JP2001088924A - Article conveying body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article conveying body capable of holding an article in a centered condition and easily performing jaw. SOLUTION: A placing stage 12 forming the article conveying body 10 is descended by a weight of fruits and vegetables A themselves to accommodate the fruits and vegetables A in an accommodating part 16. Holding members 13, 14 are turned inside by ascending and descending the placing stage 12 to be projected above coming out grooves 11a, 11b and coming out holes 12a, and the fruits and vegetables A are held in the centered condition by the long holding members 13... or the short holding members 14.... The placing stage 12 is ascended at releasing of holding to let the holding members 13, 14 go into the coming out grooves 11a, 11b and the coming out holes 12a, followed by horizontally rotating the placing stage 12 at a specified angle, and the holding members 13, 14 are held in a condition being accommodated in a conveying stage 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to, for example, crops (fruits such as tangerines, apples, watermelons, tomatoes, melons, pears, persimmons, peaches, etc.) or ball-shaped balls, foods, products, parts and the like. The present invention relates to an article transport body used for an operation of transporting an article having an item.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the case of transporting agricultural products such as those described above, for example, after the agricultural products are placed on a mounting portion provided at the center of the saucer body, a pair of left and right pivotally supported on both sides of the saucer body. (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-35126).

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned saucer, a pair of right and left clamps are urged to rotate against the peripheral surface of the crop by the elasticity of the spring.
When holding a large crop, the elastic force accumulated in the spring increases, and the clamp is strongly pressed against the periphery of the crop, so that the periphery of the crop can be scratched or depressed. For example, there is a problem that the commercial value is impaired.

On the other hand, when a small-sized agricultural product is held, the elastic force accumulated in the spring is so small that it cannot be held by the clamp, or the pressing force required for holding may not be obtained. If the tray is transported in an unstable state, the direction and position of the crop are likely to be displaced by the impact given when the trays abut each other or the vibration given at the time of transport.

Further, since the center between the crop and the mounting portion may be eccentric, for example, when a predetermined item is inspected by an optical detection means (imaging camera), the light of the light source is irradiated on the peripheral surface of the crop. There is a problem that an inspection error is likely to occur because the optical detection unit receives external light other than the light of the light source and the optical detection unit is not accurately irradiated.

In view of the above problems, the present invention pivots a plurality of holding members to an angle at which the article is held substantially corresponding to the size of the article, so that the holding force to the article is substantially uniform. It is an object of the present invention to provide an article transporter that can be provided and transported while holding the article in a centering state, and can stably obtain an appropriate holding force.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A plurality of holding members are radially arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on the upper surface side of the carrier on which the articles are placed, with the center on the upper surface side as the center, and each of the holding members is provided. Each of the holding members is pivotally attached to the radial direction, and the holding members are adjusted to an angle at which the article is held substantially corresponding to the size of the article and an angle at which the holding of the article is released. The present invention is characterized in that the article conveying body is provided with a rotating means for rotating.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the holding member comprises a long holding member for holding the large-sized article, and a short holding member for holding the small-sized article. And a holding member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, a central portion on the upper surface side of the transfer table is provided.
A mounting table for mounting the article is provided so as to be vertically movable, and the holding member is provided so as to be able to protrude and retract between a state in which the holding member is protruded above the transfer table and a state in which the holding member is accommodated in the transfer table. The article carrier is provided so as to be rotatable at an angle at which the article is held by the vertical movement of the mounting table and an angle at which the holding is released.

