JP2001086969A - Cleaning apparatus for fruit and vegetable - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning apparatus for fruits and vegetables enabling the excellent cleaning of fruit vegetables while transferring them in a state where they take postures as stable as possible, and enabling the loaded transfer in a state where the fruit vegetables are arranged in a file one by one. SOLUTION: A transfer apparatus performing the loaded transfer of fruit vegetables along a transfer/work path including a cleaning section. The apparatus is provided with plural rollers 12, which are arranged parallelly or almost parallelly with a specified interval along a rotary path, and rotationally driven along the rotary path. Each of the plural rollers 12 is formed in a middle-thin state in which the size of the roller becomes gradually smaller from the large diameter parts at both the ends of the shaft to the central part in the shaft direction, and it is constructed in such a manner that it can be rotationally driven around the shaft center. Rotary brushes 15 cleaning the surfaces of the fruit vegetables transferred in a loaded state are rotationally driven in a state where the centers of the rotary shafts are placed in the transferring direction so that both the sides and the upper parts of the fruit vegetables can be cleaned.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to, for example, tomatoes,
Persimmons, pears, apples, peppers and other fruit and vegetable cleaning equipment, specifically, a transport device for placing and transporting fruits and vegetables along a transport action path including a cleaning action location, and placed and transported at the cleaning action location The present invention relates to a fruit and vegetable cleaning device provided with a rotating brush for cleaning the surface of the fruit and vegetable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the above-described apparatus, for example, chemicals such as a disinfectant and dust may adhere to the surface of harvested fruits and vegetables. It is intended to make it clean. As a first conventional technique in this kind of fruit and vegetable cleaning apparatus, for example, an apparatus as shown in FIG. 10 has been put into practical use. That is, a plurality of rotating brushes 60 are provided in parallel or substantially parallel at intervals of a set interval, and each of the plurality of rotating brushes 60 is driven to rotate in the same direction, and fruits and vegetables transported by the transport conveyor 61. However, fruits and vegetables are sequentially conveyed in a predetermined direction while passing over each of the rotating brushes 60, so that the rotating brush 60 exerts a cleaning action on the surface of the fruits and vegetables.

As a second prior art, for example, FIG.
1, there was also a configuration as shown in FIG. That is,
A pair of narrow endless rotating belts 62 and 63 are provided so as to be driven to rotate in the same direction at appropriate intervals, and are positioned between the pair of endless rotating belts 62 and 63. A plurality of pushing rods 64 that move in a direction opposite to the belt moving direction are provided at a set pitch while being driven by an endless rotating chain 65, and the fruits and vegetables T are placed on the pair of endless rotating belts 62 and 63. The endless rotating belts 62 and 63 that move and move in the opposite direction while pushing and moving the intermediate position of the fruits and vegetables in the vertical direction by the rollers 66 provided at the tip of the pushing rod 64 while being placed and supported. The transport device is configured to transport the fruits and vegetables while forcibly rotating around the horizontal axis, and the fruits and vegetables T that are placed and transported while being forcibly rotated around the horizontal axis as described above. Clean the side In order to operate, a pair of left and right rotating brushes 67 and 68 are provided so as to be rotationally driven with their rotating shafts oriented in the transport direction (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 47-43276). ).

[0004]

In the structure of the first prior art, fruits and vegetables are conveyed while rolling over the rotary brush as the rotary brush rotates, so that the surface cleaning action by the rotary brush is achieved. May not move to the lower side of the conveyance without being fully exerted, and the cleaning effect of the rotating brush on the fruits and vegetables may not always be exerted over the entire circumference of the fruits and vegetables, and the cleaning function may be sufficient. There was nothing.

[0005] In the configuration of the second prior art, the fruits and vegetables are forcibly rotated around the horizontal axis as described above,
By cleaning with a pair of left and right rotating brushes,
Although the cleaning action by the rotating brush can be reliably performed over almost the entire outer peripheral portion of the fruits and vegetables, the fruits and vegetables are supported and placed on a pair of narrow endless rotating belts as shown in FIG. Because of the transporting configuration, for example, since the load of fruits and vegetables is concentrated and received at the edge of the narrow endless rotating belt, the fruits and vegetables are damaged at that location, or provided on the pushing rod. There is a disadvantage in that the pressing force concentrates on the portion where the pressing action is made by the roller, and there is a risk of damaging the fruits and vegetables in this portion. In particular, relatively soft fruits and vegetables such as ripe tomatoes may be damaged.

