JP2002065232A - Leaf vegetable processing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problems of a leaf vegetable processing machine incapable of cutting the leaf vegetables in aligned state to necessitate the labor- taking work for the disposal of the unnecessary leaf after the removal of the unnecessary leaf. SOLUTION: A leaf vegetable B is supplied from a side of a transfer mechanism 6, the root is cut off during the transfer of the vegetable and the unnecessary leaves such as under leaves and outer leaves are removed. In a leaf vegetable processing machine having the above function, an unnecessary leaf removing part 8 is positioned in the middle of the transfer path of the transfer mechanism and a sucking device 9 is placed at the unnecessary leaf removing part composed of a rotary brush and a removing cylinder 37 placed above and below the transfer path. The rotary brush has a rotary axis parallel to the transfer direction and is provided with bristles radially protruded from the rotary axis. Plural rotary brushes 35, 36 are placed perpendicular to the transfer direction of the leaf vegetable.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for continuously preparing leafy vegetables such as spinach and komatsuna, which have been harvested from a field, by automatically cutting the roots of the leafy vegetables and removing dead and unnecessary leaves. The present invention relates to a configuration of a leaf vegetable preparation machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, leafy vegetables (soft vegetables) such as spinach, komatsuna, and spring chrysanthemum have been harvested from the field, and the roots have been cut off, and unnecessary dead leaves and outer leaves have been manually processed. Because of the labor involved, techniques for mechanical processing are known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-26263
4 and JP-A-11-276143. In this technology, the leaf conveying belt is arranged from the beginning to the end of the machine body, the root conveying belt is arranged from a starting end to a cutting mechanism, and a double conveying belt having a low and a high step is provided. A stock presser belt is placed above the conveyor belt, and the root of the leafy vegetables is cut off while being conveyed. In the subsequent process, the lower leaf removal mechanism is performed by conveying the leaf while holding the leaves with the leaf conveyor belt and the leaf presser belt. Unnecessary leaves are removed, and the lower leaf removing mechanism peels the unnecessary leaves between rotating rolls or belts that rotate inward and face each other.

[0003]

However, in the prior art, when leafy vegetables are placed on the supply side of a leaf-portion-conveying belt, they are conveyed in that posture, and the root cutting and lower leaf removal are continuously performed. Although it is processed, if the posture for placing the leafy vegetables is oblique, the cut end of the cut root is also oblique, which lowers the commercial value. In addition, if the configuration is such that the lower leaves are removed by a rotating roll or a belt, if the interval is too small, the stems of the leafy vegetables are damaged, and the posture at the time of transport does not change. Unnecessary leaves could be removed, but unnecessary leaves located on the side were difficult to remove.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention supplies leaf vegetables from one side of a transport mechanism, cuts a root portion while transporting the leaf vegetables, and cuts the lower leaf. And a leaf vegetable preparing machine for removing unnecessary leaves such as outer leaves, comprising a pair of removal rotating bodies arranged vertically, and an unnecessary leaf removal unit including a suction device, in the middle of the transport of the transport mechanism. In the greens preparation machine, the removing rotary body is provided above and below the leafy vegetable transport path, with a rotating axis parallel to the transport direction, and a plurality of rotating brushes and removing cylinders protruding hairs radially from the rotating axis. The rotary brush and the removal cylinder are configured to be position adjustable. Further, in a leaf vegetable preparation machine that supplies leaf vegetables from one side of a transport mechanism, cuts a root portion while transporting the leaf vegetables, and removes unnecessary leaves such as lower leaves and outer leaves, a transport route starting end side. In addition, a transporting body is provided which clamps the root and pulls it toward the opposite side of the leaf.

[0005]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a front view of the leafy vegetable preparing machine of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same, FIG. 3 is a plan view of an unnecessary leaf removing section, FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the same, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a stalk pressing and conveying device, a root pulling and conveying device, and a slat plate portion.

First, the overall configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the leafy vegetable preparation machine A has a supply section 1 on the right side, a discharge section 3 on the left side, and a processing section 2 disposed therebetween, and the processing section 2 is covered with a cover (not shown). And is supported by the support legs 5. The supply unit 1 supports a leaf conveying device 11, a stem starting end conveying device 12, a stem pressing conveying device 15 and a root pulling conveying device 16, which will be described later, on the starting end conveying frame 4. The end of the processing unit 2 is pivotally supported, and the support rod 10 is interposed between the lower surface of the starting-side transfer frame 4 and the support leg 5 to change the length of the support rod 10 so that the supply height is increased. Can be changed or stored.

