JP2001299089A - Transfer apparatus for culture bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transfer apparatus for the artificial culture of mushroom in a plurality of thin culture bottles held in a container to easily perform the work to take a culture bottle out of a container and transfer to another container without necessitating manpower. SOLUTION: This transfer apparatus is provided with a means 22 to alternately transfer a container 9 holding plural culture bottles 2 and an empty container 7, and a loading means 24 to pick up a part of plural culture bottles 2 from the former container 9 transferred by the transfer means and load the picked culture bottles 2 to the empty container 7 transferred by the transfer means 22 after the former container 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cultivation bottle transfer apparatus capable of removing a cultivation bottle from a container in which the cultivation bottle is stored, and storing the removed cultivation bottle in another container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Mushrooms such as enoki mushrooms and beech shrimp are
It is artificially cultivated using cultivation bottles. A plurality of cultivation bottles are collectively stored in a container, and are moved between cultivation processes in units of containers. In this way, by moving the cultivation process for each container, the inoculation of the inoculum into the cultivation bottle can be performed in a short time because the cultivation bottle can be inoculated in a row of the cultivation bottles stored in the container. The time can be reduced as a whole.

[0003] On the other hand, due to recent advances in cultivation technology,
The yield of mushrooms per unit area of medium is increasing. For this reason, one strain of harvested mushrooms is considerably larger than the size when it is actually sold at the store, and the harvested mushrooms cannot be packaged as they are. I had to wrap it after splitting the combined mushrooms. As described above, with the increase in the amount of harvested mushrooms, there has been a case where it takes much time from harvesting to shipping.

[0004] Therefore, by cultivating using a cultivation bottle that is thinner and smaller in volume than the conventional one, the amount of mushroom that can be harvested at a time with one cultivation bottle and the amount of mushroom in one pack at the time of sale are reduced. They can be made almost equal, and the trouble of splitting stocks at the time of shipment does not occur, so that labor can be saved.

[0005]

As described above, when a plurality of thin cultivation bottles are stored in a container and cultivation is performed, the interval between the bottle mouths of adjacent cultivation bottles becomes narrow. Even if you try to grow something that spreads to the left and right like Bunashimeji, the mushrooms growing in adjacent cultivation bottles will come into contact with each other, and the shape of the mushrooms will be distorted or the yield will decrease. There was a problem that

[0006] Therefore, when thin cultivation bottles are stored in the container without gaps, after the bacteria scraping step of smoothing the surface of the medium inoculated with the inoculum, the cultivation bottles arranged in the container before proceeding to the growing step. Were alternately taken out, and it was necessary to leave a gap so that the mushrooms of the adjacent cultivation bottles did not contact each other. When several cultivation bottles were taken out of the container, the cultivation bottles taken out were placed in an empty container with a sufficient interval for mushroom growth.
However, there is a problem that taking out the cultivation bottle from inside such a container and placing the taken out cultivation bottle in another container is too time-consuming to perform manually.

[0007] Further, after harvesting in a container in which cultivation bottles are placed at intervals, in order to carry out this cultivation again using the same cultivation bottle, the old medium in the cultivation bottle is discarded, and a new medium is filled. The cultivation bottle is reused through the steps of sterilizing the medium and inoculating the seed. In each of these steps, the cultivation bottles can be more efficiently packed without gaps between the cultivation bottles, rather than having a gap between the cultivation bottles. When harvesting is completed in the container on which the cultivation bottles are placed, it is necessary to transfer the harvested cultivation bottles in another container again during this time so that no gap is formed between the cultivation bottles in the container. Thus, after harvesting the mushrooms, it is necessary to remove the cultivation bottle from the container and transfer it to another container,
This operation also has a problem that it takes too much labor manually.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for artificial cultivation of mushrooms in which a plurality of thin cultivation bottles are stored in a container. An object of the present invention is to provide a transfer device that can easily take out a cultivation bottle from a container and place it in another container without manual operation.