In the second prior art, at the starting point of the conveying path of the pair of endless rotating belts, at a suitable timing, a supply point located on the lower side of the conveying of each of the pushing rods is moved. It is necessary to ensure that fruits and vegetables are placed and supplied so as to be in a column shape one by one, but when such supply is performed automatically, for example, a state in which the fruits and vegetables are discharged from a container or the like and conveyed in a dense state The structure becomes complicated, for example, it is necessary to provide an automatic supply device having a complicated structure to supply fruits and vegetables to the supply points on the lower side of the transport of the pushing rods at appropriate intervals one by one. There is a disadvantage of increasing costs. In the case where fruits and vegetables are placed and supplied to the transfer start end of the transfer operation path by the pair of endless rotating belts by hand, there is a disadvantage that the work load on the operator is increased.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to reliably perform a cleaning action while placing and transporting fruits and vegetables in a state where the posture is as stable as possible without damaging the fruits and vegetables. It is another object of the present invention to provide a fruit and vegetable cleaning apparatus that can easily supply fruits and vegetables to the transporting action path so that the fruits and vegetables are placed and transported one by one in a row.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transport device for loading and transferring fruits and vegetables along a transporting operation path including a cleaning operation location, and a loading device at the cleaning operation location. In a fruit and vegetable cleaning apparatus provided with a rotating brush that cleans the surface of the fruit and vegetables being conveyed,
The transport device is configured to include a plurality of rollers that are arranged in parallel or substantially parallel at set intervals along a rotation path including the transport operation path and are driven to rotate along the rotation path, Each of the plurality of rollers is formed in a medium-thin shape having a gradually decreasing diameter from the large-diameter portion at both ends in the axial direction toward the center in the axial direction, and is driven to rotate around the axial center. Be composed. And the rotating brush,
The rotating shaft is rotated and driven in a state where the rotating shaft is oriented in the conveying direction by the conveying device, and is provided so as to clean both lateral portions and upper portions of the fruits and vegetables to be mounted and conveyed.

The fruits and vegetables supplied to the transporting action path of the transporting device are placed so as to be located in a recessed portion between a pair of rollers arranged at a predetermined interval so as to straddle them, and
Each roller will be smoothly guided toward the outer peripheral surface at the center in the axial direction located below the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion at both ends in the axial direction, even if the size varies. The sheet is conveyed in a state where it is placed in a stable posture at a position on the center side in the axial center direction of the concave portion between the pair of rollers.
Further, as each roller is driven to rotate along the rotation path, the roller is driven to rotate around the axis, so that the roller is placed so as to straddle a pair of rollers arranged at a set interval as described above. The fruits and vegetables transported in the placed state are also rotated around the horizontal axis by the sliding contact action with the rollers.

Therefore, fruits and vegetables are placed and conveyed while being supported by a plurality of rollers which are formed in a medium-thin shape and are arranged in parallel or almost in parallel at predetermined intervals, and the fruits and vegetables are rotated with the rotation of the rollers. Since the vegetables are rotated around the horizontal axis, there is little possibility that the fruits and vegetables are damaged due to the pressing force being concentrated on a part and the fruit vegetables are damaged as much as possible, as in the configuration of the second prior art. The fruits and vegetables can be placed and transported in a stable posture without any problem.

In addition, even when fruits and vegetables are supplied in a dense state, for example, to the starting end of the transporting action path, and fruits and vegetables are supplied while being overlapped with each other at the starting end of the transporting action path, each of the rollers is controlled by the rollers. The fruits and vegetables are also rotated around the axis and the fruits and vegetables are also rotated, so that the overlapping state of the fruits and vegetables is broken, and the fruits and vegetables are displaced from each other back and forth along the transport direction. Classes are conveyed in a state of being placed and supported one by one in a row. For the fruits and vegetables that are placed and conveyed one by one in a state of being as stable as possible by the conveying device, the rotating brush turns the rotation axis of the fruits and vegetables in the conveying direction by the conveying device. It is driven to rotate in this state to clean both sides and upper portions of the fruits and vegetables placed and transported. At this time, since the fruits and vegetables are rotating around the horizontal axis as described above, as a result, the fruits and vegetables are appropriately cleaned over almost the entire circumference.

As a result, it is possible to reliably perform the cleaning action over substantially the entire outer peripheral portion of the fruit and vegetable while placing and transporting the fruit and vegetable in a state where the posture is as stable as possible without damaging the fruit and vegetable as much as possible. It has been possible to provide a fruit and vegetable cleaning apparatus that can easily supply fruits and vegetables to the transporting action path so that the fruits and vegetables are placed and transported one by one in a row.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the transport device includes a plurality of rows of the rollers arranged in a width direction of the rotation path, and the fruits and vegetables are arranged in each row. Are arranged and transported separately, and the rotating brush is provided so as to clean the fruits and vegetables transported in each row.