[0010] The invention according to claim 4 is the first and second inventions.
Or, in combination with the configuration described in 3, the article carrier is provided with a holding means for holding the holding member in a state of being housed in the carrier table.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the article transporter, the plurality of holding members are moved at an angle (or an angle at which the article is held by the rotating means) substantially corresponding to the size of the article placed at the center of the carriage. direction)
By rotating and holding the object, the holding force is applied substantially evenly to the article, and the article is held and transported in the centering state. On the other hand, by rotating each holding member to an angle at which the holding is released, an operation of placing or removing an article can be performed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the article transporter holds an article having a different size by a long holding member or a short holding member substantially corresponding to the article. Thus, articles having various sizes are securely held.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the function of the first or second aspect, the article transporter descends the mounting table due to the weight of the article itself and holds a plurality of articles mounted on the mounting table. Since the article is held by the member, the article is not applied with an unnecessarily large pressure and is held with an appropriate holding force.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first, second, or third aspect, the holding member holds each holding member in a state of being accommodated in the transfer table. The upper surface side of the transfer table can be kept substantially flat.

[0015]

According to the present invention, the plurality of holding members are rotated to the angle at which the article is held substantially corresponding to the size of the article, so that the entire article is held substantially uniformly and the centering state is achieved. Can be held. And during the transportation,
Displacement of the direction and position of the article and eccentricity of the center between the article and the carrier can be reliably prevented, and the article can be stably conveyed while being held at a fixed position.

In addition, since articles having different sizes are held by the long or short holding members, the articles are not limited to articles having a specific size, and articles having various sizes are securely held and transported. can do.

Further, since the article placed on the mounting table is held by the plurality of holding members by utilizing the weight of the article itself, unnecessarily large pressure is not applied to the article.
An appropriate holding force corresponding to the size of the article can be stably obtained, and the commercial value of the article can be prevented from being impaired.

Further, since each holding member is accommodated and held in the carrier table and the upper surface side of the carrier table is held in a substantially flat state, the work is not hindered by the holding members. , Reversing work, box packing work, etc. can be performed without any support.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The drawing shows, as an example of an article, an article transport body used for an operation of transporting a substantially spherical fruit and vegetable product. In FIG. 1, the article transport body 10 is placed on a transport conveyor 2 constituting an article sorting apparatus 1. A large number of them are placed and conveyed to the supply unit 3, the inspection unit 4, the sorting unit 5, and the box packing unit 6 set on the conveyor 2.

As shown in FIG. 4, the above-described conveyor 2 rotates a conveyor chain 2a stretched on both lower sides of the conveyor path in a conveying direction by a motor with a speed reducer (not shown). The cup-shaped or tray-shaped article transporting bodies 10 placed on 2a are aligned and transported in the same direction.

Guide members 2b installed on both sides of the upper part of the transport path
Are brought into contact with or engaged with the side surfaces of the article transporting body 10 and guide the transporting of the article transporting body 10 in a state where the directions of the article transporting body 10 are aligned in substantially the same direction. Further, the guide member 2b may be engaged with the bottom surface or the upper surface of the article transport body 10, or may be transported and guided by the guide member 2c attached to the orbiting chain 2a.

It should be noted that a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, a thrust conveyor, or the like may be used as another transportation means instead of the transportation conveyor 2 described above.

The above-mentioned supply unit 3 is provided with a plurality of supply conveyors 3a which are formed by branching the article conveyor 10 from the conveyor 2.
To be distributed. The fruits and vegetables A conveyed by the receiving conveyor 7 are held by the hands of the workers B waiting on the side of the conveyance path, and placed one by one in the centering state on the upper surface side of the article conveyance body 10. I do.

The article transporters 10 distributed to the supply conveyors 3a join again and are transported to the inspection unit 4 by the transport conveyor 2. Further, the fruits and vegetables A may be arranged in a line by, for example, mechanical supply means and placed on the article transporting body 10 on the supply conveyor 3a. The above-described inspection unit 4 irradiates the fruit or vegetable A placed on the article transporting body 10 with light from a light source (for example, a halogen lamp), passes the reflected light applied to the fruit or vegetable A, and passes through the fruit or vegetable A. One or both of the transmitted light is received (imaged) from a substantially horizontal direction by a camera (for example, a CCD camera) disposed on both sides or on all sides, and received from directly above by a camera disposed above.

Further, after inspecting the front side of the fruit and vegetable A, the fruit and vegetable A held by a pair of holding plates (not shown) is turned upside down while being transported, and the rear side of the fruit and vegetable A is inspected. Good.

