JP2003002306A - Collecting method for chicken egg and apparatus for the same, and packaging method and apparatus of chicken egg using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a collecting method for chicken eggs and an apparatus for the same, by which the chicken eggs can be packaged in a transparent pack or a tray at a high speed. SOLUTION: A chicken egg collecting apparatus 12 comprises a transfer/ distribution means 7 for transferring chicken eggs 2, whose physical properties are detected and which are arranged in a plurality of rows, and distributing the chicken eggs 2 sorted over according to each physical property; a temporary storing means 8 for temporarily storing the distributed chicken eggs 2 according to their physical property corresponding to each row; and a traveling means 13 for making travel a plurality of housing containers 9 so that a prescribed number of stored chicken eggs 2 are housed in a forefront empty housing containers 9, a plurality of the housing containers 9 arranged to be used in common to each row, and the housing containers housing the chicken eggs 2 are collected in respective collecting positions to have the same physical property.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for collecting chicken eggs, and a method and apparatus for packaging chicken eggs using this method.

[0002]

Eggs are sorted by weight classification by a packaging device into 2 rows and 5 columns (10 pieces in total) or 2 rows and 3 columns (6 pieces in total) or 5 rows and 6 columns (30 pieces in total). )
The product is packaged in a transparent packaging pack, tray, or the like having the accommodation seat of the above and shipped.

[0003] Such a packaging machine is washed, directionally aligned, and egg-tested with a washing device, a direction-aligning device and an egg-testing device for washing, directionally aligning and egg-checking a large number of eggs collected from a producer. A weighing device that measures the weight of each egg, a transport and distribution device that conveys the weighed egg and distributes it by weight category, and a predetermined number of eggs distributed by each weight category up to the gathering position It is provided with a transfer device for transferring, and a transfer mechanism (transfer robot) for transferring the eggs collected at the collecting position to a packaging container such as a packaging pack or a tray.

The transporting / distributing device of the packaging device transports each of the weighed chicken eggs in a single row, stores each single-row transported chicken egg in a container of each weight division, and distributes the chicken eggs. The transport device is configured to transport a storage container that stores a predetermined number of chicken eggs distributed from the transport / distribution device to the collecting position.

By the way, in order to package a large number of eggs collected from producers at high speed, a washing device, a direction aligning device,
The egg detection device and the weighing device are arranged to process a large number of eggs at the same time and in parallel, but the transfer / distribution device conveys the eggs processed simultaneously and in parallel in a single row. Then, as a result of the distribution to each collecting section, the limit of the speeding up of the packaging is determined by the conveying / distributing device.

[0006] In the transporting / distributing device, normally, weighed eggs are individually gripped and transported in a row, and the single row itself is transported because the gripping is released when the weighted eggs are distributed to the storage containers. -Since there is a limit to the speed of distribution, if the transfer / distributor is configured to distribute the weighed eggs to the storage containers of each weight group in multiple rows, the transfer / distributor for each row Installing a container that stores a predetermined number of eggs distributed from the container to the gathering position occupies an extremely large area and is expensive, and in addition, for packaging the eggs gathered at the gathering position. Since it is difficult, the transfer device is usually shared for each row, but in such a shared transfer device, a predetermined number of eggs are still stored downstream of the storage container that stores a predetermined number of eggs. There is a storage container In the case of, the storage container containing the predetermined number of eggs cannot be transported to the packaging position, and the storage container can be transported to the packaging position only after the predetermined number of eggs are stored in the downstream storage container, Therefore, it is difficult to increase the speed of egg packaging even if the transporting / distributing device is simply configured in multiple rows.

[0007] Such inconvenience does not occur only in chicken eggs distributed by weight category, and is distributed by physical or chemical property categories such as, for example, roe, split egg, dirty egg, blood egg, etc. Eggs or fruits such as apples distributed by physical or chemical property category such as size, color, length, luster, sugar content, etc.,
It can also occur in various other kinds of root vegetables such as potatoes.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to distribute chicken eggs in a plurality of rows to a container of each physical property section shared by each row. Even in such a case, it is possible to rapidly collect the storage containers containing the predetermined number of eggs at the collection position one after another, and thus the eggs can be packed in a transparent pack or tray of eggs at high speed. An object of the present invention is to provide a chicken egg collection method and apparatus, and a chicken egg packaging method and apparatus using this method.

[0009]

The method of collecting eggs according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of transporting the eggs whose physical properties have been detected in multiple rows and distributing the eggs in each physical property category. , A step of temporarily storing the distributed eggs in each physical property classification of each row, and a plurality of storage containers arranged so that a predetermined number of the stored eggs are shared for each row. It is placed in the empty container at the beginning of the container, the container containing a predetermined number of eggs is moved from the containing position, and the container containing the eggs is placed at the collecting position for each physical property category of the contained eggs. And a step of assembling.

According to the chicken egg collecting method of the first aspect, the distributed chicken eggs are temporarily stored, and a predetermined number of the stored eggs are stored in a plurality of storages arranged so as to be shared by each row. In order to store the eggs in the first empty one of the containers, the container containing a predetermined number of eggs is moved without waiting for the predetermined number of eggs in the preceding empty container to be stored. Therefore, it is possible to rapidly collect the storage containers containing a predetermined number of eggs at the collecting position one by one, and by using such an egg collection method for egg packaging, the egg packaging can be performed at high speed. Can be done.

In the method of collecting eggs according to the first aspect, the step of moving the storage container may be carried out by starting traveling in the storage container after storing a predetermined number of eggs.
Even before storing a predetermined number of eggs, run the storage container,
You may make it continue running in the storage container after storing a predetermined number of eggs.