[0009]

The present invention has the following arrangement to achieve the above object. That is, according to the cultivation bottle transfer apparatus of the present invention, one container in which a plurality of cultivation bottles are stored, transfer means for alternately transferring empty containers, and one container transferred by the transfer means. From the container, a part of the plurality of cultivation bottles housed in the one container is taken out, and the taken out cultivation bottle is taken out of the empty container transferred by the transfer means after the one container. And a transfer means for storing the container in a container. By adopting this configuration, the cultivation bottle in the container being transferred can be taken out and transferred to another empty container, and without manual operation,
The container in which the cultivation bottles are stored without gaps can be used as containers with a gap between the cultivation bottles. In addition, the transfer means, among a plurality of cultivation bottles in the one container that are tightly stored without gaps, every other in the same row,
A plurality of gripping means provided at positions corresponding to the cultivation bottles to be taken out and gripping the cultivation bottles, and up and down moving the respective gripping means up and down so as to take out the cultivation bottles in a staggered position between each row. And moving means. According to this configuration, the cultivation bottles are stored in a staggered manner in the two containers, and it is possible to generate a gap between the cultivation bottles in the container so that the mushrooms do not come into contact with each other at the time of growing the mushroom without manual operation. . Further, a sensor for detecting whether the one container or the empty container has arrived at a transfer position provided with the transfer means, and a sensor for detecting whether the one container or the empty container has been transferred. When the arrival at the loading position is detected, the first container or the empty container is stopped at the transfer position by the first stopping means. It can be done reliably.

[0010] Further, a holding means for stacking and holding a plurality of the empty containers, and an empty container from the holding means to a feeding position provided upstream of a transfer position where the transfer means is provided. Is provided with empty container storage means having a sending means for sending one empty container. If empty containers are installed in advance, one container and an empty container are automatically and alternately transferred, so that labor is reduced. The transfer operation can be performed without applying. Second stopping means provided upstream of the feeding position in the transfer direction and stopping one container so that one container is not transferred to the sending position when an empty container is sent to the sending position. Therefore, even if one container is continuously transferred on the transfer means, an empty container and one container can be transferred alternately to the transfer position.

Further, according to the apparatus for transferring a cultivation bottle of the present invention, the cultivation bottle extracted from the one container and stored in the empty container is returned to a position where the one container is removed. I have. According to this configuration, the cultivation bottles distributed from one container and placed on the two containers can be transferred as if they were stored in the original one container, and the cultivation after harvesting the mushrooms Close the bottles to make them available for cultivation again.

[0012]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of the transfer apparatus, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the transfer apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the transfer apparatus for the cultivation bottle transfer apparatus (hereinafter, simply referred to as “transfer apparatus”). Shown in the figure. First, the overall configuration of the transfer device will be described. The transfer device 20 is a transfer means including a conveyor 22 and the like. The transfer device 20 is provided at one transfer in the middle of the conveyor 22 to take out a plurality of cultivation bottles 2 from the container and to separate the taken out cultivation bottles 2 into another container. Transfer means 24 which can be stored in the container, and empty container storage means 26 which stores a plurality of empty containers 7 in a stacked manner.

An outline of the operation of the transfer device will be described.
First, the container 9 in which the thin cultivation bottles 2 are stored in a plurality of rows without gaps is sent in from the entrance 10. The fed container 9 is transferred to the conveyor 22 and advances in the transfer direction A. When the container 9 advances on the conveyor 22 and arrives at the transfer position, the phototube 12 detects the container 9 and operates the stopper 14. The stopper 14 is a conveyor 22
Protrudes from below and abuts the front side of the container 9 to stop the movement of the container 9. The transfer means 24 starts from the container 9 which has stopped moving at the transfer position. The cultivation bottles 2 are arranged so that every other row in a row orthogonal to the transfer direction is formed in a staggered manner. Extract.

After the plurality of cultivation bottles 2 are extracted as described above, the transfer means 24 holds the cultivation bottles 2 at the transfer position P while lifting the cultivation bottles 2. And the stopper 14
Is released, and the container 9 from which the cultivation bottle 2 has been extracted is carried out from the carry-out port 11. When containers 9 in which such thin cultivation bottles 2 are stored in a plurality of rows without gaps are continuously carried in from the carry-in port 10, the containers 9 do not continuously enter the transfer position P. As described above, the transfer is stopped at the standby position R by the stopper 15 until the transfer process is completed. That is, when the container 9 enters the standby position R, the photoelectric tube 17 detects the container 9 and operates the stopper 15 to stop the container 9 so that the plurality of containers 9 do not enter the transfer position P at one time. .

