.
6, the alignment belt 17 stretched between the rolls 16, 16 is moved along the reference line B set on the side of the conveyor 2 to the crop A placed on the placement unit 12. Root A
It is erected facing a.

A motor 18 with a speed reducer fixed to the upper end on the end side of the mounting frame 15 rotates the aligning belt 17 through the sprockets 18a, 18a and the chain 18b in the transport direction substantially in synchronization with the transport conveyor 2 (see FIG. 1). Or rotating at different speeds). The placing section 12 and the aligning belt 17
And the angle of the alignment belt 17 may be changed as necessary.

The above-mentioned alignment belt 17 is formed to have a belt width in contact with the root portion Aa of the crop A placed on the mounting portion 12, and protrudes the start end of the alignment belt 17 outward from the reference line B. The ground A is separated from the root Aa of the crop A placed in the state so that the root Aa does not come into contact with the root Aa.
The distance between the roots Aa of the crops A is regulated in a state where the roots Aa of the crops A are aligned substantially straight (or a state where the roots Aa protrude to have substantially the same dimensions). The angle is set so that the interval gradually decreases from the start end to the end.

As an alignment means instead of the alignment belt 17, for example, a root Aa of the crop A is aligned with an alignment plate (not shown).
May be arranged in such a manner that they come into contact with and project to substantially the same dimensions.

When the root Aa of the crop A is located inside the reference line B, the root Aa of the crop A can be moved outside the reference line B by means of a corrector such as a pusher, a clamping arm, an adsorber, or manually. To a state where they project or are almost the same.

The above-described determination device 4 is provided with a light-shielding box 20.
Is disposed above the side edge of the transport conveyor 2 so as to face the root Aa of the crop A conveyed along the reference line B, and the root A of the crop A is provided above or inside the light-shielding box 20.
An image pickup camera 21 (for example, an image pickup means such as a CCD camera and a picture element) is provided so as to be opposed to a.

The illuminator 22 provided in the light-shielding box 20
The light (e.g., a halogen lamp, an ultraviolet lamp, or the like) emits light of a luminance or a type that makes it possible to clearly distinguish (shade) a necessary part and an unnecessary part of the crop A.

The imaging camera 21 is a device main body 23 (and other related equipment) for determining a portion of the crop A to be cut.
The apparatus main body 23 compares the image data captured by the image capturing camera 21 with the discrimination data stored in advance, and determines a portion of the crop A to be cut, for example, a necessary portion of the crop A (a white portion in color). Is determined to be a portion that should be cut approximately at the middle of the unnecessary portion (black root portion).

Further, the address or the time lag until the mounting portion 12 reaches the cutting position d is counted, and when the mounting portion 12 on which the agricultural product A corresponding to the determination is moved to the cutting position d, Based on the determination, the rotary blade 25 of the cutting device 5 described later is horizontally moved.

Also, based on the above-described determination, data on a recording medium (for example, a bar code, an IC, a magnetic card) attached to the mounting portion 12 is read, or data is recorded on the recording medium. The rotary blade 25 of the cutting device 5 may be moved horizontally.

As an alternative to the imaging camera 21, the cut portion of the crop A may be determined based on detection by a detection unit such as a photoelectric sensor, a limit switch, or the like. For example X
Lines, ultraviolet rays, irradiate the root Aa of the crop A with radiation or rays suitable for discrimination of infrared rays, etc., and determine the cut portion of the crop A by the difference in transmittance, reflectance, density, etc. of the radiation or rays. Is also good.

In the cutting device 5 described above, the rotary blade 25 is pivotally supported on the front side of a mounting frame 26 erected on the side of the conveyor 2, and a motor 27 with a deceleration function fixed to the rear surface side of the rotary blade 25. It is directly connected to the center and rotates at a predetermined speed. In addition, as a means in place of the rotary blade 25, for example, cutting may be performed by a cutting means including a fixed blade and a movable blade.

The lower end of the mounting frame 26 is fixed to a movable base 28 provided at the lower part of the apparatus, and a motor 29 with a movement amount detecting function connected to the movable base 28 is based on the determination by the determination apparatus 4 described above. The rotary blade 25 is moved in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and a predetermined moving amount (millimeter) is set at a position opposed to a portion of the crop A to be cut (substantially intermediate between a white portion and a black root portion). Horizontal movement in units).

At the bottom or side of the device, the resected root Aa
A collection unit (for example, a collection box and a collection bag) for charging the wastewater is provided. Note that, instead of the motor 29, the rotary blade 25 may be moved back and forth by driving means such as a solenoid and an air cylinder.

The protective cover 30 fixed to the mounting frame 26
Has a shape that allows horizontal transport of the crop A placed on the placement unit 12, and is formed in a size to cover substantially the outer periphery of the rotary blade 25. And guide it towards you.

The illustrated embodiment is constructed as described above, and the operation of cutting off the root Aa of the crop A (for example, green onion) by the above-mentioned unnecessary part cutting device 1 will be described below. First, after performing pretreatments such as washing off soil adhering to the root portion Aa of the crop A with water and peeling off rough skin, FIGS. 1 and 2
As shown in (a), in the supplying step a, the pre-processed agricultural products A are placed on the mounting portions 12 of the transport conveyor 2 by mechanical means or artificial means, and the roots A of the agricultural products A
a is placed and transported so as to protrude outward (left side) from the reference line B on the side of the transport conveyor 2.