Fruits and vegetables are placed and conveyed separately in each of a plurality of rows arranged in the width direction of the rotation path, and a rotating brush is applied to the fruits and vegetables conveyed in each row. Since the cleaning action is performed, the operation can be performed more efficiently as compared with a configuration in which the fruits and vegetables are placed and transported by the transport path of only one row as a configuration in which the cleaning action is performed simultaneously in a plurality of rows.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, as the rotating brush, the left and right sides of the fruit and vegetables to be placed and conveyed when viewed in a direction along the conveying direction of the conveying device. A pair of left and right rotating brushes is provided at a position above the unit.

[0016] Since the two lateral sides and the upper part of the fruits and vegetables placed and conveyed by the pair of rotating brushes are cleaned, the rotating brushes are provided on both left and right sides.
It is possible to clean the fruits and vegetables that are placed and transported almost evenly from the left and right sides, and it is easy to exert the cleaning action in a stable state with less bias, and there is little risk of disturbing the transport posture of the fruits and vegetables .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, each of the pair of rotating brushes rotates so as to act while rotating upward on the fruits and vegetables to be placed and conveyed. It is provided in the state where it does.

For example, when the rotating brush acts on fruits and vegetables while rotating downward, the fruits and vegetables are sandwiched between the rotating brush and the conveying device, and the fruits and vegetables are damaged by the rotating force of the rotating brush. However, since each of the pair of rotating brushes acts while rotating upward on the fruits and vegetables, the cleaning action can be exerted in a state where the fruits and vegetables are less likely to be damaged.

According to a fifth aspect, in the third or fourth aspect, each of the pair of rotating brushes is
When viewed in the direction along the transport direction of the transport device, the position of the fruits and vegetables to be placed and transported as described above is provided to be freely changeable in the left-right direction.

For example, even if fruits and vegetables having different sizes in the width direction are different from each other, the position of the axis of each rotating brush is not changed so that an appropriate cleaning action can be exerted on any of them. In addition, it is conceivable to adopt a configuration in which a plurality of types of rotating brushes having different brush bristle lengths can be easily replaced. However, in this case, the number of components is large, and replacement work becomes troublesome. Therefore, by configuring the pair of rotating brushes so that the position of the rotating brush can be adjusted in the left-right direction with respect to the fruits and vegetables, the above-described disadvantages can be avoided, and appropriate cleaning can be performed for fruits and vegetables of different sizes. It became possible to exert the effect.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the third to fifth aspects, each of the pair of rotary brushes is provided so as to be capable of adjusting a position change along a vertical direction.

For example, even in the case of fruits and vegetables having different sizes in the vertical direction, the position of the axis of each rotating brush is not changed so that an appropriate cleaning action can be exerted on any of them. In addition, it is conceivable to adopt a configuration in which a plurality of types of rotating brushes having different brush bristle lengths can be easily replaced. However, in this case, the number of components is large, and replacement work becomes troublesome. Therefore, by configuring the rotating brush so that the position of the rotating brush can be adjusted in the vertical direction, it is possible to effectively exert a cleaning effect on fruits and vegetables of different sizes while avoiding the disadvantages described above. Becomes

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, at least an outer peripheral surface of each of the rollers is formed of an elastic body, and the rotary brush is formed of a synthetic resin material. Have been.

Since the outer peripheral surface of each roller is made of an elastic material, for example, even if the roller is dropped and supplied from the transport means in the previous process at the transport start end of the transport action path, Fruits and vegetables are less likely to be damaged. In addition, since the rollers are driven to rotate, even if the overlapping fruits and vegetables fall and move, there is little possibility of damage.

Further, since the rotating brush is made of a synthetic resin material, for example, if moisture adheres to the surface of the fruits and vegetables being placed and conveyed, such moisture adheres to the brush. Even if it is made of a synthetic resin material, it is easily removed without absorbing such moisture. As a result, the following fruits and vegetables are cleaned in a state where moisture remains, and the possibility of attaching moisture to the dried fruits and vegetables and causing them to easily rot by water is avoided. You can do it.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the rotary brush is operated to reciprocate over a set range along the transport direction of the transport device by the reciprocating operation means. It is provided in the state where it is.

For example, if the rotating brush performs a cleaning operation in a state where it does not move along the transport direction, the cleaning operation is performed only by a rotation operation around an axis along the transport direction. Since the reciprocating operation is performed in the transport direction, in addition to the cleaning action by the above-described rotation operation, the cleaning action by the reciprocating movement in the transport direction is added, and the cleaning action on fruits and vegetables is more reliably performed. Will be done.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to eighth aspects, the transporting action path in the transporting device is closer to the transporting direction than the cleaning action area by the rotary brush. And a pre-processing conveyance area is provided, and the pre-processing conveyance area is formed in an inclined shape for moving each of the rollers obliquely upward, and fruits and vegetables are placed and conveyed in the pre-processing conveyance area. A pre-cleaning rotary brush for cleaning the upper part of the class is provided so as to be rotationally driven with its rotation axis oriented in a direction orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the transport direction.