At the transfer position P, the removal of the cultivation bottle 2 from the container 9 is completed, the cultivation bottle 2 is extracted, and the container 9 in which the cultivation bottles 2 are arranged in a staggered manner is unloaded from the transfer position P. Then, the empty container 7 is fed from the empty container storage means 26 to the feed position Q of the conveyor 22 (broken arrow B in FIG. 2). When the empty container 7 is fed onto the conveyor 22, the conveyor 22 sends the container 7 to the transfer position P. When the photoelectric tube 12 detects that the empty container 7 has arrived at the transfer position P, the stopper 14 operates to stop the empty container 7 at the transfer position P. Then, the transfer means 24 is operated, and the cultivation bottle 2 previously taken out of the container 9 is removed from the empty container 7.
Housed inside.

The transfer means takes out the cultivation bottles 2 from the container 9 stored without gaps so that the cultivation bottles 2 are arranged in a staggered manner between the rows of the cultivation bottles. The grown cultivation bottles 2 are directly lowered and stored in the container 7, so that the empty container 7 is also placed in a staggered state in which the cultivation bottles 2 are stored. And when the cultivation bottle 2 is stored in the container 7,
The stopper 14 is released, and the container 7 is transferred in the transfer direction and is unloaded from the outlet 11.

When the cultivation bottle 2 is stored in the empty container 7 and then unloaded from the transfer position P, the stopper 15 at the standby position R is added and removed, and the container 9 stopped at this position is removed. It is transferred to the transfer position P. Then, the arrival of the container 9 as described above is detected by the photoelectric tube 12 again, the stopper 14 is operated to stop the container 9 at the transfer position P, and the transfer means transfers the cultivation bottle 2. . As described above, the transfer device 20 automatically transfers the container 9 in which the cultivation bottles 2 are stored without a gap and the empty container 7 alternately on the conveyor, and transfers the cultivation bottles 2 in one container 9 to each other. A sufficient gap can be created between the cultivation bottles 2 stored in the two containers and stored in the two containers.

Hereinafter, a detailed structure of each component will be described. First, the conveyor 22 as an example of the transfer means will be described. 1 and 2, the conveyor 22 transfers the container 9 from right to left (in the direction of arrow A). On the conveyor 22, a plurality of rollers 28 are arranged on the frame 25 so as to have a rotation axis in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction. The conveyor 22 is provided with each roller 2
The container 8 placed on the roller 28 is conveyed by the rotation of the container 8 about the rotation axis. The conveyor 22 includes a front section 22a that is driven upstream of the empty container feeding position Q where the empty container storage means 26 is provided in the transfer direction, and a transfer means 24 provided from the empty container feeding position Q. And a rear part 22b driven on the downstream side including the transfer position P. The front part 22a and the rear part 22b are connected to motors as separate driving means, and can be operated separately.

As described above, the conveyor 2 as the transfer means
2 is divided into a front part and a rear part, so that the stop of one container 9 stopped on the upstream side of the feeding position Q can be further ensured by combining with the stopper 15 as described above. it can. That is, when it is detected by the photoelectric tube 17 that the container 9 continuously transferred on the conveyor 22 arrives at the standby position R, the stopper 1 is moved until the transfer process of the previously transferred container is completed.
5, the front part 22a is stopped, and the container 9 that comes later stands by at the standby position R. Then, when the cultivation bottle 2 is stored in the empty container 7 from the previously transferred container 9 and the transfer process is completed, the former stage 2
The stopper 15 at the standby position R is released simultaneously with the start of the operation of 2a, and the container 9 that has been stopped at this position is transferred to the transfer position P. That is, the second stopping means referred to in the claims is the stopper 15 and / or the conveyor 22.
Of the former stage 22a.

On the other hand, by using the rear portion 22b together with the stopper 14, the container 9 or the empty container 7 can be reliably stopped at the transfer position P. That is, when it is detected that the photoelectric tube 12 has arrived at the transfer position P of the container 9 or the empty container 7, the stopper 14 is operated and the rear stage 22b is stopped, so that the container 9 or the empty container 7 is securely transferred. It is possible to stop at the position P. That is, the first stop means in the claims refers to the stopper 14 and / or the rear part 22 b of the conveyor 22.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a motor for driving the front section 22a. The motor 30 transmits the rotation to a shaft 32 by a pulley 31. The shaft 32 moves in the transfer direction A
And has an axial direction in parallel with, and rotates about the axis. A round belt 34 is hung between the shaft 32 and each roller 28. The round belt 34 is twisted once and is hung on a groove 36 formed in the roller 28, so that a rotational force can be transmitted between the roller 32 and the shaft 32 having an axis in a direction orthogonal to each other.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a motor for driving the rear stage 22b. The motor 38 transmits the rotation to a shaft 40 by a pulley (not shown). The shaft 40 has an axial direction parallel to the transport direction A similarly to the shaft 32 described above, but is not connected to the shaft 32,
Each rotates independently. Also, the shaft 4 of the rear stage portion 22b
Since the transmission of the rotational force from 0 to each roller 28 is the same as in the case of the front section 22a, the same reference numerals as those of the front section 22a are assigned and the description is omitted.