In the egg collection method of the present invention, as in the second embodiment, a plurality of empty storage containers are put on standby, and in response to the fact that a predetermined number of eggs have been stored in any of the rows, The empty container that is on standby is run from the standby position of the empty container toward the storage position for the predetermined number of eggs, and the predetermined number of eggs are stored in the empty storage container at a storage position other than the standby position. However, instead of this, as in the case of the third aspect, a plurality of empty storage containers are made to wait, and in response to the fact that a predetermined number of eggs have been stored for one row, they are waited at the beginning A predetermined number of eggs are stored in the empty storage container at the standby position of the empty storage container, and in response to storing a predetermined number of eggs, the storage container storing the predetermined number of eggs is run, and the other remains. A certain number of chickens on any of the rows In response to the fact that the empty storage container has been stored, the empty storage container waiting at the head is moved from the standby position of the empty storage container to the storage position for a predetermined number of eggs, and the storage container other than the standby position is set to the predetermined storage position. The number of eggs may be contained in an empty container.

According to the egg collecting method of the second aspect, the control can be simplified because the start of the traveling of the empty storage containers can be controlled to be the same for all rows, and the egg collecting method of the third aspect can be used. For example, it is possible to shorten the distance from the waiting storage container to the storage position of a predetermined number of eggs in the farthest row, and thus to further speed up egg collection, and thus egg packaging.

Further, in the egg collection method of the present invention, preferably, like the fourth aspect, the distributed eggs are first received and the eggs are temporarily stored until a predetermined number is reached, and the eggs are temporarily stored. A predetermined number of eggs are received and stored at the end, and the predetermined number of eggs stored at the end are stored in the empty storage container at the top.

According to the chicken egg collecting method of the fourth aspect, in order to temporarily store the chicken eggs in a plurality of stages, a large number of chicken eggs are temporarily distributed with respect to a specific weight section of a specific row and an empty container is provided. Even if the predetermined number of eggs cannot be accommodated in the container, it is not necessary to stop the distribution of the eggs, and a continuous egg collection, and thus egg packaging can be secured.

Furthermore, in the egg collection method of the present invention, preferably, as in the fifth aspect thereof, a plurality of empty storage containers are made to stand by, and the storage of a predetermined number of eggs in at least two rows is completed substantially simultaneously. In this case, the leading empty space toward the accommodation position of the prescribed number of eggs determined based on the distance from each accommodation position of these at least two sets of the prescribed number of eggs to the leading empty accommodation container that has been waiting. The storage container of is run.

According to the egg collecting method of the fifth aspect, the empty storage container at the head can be moved to the optimum egg storage position when the storage of a predetermined number of eggs is completed at substantially the same time. Therefore, this also makes it possible to further speed up egg collection, and thus egg packaging.

In the method of collecting eggs according to the fifth aspect, more preferably, when the storage of a predetermined number of eggs in at least two rows is completed substantially simultaneously, each of the at least two sets of a predetermined number of eggs is The leading empty storage container is moved toward the storage position of a predetermined number of eggs, which has the longest distance to the leading empty storage container in the storage position.

In the method for collecting eggs according to the present invention, the physical properties include a crack, a crack, a stain on a shell, a weight and the like. Preferably, the physical properties are the same as those in the egg packaging method of the sixth aspect. If the physical property is weight, the egg collection for each weight category, and thus the egg packaging can be performed at high speed.

The egg packaging method according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a step of packaging the eggs in the storage containers collected at the collecting position by the egg collecting method according to any one of the above aspects.

According to the chicken egg packaging method of the first aspect, as a result of the chicken eggs being gathered at the gathering position corresponding to the physical property category by the above-mentioned egg gathering method, the egg packaging can be performed at high speed.

The chicken egg collecting apparatus of the present invention is suitable for carrying out the method according to any one of the above-mentioned aspects, and basically, the chicken eggs whose physical properties are detected are conveyed in multiple rows and Transport that distributes eggs by physical property category
Distributing means and each physical property division of each row, temporary storage means for temporarily storing the distributed chicken eggs, and a predetermined number of stored eggs were arranged to be shared for each row A traveling means for traveling the accommodating container so that the accommodating container accommodating the egg into the empty container at the head of the accommodating containers and accumulating the accommodating container accommodating the egg at the collecting position for each physical property division of the accommodated egg It is equipped with.

In the egg collecting apparatus of the present invention, the traveling means, as in the second aspect, makes a plurality of empty storage containers stand by and responds to the fact that a predetermined number of eggs have been stored in any of the rows. Then, the empty storage container that is waiting at the top is run from the standby position of the empty storage container toward the storage position for the predetermined number of eggs, and the predetermined number of eggs are stored in the storage position other than the standby position. Even if it is designed to be stored in a container, as in the third aspect, a plurality of empty storage containers are made to stand by, and at the beginning in response to the storage of a predetermined number of eggs for one row A predetermined number of eggs are stored in the empty storage container at the standby position of the empty storage container, and the storage container containing the predetermined number of eggs is run in response to the storage of the predetermined number of eggs. , In any other column that remains Then, in response to the storage of a predetermined number of eggs, the empty storage container that is waiting at the head is run from the standby position of the empty storage container toward the storage position of the predetermined number of eggs, and the standby position A predetermined number of chicken eggs may be stored in an empty storage container at a storage position other than the above.

Further, the temporary storage means, like the fourth mode, has a first stage temporary storage mechanism for receiving the distributed eggs first and temporarily storing the eggs until a predetermined number is reached, and It is equipped with a final stage temporary storage mechanism that finally receives and stores a predetermined number of stored eggs, and the traveling means has a predetermined number of stored in the empty storage container at the top of the final stage temporary storage mechanism. It may be adapted to house chicken eggs.