Since the pretreatment conveyance area located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction from the cleaning action area is formed in an inclined shape for moving each roller obliquely upward, for example, a fruit vegetable is provided at the start end side of the conveyance action path. Are supplied, for example, in a dense state,
Even in the case where fruits and vegetables are supplied while being overlapped with each other at the start end side of the transport action path, the fruits and vegetables overlap while the rollers are moving diagonally upward in the pretreatment transport area. Will be destroyed. Moreover, since the preliminary cleaning rotary brush is provided in the pretreatment transport area, the upper portion of the fruits and vegetables is preliminarily cleaned, and the rotationally driven rotary brush enables
The overlapping of the fruits and vegetables is broken, the overlapping of the fruits and vegetables is broken and the fruits and vegetables are placed one by one, and the fruits and vegetables are placed and transported toward the cleaning action site. As a result, the fruits and vegetables can be placed and conveyed in a state of being arranged one by one toward the cleaning operation site, and the cleaning operation by the rotating brush can be executed.

[0030]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an example in which a fruit and vegetable cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a tomato sorting facility as an example of fruit and vegetables will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a schematic configuration of a fruit selection facility for tomato T, which is an example of fruits and vegetables. The fruit sorting equipment includes a load receiving unit 1 for receiving and processing tomatoes T harvested by a producer and stored in a container C, and a container to which the container C is tilted so that the tomato T is transported by a transport conveyor described later. 2. An auto damper 2 for discharging the fruits, a purifier 3 as a purifying device of the present invention for purifying the tomatoes T while transporting the fruits and vegetables by an image pickup means such as a CCD camera.
It is configured to include a class determination unit 4 that performs class determination based on image information, a box packing unit 5 that performs box packing in a state where sorting is performed based on the result of the class determination by the class determination unit 4, and the like. . The boxed tomatoes T will be shipped.

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic damper 2 transports the container C in which the tomatoes T are stored on the conveyer 6 for receiving the cargo, and is transported to the position where the substantially U-shaped holding frame 7 is located. By rotating the holding frame 7 about the horizontal axis X1 with the driving force of the damper electric motor 8 while holding the container C, the container C is tilted and the stored tomato T is removed. It is configured to be discharged onto the conveyor 9 of the purifier 3. Tomato T
Is released and the empty container C is recovered and
It is designed to return to the receiving section 1.

The auto damper 2 is provided with a container C
The holding frame may be rotated 90 degrees or more so that all the tomatoes T can be released.
For example, in the case of fruits and vegetables, such as ripe tomatoes T, which have a soft surface and are easily damaged, the operator manually removes the fruits and controls the rotation angle to about 45 degrees and places it on the conveyor 9. May be transferred.

Next, the purifier 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be described. The purifier 3 is provided with a transport conveyor 9 as a transport device for placing and transporting the fruits and vegetables. While the tomato T is placed and transported by the transport conveyor 9, the surface of the tomato T is cleaned by a plurality of rotating brushes. It is configured to be. The conveyor 9
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, a plurality of shaft bodies 11 are erected and supported at set intervals over endless rotating chains 10, 10 wound and stretched on both sides in the conveying width direction, respectively. A plurality of (four in the example shown in FIG. 5) rollers 12 are externally fitted to these shafts 11, and the endless rotating chains 10, 10 are driven to rotate by an electric motor 13 for conveyance. It is configured such that the tomato T can be placed and transported by the plurality of rollers 12. The roller 12 is entirely made of a rubber material as an elastic body so that the roller 12 is less likely to be damaged by an impact as much as possible when the roller 12 is discharged by the auto damper 2. Moreover,
As shown in FIG. 5, each roller 12 is formed in a medium-thin shape having a gradually decreasing diameter from the large-diameter portion at both ends in the axial direction toward the center in the axial direction. For example, as shown in FIG. It is configured such that the tomato T can be placed and conveyed while being stably supported at a recessed portion between the pair of rollers 12 located before and after in the conveyance direction and at the center side in the axial center direction.

Accordingly, the transport conveyor 9 constitutes a transport path for placing and transporting the tomatoes T by arranging the rollers 12 in parallel or almost in parallel at predetermined intervals along the rotation path. Moreover, the rollers 12 are provided so as to be arranged in four rows in the path width direction of the rotation path, and the tomatoes T are individually loaded and conveyed in each row.

The transport conveyor 9 has an inclined shape in which the rollers 12 are moved obliquely upward from the transport start end position in the transport operation path where the tomato T is released by the auto damper 2 toward the lower side in the transport direction. Is provided with a pre-processing conveyance area A1 formed in the above. in this way,
By providing the inclined conveyance region, even if the tomatoes T discharged densely by the auto damper 2 may be conveyed in an overlapping manner, the tomato T is placed and conveyed along an oblique direction. Such overlapping of the tomatoes T is broken and leveled, and as much as possible, the tomatoes T are placed one by one on each of the four rows of rollers 12 in a row.

