JP2008018313A - Bucket type sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bucket type sorting device, which enables a recognition of plural information relating to articles, and aims an improvement in sorting precision. <P>SOLUTION: In areas a1-a6 of an article supply area (a), when an agricultural product A held by hand is mounted on a bucket 13... on a bucket conveyor 2, the bucket 13 on which the agricultural product A is mounted is inclined to the left or to the right, or is positioned at a neutral horizontal pose from the check with eyes of a worker D. According to inclination sense signals output from an inclination sensor S2, S3 of the areas a1-a6, it is discriminated which area of rank A, B, or C the agricultural product A mounted on the bucket 13 corresponds to. Further, according to passage detecting signals output from article passage sensors R1-R6 of the areas a1-a6, it is discriminated in which area divided into grades the agricultural product A is mounted on the bucket 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a bucket type sorting apparatus used when sorting articles such as agricultural products.

  Conventionally, as an apparatus for sorting the agricultural products, for example, based on a detection signal output from an area sensor, where a fruit placed on a cup of a sorting conveyor is placed in each fruit supply range divided into a plurality of grades There is a class sorting device of Patent Document 1 for identifying the above. However, there is a limit to the number of areas that can be set within the operator's hand-mounted range, and the number of classes that can be manually selected is also limited.

  Further, there is an agricultural product transport apparatus of Patent Document 2 that identifies a plurality of grades by moving a bucket on which agricultural products are placed to the left or right side or by positioning the bucket in the center. However, since the bucket is provided so that it can move left and right, rotate horizontally, and change its posture, the structure of the portion that supports the bucket is complicated, which not only requires time for assembly work but also increases the production cost. .

  In addition, the grades of fruits and vegetables are displayed in an identifiable manner by pressing any one push switch of the grade display device provided on the tray corresponding to the visually judged grade, or by not pushing any push switch. There is a grade sorting machine for fruits and vegetables of Patent Document 3. However, when supplying fruits and vegetables to the tray, the grade must be displayed by pressing the push switch of the grade display device or by returning it, etc., and the operability of the push switch is poor, and the operation is troublesome. It takes. Moreover, since the structure of the whole bucket is complicated, production cost becomes expensive.

Japanese Patent No. 3309521 JP 2001-278431 A Japanese Patent No. 2732574

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a bucket type sorting apparatus that can recognize a plurality of pieces of information related to articles and can improve sorting accuracy.

  The bucket type sorting apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention has a plurality of buckets on which articles can be placed, and each bucket is manually transported on a transport path of a transport means configured to be tiltable. In a bucket type sorting apparatus provided with an article supply area in which articles are supplied to the bucket, and a sorting area for discharging the articles by inclining the bucket to a discharge section provided for each sorting section, the bucket passing through the article supply area An inclination detecting means for detecting that the bucket is inclined when the article is supplied manually is provided, and the visual grade of the article is determined by detecting the attitude of the bucket at that time.

  According to the present invention, when articles are manually supplied to the buckets that pass through the article supply area, the grades of the articles are determined individually and supplied to the buckets. Tilt the bucket supplied with the goods in the direction corresponding to the visual grade. The inclination of the bucket is detected by the inclination detection means, and the visual grade of the article placed on the bucket is determined based on the detection information. In the sorting area, the bucket on which the article is placed is tilted based on the detection result by the tilt detecting means, and the article is discharged to a plurality of discharge units provided for each sorting section.

  When discriminating the grade of the article based on the posture of the bucket, for example, if the bucket is tilted to the left inclined posture with respect to the transport direction or tilted to the right inclined posture, the right and left tilt of the bucket is detected by the tilt detecting means, Two grades can be identified. In addition, if the bucket is positioned in a neutral posture without being tilted to the left or right, the inclination of the bucket is not detected by the inclination detecting means, so that it is possible to determine that the grade is other than the left / right inclination.

  The article can be composed of agricultural products such as citrus fruits, apples, pears, peaches, tomatoes and strawberries. Moreover, a bucket can be comprised with buckets, such as a substantially square and a substantially round shape, for example.

  A bucket type sorting apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is configured to divide the article supply region into a plurality of areas and detect the passage of articles at the end of each area in combination with the configuration of the first aspect. The article grade is determined by the combination of the attitude of the bucket when the article detected by the inclination detecting means is supplied and the area supplied with the article detected by the article passing detecting means. It is characterized by distinguishing.

