JP2002234614A - Aligning/converting device for agricultural products - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an aligning/converting device that is adequate for securing a stable placement of agricultural products in conveying or discharging them, can laterally smoothly move them in bringing them near one side in the lateral direction of the conveying of a conveying passage, and can smoothly sort and discharge them. SOLUTION: This aligning/converting device comprises a conveying conveyer 101 for arranging at a narrow interval many small-width support bodies of the agricultural products having a size long in the lateral direction of the conveying and short in the conveying direction and for oscillating elastic body projection 1021 groups about a cantilever support side of the support bodies 101 as the rotation center with its free end side tilted down, a roller 202 for slightly vibrating the support bodies 101 vertically on the upstream side of a discharge position, and a side conveyer 201 for positioning, in the lateral direction of the conveying, the agricultural products P that is extended along the conveying passage on the free end side where the elastic body projection 1021 groups tilt in a predetermined region having the roller 202.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to oranges, potatoes,
The present invention relates to an aligning / conveying apparatus preferably used in an agricultural product sorting and packaging facility for sorting and packaging agricultural products such as onions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to sort (sort) agricultural products, it has become common to carry out large-scale sorting while transporting the agricultural products at a high speed. Operations such as image pickup for inspecting the appearance, transmitted light measurement for inspecting the internal quality, and ink jet printing for printing various information on the surface have been performed.

In order to carry out these operations, it is necessary to handle agricultural products suitable for each operation. For example, for high-speed transportation, it is necessary to be able to stably carry agricultural products on a conveyor without damaging them. Desirably, it is desirable to be able to image a large area for the external quality inspection, and for the internal quality inspection, the information contained in the transmitted light that passes through the inside of the agricultural product and is greatly attenuated is determined. It is desired that measurement can be performed with high accuracy. Further, for printing work, it is desired that the distance from the printing device to the agricultural product is always kept constant and accurate printing is performed.

[0004] However, it is not easy to simultaneously satisfy the requirements suitable for the various operations described above. For example, a sorting device that sorts and discharges agricultural products conveyed on a conveyor by an air nozzle type discharging device (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
No. 136864), a plurality of slat-like plates which are narrow in the conveying direction and long in the lateral direction of the conveyance are supported by a cantilever on a conveyor chain, and a large number of slat-like elastic products are provided on the upper surface of the slat-like plate, so that a lumpy agricultural product is easily rolled. A sorting device (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-247), in which the free end side of the slat-like plate is turned downward at the sorting position so that agricultural products can be discharged downward, A device in which a plurality of small rollers are arranged side by side on a support frame of a width, and the rotation of these rollers allows the transport of agricultural products to move smoothly in the horizontal direction.Furthermore, agricultural products slide out in the transport horizontal direction due to the inclination of the roller surface Techniques for functions and mechanisms suitable for sorting and the like, such as a sorting device for discharging (Japanese Patent No. 2823041) are disclosed. However, there is no disclosure of a technique that satisfies the optimum conditions for printing from the side of the conveyor or measuring the internal transmitted light, and therefore, a mechanism for accurate printing is not disclosed. And a mechanism for realizing accurate measurement of transmitted light is not shown.

In addition, for the latter printing and transmitted light measurement, it is important to keep the distance between the printing device and the transmitted light measuring device (particularly, the light receiving optical system) at a constant level. It is desired to align the printing surface or the transmitted light exit surface so that the position in the horizontal direction of conveyance is constant.
In Japanese Patent No. 6137, there is disclosed a printing conveyor having a conveying surface with one side in the conveying lateral direction being high and the other side being low, a side receiving belt for receiving the side surface of the agricultural product on this low side, and printing for printing on the side surface of the fruit. There has also been proposed a sorting device having an alignment function having a device.

[0006] However, although this proposal has a function of rolling agricultural products on a transport surface and printing them on one side, it is further devised to combine a sorting mechanism with such a transport conveyor for printing. Will be needed. As one of the ideas, it is conceivable to use a conveyor attached with a printing device and a conveyor attached with a sorting device by connecting them in the conveying direction. In this case, it is necessary to use two conveyor devices. Therefore, there is a problem that the cost increases and a connecting portion is generated, so that the agricultural product rolls at the time of transfer and damages the product. Furthermore, this real public sho 61-6
No. 137 discloses a method of rolling agricultural products for alignment, so that agricultural products (elliptical,
Deformation, irregularities, etc.) cannot be processed.