At the end of transport in the pretreatment transport area A1, a pre-cleaning rotary brush 13 for cleaning the upper portion of the fruits and vegetables placed and transported has its rotating shaft center perpendicular to the transport direction. Alternatively, two rotating brushes 13 for pre-cleaning are provided so as to be driven to rotate in a direction substantially orthogonal to each other, and are arranged in a line along the transport direction. The vertical position can be changed and adjusted according to the size of the class and the like.
Further, at the transport end side portion in the pre-processing transport area A1, the rollers 12 are slidably contacted with the rollers 12 so that the rollers 12 are driven to rotate with the rotation of the endless rotating chains 10, 10. A sliding member 14 that slides on the roller 12 is provided along the movement path of each roller 12.
In other words, as each roller 12 rotates, as shown in FIG. 3, the tomato T placed on each roller 12
Are also rotated, and even if they are placed in an overlapping state, they are broken down and guided one by one so as to be placed and transported in a tandem state. Therefore, in the transport end side portion in the preprocessing transport area A1, in addition to the above-described leveling action by the preliminary cleaning rotary brush 13, the leveling action by the rotation of the roller 12 is also exerted, and this is more reliably achieved. The tomatoes T are conveyed toward the lower side of conveyance while being placed and conveyed one by one in a row state.

On the downstream side of the pre-processing conveyance area A1, a cleaning action area A2 for performing a cleaning action by a rotating brush while placing and conveying the tomato T in a substantially horizontal direction is formed. In this cleaning action area A2, the rotating shaft is rotated and driven in a state where the rotation axis is directed in the transport direction by the transport conveyor 9, so that the both side portions and the upper portion of the tomato T placed and transported are cleaned. When viewed in a direction parallel to the transport direction, the rotating brush 15 is provided in a state where the rotary brush 15 is disposed at an upper location on both left and right sides of the tomato T to be placed and transported. Then, as described above, the rotating brush 15 cleans the tomatoes T conveyed in each of the conveyance rows along the four rows of conveyance paths constituted by the rollers 12, that is, A total of five rotating brushes 15 are provided so as to be located on both left and right sides of the tomato T in each transport row. In this embodiment, the rotating brush 15 located in the middle of each transport row is configured so as to be used in common for the tomatoes T in a pair of transport rows located on both sides thereof so as to clean them.

The rotating brush 15 is made of a material which hardly absorbs moisture and which is easily drained off even if moisture adheres thereto. Specifically, it is made of a synthetic resin material having water repellency, for example, a nylon resin or a polyester resin. Further, an exhaust fan 16 for suctioning and discharging the dust generated at the cleaning action location to the outside is provided above the cleaning action area A2. It is configured so that the cleaning action can be performed in a small amount.

The rotary brushes 15 are provided so as to be reciprocated by the reciprocating operation means B over a set range along the conveying direction of the conveyor 9.
Moreover, each of the rotating brushes 15 is configured to be capable of adjusting the position along the vertical direction. In detail, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of rotating operation shafts 18a and 18b are provided at right and left side wall portions 17 and 17 at positions above the cleaning action area A2 at appropriate intervals along the transport direction of the transport conveyor 9. Cantilevered operation arms 19a, 19b are integrally provided on the longitudinally opposite ends of each of the rotation operation shafts 18a, 18b. An elevating frame 20 formed in a rectangular frame shape in a plan view is pivotally connected to the distal end side. Note that the rotary brushes 15 are supported by the lifting frame 20.

Then, by manually rotating the rotating handle 21 which is positioned on the lateral outer side of one of the side wall portions 17 and is rotatable around an axis X2 along the transport direction of the transport conveyor 9. A worm gear-type operation mechanism 22 is provided, in which the rotation operation shafts 18a and 18b rotate in the same direction to move the elevating frame 20 up and down in parallel. That is, by manually rotating the rotation handle 21, the operation mechanism 2
2 worm 22a and the worm gear 22 meshing therewith
b, the respective rotation operation shafts 18a, 18b connected to the worm gear 22b rotate, and the operation arm 19
The vertical position of the elevating frame 20 pivotally supported at the distal ends of the a and 19b, that is, the vertical position of each of the rotary brushes 15 can be integrally changed and adjusted. By using the worm gear type operation mechanism 22 as described above,
The lifting position of the lifting frame 20 is maintained at the adjustment position at that time without providing any special rotation preventing means while adopting the swing operation type position adjustment structure.