Next, in the alignment step b, the root Aa of the crop A is brought into contact with the alignment belt 17 of the alignment device 3 so that the root Aa is aligned substantially straight along the reference line B. At the same time, the portion of the crop A to be cut is supplied directly below the imaging camera 21 disposed on the reference line B.

Next, in the inspection step c, as shown in FIG.
a, and a portion of the crop A to be cut is determined by the apparatus main body 23 based on image data captured by the imaging camera 21.

Next, in the cutting step d, as shown in FIG. 4, when the mounting portion 12 on which the crop A is mounted is moved, the rotation of the cutting device 5 is performed based on the determination by the device main body 23. The blade 25 is moved to a position facing the portion of the crop A to be cut, and the roots Aa of the crop A protruding from the side of the mounting portion 12 are cut off (for example, three roots per second). Further, the number of cut crops A may be set to, for example, three or more or less.

The excised root Aa is dropped into a collecting section (for example, a collecting box or a collecting bag) and collected periodically. The crop A from which the root Aa has been cut off is supplied to a post-processing step which is connected to the end side of the conveyor 2 or installed at another location.

As described above, since the root Aa of the crop A is accurately cut by the cutting device 5 based on the judgment by the judging device 4, the operation of cutting the unnecessary portion of the crop A can be performed easily and easily. In addition, since the unnecessary portion can be mechanically cut off, labor and efficiency of the cutting operation can be reduced.

Further, the root Aa of the crop A protruding from the side of the mounting portion 12 is brought into contact with the alignment belt 17 of the aligning device 3 so that the cut portion of the crop A is substantially straightened along the side of the conveyor 2. Since the conveyance is corrected in the aligned state, the part to be cut of the crop A can be accurately determined by the determination device 4, and the determination accuracy can be improved.

Further, since the rotary blade 25 of the cutting device 5 is moved to a position opposite to the portion of the crop A to be cut placed on the mounting table 15 and cut, the cutting error is small and the crop A Only the unnecessary portions can be accurately removed.

FIG. 5 shows the mounting portion 15 of the conveyor 2
Another example in which the cutting device 5 moves in a direction facing the rotary blade 25 is shown. Based on the determination made by the above-described determination device 4, the placing portion 15 on which the crop A is placed is replaced with, for example, a solenoid or an air cylinder. The horizontal movement is performed by the moving device 31 such as a motor, and the cut portion of the crop A is cut off by the rotary blade 25 fixed at a fixed position, so that substantially the same operation and effect as the above-described embodiment can be obtained. Note that the entire conveyor 2 may be moved horizontally.

In the correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment, the transporting means of the present invention corresponds to the transporting conveyor 2 and the placing section 12 of the embodiment. 3 and the alignment belt 17, the determination means corresponds to the determination device 4 and the imaging camera 21 and the apparatus main body 23, the cutting means corresponds to the cutting device 5 and the rotary blade 25, and the relative movement means A movable table 28, a motor 29,
Although the unnecessary portion of the crop corresponds to the moving device 31 and corresponds to the root Aa of the crop A, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

By replacing the above-mentioned mounting portion 15 with a mounting portion having a structure suitable for holding the crop in a fixed posture corresponding to, for example, agricultural products having various types and shapes, various types of agricultural products can be obtained. It can also be used to cut off unnecessary parts (root, shin).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a cutting operation of an unnecessary part cutting device for agricultural products.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a cutting operation by the unnecessary part cutting device.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a discriminating operation by the discriminating device.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an operation of horizontally moving a rotary blade of the cutting device to perform cutting.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing another embodiment in which the mounting table is horizontally moved and cut.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A: Agricultural crop Aa: Root 1: Unnecessary part cutting device 2: Transport conveyor 3: Alignment device 4: Judging device 5: Cutting device 12: Placement unit 17: Alignment belt 21: Imaging camera 23: Device body 25: Rotating blade

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Eiichi Takahashi 1-32 Chayacho, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka F-term in Yanmar Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd. 3F081 AA08 AA46 BC04 BC07 BF11 CC06 DA02 DA10 DA11 EA09 EA10 4B061 AA02 BA01 BA03 BB09 BB10 BB13 CB05 CB13

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A transporting means for transporting crops,
An unnecessary crop cutting device, comprising: a discriminating means for discriminating a portion of the crop to be cut; and a cutting means for cutting the cut portion of the crop based on the judgment by the discriminating means. 2. A crop cutting device according to claim 1, further comprising an aligning means provided at a stage preceding said discriminating means for correcting a portion of said crop to be cut to be substantially straightened along said transport means. apparatus. 3. The cutting of unnecessary portions of agricultural products according to claim 1, further comprising relative moving means for moving said conveying means and said cutting means to a position where a portion of said crop to be cut and said cutting means are opposed to each other. apparatus.