The leafy vegetable preparing machine A includes a transport mechanism 6 for transporting the leafy vegetable B, a cutting mechanism 7 for cutting the root of the leafy vegetable, and an unnecessary leaf removing section 8 for removing unnecessary lower leaves and dead leaves. The cutting unit 7 continuously cuts the root while transporting leafy vegetables such as spinach and komatsuna, and removes unnecessary lower leaves and dead leaves by the unnecessary leaf removing unit 8. The unnecessary leaves are conveyed to a predetermined place by the suction device 9, and the prepared leafy vegetables are discharged from the discharge unit 3. A guide plate 18 and a discharge conveyor 17 are arranged in the discharge section 3.
7, the prepared leafy vegetables are conveyed to the washing step and the bundling step and shipped. In addition, although the discharge conveyor 17 is a separate body, it can be configured integrally with the leafy vegetable preparation machine A, and can also be configured so that the power is conveyed by one motor.

The transport mechanism 6 includes a leaf transport device 11, a stem starting end transport device 12, a stem end transport device 13, a leaf pressing transport device 14, a stem pressing transport device 15, a root pull transport device 16, It is composed of a slide plate 19 and is arranged on the transport path. The leaf conveying device 11 is arranged at a front position between the start end of the supply unit 1 and the discharge unit 3, and a wide belt is horizontally arranged to place and convey the leaf of leafy vegetables. I have. The stem starting end side transport device 12 is arranged at the rear position at the same height as the leaf transport device 11 and extends from the start end of the supply unit 1 to the end position of the cutting mechanism 7 (or the start end of the unnecessary leaf removing unit 8). The stalk portion is conveyed by a wide belt, and a projection 12a is provided in a band shape on the edge of the rear end as shown in FIG. 6 so that positioning at the time of supply can be easily performed. I have.

The stalk-end conveying device 13 is located at the same height as the leaf conveying device 11 and at a rear portion thereof from the end position of the unnecessary leaf removing section 8 to the discharge section 3,
The stem is conveyed by a wide belt. In other words, the portion where the unnecessary leaf removing section 8 is located does not have the stem conveying device, so that it does not hinder the operation of removing unnecessary leaves from the stem of the leafy vegetables.

The leaf pressing and conveying device 14 is disposed at a position above the rear of the leaf conveying device 11 between the front position of the cutting mechanism 7 and the discharge portion 3, and is located above the rear of the support leg 5. The support frame 22 is laid on the front of the support rods 21 extending forward from the upper part of the rear frame 20 extending from the upper part of the rear frame 20, and the leaf holder is supported from both sides of the support frame 22 via the support links 23. The transfer frame 24 is supported. One end of each of the support links 23 is formed as a long hole, and the height and the inclination of the leaf holding and conveying device 14 can be changed by changing the length or angle when fixing with the bolt. Like that. Then, the drive roller 25 is disposed on the left side of the leaf holding transport frame 24, the driven roller 26 is disposed on the right side, and a belt formed of sponge or urethane is wound between the drive roller 25 and the driven roller 26. ing.

The stalk pressing / conveying device 15 is disposed at a position above the stalk starting / conveying device 12 at a position halfway between the stalk starting / conveying device 12 and the end of the cutting mechanism 7 (or unnecessary leaf removal). Until the beginning of part 8)
An intermediate portion of the pedestal holding transport frame 30 is supported via a link 29 on the right side of a support frame 27 supported by the support rods 21 and a column extending above both sides of the support leg 5 via a link 29, and the pedestal press is supported. The left side of the transport frame 30 is supported by a drive shaft, and a belt made of sponge or urethane is wound between a roller on the drive shaft and a driven roller supported on the right side of the stem pressing transport frame 30.

The root pulling and conveying device 16 includes the upper conveying body 1.
6a and the lower transport body 16b, which are disposed substantially vertically symmetrically with respect to the transport surface, and are disposed on the transport path start end side. The root pulling conveying device 16 is located at a position rearward of the stalk starting end side conveying device 12, and the starting end thereof is connected to the stalk pressing conveying device 15.
Of the cutting mechanism 7 and the starting end of the cutting mechanism 7. However, it is preferable that the end of the stem pressing and conveying device 15 extends to the end of the cutting mechanism 7, and cutting accuracy can be improved by cutting while pressing.