Each of the rotating brushes 1 is mounted on the lifting frame 20.
5 is reciprocally supported over a set range along the transport direction of the transport conveyor 9. That is, the upper sides of the brackets 23, 23, which support both ends of the rotary shaft 15a of the rotary brush 15 in the axial direction, are connected by the rods 24, and the rods 24 are connected to the lifting frame 20.
Are supported by the pair of insertion support portions 25 formed in the horizontal direction while maintaining the horizontal posture and supporting the weight and slidably movable in the transport direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rods 24 of the three rotary brushes 15 of the two rotary brushes 15 located at both ends in the conveying width direction and the rotary brush 15 located at the center are respectively formed by the rods 24. The two rotating brushes 15 connected to each other by one connecting rod 26,
4 are connected by a second connecting rod 27. And, a crank type reciprocating operation mechanism 29 operated by an electric motor 28 for reciprocating operation provided in a fixed state on the lifting frame 20,
Accordingly, a balance swing arm 30 that is reciprocally swinged around the vertical axis Y is provided. Both ends of the balance swing arm 30 and the first connecting rod 26 and the second connecting rod 27 are respectively provided. It is pivotally connected via links 31 and 32. Therefore, when the electric motor 28 is rotationally driven, the balance swing link 30 swings back and forth within the set range, and the first connecting rod 26 and the second
The connecting rod 27 slides in the opposite direction to each other, and the adjacent rotating brushes 15 reciprocate in the opposite direction along the transport direction over a set range. Accordingly, the reciprocating operation means B is constituted by the electric motor 28 for reciprocating operation, the crank type reciprocating operating mechanism 29, the link mechanism for connection, and the like.

Each of the rotary brushes 15 is driven to rotate in the same direction by a brush electric motor 33 provided separately. Also, each rotating brush 15
The configuration is such that it can be easily replaced with one having a different external dimension or a different brush hardness according to the difference in size and type of fruits and vegetables to be cleaned, for example, the difference in surface hardness.
For example, when the ripe tomato T is targeted and when the peppers are targeted, the size and the hardness of the surface are different, so it is necessary to use a rotating brush having different specifications. To describe the configuration, an end of the rotation support shaft 15a on the electric motor 33 side is engaged with the drive shaft 33a of the electric motor 33 so as to be slidable in the axial direction and to be capable of transmitting torque. At the other end of the rotary support shaft 15a, a shaft support member 34 is slidably provided with respect to a cylindrical portion 36 provided on the bracket 23, and is tightened and fixed by a knob bolt 37, and the knob bolt 37 is loosened. The pivot support member 34 is slid outward so that the rotation support shaft 15a can be easily removed.

At the cleaning action point, each roller 12 is configured to rotate around its own axis in accordance with the transport drive of the transport conveyor 9. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a rubber rolling wheel 38 is provided on the end side of the shaft body 11 on which each of the rollers 12 is mounted, and as the transport conveyor 9 is operated to rotate. The sliding contact member 39 is fixedly installed so that the rolling wheel 38 slides and rolls. Each of the rollers 12 is connected to the shaft 1
1 and is fixed to each shaft 11 as the conveyor 9 is driven to be conveyed, that is, as each roller 12 revolves. Each roller 12 is driven to rotate (rotate) in the same direction.

Therefore, the tomato T placed and transported on each roller 12 is placed in a recessed portion between a pair of rollers 12 arranged at a set interval along the transport direction and placed so as to straddle them. And is transported in a state where it is placed in a stable posture at the center side of each roller 12 in the axial center direction.
At the cleaning action point, the tomatoes T placed by rotating each roller 12 in the same direction are also rotated around the horizontal axis by the sliding contact action. as a result,
As shown in FIG. 5, the rotating brushes 15 located on both left and right sides
As a result, both sides and the upper part of the tomato T are cleaned, so that the rotation about the horizontal axis of the tomato itself as described above is added, so that the tomato T can be accurately removed over almost the entire outer peripheral part of the tomato T. A cleaning action can be performed. In addition, when applied to fruits and vegetables T having different sizes, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, when cleaning fruits and vegetables having a small diameter, the upper and lower positions of the rotary brushes 15 are changed and adjusted to lower side. And even small fruits and vegetables can effectively exert a cleaning action.

The tomato T passing through the above-mentioned cleaning action point is
The paper is discharged from the transport end onto the discharge conveyor 40 and is placed and transported to the next process (equivalent class determination unit). In the return path of the transport conveyor 9, a cleaning rotary brush 41 for removing dust and the like adhering to the rollers 12 is provided.

The drive speed of the transport electric motor 13 and each of the brush electric motors 33 can be changed and adjusted by a control configuration such as an inverter control. The transfer speed of the transfer conveyor 9 and each rotating brush 1 according to the type of
The cleaning operation can be performed in a state where the rotation speed of No. 5 is changed to an appropriate speed. For example, fruits and vegetables having a relatively hard surface and a lot of dirt can be dealt with by performing the cleaning action slowly at a low conveying speed with a high rotation speed of the rotating brush 15. In addition, fruits and vegetables having a relatively soft surface and a large amount of dirt can be handled by transporting the rotating brush 15 at a low speed while reducing the rotation speed of the rotating brush 15 at a low speed to reduce the risk of damage. If there is little dirt,
This can be dealt with by making the rotation speed of the rotating brush 15 low and transporting it at a high speed.