Furthermore, in the above-described rolling type alignment processing, when rolling, the agricultural products are displaced on a conveyor,
When this occurs in the transport direction, in a device that uses a stepping motor to drive the conveyor to determine the discharge position by shift control, the transport distance to the discharge device to which the sorting information is sent is out of order. There is also a risk that mistakes may be made in the discharge of agricultural products to a conveyer or the like in the sorting section to be carried out.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is suitable for ensuring stable loading of agricultural products during normal transport and discharge. It is an object of the present invention to provide an aligning / conveying apparatus capable of simultaneously satisfying different requirements that a lateral movement can be performed smoothly and sorting / discharging can be carried out smoothly when aligning to one side. .

Another object of the present invention is to make the optical path length from the agricultural product to the light receiving system pass before the above-mentioned transmitted light receiving system, etc. In order to be able to keep the distance to the printing surface of the constant, the movement when aligning the agricultural products on one side in the lateral direction of the transport path on the conveyor, and smooth the movement, especially the transport surface It is an object of the present invention to provide an aligning / conveying device capable of smoothly performing one-sided alignment for alignment while maintaining the holding of agricultural products stably.

[0010]

The above object is achieved by an apparatus for arranging and conveying agricultural products having the following constitutions (1) to (3). (1) Forming a transport path for transporting a large number of agricultural products having a long dimension in the lateral direction and a short dimension in the transport direction, arranged side by side in the transport direction at narrow intervals in the transport direction. A group of carriers to be supported, a rotating means for endlessly rotating the group of carriers while maintaining a restrained state of maintaining the horizontal posture of the carrier by supporting the carrier group on one side in the lateral direction of conveyance, and A large number of elastic projections having a substantially constant height are provided on the upper surface and inclined to the free end side in the lateral direction of conveyance, and at the discharge position, the cantilever supporter that holds the carrier in a horizontal posture is restrained. Conveyor means configured to be released and fall and swing downward at the free end side with the cantilever support source of the carrier as the center of rotation, and the carrier in a predetermined area upstream of the discharge position of the transport path. Vibration means for fine vibration in the vertical direction and this vibration means Characterized in that it has a side conveyor for laterally positioning the agricultural product, which extends along the transport path at the free end side of the elastic projection group inclined in the inclined area in the inclined area. apparatus. (2) Conveyance: A large number of small-sized carriers of agricultural products having a long dimension in the lateral direction and a short dimension in the transport direction are arranged side by side at a narrow interval in the transport direction, and a transport path for transporting the agricultural products on the upper side is formed. A group of carriers to be supported, a rotating means for endlessly rotating the group of carriers while maintaining a restrained state of maintaining the horizontal posture of the carrier by supporting the carrier group on one side in the lateral direction of conveyance, and A large number of elastic projections having a substantially constant height are provided on the upper surface and inclined to the free end side in the lateral direction of conveyance, and at the discharge position, the cantilever supporter that holds the carrier in a horizontal posture is restrained. A pair of conveyor means configured to be released and fall down and swing at the free end side with the cantilever support source of the carrier as the center of rotation, and symmetrically with the free end tips of the carrier facing each other at a small interval. Provided in a predetermined area on the transport path upstream of the discharge position. Alignment conveyor apparatus of agricultural products, characterized in that a vibration means for minute vibration of the symmetric pair of carrier in the vertical direction. (3) The invention described above, wherein the vibrating means is configured to come into contact with a plurality of rotatable rollers arranged on the lower surface of the carrier along the conveyance path to vibrate the carrier in the vertical direction. The aligning and conveying device according to (1) or (2).

In the above description, “dimensions that are long in the lateral direction of conveyance”
This means that when the agricultural products sent from the previous process are transferred, they have sufficient lateral dimensions of the transport path,
"Short dimension in the transport direction" means that the spacing between the carriers adjacent in the transport direction is narrow, and in order to support one agricultural product, at least two or more, preferably three or more carriers are used. It is good to contact with agricultural products, and the more the number of carriers that support one agricultural product, the more stable loading can be realized. The “transport path” refers to a transport path of agricultural products formed by a carrier that is in intermittent contact, not a continuous surface.

The carrier may have various structures such as a rod shape and a plate shape, and it is a matter of course that a conventionally known keyboard shape or slat shape may be used.