[0013] In a plan view, they are arranged obliquely so that the end side opens rearward. In other words, the other transport devices (the leaf transport device 11, the stem starting end transport device 12, the stem end transport device 13, the leaf pressing transport device 14, and the stem pressing transport device 15) are parallel to the transport direction. However, only the root pulling conveyance device 16 is inclined rearward at the end side. In other words, it is arranged such that the distance from the stem holding device 15 is minimum at the start end and gradually widens at the rear end. In this manner, the root is pulled rearward so that the root of the root is aligned, and the root can be cut at a predetermined position by the cutting mechanism 7.

As shown in FIG.
Spacing between the stem starting end side transport device 12 and the root pulling transport device 16 and between the stem pressing and holding transport device 15 and the root pulling transport device 16 such that the roots of the leafy vegetables B can pass vertically. The root pulling and conveying device 16 is arranged from the starting end to the cutting mechanism 7 starting end. And, by arranging the sliding plates 19 on the side of the stem starting end side transporting device 12 in parallel with the transport direction, when the root pulling transporting device 16 pulls, the projections 12a and the sliding plates 19, 19 are used to cut the root. Alignment for the purpose. In this way, the root of the leafy vegetables is pulled by the carrier, that is, the root pulling and transporting device 16, so that the direction of the leafy vegetables is at right angles to the transport direction,
The traces of the root cut by the cutting mechanism can be aligned, the positions of the roots can be aligned, and the work position in the unnecessary leaf removing section can be kept constant to achieve a fine finish.

The cutting mechanism 7 has a disk-shaped cutting blade 31.
a and 31b are arranged substantially vertically symmetrically with respect to the conveying surface, and are displaced back and forth so that the outer peripheral ends overlap on the conveying path, and the stalk starting end side conveying device 12 and the stalk pressing conveying device 1 are arranged.
At the rear position of 5, the cutting blades 31a and 31b are arranged so that the axis is in the front-rear horizontal direction and is perpendicular to the conveying surface.

The unnecessary leaf removing section 8 is disposed at the rear position of the space between the stem starting end side transport device 12 and the stem end terminating side transport device 13, and the unnecessary leaf removing section 8 is provided with a pair of vertically disposed removing sections. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the removing rotating body includes a rotating brush and a removing cylindrical body 37.
.. 37. The rotating brush includes pre-processing brushes 35, removing brushes 36, 36,..., And the pre-processing brushes 35, 35 are driven shafts 35a, 35
The hairs 35b protrude radially around the center a, and are arranged in a pair symmetrically with respect to the transport surface, and the drive shafts 35a and 35a are parallel to the transport direction and inward to each other (so that the opposing surfaces move rearward). It is driven to rotate. Then, the pre-processing brush 35
.. 35 are removal brushes 36, 36 and removal cylinder 37.
· 37 · ··················································································································· Pulling in the outer leaves to the inside with a slight interval without overlapping the tip of the hair 35b Like that.

A plurality of the removal brushes 36 and 36 and the removal cylinders 37 are alternately arranged on the same rotation axis 39 and are transported at the rear positions of the pretreatment brushes 35. On the lower side, the removing brush 36 is arranged vertically symmetrically with respect to the transport path, and the removing brush 36 radially protrudes the hair from the disk-shaped support to form a rotating brush, and the rotating locus of the tip thereof is arranged so as to overlap vertically. are doing. Pretreatment brush 35
The hair of the removal brush 36 is an elastic body made of a synthetic resin or the like, and the main part of the leafy vegetables is hard enough not to be damaged.

The removing cylinder 37 is formed of an elastic material having a high coefficient of friction made of synthetic resin or the like on the outer periphery of the roll, and the upper and lower removing cylinders 37 are disposed so as to be opposed to each other so as to be in contact with each other. . Thus, the unnecessary leaves can be guided to the root side and removed by the plurality of rotating brushes, and the unnecessary leaves can be reliably removed.
With 35, the removal range could be expanded. However, the pretreatment brushes 35 and the removal brush 36
·············· The height of the removal cylinders 37 · 37 · · · can be adjusted, so that the height and vertical spacing can be adjusted according to the type and size of leafy vegetables I have. Furthermore, by adjusting the position in the front-back direction, it is possible to match the length of the leafy vegetables.