At the same time, light reception data received by the camera and
By comparing with the grade data stored in the determination device 4a, predetermined items (for example, sugar content, acidity, maturity, scratches, decay, length, color, outer diameter, shape, height, width, volume, flatness) , Rot, floating skin, and non-standard grades).

When the fruits and vegetables A are conveyed to the sorting units 5 corresponding to the judgment by the judging device 4a, the article conveyor 10 on which the fruits and vegetables A are placed is supplied to the plurality of supply conveyors 5a connected to the sorting unit 5. … And supply. On the other hand, the excess article transport body 10 that has not been sorted to the supply conveyor 5a is returned and transported by the transport conveyor 2.

For example, an ultraviolet lamp, an incandescent light bulb or the like may be used as another illuminating means in place of the above-mentioned light source, and as another optical detecting means in place of the camera,
For example, an image may be picked up by an image element or light reflected by a mirror body may be received.

Boxing unit 6 provided on supply conveyor 5a
The box body supplied from the box making process (not shown) is conveyed by the box feed conveyor 8 and distributed to the box packing section 6.
When a predetermined number of the article transporters 10 are stopped at the suction position on the supply conveyor 5a, the support shaft 15 of the mounting table 12 is stopped.
Thrust means (eg solenoid or air cylinder)
The holding member 13 is moved up by the lifting operation of the mounting table 12.
14 is accommodated in the transfer table 11.

After the holding by the holding members 13 and 14 is released, the fruits and vegetables A mounted on the mounting table 12 are removed by an adsorber (not shown) connected to negative pressure generating means such as an intake blower or a vacuum pump. ) And hold it in a box.

Normally, the supply conveyors 5a... Are designated for each class, such as L, M, S, etc., but according to the sorting amount of the fruit and vegetable A, the designation of the supply conveyors 5a is released.
You may change to a specific class.

The packed box is transported to the next step (for example, a shipping location or a storage location), and the empty article transporter 10 is
The sheet is returned and transported while holding the holding members 13 and 14 in the transport table 11. Since the holding members 13 and 14 are accommodated in the transfer table 11, a plurality of article transfer bodies 10 can be stacked vertically and transferred or temporarily stocked.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the rotating device 9 is provided with a support shaft 1 suspended from a mounting table 12 of an article carrier 10.
5 is moved to the higher side of the guide rail 20 and the mounting table 12 is moved.
Is raised to a predetermined height, the rotating rail 20a with which the support shaft 15 is engaged is horizontally rotated by a rotator 9a (for example, a solenoid), and the support shaft 15 is rotated at a predetermined angle.

At the same time, the step 15a formed at the lower end of the support shaft 15 is engaged with the peripheral edge on the upper surface side of the insertion hole 17 to regulate the mounting table 12 to the raised position. In addition, the abutment holes 12a and 12b are formed in the mounting table 12 by contacting the regulating portions 17a formed on the upper surface side peripheral edge of the insertion hole 17, and the indentation grooves 1
The rotation is restricted so as to be eccentric at a predetermined angle (for example, approximately 20 degrees) with respect to 1a.

The above angle may be changed to, for example, an angle of about 20 degrees or less, or as an alternative rotating means instead of the rotator 9a, for example, a motor, an air cylinder, a cam, a gear, or the like. It may rotate.

On the other hand, the mounting table 12 is rotated in the reverse direction so that the indentation grooves 11a and 11b of the transfer table 11 and the indentation holes 12a and 12b of the mounting table 12 face each other as shown in FIGS. 15 is inserted into the insertion hole 17, and the mounting table 12 is moved down.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the article carrier 10 has a carrier 1 formed in a substantially square shape when viewed from above.
1 and a substantially circular mounting table 12, and large-sized holding members 13 and small-sized holding members 14 formed in a substantially claw shape when viewed from the side.
Although the members 1 and 12 and the members 13 and 14 are formed of a hard resin, they may be formed of a material such as metal or wood.