  According to this invention, the grade of an article is determined individually by visual observation, and the article is placed in a bucket in the corresponding area according to the grade assigned to each area of the article supply area. The passage article detection means detects the passage of the article conveyed to the end of each area, and determines in which area the article is placed in the bucket based on the detection information output from the passage article detection means. To do.

  That is, it is possible to discriminate a large number of grades by combining the posture of the bucket when the article detected by the inclination detecting means is supplied with the area supplied with the article detected by the article passage detecting means. is there.

  The tilt detection means and the article passage detection means can be constituted by, for example, a photoelectric sensor having a light projecting / receiving unit, a limit switch, a proximity switch, a switch mechanism that is mechanically turned on and off, and a photographing camera.

  According to the present invention, when an article held manually is supplied to the bucket, the bucket on which the article is placed is tilted in a direction corresponding to the visual grade, and the inclination of the bucket is detected by the tilt detecting means and visually checked. Therefore, it is possible to recognize a plurality of pieces of information about the article, and to improve the sorting accuracy. In addition, since it has a simple structure in which the bucket is simply tilted, the operability is good and the operation for recognizing information can be performed easily and easily. Further, by simply providing the bucket in a tiltable manner, it is possible to visually discriminate a plurality of grades and discharge the articles from the bucket, simplifying the structure of the entire sorting apparatus and reducing the cost. Further, since the configuration and structure of the bucket itself can be simplified, the assembly work of the bucket can be performed in a short time and can be manufactured at low cost.

  In the present invention, it is possible to recognize a plurality of pieces of information related to an article, and to improve the sorting accuracy, the bucket on which the article is placed is tilted in a direction corresponding to a visual grade, and the inclination of the bucket is tilted. This was achieved by detecting the detection means.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The drawings show a bucket-type sorting device used when sorting agricultural products, which are examples of articles, by class, and in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, this bucket-type sorting device 1 has an agricultural product A placed thereon. An article supply region a for supplying agricultural products A to the bucket 13 that is manually transported on the transport path of the bucket conveyor 2 having a plurality of buckets 13. The measurement area b for measuring the sorting element (quality information such as grade and class) placed on the agricultural product A placed on, and the bucket 13 is tilted to the left or right based on the sorting element and placed on the bucket 13. And a sorting area c for discharging the produced products A to the discharging sections c1... Provided for each sorting category (equal class).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the bucket conveyor 2 is provided such that the bucket 13 can be inclined with respect to the bucket base 12, and the bucket base 12 has an upright portion 12 a erected on the front edge and a rear edge. It has the standing part 12a which stood up, and the axial parts 12b and 12b constructed in parallel between both the standing parts 12a and 12a.

  Further, the bucket 13 has arc-shaped grooves 13a and 13a on the lower front surface and the lower rear surface of the mounting portion 13e on which one agricultural product A is placed, and the shaft of the bucket base 12 is provided in the groove portions 13a and 13a. By inserting the portions 12b and 12b, the bucket 13 is supported to the bucket base 12 so as to be able to swing left and right. The mounting portion 13e is formed of a flexible buffer member such as synthetic rubber, soft resin, or sponge.

  With the other shaft portion 12b moving downward in the arc direction along the groove portion 13a with the one shaft portion 12b as the center, the bucket 13 assumes a neutral horizontal posture (see FIG. 5) on which the produce A is placed. As a reference, it is provided between the left inclined posture (see FIGS. 6 and 8) and the right inclined posture (see FIG. 7) so that it can be inclined right and left with respect to the direction orthogonal to the transport direction.

  In addition, the bucket conveyor 2 is constructed with a number of predetermined intervals in the transport direction between the chains 14 and 14 in which the bucket base 12 is stretched to the left and right, and the bucket 13 is spaced at predetermined intervals in the transport direction. Many are arranged. The chains 14 and 14 are integrally rotated in the transport direction by a motor or the like and moved around the buckets 13 to form a linear transport path for the transported object.

  Further, a rotating body 13d such as a roller is rotatably attached to a lower end portion of the guide pin 13c provided vertically at the bottom center portion of the bucket 13. The guide pin 13c is rotated in a direction opposite to the inclination direction of the bucket 13 by a distribution operation (see FIG. 8) of the inclination device 17 described later.

  That is, when the guide pin 13c is rotated to the right side of the conveyance path, the entire bucket 13 is inclined to the left inclined posture. On the other hand, when the guide pin 13c is rotated to the left side of the conveyance path, the entire bucket 13 is inclined to the right inclined posture.