In the egg collecting apparatus of the above-mentioned fourth aspect, the temporary storage means may be provided with at least two storage mechanisms of a first stage temporary storage mechanism and a final stage temporary storage mechanism, At least one intermediate stage temporary storage mechanism may be further provided between the first stage temporary storage mechanism and the final stage temporary storage mechanism depending on the frequency of generation of eggs in a specific weight section.

Further, in the egg collecting apparatus of the present invention, the traveling means, as in the fifth aspect thereof, makes a plurality of empty storage containers stand by so that a predetermined number of eggs are substantially stored in at least two rows. When completed at the same time, head toward the storage position of the predetermined number of eggs determined based on the distance from each storage position of these at least two sets of the predetermined number of eggs to the standby empty storage container. The empty storage container may be run.

Further, the traveling means in the egg collecting apparatus of the present invention preferably has a standby mechanism for waiting an empty container, an empty container and a container containing a predetermined number of eggs, as in the sixth aspect. A traveling mechanism that travels the container, a retention mechanism that temporarily retains a storage container that stores a predetermined number of eggs that is traveling by the traveling mechanism at the collecting position, and a retention mechanism that causes retention to be retained by the retention mechanism. And a returning mechanism for returning the empty storage container in the storage container to the original state so that the storage container is made to wait again by the standby mechanism.

In the egg collecting device of the present invention, the physical properties include a crack, a crack, a stain on the shell, a weight and the like. Preferably, the physical properties are the same as the egg collecting device of the seventh aspect. If the physical property is weight, the egg collection for each weight category, and thus the egg packaging can be performed at high speed.

The egg packaging apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is equipped with any one of the egg collecting apparatuses described above, and is adapted to package the eggs in the storage containers collected at the collecting position.

The present invention is not limited to chicken eggs, and other products,
For example, it can be applied to other articles such as fruits such as apples and root vegetables such as potatoes, and in the case of articles including these eggs, fruits and root vegetables, the size of the article is not limited to the weight. , At least one of physical and chemical properties such as color, length, luster, sugar content, etc. is detected, and the article in which this property is detected is conveyed in multiple rows and the article is classified into each property category. Distributing and temporarily storing the distributed articles in each property classification of each row, and of the plurality of storage containers arranged so that the stored predetermined number of articles are shared for each row When it is accommodated in the empty container at the beginning, the container containing a predetermined number of articles is moved from the article containing position, and the article containing container is gathered at the collecting position for each property category of the article contained. Well, such an article gathering method The article assembling device for carrying is provided with a plurality of rows of articles in which at least one of physical and chemical properties is judged to be conveyed, and a conveying / distributing means for distributing the articles for each property category, and each row. In each property category, the means for temporarily storing the distributed articles and the first empty container among the plurality of storage containers arranged so that the stored predetermined number of articles are shared by each row In order to collect the storage container containing the article in the collection position for each property classification of the stored article, it is sufficient to have a traveling means for moving the storage container.
Further, an article packaging apparatus equipped with such an article collecting apparatus,
It suffices if the articles in the storage containers gathered at the gathering position are packaged.

The invention and its embodiments will now be described with reference to the preferred examples shown in the drawings. The present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0032]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a packaging device 1 for eggs as an article of this example is a cleaning device for cleaning a large number of eggs 2 collected from a producer one after another in parallel and continuously. 3 and a direction aligning device 4 for aligning the eggs 2 washed by the washing device 3 in parallel and continuously one after another.
And an egg inspection device 5 for inspecting the chicken eggs 2 which are directionally aligned by the direction aligning device 4 in parallel and continuously one after another for whether they are eggs, split eggs, dirty eggs, or blood eggs, and an egg inspection device 5. Weighing device 6 for weighing the weight of egg 2 as an individual physical property, and chicken egg 2 weighed by weighing device 6 are double rows, in this example two rows A and B Direction of the chicken egg 2 and the weight of the egg 2 is 65.
3 of weight category L of large eggs of g or more, weight category M of medium eggs of 52 g to less than 65 g and weight category S of small eggs of less than 52 g
Conveying / distributing means 7 for distributing each weight section, temporary storing means 8 for temporarily storing the eggs 2 distributed in each of the weight sections L, M, and S of each row A and B, and weight sections L, M. And a predetermined number, 5 in this example, of the eggs 2 stored in each of S and S are intersected with columns A and B so that they are shared by columns A and B, respectively, and are orthogonal in this example. An empty container 9 at the top of the plurality of containers 9 arranged in the Y direction is housed, and the container 9 containing the eggs 2 is collected for each weight group L, M, and S of the housed eggs 2. In order to collect at the positions 16L, 16M and 16S, the egg collecting device 17 having a traveling means 13 for traveling the storage container 9 in a direction intersecting with the rows A and B, in this example, a Y direction orthogonal to each other, and a weight division. Egg collecting device for each of L, M and S 7 travel is set positions come 16L by the traveling means 13, shared packaging means for packaging the eggs 2 in the container 9, which is set to 16M and 16S 14
And the weight of each chicken egg 2 weighed by the weighing device 6 is stored in association with the transport position of the transport / distribution means 7, and the transport / distribution means 7, temporary storage means 8, traveling means 13, packaging means 14 are also stored. Etc. and the control means 15 for controlling the operations described above and below.