At four corners on the mounting side of the transfer table 11, insertion holes 1 are provided.
7 are formed radially in a direction substantially coincident with a diagonal line of the transfer table 12 around the center 7. On the other hand, a pair of protrusion / recess grooves 11
b are formed facing each other. And the indentation grooves 11a, 1
1b is formed to have a width and depth that allow the holding members 13 and 14 to protrude and retract.

A mounting / dismounting groove 11a is formed around a mounting-side peripheral portion of the mounting table 12 around a support shaft 15 suspended from the center of the bottom surface.
Are formed radially at substantially the same angle as the recessed and projected holes 12b at substantially the same angle as the recessed and projected grooves 11b.
Are formed opposite to each other. Holes 12a, 12b
Is wider than the above-mentioned indentation grooves 11a and 11b,
The holding members 13 and 14 are formed in a size that allows the projecting operation of the holding members 13 and 14.

The mounting table 12 is vertically movably received and held in a substantially circular storage section 16 formed in the center of the upper surface of the transfer table 11, and is vertically suspended at the lower surface of the mounting table 12. The support shaft 15 having a polygonal cross-sectional shape (for example, a square)
It has a shape that substantially matches the support shaft 15 and is inserted into a through hole 17 formed in the center of the bottom of the housing 16 so as to be vertically movable.

The transfer table 11 and the mounting table 12 may be formed in, for example, a substantially rectangular shape, a substantially pentagonal shape, a substantially elliptical shape or the like when viewed from a plane, and the support shaft 15 may be formed in a pentagonal or elliptical shape. , A cross section such as a circle.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, the holding members 13 and 14 are spaced from the bottom of the housing 16 at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction with the insertion hole 17 as the center. And is pivotally mounted so as to be rotatable in the radial direction.

The holding member 13 is rotated in a direction in which the holding groove 13a is accommodated in the protrusion / recess groove 11a.
The holding members 13 and 14 are bent at a predetermined angle toward the inside by being rotated in the direction (left-right direction) accommodated with respect to b.

The lower ends of the holding members 13 and 14 are attached to the mounting table 1.
When the mounting table 12 is moved upward while the mounting grooves 12a and 11b of the transfer table 11 and the mounting holes 12a and 12b of the mounting table 12 are opposed to each other, the holding members 13 and 14 Is rotated outward to enter the grooves 11a and 11b and the holes 12a and 12b, and is held in the carriage 11 in a state of being retracted.

On the other hand, when the mounting table 12 is moved downward, the holding members 13 and 14 are rotated inward, and the protrusion grooves 11a and 11
b and projecting holes 12a and 12b, and rotate in a direction facing the outer peripheral surface of the fruit and vegetable A.

Since the fruit holding A is held by the long holding member 13 and the short holding member 14 having different strokes, the fruit holding A having a size of, for example, about 40π to about 180π is securely held. be able to.

The holding members 13 and 14 may be urged to rotate in a direction for holding the fruit and vegetable A by an elastic body such as a spring or rubber. May be attached to the front and rear or front and rear and left and right.

The concave receiving portion 18 formed on the mounting surface at the center of the mounting table 12 holds the fruit and vegetables A in a centering state. Further, the mounting surface may be formed in a shape that gradually decreases from the outer peripheral portion toward the central portion.

The pad 19 mounted on the mounting surface of the mounting table 12
a and the pad 1 attached to the holding surfaces of the holding members 13 and 14
9b is made of, for example, urethane rubber or sponge rubber, soft resin, or the like, and has flexibility and contact resistance necessary to hold the fruit and vegetable A. The support shaft 15 described above is
As shown in FIG.
And the guide grooves 11a and 11b of the transfer table 11 are guided to an angle where the protrusion and recess holes 12a and 12b of the mounting table 12 face each other or an angle eccentric to a predetermined angle.