The structure of the stoppers 14, 15 will be described. Since both stoppers 14 and 15 have the same structure, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals. The stoppers 14 and 15 project upward from between the rollers 28 and contact the front side surface of the container. The lower part of the stoppers 14 and 15 is the swing arm 2
1 is fixed to one end side. The other end of the swing arm 21 is rotatable about a shaft
Are supported by a frame 25 provided with a frame.

A cylinder 29 having a rod projecting upward is connected between the one end side and the other end side of the swing arm 21. In other words, when the cylinder 29 causes the rod to protrude, the swing arm 21 can move up and down on one end side about the shaft 23, and can move the stoppers 14 and 15 up and down.

Next, the transfer means 24 will be described. 4 and 5 show enlarged views of the gripping means 42, and FIG. 6 shows a state where the cultivation bottle 2 gripped by the transfer means is lifted and extracted from the container. The transfer means 24 is provided at a predetermined position on the conveyor 22, and
A predetermined cultivation bottle 2 in a container 9 transferred above is taken out, and the taken out predetermined cultivation bottle 2 is stored in an empty container 7 which is then transferred to a conveyor. It is. Such transfer means 22 includes a plurality of gripping means 42 for gripping the cultivation bottle 2 and each gripping means 4.
And a vertically moving means 44 for vertically moving the two.

The holding means 42 is provided on a support arm 46 provided across the conveyor 22 so as to cross the transport direction. Note that, as described later, the support arm 46 can move up and down. Reference numeral 48 denotes a fixed claw, which is provided on the support arm 46 downward. Also,
A movable claw 49 is provided at a position facing the cultivation bottle 2. The neck of the cultivation bottle 2 can be gripped by the fixed claws 48 and the movable claws 49.

The movable claw 49 is attached to a lower end of a movable plate 50 that is rotatably supported on the support arm 46 about a shaft 51. A rod end of a cylinder 52 provided on a mounting plate 53 provided upward from the support arm 46 is connected to an upper end of the movable plate 50.
For this reason, the movable plate 5
0 rotates around the shaft 51 to move the movable claw 49 toward and away from the cultivation bottle 2.

The axis of the support arm 46 is aligned with the container 9.
It is provided in parallel with the row direction of the cultivation bottles 2 stored therein. A plurality of gripping means 42 are provided for one support arm 46 in accordance with the position of the culture bottle so that every other culture bottle in the row can be extracted. Further, the same number of the support arms 46 as the rows in the container 9 in the transfer direction are provided, and the corresponding cultivation bottles 2 in all the rows can be extracted at a time. At this time,
Even between two rows of cultivation bottles adjacent in the transfer direction, the cultivation bottles 2 are drawn out in a staggered manner so that there is no adjacent cultivation bottles 2. Thus, by extracting the cultivation bottle 2 in the container 9 in a zigzag manner, even if the mushroom grows around the cultivation bottle 2, it can grow without contacting other mushrooms. In the present embodiment, the cultivation bottles 2 are stored in the container 9 in 5 rows and 5 columns.
One, two, three, and two cultivation bottles 2 are extracted.

The plurality of support arms 46 are fixed together by two connecting arms 54 extending in a direction parallel to the transfer direction A by fixing and holding both ends of each support arm 46. I have. The vertical movement means 44 has the following configuration. A slide plate 56 extending in the vertical direction is fixed to each connecting arm 54. Each slide plate 56 is slidably held in a vertical direction by a holding plate 60 having a bearing 58. A rod end of a cylinder 62 that projects vertically is connected to the lower end of each slide plate 56. Due to such a configuration, the slide plate 56 moves up and down by the vertical movement of the cylinder 62, and the support arm 42 moves up and down via the connecting arm 54.