Washing device 3, direction aligning device 4, egg detecting device 5
Since the weighing device 6 and the weighing device 6 are publicly known, detailed description thereof will be omitted. Eggs 2 detected by the egg tester 5 as being unusable as a retail product, such as eggs, split eggs, dirty eggs and blood eggs, are discharged by appropriate means without being weighed in this example. It In addition, it cannot be used as a retail product such as a broken egg, a broken egg, a dirty egg, a blood egg, etc. May be stored by being conveyed by the conveying / distributing means 7 to trays or the like successively carried in at appropriate positions prior to the distribution for each weight division.

The conveying / distributing means 7 includes an endless body 21 such as an endless chain or a timing belt on both the row A side and the row B side.
And a gripping member 22 attached to the endless body 21 at equal intervals. The endless body 21 is stretched over the drive-side and driven-side wheels 23 and 24 so that The gripping member 22 is adapted to be continuously driven by continuous rotation, and each grip member 22 is
For the eggs 2 in the weight section L, the temporary storage means 8 stores the empty storage seat of the temporary storage means 8L for the weight section L, for example, the empty storage seat 25A of the storage seat means 26A.
Above, above the empty storage seat of the temporary storage means 8M for the weight division M in the temporary storage means 8 for the eggs 2 of the weight division M, and for the eggs 2 of the weight division S. When the temporary storage means 8 respectively arrives above the empty accommodation seat of the temporary storage means 8S for the weight division S, the gripping of the eggs 2 is released, and thus the transporting / distributing means 7 grips the gripping means. Row A of chicken eggs 2 held by member 22
And B are conveyed in the X direction, and the chicken egg 2 is distributed into the weight sections L, M and S.

The gripping of the measured chicken eggs 2 and the gripping of the chicken eggs 2 by the gripping member 22 are performed by a known mechanism, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The temporary storage means 8L for the weight section L, the temporary storage means 8M for the weight section M, and the temporary storage means 8S for the weight section S of the temporary storage means 8 are constructed in the same manner. Therefore, the temporary storage means 8L for the weight section L will be described in detail below.

The temporary storage means 8L comprises a temporary storage means 8LA for the row A and a temporary storage means 8LB for the row B which is constructed similarly to the temporary storage means 8LA. The 8LA is arranged in the X direction and accommodates the eggs 2 of the weight section L distributed from the gripping members 22 of the row A of the conveying / distributing means 7 in a closed state.
While maintaining the closed state until the eggs 2 of each weight category L are stored, these eggs 2 are temporarily stored, while 5 eggs 2 are stored.
After being stored, the closed state is released and opened to the storage position 1
Six open / closeable storage seats 25A for storing five eggs 2 of weight category L in the first empty storage container 9 in 1A (in this example, the chicken eggs 2 are not distributed to one specific storage seat 25A) The temporary storage means 8LB is arranged in the X direction and the gripping members 22 of the row B of the transporting / distributing means 7 are provided.
The eggs 2 of the weight category L distributed from are stored in the closed state and the closed state is maintained until the eggs 2 of the weight category L of 5 are accommodated, while the eggs 2 are temporarily stored and 5 eggs are stored. Empty storage container 9 to storage position 11B after storing 2
At the time of arrival, the closed state is released and opened, and six open / closed storage seats 25B (in this example, one specific storage seat) that allows the empty storage container 9 to store the five eggs 2 of the weight category L are stored. 25
B is provided with a storage seat means 26B having a structure in which the eggs 2 are not distributed.

The container 9 has a container body 32 having six container seats 31 for accommodating the hen's eggs 2 and two columnar portions integrally formed on both longitudinal end surfaces of the container body 32. And 33. In addition, in this example, since the storage container 9 stores five chicken eggs 2, the specific storage seat 31 predetermined is always empty.

Like the temporary storage means 8, the traveling means 13 also comprises traveling means 13L for the weight section L, traveling means 13M for the weight section M and traveling means 13S for the weight section S. Traveling means 13L, 13M and 13S
Are configured in the same manner as each other, the traveling means 13L for the weight section L will be described in detail below.

Common traveling means 13L for rows A and B
Is a standby mechanism 41L for waiting the empty storage container 9 and the empty storage containers 9 and 5 when standby is released in the standby mechanism 41L.
A traveling mechanism 42L for traveling the container 9 containing the individual eggs 2 and a retention mechanism 43L for temporarily retaining the container 9 containing the five eggs 2 traveling by the traveling mechanism 42L at the collecting position 16L. When the retention mechanism 43L releases the retention, the storage container 9 that has been retained by the retention mechanism 43L becomes empty and the standby mechanism 41L
Therefore, a returning mechanism 44L for returning to the original state is provided so as to wait again.

The standby mechanism 41L is provided with a pair of releasable stoppers 51L that engage with the container body 32 of the empty storage container 9 and prevent the empty storage container 9 from traveling in the Y direction. 51L is a case where the eggs 2 of 5 weight categories L from the temporary storage means 8LA are stored in the empty storage container 9 at the head at the storage position 11A, and 5 weight categories L are stored in the temporary storage means 8LB. When the chicken eggs 2 are stored, the engagement with the container body 32 containing the five eggs 2 in the weight category L or the still empty leading container 9 is released from the container body 32 in response to them. However, after these are moved by the traveling mechanism 42, they are engaged with the container body 32 of the subsequent empty storage container 9 to prevent the empty storage container 9 from traveling in the Y direction.

The traveling mechanism 42L is provided with a pair of endless belts 54L which are wound around the driving pulley 52L and the driven pulley 53L and are continuously driven by the continuous rotation of the driving pulley 52L. The endless belt 54L is configured such that the columnar portion 33 of the container 9 is placed and supported by contacting the endless belt 54L with appropriate friction. The empty container 9 that has been stopped at the front after traveling in the Y direction by the stopper 51L is in contact with the endless belt 54L while sliding, and is positioned on the endless belt 54L.