A typical example of the "rotating means" is a conveyor chain that rotates endlessly. The link between the endless rotating means such as a conveyor chain and the carrier performs "constraining the cantilever support source that keeps the carrier in a horizontal position", and releases the restraint at the discharge position so that the free end side of the carrier becomes free. Preferably, it is provided so as to be freely rotatable downward. For this purpose, a locking means is provided between the endless rotating means and the carrier, and an unlocking means is provided along the transport path, and a lock state is provided. Return means is provided. Further, the carriers may be linked one by one to a conveyor chain or the like, but several carriers are connected to one support base, and this support base is connected to the conveyor chain or the like to facilitate assembly of the apparatus. Can also be planned.

The "elastic projection" is generally made of an elastic material such as a rubber material, and has a rigidity such that the agricultural product is not easily crushed and deformed when the agricultural product is placed. That is, the agricultural product vibrates on the elastic projection. It is designed so as to have an elastic force suitable for moving smoothly in a certain direction (inclination direction of the projection) by floating. However, if the rigidity is too high, there is a risk of damaging the agricultural products that come into contact with it. Therefore, depending on the type of agricultural products to be treated, etc., it is better to experimentally and empirically select and adopt the elasticity and rigidity of the material. . As a specific configuration of the elastic projection, a configuration in which the upper end protruding upward from the surface of the carrier is inclined at 10 ° to 25 ° toward the free end side can be preferably exemplified, but the present invention is limited to this angle. is not. As the elastic projection, a rod-like or wire (plate) -like appropriate one can be used as long as the object of the present invention can be realized. However, the elastic protrusion is arranged as dense as possible and has a height of about several mm. It should be composed.

[0015] The "discharge position" refers to an installation position of a discharge device provided for each of a plurality of unloading conveyors installed along a transport path for sorting and discharging agricultural products. , And 10 discharge positions are provided. In the present invention, in order to discharge the agricultural products corresponding to the unloading conveyor installed corresponding to the sorting section determined according to the predetermined sorting element, a lock for unlocking the horizontal posture of the carrier that supports the agricultural products is released. Release means are provided at each discharge position, and the agricultural products are discharged to the carry-out conveyor corresponding to the sorting division.

The "constraining of the cantilever supporter for keeping the carrier in a horizontal position" is not particularly limited in mechanism and structure.
In short, a state in which the carrier is maintained (constrained) in a posture suitable for carrying and transporting the agricultural products. The release of the restraint is performed after discharging the agricultural products to the corresponding carry-out conveyor after judging the sorting category of the agricultural products. It is performed in the position where it does. The carrier that has discharged the agricultural products due to the release of the restraint is returned to the restrained state at a stage before carrying the next agricultural product by rotating endlessly. This return can be performed using, for example, a guide rail or the like.

"Vibration means" refers to means for acting so that agricultural products are slightly lifted up and down from the carrier having the elastic projections on the upper surface. The contact force between the agricultural products and the elastic projections is reduced, and the agricultural products come into strong contact again. In this case, the movement of the elastic projection is affected by the inclined posture of the elastic projection. Therefore, the mechanism and structure are not particularly limited as long as they can exhibit this function. However, as an actual device used industrially, for example, in consideration of reduction in installation cost and the like, the above-described invention (3) can be used. Such a simple rotatable roller is preferably employed.

The vibration applied to the carrier by the vibration means is 1
An extremely small vibration of about 2 mm or less is sufficient, and the position for applying the vibration is not limited, but it is preferable to apply the vibration on the free end side.

The "side conveyor" is not particularly limited as long as it can position the agricultural product in the lateral direction when the agricultural product is transported. Preferably, the side conveyor is an endless rotating belt so as not to rotate the agricultural product in contact therewith. It is preferable to use a mold type, in particular, a belt type which is set so that the conveying surface moves at a speed synchronized with the conveyor means for conveying and has a simple structure.

The present application proposes the present inventions (1) and (2). In the former invention (1), agricultural products are supported on a series of support rows in which the support bodies are cantilevered. On the other hand, in the latter invention (2), a series of cantilever-supported rows of carriers are symmetrically arranged with their free ends facing each other at a narrow interval in the lateral direction of conveyance.