When the support shaft 15 is moved to the lower side of the guide rail 20 and the support shaft 15 is inserted into the insertion hole 17, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the indentation grooves 11a, 11b and the indentation holes 12a,
The rotation is restricted to an angle opposite to 12b. Further, the support shaft 15 may be separated from the guide rail 20 or may be moved to a portion where there is no support shaft.

When the support shaft 15 is moved to the higher side of the guide rail 20, the mounting table 12 comes into contact with the inner peripheral edge of the upper end side of the storage section 16, and the mounting table 12 has a height that is substantially horizontal with the upper surface of the transfer table 11. As a result, the horizontal position (in the direction of the arrow) is restricted to a height position where it is allowed.

Further, the lower end of the support shaft 15 may be engaged with the guide rail 20 via a member having a small contact resistance such as a roller or a slider. Furthermore, as other vertical moving means instead of the guide rail 20, for example, the support shaft 15 may be moved up and down by an elevating means such as a solenoid or an air cylinder, or the guide rail 20 may be moved up and down.

The illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation of transporting the fruit and vegetable A by the article transport body 10 will be described below.

First, the article transporter 10 on which fruit vegetables A of an arbitrary size are placed is supplied to the supply unit 3 shown in FIG.
When transporting to the sorting section 5 and the box packing section 6, the support shaft 15 of the mounting table 12 is moved from the higher side to the lower side of the guide rail 20, and as shown in FIG. Grooves 11a, 11b and holes 12a, 12 of mounting table 12
b and the table 1 according to the weight of the fruit and vegetable A itself.
2 is moved downward.

The mounting table 12 is lowered to hold a part or the whole of the fruit and vegetable A in the storage section 16 and to rotate the holding members 13 and 14 inwardly to form the protrusion / recess grooves 11a and 11b. And it protrudes above the indentation holes 12a and 12b and rotates in a direction facing the peripheral surface of the fruit and vegetable A. FIG.
As shown in the figure, the fruit vegetables A are held in a centering state so as to be wrapped by the long holding members 13 or the short holding members 14.

For example, when a large fruit vegetable A is placed, as shown in FIG.
Is rotated to an angle at which the fruit product A is held.

On the other hand, when the fruit vegetables A which cannot be held by the above-mentioned holding members 13 and are small in size are placed,
As shown in FIG. 5, the holding members 14 are rotated at an angle at which the fruit vegetables A are held, and the fruit vegetables A are held.

As shown in FIG. 8, the mounting table 12 that has been raised is horizontally rotated by the rotating device 9 so that the transfer table 11 is rotated.
Grooves 11a, 11b and mounting holes 12a,
12b, the support shaft 15 of the mounting table 12 is inserted into the insertion hole 17 of the transfer table 11, and the lowering operation of the mounting table 12 causes the holding members 13 and 14 to rotate inward, so that the fruit vegetables A
May be held.

Next, the article transport body 1 transported to the supply section 3
0, the fruit and vegetable A on the article carrier 10 conveyed to the inspection section 4 is inspected and inverted, and the fruit and vegetable A on the article carrier 10 conveyed to the box packing section 6 When the A is packed in a box, the support shaft 15 of the mounting table 12 is moved from the lower side to the higher side of the guide rail 20, and the mounting members 12 are moved upward to rotate the holding members 13, 14 to the outside while rotating the holding members 13 and 14 outward. , 11b and the holes 12a, 12b.

Since the holding members 13 and 14 are accommodated in the carrier 11 to release the holding of the fruit and vegetable A, the holding members 13 and 14 are released.
The mounting work, the inspection work, the reversal work, and the box packing work can be performed without any support without the 14 being in the way.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the mounting table 12, which has been raised, may be rotated at a predetermined angle by the rotating device 9, and the holding members 13 and 14 may be stored and held in the transfer table 11. .