The traveling mechanism 42L is configured to cause the container 9 to travel in the Y direction by the frictional resistance between the endless belt 54L and the cylindrical portion 33 of the container 9, and therefore the container body 32 of the container 9 is arranged. When the stopper 51L is disengaged from the stopper 51L, the waiting storage container 9 or the storage container 9 containing the eggs 2 of the five weight sections L is moved in the Y direction by the traveling mechanism 42L.

In order to prevent the endless belt 54L that supports the container 9 from hanging down, it is advisable to dispose a drooping prevention plate on the lower surface of the endless belt 54L so as to smoothly contact the lower surface.

The retaining mechanism 43L is the container main body 32 of the first container 9 among the containers 9 containing the eggs 2 of the five weight categories L that are traveling by the traveling mechanism 42L and successively arrive at the collecting position 16L. To the Y of the container 9
It is equipped with a pair of releasable stoppers 55L that prevent traveling in the direction and retain the storage container 9 storing the eggs 2 of the five weight sections L that successively arrive at the collection position 16L. In the stopper 55L, the egg 2 is packed from the container 9 whose traveling is stopped by the stopper 55L.
When the storage container 9 is emptied by being taken out by 4
In response to this, the leading container body 32 of the emptied storage containers 9 is disengaged, and after all of the emptied storage containers 9 have been run and passed by the traveling mechanism 42L. The following 5 are engaged with the container body 32 of the first container 9 containing the eggs 2 of the weight division L to prevent the container 9 from traveling in the Y direction.

Retention mechanism 4 for container 9 containing chicken egg 2
Retention by 3 L is performed by sliding contact of the cylindrical portion 33 of the storage container 9 with the endless belt 54L.

The return mechanism 44L is provided with a pair (two pairs on both sides) of the guide plates 57L forming a passage 56L for guiding the empty storage container 9 which has been moved by the travel mechanism 42L by releasing the stopper 55L. , A return traveling mechanism 58L for traveling the empty storage container 9 delivered from the passage 56L in the return direction, and a lifting mechanism 59L for lifting the empty storage container 9 carried by the return traveling mechanism 58L to the storage position 11A. is doing.

The guide plate 57L guides the storage container 9 downward by the contact of the columnar portion 33 of the storage container 9 extending in the passage 56L with the guide plate 57L.

The return traveling mechanism 58L is wound around the driving and driven pulleys 61L and 62L and is continuously driven by the continuous rotation of the driving pulley 61L. The columnar portion 33 of the inverted container 9 is placed on and supported by the endless belt 63L by contacting the endless belt 63L with appropriate friction. Information board 5
The empty container 9 guided by 7L comes to be positioned on the endless belt 63L with the columnar portion 33 coming into contact with the endless belt 63L in the reverse state.

The return traveling mechanism 58L is an endless belt 63L.
The storage container 9 is caused to travel in the returning direction, that is, the Z direction by the frictional resistance between the storage container 9 and the columnar portion 33 of the storage container 9, and is therefore positioned on the endless belt 54L guided by the guide plate 57L. The empty storage container 9 is traveled in the Z direction by the return travel mechanism 58L.

As described above, the traveling means 13L waits for a plurality of empty storage containers 9 by the stopper 51L, and responds to the fact that five eggs 2 have been stored for the row A in the temporary storage means 8L. Container 9 waiting at
5 eggs 2 are stored in the storage position 11A, and the stopper 51L is released in response to the storage of 5 eggs 2 to move the storage container 9 containing the 5 eggs 2. On the other hand, in response to the fact that five eggs 2 have been stored in the remaining other row B, the stopper 51L is released and the empty storage container 9 waiting at the beginning is crossed with respect to the row B. Therefore, the five eggs 2 are made to travel toward the accommodation position 11B, and the five eggs 2 are accommodated in the empty accommodation container 9 at the accommodation positions 11B other than the standby position.

The lifting mechanism 59L comprises a pair of wheels 66L having claws 65L at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction, and a pair of guide plates 67L arranged outside a part of the outer peripheral surface of each wheel 66L. And a pair of wheels 66L
Is released every time the empty storage container 9 at the storage position 11A or the storage container 9 containing the five eggs 2 in the weight section L is moved in the Y direction and delivered from the storage position 11A by the releasing operation of the stopper 51L. In response to this, the empty accommodation container 9 is lifted toward the accommodation position 11A by engaging the claw 65L with the container body 32 of the empty accommodation container 9 which is rotated by a predetermined angle and returned by the return traveling mechanism 58L. The guide plate 67L contacts the columnar portion 33 of the storage container 9 to guide the movement of the storage container 9 toward the storage position 11A.

The packaging means 14 is the traveling means 13L, 13M.
And 16S at respective gathering positions 16L, 16M and 16S
The required number from the plurality of storage containers 9 accumulated and collected in
In this example, a total of 10 chicken eggs 2 are taken out from the first to two of the storage containers 9 that have been assembled to store the eggs 2, and the weight categories L, M, and S are weighted.
Transferring means 72 for transferring the chicken eggs 2 individually into a packaging pack 71, pack supplying means 73 for supplying the empty packaging pack 71, and transferring means for the packaging pack 71 supplied from the pack supplying means 73. It is provided with a pack conveying means 74 that conveys the egg 2 from 72 to a position where the egg 2 can be received, and carries out the packaging pack 71 that has received the egg 2 from the transfer means 72 from the receiving position.