In the former invention (1), while the agricultural product is moved laterally to the free end side of the carrier, the side conveyor is used to position the agricultural product in the transport lateral direction, whereas the latter invention (1) is used. In 2), the agricultural product is positioned (centered) at the center of a pair of symmetrically arranged carrier rows. In addition to the fact that a side conveyor is not required, the agricultural product is located below the pair of carrier bodies. Providing a guide rail that guides the rotation of the product slowly to reduce the impact of dropping and discharging and reduce the risk of damage to agricultural products, or to make it easier to illuminate the agricultural products in the transported state from below, and to use lighting effectively This has the advantage that the size of the imaging field of view can be increased.

Furthermore, according to these inventions, agricultural products can be aligned upstream of a predetermined area set to perform processing operations based on the appearance imaging position, the transmitted light measurement position, the ink jet printing position, and the like. At the agricultural product discharge position, discharge to a carry-out conveyor or the like can be easily performed. Also, when one side of the agricultural product is always positioned at a fixed position on the transport path regardless of the diameter of the agricultural product, light is emitted when measuring transmitted light and reflected light from the agricultural product.
Measurement can be performed while keeping the distance of the light receiving system constant, and measurement accuracy can be maintained high.

Further, when printing the indication of the quality or the like on the surface of the agricultural product, the distance from the ink jet printing means can be kept constant, so that the printing can be performed accurately and accurately.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 This example shows a conveyor 1 having an alignment device used for a sorting device configured to perform appearance imaging and transmitted light measurement. As shown in FIG. 3, it is provided in a configuration having a structure in which the carriers 101 are continuously arranged in the transport direction. The start end of the transport path is connected so that the agricultural products P are transferred from the belt conveyor 11 in the previous process, and along the transport path, an upper surface imaging device 6 for imaging the upper surface of the agricultural products P, and the transport side of the agricultural products P An alignment device 2 and a transmitted light measuring device 3 are arranged on one side in the direction, and on the further downstream side, an unloading conveyor 4 for each sorting section for unloading the agricultural product P in the transport lateral direction (only one is shown). , And a discharge device 5 for discharging agricultural products are provided for each of the sorting categories. It is also possible to provide a lower surface imaging device for imaging the lower surface of the agricultural product P at a position where it is transferred from the belt conveyor 11 in the previous process to the transport conveyor 1 or the like.

The above-mentioned one conveyor 1 forms a conveying path for agricultural products P with the carriers 101 arranged as described above, and the carriers 101 are used for transporting agricultural products randomly transported from the preceding process in the transport lateral direction. It has a dimension long enough to be transferred, and is juxtaposed with a short dimension and a narrow interval in the transport direction so that agricultural products can be carried by a plurality of carriers. In the drawings, gaps between adjacent carriers are omitted to avoid complication. Further, in the apparatus of this example, two conveyors 1 are arranged in parallel as shown in FIG. 1, but these operate independently of each other, so that only one conveyor will be described in the following description.

The transport conveyor 1 of each strip is provided in such a configuration that a transport path suitable for transporting the agricultural products P while stably placing and holding them can be formed. Is provided with an alignment device 2 suitable for positioning and aligning the agricultural product P to be transported such that one side surface thereof is always at a fixed position in the transport lateral direction.

That is, the transfer conveyor 1 is connected at its upstream start end in the transfer direction so as to be transferable from the belt conveyer 11 which performs the transfer in the previous process, and is also connected at the time of the transfer. A transport path suitable for stabilizing the mounted state of the agricultural product P after the transfer can be formed, and the agricultural product P can be smoothly moved in the transport lateral direction.

The specific structure provided on the carrier 101 of this embodiment for the stable loading of the agricultural products and the smooth movement in the lateral direction of the transport is a carrier body 1011 having a plate-like upper plate.
Is formed by sticking a projection sheet 102 made of an elastic body having a group of projections 1021 slightly projecting upward. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the projection sheet 102 having the projections 1021 group in this example is
A round bar (for example, a round bar having a diameter of about 2 mm) having a top end inclined (about 10 °) on the free end side of the projection 102.
1 are provided densely in the transport direction and the transport lateral direction, and the upper end thereof is configured to form a surface on which the agricultural product P is placed. The degree of elasticity of the projection 1021 is set to such a degree that the projection 1021 does not have rigidity such as metal or hard plastic, and is not soft such that it is easily crushed when the agricultural product is placed. By having such elasticity, agricultural products placed on the projections 1021 group can be
Normally, it can be stably held by its elasticity, and can provide an effect of feeding in the inclination direction of the projection when vertical vibration of the carrier described later is applied. Note that the carrier 101 of this example
Is formed so that the upper surface thereof has a slightly concave shape at the central portion in the transport lateral direction, in order to smoothly and stably transfer the agricultural products P from the pre-process belt conveyor 11. .