  In addition, the pair of left and right regulating plates 15 and 15 disposed below the conveyance path of the bucket conveyor 2 in the article supply region a are arranged on the rotating body 13d of the guide pin 13c suspended from the bucket 13 when the bucket 13 is tilted left and right. It arrange | positions at the space | interval contact | abutted with respect to it, and carries out the rotation regulation of the bucket 13 to the inclination angle with which the mounting state of the produce A is hold | maintained. Also in the measurement region b, a pair of regulating plates (not shown) whose intervals are narrower than the pair of regulating plates 15 are arranged.

  In addition, when supplying the agricultural product A in the article supply area a by hand, the bucket 13 releases the agricultural product A from the agricultural product A placed on the bucket 13 tilted to the left or right, or by the sorting operation of the tilting device 17. Immediately after discharging A from the bucket 13, it returns to a neutral horizontal posture in which the guide pin 13c is vertical due to gravity. Further, the bucket 13 returns to the starting end side of the article supply area a while keeping the downward posture inverted from the end of the sorting area c.

  On the transport path of the bucket conveyor 2 in the article supply area a, as shown in FIG. 2, corresponding to the workers D and D arranged in the work areas A1 and A2 set on the side of the transport path, Areas a1, a2, a3 and areas a4, a5, a6 are set so as to correspond in the order of excellent, excellent, good from the upstream side. In each of the areas a1 to a6, the A rank corresponding to the left inclined posture, the B rank corresponding to the neutral horizontal posture, and the C rank corresponding to the right inclined posture are set in the width direction.

  Article passage detection sensors R1 to R6 that detect the passage of the produce A are arranged at the end portions of the areas a1 to a6 (see FIG. 4). Each article passage detection sensor R1 to R6 detects the passage of the produce A placed in the bucket 13 and outputs the passage detection signal to the control device 7, but the produce A is not placed in the bucket 13. Since it does not output a passage detection signal, it can be detected in which areas a1 to a6 the produce A is supplied.

  A pair of left and right inclination detection sensors S2 and S3 for detecting the inclination of the bucket 13 are arranged on both sides of the conveyance path in each area a1 to a6 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). When the bucket 13 is manually tilted to the left or right, either one of the tilt detection sensors S2 and S3 disposed on the left and right detects the tilt of the bucket 13 and outputs the tilt detection signal to the control device 7. . When the bucket 13 returns to the neutral horizontal posture, the inclination detection sensors S2 and S3 also return to the posture before detection.

  In addition, the inclination detection sensors S2 and S3 are provided in lengths corresponding to the ranges of the areas a1 to a6, respectively. Between the inclination detection sensors S2 and S2 arranged on the left side and the inclination detection sensors S3 and S3 arranged on the right side are separated by an interval equivalent to one or more buckets 13, and one bucket 13 is prevented from being detected simultaneously by the two inclination detection sensors S2, S2 and S3, S3.

  Plate-like sliding members S2a and S3a made of a material having a small contact resistance are fixed to the upper surfaces of the inclination detection sensors S2 and S3 on the free end side. That is, when both side edges of the bucket 13 are brought into contact with the upper surfaces of the inclination detection sensors S2 and S3, the contact resistance generated at the contact portions is reduced by the sliding members S2a and S3a. Yes.

  Each of the areas a1 to a6 is set to a length corresponding to two or more buckets 13, but the agricultural product A is manually picked up from the box B by the operator D and placed on the bucket 13. The operation takes a certain amount of time, and while the next agricultural product A is being processed, the next bucket 13 has already moved to the downstream area. The agricultural product A cannot be placed on the buckets 13 and 13 of the table.

  In the vicinity of the upstream end of the article supply area a, a head detection sensor T1 for detecting the head bucket 13 and a count sensor T2 for detecting the buckets 13 following the head bucket 13 are arranged (see FIG. 2). . Immediately after the head detection sensor T1 detects the passage of the head bucket 13, the count sensor T2 detects the passage of the subsequent buckets 13 and outputs the detection signal to the control device 7.

  Workers D and D waiting in the work areas A1 and A2 of the article supply area a move the boxes B conveyed by the cargo receiving conveyor 3 to the side of the worker D, and then produce products A stored in the boxes B. Each item is picked up by hand, and external items (eg, size, color, shape, presence or absence of scratches, etc.) of the produce A are visually inspected individually.