The transfer means 72 has a plurality of vacuum suction machines 81 of 6 rows and 5 columns in this example, and operates the vacuum suction machines 81 of 5 rows and 2 columns to suck a total of 10 chicken eggs 2. Then, the vacuum suction mechanism 8 is used to take out from the container 9 and release the suction so that the packaging pack 71 receives these 10 eggs 2.
2, a vertical movement mechanism (not shown) for moving the vacuum suction mechanism 82 up and down, and a moving mechanism (not shown) for moving the vacuum suction mechanism 82 along the rail 83. When at least two storage containers 9 are accumulated and gathered at any of the gathering positions 16L, 16M, and 16S, the vacuum suction mechanism 82 is moved onto the two gathered containers 9 and the vacuum suction machine is used. After sucking a total of 10 chicken eggs 2 by 81, the sucked 10 chicken eggs 2 are moved onto the packaging pack 71 conveyed by the pack conveying means 74, and the vertical movement mechanism vacuums when sucking the 10 chicken eggs 2. The suction mechanism 82 is lowered and raised, and when the 10 eggs 2 sucked by the vacuum suction mechanism 82 are transferred to the packaging pack 71, the vacuum suction mechanism 82 is also lowered and raised, and
The vacuum suction mechanism 82 sucks the ten eggs 2 from the container 9 and the vacuum suction mechanism 82 reliably transfers the ten eggs 2 to the packaging pack 71.

The pack supplying means 73 is the pack conveying means 7
In response to the transport of the packaging pack 71 by 4, the empty packaging packs 71 are sequentially supplied to the pack transporting means 74.

The pack conveying means 74 is used for empty packaging packs 7.
When 10 chicken eggs 2 are transferred from the transfer means 72 to 1,
In response to this, the packaging pack 71 that has received 10 eggs 2 is discharged from the receiving position, and the empty packaging pack 71 is carried into the position where the eggs 2 from the transfer means 72 are received. It is designed to be transported.

In the packaging device 1 described above, the chicken eggs 2 weighed by the weighing device 6 are transported in the X direction by the transporting / distributing means 7 with the double rows A and B, and the chicken eggs 2 are weighted into the weight sections L, M and. Distribute every S, and in each of the weight sections L, M, and S of the columns A and B, the dispensed chicken eggs 2 are temporarily stored by the temporary storage means 8, and the five stored eggs 2 are stored. Is stored in the first empty storage container 9 of the plurality of storage containers 9 arranged in the Y direction orthogonal to the rows A and B, and the storage container 9 containing five chicken eggs 2
The traveling means 13 moves the storage position 11A or 11
Run from B to Y direction and run to the gathering position 16L,
The eggs 2 in the storage containers 9 collected in 16M and 16S are packaged by the packaging means 14, and in this case, the standby mechanism, for example, the standby mechanism 41L, causes a plurality of empty storage containers 2 to wait, and the row A Regarding the 5 eggs 2 stored in the temporary storage means 8LA, the 5 eggs 2 stored in the temporary storage means 8LA are stored in the storage container 9 waiting at the head in response to the storage position 11A. To accommodate
Responsive to the fact that the five eggs 2 have been accommodated, the stopper 51L is released to move the accommodation container 9 accommodating the five eggs 2 toward the collecting position 16L, and regarding the remaining row B In response to the storage of 5 eggs 2 in the temporary storage means 8LB, the stopper 51L is released to move the empty storage container 9 waiting at the head in the Y direction to store the 5 eggs 2. The vehicle is run toward the accommodation position 11B, and the temporary storage means 8 is operated at the accommodation positions 11B other than the standby position.
The five eggs 2 stored in the LB are stored in the empty storage container 9, and the storage container 9 storing the five eggs 2 in the storage position 11B is made to travel toward the collecting position 16L.

According to such a packaging device 1, the distributed chicken eggs 2 are received and the five chicken eggs 2 are temporarily stored, and the stored five chicken eggs 2 are shared by the rows A and B. Among the plurality of storage containers 9 arranged so that the first storage container 9 containing five eggs 2 is stored in the first storage container 9 in the empty storage container 9 in advance. It is possible to immediately move in the Y direction without waiting for each egg 2 to be accommodated, so that the container 9 accommodating five eggs 2 can be quickly and successively moved to the collecting positions 16L, 16M and 16S. They can be assembled, and thus the egg packaging can be done at high speed.

According to the packaging apparatus 1, the five eggs 2 stored in the temporary storage means 8LA are stored in the storage container 9 at the storage position 11A which is also the standby position, and the five eggs 2 are stored. In response to this, since the storage container 9 storing the five eggs 2 is made to run toward the collecting position 16L, the row B separated from the waiting storage container 9 is waited. Storage position 1 for 5 eggs 2
The distance to 1B can be shortened, and thus the egg collection and egg packaging can be further speeded up.

The packing apparatus 1 is arranged so that when the storage of the five eggs 2 in the temporary storage means 8LA and the temporary storage means 8LB of the rows A and B is completed at substantially the same time, these two sets of 5 The storage position of the five eggs 2 determined based on the distance from the storage positions 11A and 11B of the individual eggs 2 to the leading empty storage container 9 in the standby state, in this example, from the leading empty storage container 9 The stopper 51L is first released so that the distance to the storage position 11B is longer than the storage position 11A, the leading empty storage container 9 is first moved in the Y direction, and the temporary storage means 8LB is stored at the storage position 11B. 5 eggs from the temporary storage means 8LA are stored in the storage position 11A when the storage container 11 is replenished with the empty storage container 9 while 5 eggs from the storage device 11LA are stored. ing.

The standby operation of the empty container 9 by the stopper 51L, that is, the blocking operation, is performed by the empty container 9
Alternatively, it may be omitted when it is necessary to continuously run the container 9 containing the five chicken eggs 2.