Hereinafter, the detailed configuration of the transport conveyor 1 configured as described above will be further described.

In the transport conveyor 1 of this embodiment, a large number of the above-mentioned carriers 101 are arranged at narrow intervals in the transport direction, and three carriers are supported by one common support 103 on one side in the transport lateral direction. The support table 103 is fixedly connected to a conveyor chain 104 that rotates endlessly. 1041 is the link of the conveyor chain, 1042 is this link 104
1 are rotatably connected to each other, and a conveyor chain 104 constituted by these is guided by a conveyor rail 1043 and rotated along an elliptical endless track. The support 103 is stably supported by being connected and fixed to two adjacent chain pins 1042.

The support 101 is normally locked by the bracket 1031 and the lock lever 1033 on the support 103 so as to maintain a horizontal posture. The lock is released and the free end side can be rotated downward when discharging to the carry-out conveyor 4. That is, the support 101 is rotatably pivoted by a pivot pin 1032 provided on a bracket 1031 on the support 103, and a lock pin 1013 provided on the lower leg 1012 of the support 101 is mounted on the support 103. And the horizontal position is maintained by engaging with the lock lever 1033 provided in the conveyance path, and the lock lever 103 is provided by the discharge device 5 (lock release device) provided in a predetermined position of the transport path.
The lock 3 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 2 to release the lock and allow the free end to rotate downward for agricultural output. The two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 indicates a state where the rotation has been performed. Reference numeral 1034 denotes a rotation center axis of the lock lever 1033;
33 is normally urged by a spring or the like (not shown) around the rotation center axis 1034 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2 so that engagement with the lock pin 1013 is not easily disengaged. .

As described above, the carrier 101 forming the transport path of the present embodiment is normally in a horizontal posture, and when the agricultural products are discharged, the lock by the lock lever 1033 is released and the entire carrier 101 is moved to the free end side. Is rotated downward to drop the agricultural product (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2).

Next, a description will be given of the sorting device 2 and the transmitted light measuring device 3 of the sorting device of the present embodiment configured as described above.

In the present embodiment, an aligning device 2 for moving the agricultural product P in the transporting horizontal direction is provided in a predetermined area of the transport path (an area before the area where transmitted light measurement is performed). The reason why this alignment device 2 is used is as follows. In other words, the information on the imaging screen of the agricultural product measured by the upper surface imaging device 6 does not particularly greatly affect the measurement result in relation to the carrying position, but the transmitted light information transmitted through the agricultural product passes through the agricultural product. Therefore, the information related to the internal quality is very likely to be buried in the disturbance light, and it is necessary to increase the reliability of the accuracy of the measurement information. From this point of view, in order to improve the accuracy of information by transmitted light measurement, it is desirable to make measurement conditions constant in order to reduce the influence of disturbance of disturbance light. It is effective to keep the optical path length to the system constant. In other words, to measure transmitted light emitted from agricultural products, it is very effective to keep the optical path length constant in order to increase measurement accuracy. Therefore, by using the aligning device 2 for horizontally moving the agricultural product P, the agricultural product P
In this example, it is easy to move to the front end side of the apparatus, and in this example, the sideways conveyor 201 is used to ensure that the agricultural products are positioned in the transporting lateral direction and are aligned so as to be always constant, and the accuracy of transmitted light measurement is improved. Was raised. 201
Reference numeral 1 denotes an endlessly rotating belt of the side conveyor 201, and reference numeral 2012 denotes a back support member of the belt 2011.

In this embodiment, the aligning device 2 includes a carrier 1
01, a configuration of a group of projections 1021 provided on the carrier, a vibration imparting means provided along a transport path, and a side conveyor as a lateral positioning means in the transport direction.