  Based on the personal judgment criteria by the worker D, it is determined whether the agricultural product A held by hand corresponds to an excellent grade, an excellent grade, or a good grade, and the excellent grade areas a1 and a4, It mounts according to a grade (refer FIG. 2) with respect to the buckets 13 ... passing the area a2, a5 and the good grade area a3, a6.

  In the areas a1 to a6, when the worker D places the produce A on the bucket 13, the bucket 13 on which the produce A is placed has a left inclined posture corresponding to the A rank and a right inclined posture corresponding to the C rank. Tilt or place it in a neutral horizontal position corresponding to rank B, etc., and grade A, grade B, grade C produce A, B, C, respectively. The control device 7 can read the visual grade and rating as visual information by the article passage detection sensors R1 to R6 and the inclination detection sensors S2 and S3.

  On the transport path of the bucket conveyor 2 in the measurement area b, a weight measurement area b1 for measuring the total weight of the entire bucket 13 on which the produce A is placed, an internal measurement area b2 for measuring the internal items of the produce A, An external measurement area b3 for measuring external items of the agricultural product A is set in order from the upstream side.

  The weight measuring device 4 (see FIG. 1) arranged in the weight measuring region b1 measures the total weight of the entire bucket 13 on which the produce A is placed, while measuring it with a load cell or the like, and controls the measured weight information. Output to the device 7.

  The internal measurement device 5 (see FIG. 1) arranged in the internal measurement region b2 irradiates the agricultural products A with the internal inspection light projected from the light source arranged on the side of the conveyance path, and transmits the agricultural products A inside. The transmitted light is photographed by a photographing camera arranged on the opposite side or above the transportation path across the transportation route, and the photographed image information such as sugar content, acidity, maturity, honey amount, moisture content, maturity Information such as the degree, the degree of decay, and the cavity is output to the control device 7.

  The external measurement device 6 (see FIG. 1) arranged in the external measurement region b3 is configured to capture the outer surface (for example, the upper peripheral surface, the side peripheral surface, etc.) of the agricultural product A placed on the buckets 13. And control the image information, such as size (diameter, area, pseudo volume, etc.), height, width, flatness, shape, color, surface abnormality (scratches, pests, etc.) 7 is output.

  The control device 7 includes a counter that counts the passage detection signal output from the count sensor T2 immediately after the leading bucket 13 is detected by the leading detection sensor T1, and the same number as the number of passages of the bucket 13 while counting by the counter. A writing table having an input field is created.

  The control device 7 determines the sorting destination of the produce A placed on the bucket 13 based on the quality information including the visual information, the weight information, the internal information, and the external information. In the order of the buckets 13... Following the top bucket 13, the information is written and stored in the input column of the write table set for each bucket 13.

  The writing operation to the writing table is synchronized with the movement of the buckets 13... And is input this time every time the encoder pulse provided on the bucket conveyor 2 reaches the number of pulses corresponding to the movement amount of one pitch of the bucket 13. Next, the input field to be sent is sent to match the information to be written with the bucket 13. As a result, the quality information is written in the input field corresponding to the corresponding bucket 13, and the input field is sent to the next at a predetermined timing, so that the quality information is sequentially written in the writing table corresponding to each agricultural product A. Write.

  The control device 7 compares the quality information of the produce A written in the writing table in the order in which the buckets 13 pass with the sorting information set for each discharge unit c1. It is determined whether or not there is. Then, the timing at which each bucket 13 reaches the corresponding discharge section c1 is measured by the output pulse of the encoder provided in the bucket conveyor 2, and an operation command signal is output to a tilting device 17 described later disposed in the discharge section c1. To do. That is, when it is determined that the quality information of the produce A placed in the bucket 13 and the sorting information set for each discharge unit c1 are different, the tilting device 17 is not driven and the guide plate 18 is moved to the rotating body of the bucket 13. It is made to stand by at the stand-by angle which abuts against 13d.