The unnecessary leaf removing portion 8 is covered at its top, bottom, left, right and back by a cover 40.
Only the portion for transporting the leafy vegetables is opened so that the removed unnecessary leaves and the like are not scattered. However, the cover 40 may be configured to cover the cutting mechanism 7 as well. And
A suction device 9 is connected to the unnecessary leaf removing section 8, and the suction device 9 communicates one end of the duct 41 with a rear surface of the cover 40, and the other end of the duct 41 communicates with a suction fan 42. .

Next, the drive configuration will be described with reference to FIG. A motor 50 serving as a driving source is housed in a cover of the processing unit 2, and a sprocket 52 is fixed to an output shaft 51 of the motor 50. introduce. Power is transmitted from the chain 53 to the sprocket 55 on the first transmission shaft 54, and the pulley 56 fixed on the first transmission shaft 54 drives the pedicle portion start end side transport device 12. In addition, the pedestal pressing and conveying device 15 is driven by a sprocket 57 fixed on the first transmission shaft 54 via a chain transmission mechanism 58, and a chain transmission mechanism 60 is fixed by a sprocket 59 fixed on the first transmission shaft 54.
, The root pulling and conveying device 16 is driven. Further, the cutting blades 31 a and 3 of the cutting mechanism 7 are separated from a sprocket 61 fixed on the first transmission shaft 54 via a chain transmission mechanism 62.
1b is driven.

The second transmission shaft 6 is
The power is transmitted to the sprocket 64 on the top 3, and the leaf transmission device 11 and the stem end-side transportation device 13 are transmitted from the second transmission shaft 63.
Drive. Then, the leaf pressing and conveying device 14 is driven by the second transmission shaft 63 via the chain transmission mechanism 65. In this way, the leaf transport device 11, the stem start end transport device 12, the stem end transport device 13, the leaf pressing transport device 14, the stem pressing transport device 15, and the root pull transport device 16 are synchronized. It is driven.

The unnecessary leaf removing unit 8 has a different driving path, and a belt transmission mechanism 68 is provided by an output shaft 67 of a motor 66.
Are driven through the upper and lower removal brushes 36, 36 and the removal cylinders 37, 37. The configuration is such that the brushes 35 are driven. However,
The number of the motors 50 and 66 may be changed as a single unit via a speed change mechanism, and the whole may be driven by a single drive source. The power transmission mechanism is not limited to a belt type, a chain type, a gear type, or the like.

In such a configuration, the motor 50
By driving 66, the leaf portion B is transported to the left when the root portion of the leaf vegetable B is placed on the leaf portion transport device 11 and the stem portion start side transport device 12 with the root portion facing backward, The stem is sandwiched between the stem start end side transport device 12 and the stem presser transport device 15, the root portion is sandwiched between the root pull transport devices 16 and further transported to the left. At this time, since the root pulling transport device 16 gradually separates rearward, the root portion is pulled rearward,
The posture of the leaf vegetables is perpendicular to the transport direction, and the root positions are aligned.

When the root portion of the leafy vegetables B is released from the root pulling and conveying device 16 or while being held by the root pulling and conveying device 16, the root portion is cut by the cutting mechanism 7, and the leaf portion is conveyed while holding the leaf portion. Device 14 and leaf conveying device 11
And is released from the stalk pressing and conveying device 15, conveyed to the left, and reaches the unnecessary leaf removing unit 8. While being conveyed at this position, unnecessary leaves such as lower leaves and dead leaves of stems and roots are first sent backward by the rotation of the pretreatment brushes 35 and soft unnecessary leaves are rotated by the rotation of the removal brushes 36. Unnecessary leaves that are peeled off and relatively hard are peeled off by rotation of the removing cylinders 37.