The configuration of the group of projections 1021 provided on the carrier 101 is as described above, and the inclined projections 1021 of the projection sheet 102 provided on the carrier 101 are provided.
Given by group. In other words, the agricultural product placed on the elastic projections 1021 on the inclined carrier 101 is moved upward by the support 101 vibrating in the vertical direction.
The vertical vibration of changing the contact pressure on the elastic protrusions 1021 group while repeating the deformation and standing of 1 is repeated, and when the state is changed from the floating state where the contact pressure is weakened to the state where the contact pressure is increased, the protrusion 1021 In the inclined posture, a moving force is applied little by little to the inclined side, and a force for moving in the transport lateral direction is applied by repeating the minute vibration.

The agricultural product P to which the moving force in the transport lateral direction is given as described above abuts on the side conveyor 201 arranged on one side of the transport path, whereby the position of one side surface in the transport lateral direction is determined. In this case, the reason why the side conveyor 201 is used in this example is to prevent rotation of the contacted agricultural product, and preferably, the moving speed of the surface of the side conveyor 201 is the same as that of the agricultural product on the transport path. The speed should be synchronized with the moving speed. However, if there is no problem even if the agricultural product is rotated (rotated), a means such as a roller conveyor can be used.

A description will be given of the means of the present embodiment for applying a vertical vibration to the carrier 101. The lower surface of the carrier 101 on the free end side is related to the means as shown in FIGS. A plurality of rotatable vibration imparting rollers 202 are arranged along the transport path. The vibration imparting roller 202 is rotatably slid on a shaft 7011 supported by a bracket 701 fixed to the frame 7 of the sorting device, and slightly moves up and down on the carrier 101 transported along the transport path. It is located at a position where it engages to provide vibration.

An aligning device composed of a group of projections 1021 provided on the carrier 101 configured as described above, a vibration applying means provided along the transport path, and a side conveyor 201 as a horizontal positioning means for transport. According to 2, the agricultural product P on the transport path is extremely smoothly brought into contact with the belt 2011 of the side conveyor 201 to be positioned in the transport lateral direction.

As a device for measuring transmitted light, a transmitted light measuring device 3 having an optical projection system and a light receiving optical system for internal quality inspection is provided along the transport path. A projection light source 301 such as a halogen lamp is arranged, and a light receiving device 302 having a light receiving optical system is arranged on the opposite side. Reference numeral 303 denotes a light-shielding box.

According to the apparatus for arranging and transporting agricultural products according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the predetermined arranging is performed so that the transmitted light of the sorting element can be accurately measured while ensuring the stable transportation during transportation. The effect that the operation can be conveniently realized is obtained.

Embodiment 2 As shown in FIG. 4, this embodiment shows an example in which the means for imparting vibration is different from that of Embodiment 1.

In this embodiment, the vibration applying means is the carrier 10
1 in a predetermined area of the path along which the carrier 1 is conveyed.
In order to vibrate the vibration plate 210, a vibration generator 2101 of an electromagnetic vibrator and a driven-side plate 2102 that vibrates minutely in the radial direction are provided. The driven side plate 2102 is connected to the diaphragm 210,
Diaphragm 21 via easily deformable member 2103 such as a leaf spring
0 is supported by the gantry 2104. The configuration other than the above is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

According to the structure of this embodiment, the carrier 101 can be given a vertical vibration to apply a moving force in the horizontal direction.

Embodiment 3 The transport conveyor 1 of the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 shows an example in which the carrier 101 of the example shown in FIG. 2 is arranged in a pair of opposing free ends at a small interval. Things.

As shown in this figure, except that the side conveyor is not provided, this is substantially equivalent to the modification of the first embodiment. That is, since the aligning action is applied as a force for shifting from the pair of opposed carriers 101 to the free end side, the agricultural product P is centered at the center of the pair of opposed carriers.

In the case where such lateral positioning of the transport is performed, for example, the outer surface (upper surface and lower surface) of the agricultural product can be imaged over as large a range as possible by illuminating from below, and the agricultural product can be imaged with the lower light source. A large area can be imaged by illuminating P.

In this example, the conveyor device 1 in the preceding process is used.
In order to match the supply width of the conveyor 101 with the adjacent interval of the conveyor 1, a conveyor device 1102 having a curved conveying path is disposed in front of the belt conveyor 11.

[0049]

According to the present invention, it is possible to solve the problems of the prior art, and to secure the stable placement of agricultural products during normal transport and discharge, and to position the agricultural products to one side in the transport lateral direction of the transport path. The effect that the movement for alignment can be performed smoothly is obtained.