  When it is determined that the quality information of the agricultural product A matches the sorting information of the discharge unit c1, the tilting device of the discharge unit c1 corresponding to the determination is matched with the timing when the bucket 13 reaches the discharge unit c1 corresponding to the agricultural product A. 17 is driven, and the guide plate 18 is rotated to a discharge angle at which the guide plate 18 comes into contact with the rotating body 13 d of the bucket 13. The rotating body 13d of the bucket 13 is brought into contact with the inclined surface of the guide plate 18 and transferred from the guide plate 18 to the discharge plate 22, and the entire bucket 13 is produced with respect to the storage box 23 arranged on the side of the conveyance path. Tilt to a discharge posture where A is discharged.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the tilting devices 17... Disposed below the transport path of the bucket conveyor 2 of the discharge sections c1. It is arranged to the left. In addition, when discharging the agricultural product A to the storage box 23 arranged on the left side of the conveyance path, the tilting device 17 is arranged rightward. When the agricultural product A is discharged to the storage box 23 arranged on the left side of the conveyance path, the tilting device 17 is disposed. Is placed to the left.

  In the tilting device 17, a guide plate 18 that guides the guide pin 13 c of the bucket 13, which is regulated in a neutral horizontal posture, to a discharge angle is disposed obliquely with respect to the lower part of the moving path of the guide pin 13 c.

  In addition, the support shaft 19 fixed to the lower end of the guide plate 18 is pivotally supported with respect to the upper portion of the support frame 20 disposed below the movement path of the guide pins 13c, and is fixed to the lower portion of the support frame 20. The rod of the cylinder 21 is connected to a swinging portion provided at the lower end of the guide plate 18. That is, by the operation of the tilting cylinder 21, the guide plate 18 is released from the contact angle with the rotating body 13 d of the bucket 13 restricted to the neutral horizontal posture, and the contact with the rotating body 13 d is avoided. Is rotated to the standby angle.

  Further, when the guide plate 18 is rotated to the discharge angle, the guide plate 18 abuts on the front end side of the discharge plate 22 described later, and the rotation of the guide plate 18 is restricted to an angle that allows the transfer of the rotating body 13d of the bucket 13 to the discharge plate 22. .

  The discharge plate 22 arranged on the downstream side of the guide plate 18 is a position where contact with the rotating body 13d of the bucket 13 restricted to the neutral horizontal posture is avoided, and the guide plate 18 is rotated to the discharge angle. When it moves, it is provided in the vicinity where the transfer of the rotating body 13d with respect to the guide plate 18 is allowed. In other words, the rotating body 13d of the bucket 13 is transferred from the guide plate 18 rotated to the discharge angle to the discharge plate 22, and the agricultural product A is discharged to the storage box 23 in which the bucket 13 is disposed on the side of the conveyance path. Control the release posture.

  The agricultural products A ... discharged to the storage boxes 23 ... of the discharge sections c1, ... are manually packed by a predetermined number. Also, instead of the storage box 23, a conveyor can be provided to align the produce A ..., and the existing automatic boxing machine can be boxed, packed, packed, or weighed by a weighing machine and boxed. it can.

  The illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, and the method for sorting agricultural products A by the bucket type sorting apparatus 1 will be described below.

  First, before starting the sorting operation, the bucket conveyor 2 is driven to cause the buckets 13 to rotate at least once, and immediately after the leading bucket 13 is detected by the leading detection sensor T1, the subsequent passage of the buckets 13 is counted. The passage detection signal detected by the sensor T2 and output from the count sensor T2 is recognized by the counter of the control device 7 and counted.

  The control device 7 continues the current count until the head detection signal for detecting the head bucket 13 is input from the head detection sensor T1, and the same number as the number of passes of the buckets 13... A writing table having an input field is created.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, at the start of sorting, workers D and D waiting in the work areas A1 and A2 of the article supply area a are agricultural products in the box B supplied by the consignment conveyor 3. Pick up A ... one by one by hand and visually inspect the external items of produce A.

  Each worker D, D, based on personal visual determination, the agricultural product A held by hand, the areas a1 to a3 of the work area A1 of the article supply area a and the areas a4 to a6 of the work area A2. The bucket 13 on which the agricultural products A are placed is placed in the A-ranked left-side inclined posture (FIG. 6) while being placed according to the grades of excellent, excellent and good with respect to the passing buckets 13. See FIG. 7), and rank to the A rank, B rank, and C rank, respectively, by tilting to the right inclined posture of C rank (see FIG. 7) or positioning in the neutral horizontal posture of B rank (see FIG. 5).