The raising distance of the vertical movement means 44 is such that at least the cultivation bottle 2 grasped can be withdrawn from the container 9, and the remaining cultivation bottle 2 is stored below while the cultivation bottle 2 is grasped with the cultivation bottle 2 pulled out. It is necessary to the extent that the container 9 can be transported.

Next, the empty container storage means 26 will be described. The empty container storage means 26 is provided not on the conveyor 22 but on the side with respect to the transport direction A. The empty container storage means 26 is provided on the upstream side in the transfer direction from the transfer position P, and immediately after the cultivation bottle 2 is extracted by the transfer means 24, the empty container 7 is removed from the conveyor 2.
2 can be sent.

In the empty container storage means 26, empty containers 7 are stacked, and the lowermost container 7 which has been stacked is held by two claw plates 64. 70 is a cylinder. The rod end of the cylinder 70 is connected to a vertically movable plate 68 that is provided to be vertically movable. Cylinder 7
The vertical movement plate 68 moves up and down as the 0 performs the projecting operation. The vertical moving plate 68 is guided by the holding plate 69 so as to be vertically movable. The claw plate 6 is provided at the upper end of the vertical motion plate 68.
4 is attached via a hinge 66. Nail plate 64
The upper end of the vertical moving plate 68 is attached to the upper end of the vertical moving plate 68 by a hinge 66.
8 is bent. For this reason, the claw plate 64 is provided so as to rotate about the hinge 66, and the lower end side moves toward and away from the vertical movement plate 68.

Rollers 72 are provided on the vertical plate 68 side of the claw plate 64.
The roller 72 is provided so as to come into contact with a holding plate 69 that holds the vertical moving plate 68. When the claw plate 64 moves up and down by the cylinder 70, the roller 72 abuts according to the surface shape of the holding plate 69.
The rotation angle of the claw plate 64 with respect to the hinge 66 can be determined. By providing such a structure, the vertical movement of the claw plate 64 and the gripping operation of gripping the container 7 can be linked. More specifically, the claw plate 64
When the container 7 is located at the lowermost position, the container 7 is released from gripping and can be fed into the conveyor 22, and once one empty container 7 is fed, the remaining containers 7 can be gripped and raised. .

An uneven surface 75 for guiding the roller 72 to move the claw plate 64 toward and away from the container 7 is formed at a position on the holding plate 68 where the roller 72 abuts. The concave-convex surface 75 is recessed at a lower portion in a direction away from the container 7 side, and protrudes from a height of 71 containers so as to approach the container 7 side at an upper portion. That is, when the claw plate 64 gradually descends while grasping the empty container 7, the holding plate 68 spreads in the direction away from the container 7 when it comes to a portion that is recessed in the direction away from the container 7 side. 7 is released.

Then, the pawl plate 6 is operated by operating the cylinder 70.
As the container 4 is raised, the roller 72 rides on the convex portion of the holding plate 68 when the container 72 rises by the height of 71 containers, and the claw plate 64 approaches the container 7 to grip the container 7. At this time, since the position where the claw plate 64 approaches is the position where the container 7 has risen by 71 containers, only the lowermost container 7 of the stacked containers 7 is left, and the container 7 that is higher than the second lowermost container is gripped. And raise it. The one remaining container 7 is fed onto the conveyor 22 by feeding means described later.

The feeding means will be described with reference to FIG. The feeding means is a mechanism for feeding one empty container 7 onto the conveyor 22, and is provided below the empty container storage means 26. On the side of the container 7 facing the conveyor 22 side, a pressing portion 76a that slides in the direction of the conveyor 22 to feed the container 7 to the conveyor 22
Is provided. The slide block 76 is slidable along a slide guide 77. On the lower surface of the slide block 76, a moving rack 78 having a groove downward is provided.

Reference numeral 80 denotes a pinion screwed with the movable rack 78. The rod end of the cylinder 83 is mounted on the pinion 80 such that the pinion is rotatable. A pedestal 8 is provided below the pinion 80.
A fixed rack 82 fixedly provided with respect to 1 is screwed and provided.

The operation of feeding an empty container will be described. When the cylinder 82 operates in a direction to extend the rod end, a pinion 80 rotatably mounted on the rod end moves the movable rack 78 in the traveling direction of the rod end of the cylinder 82 while rotating on the fixed rack 82. Then, the slide block 76 moves the container 7 through the pressing portion 76a.
Is sent to the conveyor 22.