As described above, the long holding members 13 or the short holding members 14 substantially correspond to the size of the fruit and vegetable product A.
Is rotated to the angle at which the fruit and vegetable A is held, so that the fruit and vegetable A
The whole is held substantially uniformly, and can be transported while being held in a centering state. In addition, during the transportation, the direction and position of the fruit and vegetable A are displaced, and the fruit and vegetable A and the mounting table 12 are displaced.
Eccentricity of the center can be reliably prevented, and the sheet can be stably transported while being held at a fixed position.

Further, since the fruit vegetables A having different sizes are held by the long holding members 13 or the short holding members 14, the fruit vegetables A having a specific size are not limited to various sizes. It is possible to reliably hold and transport the fruit and vegetable product A having high quality.

Further, since the fruit vegetables A placed on the mounting table 12 are held by the holding members 13 or the holding members 14 by utilizing the weight of the fruit vegetables A, the fruit vegetables A are more than necessary. A large pressing force is not applied, an appropriate holding force corresponding to the size of the fruit and vegetable product A is stably obtained, and the commercial value of the fruit and vegetable product A can be prevented from being impaired.

Further, the mounting table 12 is raised,
After the holding members 13 and 14 are stored in the transfer table 11, the mounting table 12 is rotated by a predetermined angle to hold the holding members 13 and 14 in the state of being stored in the transfer table 11.
Is substantially flat on the upper surface side, and the holding members 13, 1
4, the work is not hindered, and, for example, the placement work, the inspection work, the reversal work, the packing work and the like can be performed without any support.

In the correspondence between the structure of the present invention and the above-mentioned embodiment, the article of the present invention corresponds to the fruit and vegetable A of the embodiment. The holding means corresponds to the mounting table 12, the support shaft 16, and the guide rail 20, and the holding means corresponds to the mounting table 12, the support shaft 16, the rotating device 9, and the rotating rail 20a of the guide rail 20, The present invention is not limited only to the configuration of the above embodiment.

For example, a cushioning member (for example, a spring or rubber) may be interposed between the mounting table 12 and the housing portion 16. In place of the support shaft 15, for example, a hollow cylindrical shaft is vertically provided. Alternatively, a hole may be provided at the center of the mounting table 12 and the housing 16 in communication with the cylindrical shaft for receiving the light of the light source and the transmitted light.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an arrangement state of a transport conveyor that transports an article transport body.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing an attached state of a holding member constituting the article transport body.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an attached state of long and short holding members.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a holding state by a long holding member.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a holding state by a short holding member.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a holding state by a holding member.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a vertically movable state of the mounting table.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a rotation operation of the mounting table by the rotation device.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a holding state of the holding member by the mounting table.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A: Fruit and vegetable products 1 ... Article sorting device 2 ... Conveyor 3 ... Supply unit 4 ... Inspection unit 5 ... Sorting unit 6 ... Box packing unit 9 ... Rotating device 10 ... Article conveying body 11 ... Carriage 11a, 11b ... Protrusion groove 12 ... Mounting table 12a, 12b ... Protrusion hole 13, 14 ... Holding member 15 ... Support shaft 16 ... Housing part 17 ... Insertion hole 20 ... Guide rail 20a ... Rotating rail

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of holding members are radially arranged at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction on an upper surface side of a carrier table on which articles are placed and transported, with a center portion on the upper surface side as a center. The holding members are pivotally attached to the radial direction so as to be rotatable, and the holding members are held at an angle substantially corresponding to the size of the article and the angle at which the article is held. An article transporting body provided with a rotating means that rotates at an angle at which the angle is released. 2. The article carrier according to claim 1, wherein said holding member comprises a long holding member for holding said large-sized article and a short holding member for holding said small-sized article. 3. A mounting table on which the article is mounted is provided at the center of the upper surface side of the transfer table so as to be movable up and down, and the holding member is projected on the transfer table and accommodated in the transfer table. And the holding member is rotatably provided at an angle at which the article is held by the vertical movement of the mounting table and at an angle at which the holding is released. 2. The article carrier according to item 2. 4. The article carrier according to claim 1, further comprising holding means for holding said holding member in a state of being accommodated in said carriage.