[Other Embodiments] Other embodiments will be listed below.

(1) In the above embodiment, in a configuration in which fruits and vegetables are individually loaded and conveyed in a plurality of rows, the rotating brush 15 located in the middle of the fruits and vegetables in each row is located on both sides thereof. Although the configuration is such that the fruits and vegetables in each row are shared so as to clean both of them, instead of such a configuration, for example, as shown in FIG. A pair of rotating brushes 15 may be provided one by one, and the pair of left and right rotating brushes 15 may be configured to clean only the fruits and vegetables in the row. Moreover, in this configuration,
It is preferable that a pair of left and right rotating brushes 15 be provided so as to rotate so as to act while rotating upward on fruits and vegetables to be placed and conveyed. With such a configuration, as in the case of rotating in the reverse direction, the rotating brush 15
The fruits and vegetables can be sandwiched between the transport conveyor 9 and the fruits and vegetables can be prevented from being damaged.

Further, in the above configuration, although the rotating brushes 15 of the adjacent brushes have different rotating directions, the moving directions of the opposing portions are the same, so that they do not collide with each other even when they approach each other. As shown in FIG. 8, the adjacent rotating brushes 15 are arranged so that the rotation trajectories on the brush tip side (radially outward side) overlap each other when viewed in the direction of the rotation axis, and work is performed. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the installation space along the path width direction as compared with a configuration in which they are separated from each other.

In the above-described configuration in which the pair of rotating brushes 15 are provided for each row, the pair of left and right rotating brushes 15 are placed and conveyed when viewed in a direction along the conveying direction of the conveyor 9. It is good also as a structure provided in a left-right direction with respect to a fruit vegetable so that position change is adjustable. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, each of the brackets 23 supporting the rotation support shaft 15 a of
Screw shaft 5 that is turned by a manual turning handle 50
1 is provided with a female screw member 52 that is screwed into the pair of rotating brushes 15. In portions corresponding to the pair of left and right rotating brushes 15, screws opposite to each other are formed. , 15 are screwed in a direction of approaching each other, and when they are turned to the left, a pair of rotating brushes 15, 1 are rotated.
With the configuration in which the pair of left and right rotary brushes 5 are fed by screws in a direction away from each other, the position of the pair of right and left rotating brushes can be changed and adjusted in the left and right direction with respect to the fruits and vegetables conveyed.

The structure for adjusting the position of the pair of left and right rotating brushes 15 in the left and right direction is not limited to the screw feed type adjusting mechanism as described above. The present invention may be embodied in various forms, such as a structure in which it is rotatably supported around a horizontal axis center with respect to a frame or a body fixing portion and can be fixed in position at an arbitrary rotation position.

(2) In the above embodiment, each roller 12 is rotated on its own by a sliding contact with a fixedly mounted sliding contact member as the transport conveyor 9 is transported.
In addition to the above configuration, instead of the sliding contact member, for example, as shown in FIG. May be configured so as to be able to change and adjust the rotation speed of the endless rotating belt 53 freely. In addition, it is preferable to use a belt having a substantially V-shaped cross section which is relatively hard to bend. With this configuration, the transport conveyor 9
It is possible to change and adjust the rotation speed of each roller 12 even if the transport speed (revolving speed of each roller 12) is constant. For example, fruits and vegetables having outer diameters different from standard ones can be used. However, there is an advantage that the cleaning operation can be favorably performed by changing and adjusting the rotation speed.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the preliminary cleaning rotary brush for cleaning the upper part of the fruits and vegetables placed and transported in the pretreatment transport area is provided. It is good also as a structure which does not provide a rotating brush for cleaning.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the pretreatment conveyance area is formed to have an inclined shape for moving each of the rollers 12 obliquely upward, but is formed in such an inclined state. Instead of the thing, it may be configured to be placed and transported in a horizontal direction from a supply point of fruit and vegetables.

(5) In the above embodiment, the rotary brush is provided so as to be reciprocated by the reciprocating operation means over a set range along the transport direction of the transport device. Not limited to such a configuration,
A configuration may be adopted in which only the rotation operation is performed in a fixed position without changing the position along the transfer direction of the transfer device.

(6) In the above embodiment, each of the rollers 1
Although the whole is made of a rubber material as the example 2, the present invention is not limited to such a structure, and the center part may be made of a hard material and only the outer peripheral part may be made of an elastic body.
The elastic body is not limited to rubber, but may be a slide, a soft resin material, or the like.