The peeled unnecessary leaves are sucked by the suction device 9, sucked backward through the duct 41 and sucked into the suction fan 42, and collected by a filter (not shown). And at this time,
The leafy vegetables do not hang downward due to the suction wind sucked backward. The leaves are conveyed to the left while being sandwiched between the leaf holding and conveying device 14 and the leaf conveying device 11, and the lower part of the leafy vegetables is received by the stalk end side conveying device 13 and conveyed to the discharge unit 3. . The paper is stored in a container by the discharge unit 3 or further bundled in a bundle. In this way, only the leaf vegetables from which the roots of the leaf vegetables have been cut off and unnecessary leaves at the root portions have been removed are obtained.

[0026]

The present invention is configured as described above.
The following effects are obtained. That is, as in claim 1, leaf vegetables are supplied from one side of the transport mechanism, the roots are cut while transporting the leaf vegetables, and unnecessary leaves such as lower leaves and outer leaves are removed. In the preparation machine, on the transport start end side, a transport body that clamps and pulls the root is provided, and in the middle of transport of the transport mechanism, a removing rotary body and a suction device for removing unnecessary leaves are arranged, and the removing rotary body is provided. Above and below the leafy vegetable transport route,
A rotation axis is provided in parallel with the transport direction, the rotation axis is constituted by a plurality of rotation brushes protruding hairs radially from the rotation axis and a removal cylinder, and the rotation brush and the removal cylinder are configured to be position adjustable. Therefore, merely supplying the leafy vegetables to the leafy vegetable preparing apparatus automatically removes the outer leaves and dead leaves of the leafy vegetables and automatically performs the preparation operation, thereby improving the workability. Further, these unnecessary leaves are sucked by the suction device, so that the processing of the unnecessary leaves is simplified and the handling becomes easy. And
Unnecessary leaves removed by the rotating brush are immediately sucked, so that the leaves are not entangled or stained around the rotating brush, clogging and the like can be prevented beforehand, and the working efficiency is not reduced. In addition, dripping of the lower side of the leaf is prevented by the suction wind.

Further, the root of the leafy vegetables is pulled by the carrier body which clamps and pulls the roots, so that the direction of the leafy vegetables becomes a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the cutting marks of the roots by the cutting mechanism can be aligned. The root position is aligned, and the work position in the unnecessary leaf removal section is fixed, making it possible to finish neatly.In addition, unnecessary leaves can be removed while transporting leafy vegetables, and the rotation of the rotating brush As a result, soft unnecessary leaves can be removed, and relatively hard unnecessary leaves can be removed by rotation of the removing rotating body. Then, the unnecessary leaves can be guided to the root side and removed by the plurality of rotating brushes, so that the unnecessary leaves can be reliably removed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a leafy vegetable preparing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an unnecessary leaf removing unit.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a skeleton diagram showing a drive transmission system of the leafy vegetable preparing machine.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a stalk pressing and conveying device, a root pulling and conveying device, and a slat plate portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A leaf vegetable preparation machine B leaf vegetable 6 transport mechanism 7 cutting mechanism 8 unnecessary leaf removing part 9 suction device 35 pretreatment brush 36 removal brush 37 removal cylinder

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yukihiro Fukuda 428 Enami, Okayama-shi In-house (72) Inventor Konosuke Tsuga 1-40-2 Nisshin-cho, Omiya-shi, Saitama Japan Biological Specific Industrial Technology Research Within the Japan Propulsion Agency (72) Inventor Yosuke Matsuo 1-40-2 Nisshin-cho, Omiya City, Saitama Prefecture Inside the Biological Specified Industrial Technology Research Promotion Organization (72) Hiromi Omori 1-40-2 Nisshin-cho, Omiya City, Saitama Biological System F-term in the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Reference) 4B061 AA02 AA07 BA03 BB13 CB07 CB11 CB16 CB18

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A leaf vegetable preparation machine which supplies leaf vegetables from one side of a transport mechanism, cuts a root portion while transporting the leaf vegetables, and removes unnecessary leaves such as lower leaves and outer leaves. On the starting end side, a transport body for holding and pulling the root is provided, and in the middle of the transport of the transport mechanism, a removing rotary body for removing unnecessary leaves and a suction device are arranged, and the removing rotary body is transported with leafy vegetables. Above and below the path, a rotation axis is provided in parallel with the transport direction, the rotation brush is configured to include a plurality of rotation brushes radially projecting from the rotation axis and a removal cylinder, and the rotation brush and the removal cylinder are formed. A leaf vegetable preparation machine characterized in that the position is adjustable.