By the way, in the packaging apparatus 1, the chicken eggs 2 from the temporary storage means 8LA are stored in the empty storage container 9 at the beginning, but instead of this, as shown in FIG. The temporary storage means 8LA and the egg 2 from the temporary storage means 8LB at the storage positions 11A and 11B which are separated by a predetermined distance from the leading empty storage container 9 that is on standby.
May be accommodated, in which case the stoppers 5 will be responsive to the storage of 5 eggs 2 for the temporary storage means 8 in any of the rows A and B.
1 L is released and the empty storage container 9 waiting at the head is run in the Y direction, and the temporary storage means of the row in which 5 eggs 2 are stored in the run empty storage container 9 You may make it accommodate 8 to 5 chicken eggs 2.

In the packaging apparatus 1, the weighed eggs 2 may be transported in three rows A, B and C as shown in FIG. 5, instead of in two rows A and B. In this case, Is the storage position 11 by adding the temporary storage means 8LC in addition to the temporary storage means 8LA and 8LB.
The eggs 2 are stored in the storage container 9 at A, 11B, and 11C.

Further, in the packaging apparatus 1, the temporary storage means 8 is embodied in one stage, but a plurality of stages, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, each of the temporary storage means 8LA and 8LB is provided in the upper stage 91.
It may be embodied in two stages of the lower stage and the lower stage 92. In this case, although the five eggs 2 are stored in the temporary storage means 8LA of the upper stage 91, the storage position 11A is still empty. When the container 9 is not arranged or at the accommodation position 11A, the empty accommodation container 9 is not yet arranged, and the upper stage 91
When it becomes necessary to store new chicken eggs 2 in the temporary storage means 8LA of the above, the temporary storage means 8LA of the upper stage 91 in which five chicken eggs 2 are stored is temporarily stored in the temporary storage means 8LA of the lower stage 92. 5 eggs 2 are delivered to the temporary storage means 8LA of the lower stage 92 temporarily, and 5 eggs 2 are temporarily stored when the empty storage container 9 is disposed at the storage position 11A. 5 eggs 2 are stored in the temporary storage means 8LA of the lower stage 92 stored in the newly placed empty storage container 9 while 5 eggs 2 are stored in the temporary storage means 8LA of the upper stage 91.
When the empty storage container 9 is already stored at the storage position 11A, the five eggs 2 stored in the temporary storage means 8LA of the upper stage 91 are temporarily stored in the lower stage 92. The temporary storage means 8LA of the lower stage 92 is passed through without being temporarily stored in the storage means 8LA, and the storage position 1 is maintained.
1A is accommodated in an empty container 9 and
If the empty storage container 9 has not yet arrived at the storage position 11B and it is necessary to store new chicken eggs 2 in the temporary storage means 8LB of the upper stage 91, five chicken eggs 2 are stored. For the time being, from the temporary storage means 8LB of the upper stage 91, five eggs 2 are sent to the temporary storage means 8LB of the lower stage 92 and temporarily stored in the temporary storage means 8LB of the lower stage 92.
5 eggs 2 are stored in the empty storage container 9 that has arrived when the empty storage container 9 has been stored at the storage position 11B.
It is advisable to store 5 eggs 2 from the temporary storage means 8LB of the lower stage 92 storing the.

As shown in FIG. 6, the chicken eggs 2 are temporarily stored in the temporary storage means 8LA and 8LB of the upper stage 91 until the dispensed chicken eggs 2 are received first and the number of eggs becomes five.
The five eggs 2 temporarily stored in the temporary storage means 8LA and 8LB of the above are finally received by the temporary storage means 8LA and 8LB of the lower stage 92, and stored by the temporary storage means 8LA and 8LB of the lower stage 92. When the five eggs 2 are put in the empty storage container 9 at the top, a large number of eggs 2 are temporarily distributed with respect to a specific weight section of a specific row, and five eggs 2 are placed in the empty storage container 9. Even if the egg 2 cannot be accommodated temporarily, it is not necessary to stop the distribution of the egg 2 and continuous egg packaging can be ensured.

The arrival of the empty storage container 9 to the storage position may be detected from the running amount of the endless belt 54L from the standby position, that is, the running amount of the empty storage container 9, but it may be detected at the storage position. It may be detected by a detector provided.

Further, in the above packaging device 1, the packaging is performed in the packaging pack 71 of 10 pieces, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the packaging pack of 6 pieces or the tray of 30 pieces is packaged. Further, it may be packaged in at least two sets of packaging packs and / or trays of 6-pack, 10-pack and 30-pack, 30
When packaging in an individual tray, the eggs 2 are stored in all of the six storage seats 31 of the storage container 9 and all of the vacuum suction devices 81 of the vacuum suction mechanism 82 are suction-operated at the same time. The transfer means 72 described above is also used.
Then, the chicken eggs 2 are transferred to each of the packaging packs 71, but the chicken eggs 2 are collectively transferred to the plurality of packaging packs 71.
Alternatively, the required number of vacuum suction devices 81 may be simultaneously actuated in this case.

In addition, in the packaging device 1, the weight categories are three weight categories L, M, and S, but more weight categories may be used. In this case, temporary storage is performed according to the number of weight categories. Means 8 and traveling means 13 may be provided.