(7) In the above embodiment, the rotating brushes for cleaning the lateral and upper sides of the fruits and vegetables to be placed and conveyed are provided on the left and right sides of the fruits and vegetables to be conveyed. Although the configuration in which the pair of left and right rotating brushes are arranged at the side portions is illustrated, the invention is not limited to such a configuration, and it is sufficient that both sides and the upper portion of the fruits and vegetables placed and conveyed can be cleaned. A configuration in which three or more rotating brushes are arranged may be employed, and the number is not limited.

(8) In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which each of the rotating brushes is provided so as to be freely changeable in the vertical direction by a worm gear type operation mechanism is exemplified. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be implemented by another configuration such as a configuration in which the height is adjusted by an electric cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder, or a configuration without such a mechanism for adjusting the vertical position.

(9) In the above embodiment, the fruits and vegetables are
Although the tomato T has been exemplified, the present invention is not limited to the tomato T but can be applied to various fruits and vegetables such as persimmons, pears, apples, and peppers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a purifier.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a worm gear type operation mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a structure for raising and lowering the rotating brush.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a supporting configuration of the rotating brush.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a configuration for supporting a rotating brush.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the configuration of supporting the rotating brush in a state where the position is adjusted downward.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fruit sorting facility.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing a configuration for supporting a rotating brush according to another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a structure for rotating the roller of another embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing the configuration of the first related art.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing the configuration of the second prior art.

FIG. 12 is a front view showing the configuration of the second conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 9 Conveying device 12 Roller 15 Rotating brush A1 Pretreatment conveying area A2 Cleaning action area B Reciprocating operation means T Fruits and vegetables

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kunio Nambu 1-6, Yatsutsubo, Shoryuji Temple, Nagaokakyo-shi, Kyoto F-term in Navel Co., Ltd. (Reference) 4B061 AA02 AA07 BA04 CA08 CA18

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A transport device for placing and transporting fruits and vegetables along a transporting action path including a cleaning action point, and a rotating brush for cleaning the surface of the fruits and vegetables loaded and transported at the cleaning action location. An apparatus for cleaning fruit and vegetables provided, wherein the transport device is arranged in parallel or substantially parallel at set intervals along a rotation path including the transport operation path, and is rotated along the rotation path. A plurality of rollers to be driven, each of the plurality of rollers is formed in a medium-thin shape having a gradually decreasing diameter from the large-diameter portion at both ends in the axial direction toward the center in the axial direction. The rotary brush is configured to be rotationally driven around the axis, and the rotary brush is rotationally driven in a state where the rotary axis is oriented in the transport direction by the transport device, and both the fruits and vegetables are placed and transported. Cleans side and upper parts Is provided with a fruit and vegetable cleaning device. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport device includes a plurality of rollers arranged in a row in the width direction of the rotation path, and the rollers are arranged to transport the fruits and vegetables individually in each row. The fruit and vegetable cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating brush is provided so as to perform a cleaning action on fruits and vegetables transported in each of the rows. 3. A pair of left and right rotating brushes disposed at upper positions on both right and left sides of the fruits and vegetables to be placed and transported, as viewed in a direction along the transport direction of the transport device, as the rotating brush. 3. The apparatus for purifying fruits and vegetables according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. The fruit and vegetable product according to claim 3, wherein each of the pair of rotating brushes is provided so as to rotate while acting upward while acting on the fruit product to be placed and conveyed. Purifier. 5. A method according to claim 5, wherein each of said pair of rotating brushes is provided so as to be capable of changing the position of the fruits and vegetables to be placed and conveyed in a lateral direction when viewed in a direction parallel to the conveying direction of said conveying device. Item 5. The apparatus for purifying fruits and vegetables according to item 3 or 4. 6. The pair of rotating brushes are each provided so as to be capable of adjusting a position along a vertical direction.
The apparatus for purifying fruits and vegetables according to any one of claims 5 to 5. 7. The cleaning of fruits and vegetables according to claim 1, wherein at least the outer peripheral surface of each of the rollers is formed of an elastic body, and the rotating brush is formed of a synthetic resin material. apparatus. 8. The reciprocating brush according to claim 1, wherein the revolving brush is provided so as to be reciprocated by a reciprocating operation means over a set range along the transport direction of the transport device. Fruit and vegetable cleaning equipment. 9. A pre-processing conveyance area is provided on the conveyance operation path in the conveyance device, being located on the upper side in the conveyance direction with respect to the cleaning operation area by the rotary brush, and the pre-processing conveyance area is A rotary brush for pre-cleaning, which is formed in an inclined shape to move each roller obliquely upward and cleans an upper portion of fruits and vegetables placed and transported in the pre-processing transport area, has a rotating shaft. 9. A rotatably driven state with the core oriented in a direction orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the transport direction. 10.
The apparatus for purifying fruits and vegetables according to any one of claims 1 to 4.