Further, there is an effect that a device for obtaining such an effect can be realized with a simple configuration.

Further, by suitably exhibiting the above functions, there is an effect that imaging over a wide area of an agricultural product and highly accurate measurement of transmitted light or highly accurate printing can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall outline of an agricultural product sorting facility according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a part of the alignment device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an outline of a vibration device portion according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view of an alignment device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a sorting device having an alignment device according to a third embodiment.

[Description of Signs] 1 ··· Conveyor 101 ·······································································································································································・ Support table 1031 ・ ・ ・ Bracket 1032 ・ ・ ・ Pivot pin 1033 ・ ・ ・ Lock lever 1034 ・ ・ ・ Rotation center axis 104 ・ ・ ・ Conveyor chain 1041 ・ ・ ・ Link 1042 ・ ・ ・ Chain pin 1043 ・ ・ ・ Conveyor rail 2 Aligning device 201 Side conveyor 2011 Belt 2012 Back support member 202 Vibration imparting roller 210 Vibrating plate 2101 Vibration generating device 2102 Driven plate 2103: easily deformable member 2104: base 3: transmitted light measuring device 301: throw Light source 302 ・ ・ ・ Light receiving device 303 ・ ・ ・ Light shielding box 4 ・ ・ ・ Conveyance conveyor 5 ・ ・ ・ Ejecting device 6 ・ ・ ・ Top surface imaging device 7 ・ ・ ・ Frame 701 ・ ・ ・ Bracket 7011 ・ ・ ・ Axis 11 ・..Belt conveyor 1101 ... Conveyor device 1102 ... Conveyer belt

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuhiko Kume 630 Shinagase-cho, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture F-term in Maki Works (reference) 3F015 AA07 DA02 3F025 BA02 BB01 BC10 3F079 AC21 AC23 BA11 CA31 CB25 CB29 CB34 CB35 CB37 CC09 CC13 DA12 DA15 DA19 3F081 AA46 BC04 BD15 BD16 BD21 BF15 CC02 CC08 CC18 DA02 DA11 EA09 EA17

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transport path for transporting a large number of narrow agricultural products having a long dimension in the lateral direction and a short dimension in the transport direction, arranged in parallel at a small interval in the transport direction, and transporting the agricultural product thereon. A rotating means for endlessly rotating the carrier group while maintaining a restrained state of maintaining the horizontal posture of the carrier by supporting the carrier group on one side in the lateral direction of conveyance, and each of the carriers; A large number of elastic projections having a substantially constant height are provided on the upper surface of the body and inclined to the free end in the lateral direction of conveyance, and at the discharge position, a cantilever support source that holds the carrier in a horizontal posture is provided. Conveyor means configured to release the restraint and tilt the free end side downward about the cantilever support source of the support as the center of rotation and swing, and carry the support in a predetermined area upstream of the discharge position in the transport path. Vibration means for micro-vibrating the body in the vertical direction, and this vibration A side conveyor for transport lateral positioning of the agricultural product extended along the transport path on the free end side of the elastic projection group in the inclined direction in the predetermined area provided with the means. Alignment transfer device. 2. A transport path for transporting a large number of narrow agricultural products having a long dimension in the transport direction and a short dimension in the transport direction, arranged side by side in the transport direction at narrow intervals. A rotating means for endlessly rotating the carrier group while maintaining a restrained state of maintaining the horizontal posture of the carrier by supporting the carrier group on one side in the lateral direction of conveyance, and each of the carriers; A large number of elastic projections having a substantially constant height are provided on the upper surface of the body and inclined to the free end in the lateral direction of conveyance, and at the discharge position, a cantilever support source that holds the carrier in a horizontal posture is provided. A pair of conveyor means configured to release the restraint and tilt the free end side downward about the cantilever support source of the carrier as the center of rotation and swing, with the free end of the carrier facing the narrow interval. Symmetrically provided, predetermined on the upstream side of the discharge position of the conveyance path A vibrating means for finely vibrating a pair of symmetrical carriers in a vertical direction in the region is provided. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vibrating means is configured to contact a plurality of rotatable rollers arranged on a lower surface of the carrier along a conveyance path to vibrate the carrier in a vertical direction. Item 3. The aligning and conveying device according to Item 1 or 2.