In the above-described transfer apparatus, a description has been given of a transfer apparatus in which a part of cultivation bottles is transferred from a container in which cultivation bottles are tightly stored without gaps to an empty container. However, the transfer device may be a device that transfers cultivation bottles stored in two containers so as to be stored in one container. Hereinafter, an embodiment of such a transfer device will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the same components as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. The transfer device 90 according to the present embodiment divides the cultivation bottles 2 stored in one container 9 in the first embodiment into two containers 9 and 7 and stores
After leaving a space between them, the cultivation bottles 2 in the two containers 9 and 7 are collectively stored in one container.

That is, such a transfer device 90 is provided for each cultivation bottle 2 provided by the transfer device of the first embodiment.
After harvesting mushrooms in a container with sufficient space between them, when the cultivation bottles 2 are reused for mushroom cultivation, the space between the cultivation bottles 2 should be reduced and stored in a container at the time of seed inoculation. In order to improve the efficiency in such a case, the two containers are combined into one again. 2
One container combines the container from which the cultivation bottle 2 has been extracted in the first embodiment and the container in which the extracted cultivation bottle 2 has been stored, and combines the cultivation bottles 2 into one container. The cultivation bottles 2 in the two containers can be put together in one container without changing the position of the cultivation bottles 2.

An outline of the operation of the transfer apparatus will be described. In this transfer device 90, no empty container is used, and therefore no empty container storage means 26 for storing a plurality of empty containers is provided. Then, the transfer device 90
Means that the two types of containers 3 and 5 housed in such a manner that the cultivation bottles 2 are staggered in different arrangements are alternately manually loaded into the loading port 1.
Carry in from 0. First, two rows from the front row in the transport direction,
A container 3 containing three, two, three, and two cultivation bottles 2 is transferred on a conveyor 22. This container 3
This is a container in which the cultivation bottle 2 extracted from one container is stored in the empty container 7 in the transfer device according to the first embodiment.

After the container 3, the container 5 in which the cultivation bottles 2 are first stored without any gap in the first embodiment is carried in from the carry-in port 10. This container 5
Inside, from the front row in the transfer direction, 3, 2, 3, 2,
Three cultivation bottles 2 are stored. Therefore, the cultivation bottle 2 is formed as a container in which the cultivation bottle 2 is stored without any gaps by combining the container 3 transferred earlier and the container 5 later.

When the photoelectric tube 12 detects that the previously transferred container 3 has arrived at the transfer position P provided with the transfer means, the stopper 14 operates and the conveyor 2 is moved.
Then, the rear part 22b of the second stop stops the container 3 at the transfer position P. Subsequently, the transfer means 24 is operated, and all the cultivation bottles 2 stored in the stopped container 3 are extracted. The transfer means 24 is provided with a plurality of gripping means 42 at positions corresponding to the positions of the cultivation bottles stored in the container 3 to be transferred earlier. After extracting the cultivation bottle 2 from the container 3, the transfer unit 24 holds the cultivation bottle 2 at the transfer position P while lifting the cultivation bottle 2. When the stopper 14 is released and the rear part 22b of the conveyor 22 resumes operation, the empty container from which all the cultivation bottles 2 have been removed is carried out from the carry-out port 11.

The container 5 transferred later is a container in which the cultivation bottles 2 extracted from the container 3 transferred earlier are stored between adjacent cultivation bottles 2 and the cultivation bottles 2 are stored without gaps. It is formed. Then, when the transfer of the cultivation bottles 2 into the container 5 is completed at the transfer position P, the container in which the cultivation bottles 2 are stored without gaps is also transferred from the transfer position P and unloaded from the outlet 11. . As described above, the transfer device 90 is configured to store the cultivation bottle 2
The cultivation bottles 2 in two containers having a gap therebetween can be combined to easily form a single container in which the cultivation bottles 2 are stored without any gap without manual operation.

The container 3 is located at the transfer position P,
While the container 5 is being transferred immediately after the container 3 (upstream in the transfer direction A), if the container 3 is further transferred after the container 5, the cultivation bottle 2 from the container 3 by the transfer means 24 is transferred. In some cases, the removal of the cultivation bottle 2 and the transfer of the cultivation bottle 2 to the container 5 may not be performed properly because the container is pushed from behind. Therefore, a space for one container is provided behind the transfer position P, and a stopper 15 is provided immediately after the space, and the conveyor 22a is also divided into the rear part 22b and the front part 22a. The waiting position R for holding the transferred container is provided. That is, at the transfer position P, when the transfer process by the containers 3 and 5 is started and the photoelectric tube 17 detects that the container 3 has been further transferred, the stopper 15 is operated and the front stage of the conveyor 22 is moved. 22a is stopped, so that the containers 3 and
5, so that the container 3 from the upstream side in the transfer direction can be prevented from abutting.