[0069]

According to the present invention, a container for storing a predetermined number of eggs is provided even when the chicken eggs are distributed in a plurality of rows to the containers for each physical property shared by each row. Can be quickly gathered at the gathering position,
Thus, it is possible to provide a method and apparatus for assembling chicken eggs that enables high-speed packaging of chicken eggs in transparent packs or trays, and a method and apparatus for packaging chicken eggs using this method.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan explanatory view of an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a portion of the example of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line III-III shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the storage container shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side view of another example of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of still another example of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Chicken egg packaging equipment 2 chicken eggs 6 weighing device 7 Transport and distribution means 8 Temporary storage means 9 storage containers 13 means of travel

Continued front page    F-term (reference) 3E043 AA01 BA19 DA01 DB04 EA03                       GA02 GA03                 3E054 AA09 CA08 DC02 DC11 DD02                       DE08 EA01 FA05 FA07 FE03                       GA04 GA06 GB02 GB04 GC01                       HA04 HA07 JA10

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. Eggs whose physical properties have been detected are transported in multiple rows, and the eggs are distributed into physical property categories, and the distributed chicken eggs are temporarily distributed in each physical property category of each column. A storage container in which a predetermined number of stored eggs are stored in the first empty storage container among a plurality of storage containers arranged so as to be shared for each row, and a predetermined number of eggs are stored. An egg collecting method in which a container for storing eggs is collected at a collecting position by moving the container from the storing position to a collection position for each physical property section of the stored eggs. 2. A plurality of empty storage containers are made to stand by, and the empty storage container waiting at the head in response to the storage of a predetermined number of eggs in any row is The egg collection method according to claim 1, wherein the egg collection method is such that the eggs are run from a standby position toward a storage position for a predetermined number of eggs, and a predetermined number of eggs are stored in an empty storage container at a storage position other than the standby position. 3. A plurality of empty storage containers are made to stand by, and the empty storage container waiting at the head in response to the storage of a predetermined number of eggs for one row is made to wait for the empty storage containers. A predetermined number of eggs are stored at a position, and in response to storing a predetermined number of eggs, the container containing the predetermined number of eggs is run, and a predetermined number of eggs is stored for any of the remaining rows. In response to that, the empty storage container waiting at the beginning is run from the standby position of the empty storage container toward the storage position of a predetermined number of eggs,
The egg collection method according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined number of eggs are stored in an empty storage container at a storage position other than the standby position. 4. The received chicken eggs are first received and temporarily stored until a predetermined number of eggs are received, and the temporarily stored predetermined number of chicken eggs are finally received and stored, and this last stored predetermined number is stored. The egg collection method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a number of eggs are stored in an empty storage container at the top. 5. When a plurality of empty storage containers are put on standby and the storage of a predetermined number of eggs in at least two rows is completed substantially simultaneously, the storage positions of the at least two sets of a predetermined number of eggs are stored. 5. The leading empty storage container is moved toward a storage position of a predetermined number of eggs determined based on the distance from the waiting to the leading empty storage container. Egg collection method. 6. The physical property according to claim 1, wherein the physical property is weight.
The egg collection method according to any one of 1. 7. An egg packaging method for packaging eggs in a storage container collected at a collecting position by the egg collecting method according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. Eggs whose physical properties have been detected are transported in multiple rows, and at the same time, the chicken eggs are distributed in each physical property section, and in each physical property section of each row. Temporary storage means for temporarily storing chicken eggs and a predetermined number of stored eggs are stored in the first empty storage container of the plurality of storage containers arranged so as to be shared for each row, An egg collecting device comprising: traveling means for moving the container for accommodating the container for accommodating the egg at a collecting position for each physical property division of the egg for accommodating the container. 9. The traveling means causes a plurality of empty storage containers to wait, and the empty storage container waiting at the head in response to the storage of a predetermined number of eggs in any one of the rows. 9. The traveling container is moved from the standby position to the storage position for a predetermined number of eggs, and the storage container other than the standby position stores the predetermined number of eggs in an empty storage container. Egg collecting device. 10. The traveling means causes a plurality of empty storage containers to wait, and the empty storage container waiting at the head in response to the storage of a predetermined number of eggs for one row has the empty storage containers. A predetermined number of eggs are stored in the standby position of the storage container, and the storage container containing the predetermined number of eggs is moved in response to the storage of the predetermined number of eggs, and a predetermined number of other remaining rows is stored. In response to the storage of the eggs, the empty storage container waiting at the head is moved from the standby position of the empty storage container toward the storage position of the predetermined number of eggs, and the storage positions other than the standby position are stored. The egg collecting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a predetermined number of eggs are stored in the empty storage container. 11. The temporary storage means includes a first-stage temporary storage mechanism that first receives the distributed chicken eggs and temporarily stores the chicken eggs until a predetermined number is reached, and a temporary stored predetermined number of chicken eggs at the last. And a final-stage temporary storage mechanism that receives and stores the final-stage temporary storage mechanism, and the traveling means stores the predetermined number of eggs stored in the final-stage temporary storage mechanism in the empty storage container at the top. The egg collecting apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10. 12. The traveling means waits for a plurality of empty storage containers, and when the storage of a predetermined number of eggs in at least two rows is completed at substantially the same time, at least two sets of the predetermined number of eggs are provided. 8. The leading empty container is moved toward the containing position of a predetermined number of eggs, which is determined based on the distance from each of the containing positions to the leading empty containing container. The egg collecting apparatus according to any one of 1 to 11. 13. The traveling means comprises a standby mechanism for waiting an empty container, a traveling mechanism for traveling an empty container and a container containing a predetermined number of eggs, and a predetermined number of traveling units. A retention mechanism for temporarily retaining the storage container containing the eggs at the collecting position, and a standby mechanism for waiting the storage container that has been emptied by the retention mechanism when the retention mechanism releases the retention container again. The egg collecting apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 12, further comprising a returning mechanism for returning to the original state. 14. The egg collecting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the physical property is weight. 15. An egg packaging apparatus comprising the egg collecting apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 14 and adapted to package the eggs in the storage containers collected at the collecting position.