In the two embodiments described above, it is preferable to use air cylinders for the cylinders 29, 52, 62, 70, and 83, but other cylinders may be used.

Although the present invention has been described in various embodiments with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Of course.

[0048]

According to the apparatus for transferring cultivation bottles according to the present invention, one container in which a plurality of cultivation bottles are stored, a transfer means for alternately transferring empty containers, and a transfer means for transferring the empty containers. A part of the plurality of cultivation bottles stored in one container is taken out from one container, and the taken out cultivation bottle is used as an empty container which is transferred by the transfer means after one container. And a transfer means for storing the cultivation bottle in the container being transported, so that the cultivation bottle in the container being transferred can be taken out and transferred to another container. This has an effect that the container can be easily formed as a container having a gap without any manual operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a cultivation bottle transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cultivation bottle transfer device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the cultivation bottle transfer device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is a plan view of a gripping unit. (B) It is a side view of a holding means.

FIG. 5 (a) is a plan view showing a state where a cultivation bottle is gripped by gripping means. (B) It is a side view which shows the place where the cultivation bottle was gripped by the gripping means.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the cultivation bottle transfer device, showing a state where a transfer device is operated to extract a predetermined cultivation bottle from inside one container.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the cultivation bottle transfer device illustrating a feeding unit for feeding an empty container onto a conveyor.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a second embodiment of the cultivation bottle transfer device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Cultivation bottle 7 Empty container 3,5,9 Container 10 Carry-in port 11 Carry-out port 14,15 Stopper 20,90 Cultivation bottle transfer device 21 Swing arm 22 Transfer means 23 Shaft 24 Transfer means 25 Frame 26 Empty container Storage means 28 Roller 30, 38 Motor 31 Pulley 32, 40 Shaft 34 Round belt 36 Groove 42 Gripping means 44 Vertical movement means 46 Support arm 48 Fixed claw 49 Movable claw 50 Movable plate 51 Axis 29, 52, 62, 70, 83 Cylinder 53 Mounting plate 54 Connecting arm 56 Slide plate 58 Bearing 60 Holding plate 64 Claw plate 66 Hinge 68 Vertical movement plate 69 Holding plate 72 Roller 76 Slide block 77 Slide guide 78 Moving rack 80 Pinion 81 Base 82 Fixed rack

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A container in which a plurality of cultivation bottles are stored, a transfer means for alternately transferring empty containers, and a container transferred from the transfer means and stored in the container. Transfer means for removing a part of the plurality of cultivation bottles, and storing the removed cultivation bottle in an empty container transferred by the transfer means after one container. A cultivation bottle transfer device, characterized in that: 2. The transfer means, wherein, among a plurality of cultivation bottles in the one container which are tightly stored without any gap, every other cultivation bottle in the same row, and a staggered position between each row It is characterized by comprising a plurality of gripping means provided at a position corresponding to the cultivation bottle to be taken out so as to take out the cultivation bottle and gripping the cultivation bottle, and up-down movement means for vertically moving each of the gripping means. The cultivation bottle transfer device according to claim 1. 3. A sensor for detecting whether the one container or the empty container has arrived at a transfer position provided with the transfer means, and the sensor detects whether the one container or the empty container has reached the transfer position. When detecting that the container has arrived at the transfer position, the first container or the empty container is stopped at the transfer position.
The cultivation bottle transfer device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a stopping means. 4. A holding means for stacking and holding a plurality of said empty containers, and an empty container from said holding means to a feeding position provided upstream of a transfer position where said transfer means is provided. And an empty container storage means having a sending means for sending one of the containers.
A cultivation bottle transfer device as described in the above. 5. A second container which is provided upstream of the feeding position in the transfer direction and stops one container so that one container is not transferred to the sending position when an empty container is sent to the sending position. The cultivation bottle transfer device according to claim 4, further comprising a stopping means. 6. The cultivation bottle transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the cultivation bottle extracted from the one container and stored in the empty container is returned to a position where the one container is removed. .