  For example, when it is determined that the agricultural product A obtained by the worker D in the work area A1 is the A rank of the excellent grade, the agricultural product A is placed on the bucket 13 passing through the area a1 corresponding to the excellent grade. Is tilted to the left inclined posture corresponding to the A rank, and the inclination detection switch S2 detects the left inclination of the bucket 13 from the inclination detection switch S2 by depressing the inclination detection switch S2 on the left side. 7 is output. Then, by releasing the hand from the produce A, the bucket 13 in the left inclined posture returns to the neutral horizontal posture and passes through the terminal end of the area a1 in which the article passage detection sensor R1 is provided. At this time, a passage detection signal that detects the passage of the produce A is output to the control device 7 from the article passage detection sensor R1 at the end of the area a1.

  The control device 7 uses the detection signal from the inclination detection switch S2 installed in the area a1 and the detection signal from the article passage detection sensor R1 to produce the product A placed on the bucket 13 that has passed the article passage detection sensor R1. It is recognized that the visual judgment is an A grade of excellent grade. In addition, when it determines with B rank, the detection signal from both inclination detection switches S1 and S2 of area a1 is not output, but the detection signal from article passage detection sensor R1 is output, and it recognizes as B rank. It has come to be.

  In this way, the control device 7 detects the passage detection information detected by the article passage detection sensors R1 to R6 in each area a1 to a6 and the inclination detection detected by the inclination detection switches S2 and S3 in each area a1 to a6. Based on the information, it is determined whether the agricultural product A placed in the bucket 13 corresponds to an excellent grade, an excellent grade, or a good grade, and whether it corresponds to an A rank, a B rank, or a C rank. . As a result, when the agricultural product A is placed on the bucket 13, a plurality of information regarding the agricultural product A can be recognized.

  In addition, immediately after detecting the leading bucket 13 by the leading detection sensor T1, the visual information consisting of the determination result is passed through the buckets 13 while counting the passing detection signal of the bucket 13 output from the count sensor T2 with a counter. Write to the write table in the order of.

  Further, when the bucket 13 on which the agricultural product A is placed in the upstream area a1 is conveyed to the downstream areas a2 to a6, the passage detection signal for detecting the passage of the agricultural product A is controlled from the article passage detection sensors R2 to R6. Since it is output to the device 7, the control device 7 does not determine the inclination of the bucket 13 even if an inclination detection signal is output from the inclination detection switches S2 and S3 of the areas a2 to a6.

  The agricultural product A that has passed through the article supply area a is measured for weight information by the weight measuring device 4 in the weight measuring area b1 in the measuring area b provided on the downstream side thereof, and is internally measured by the internal measuring apparatus 5 in the internal measuring area b2. Information is measured, and external information is measured by the external measurement device 6 in the external measurement region b3. The control device 7 writes the weight information, the internal information, and the external information measured by each measuring device into the writing table in the order of the buckets 13 following the leading bucket 13.

  The control device 7 determines the sorting destination of the produce A placed in the bucket 13 based on the quality information including the visual information, the weight information, the internal information, and the external information, and sets the quality information of the produce A at the head. In addition to the information already written in the corresponding input field of the writing table, the information is written and stored in association with the passing order of the buckets 13.

  In the sorting area c, the quality information of the produce A stored in correspondence with the passing order of the buckets 13 written in the writing table and the sorting information set for each discharging unit c1 are compared by the control device 7 and are the same. It is determined whether or not the selected information is.

  If it is determined that the quality information of the produce A placed in the bucket 13 and the sorting information set for each discharge unit c1 are different, the tilting device 17 is not driven and the buckets 13 are kept in a neutral horizontal posture. It conveys to the discharge part c1 ... downstream.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the quality information of the produce A matches the sorting information set for each discharge unit c1, the timing at which the bucket 13 reaches the discharge unit c1 corresponding to the class of the produce A is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the tilting device 17 is driven, and the bucket 13 on which the agricultural product A is placed is tilted to the inclined posture in which the agricultural product A is discharged toward the storage box 23 arranged on the side of the conveyance path.

  Agricultural products A discharged by tilting the bucket 13 are discharged to a storage box 23 arranged on the side of the conveyance path. Similarly, the agricultural products A placed in the buckets 13 are distributed to the left and right storage boxes 23 arranged in the discharge sections c1.

  The agricultural products A ... released into the storage boxes 23 ... are manually packed. Further, the box in which a predetermined number of agricultural products A ... are packed is conveyed to the next process (for example, a shipping process, a storage process, etc.).

  As described above, when the agricultural product A held by the operator D is placed on the bucket 13 of the bucket conveyor 2, the bucket 13 on which the agricultural product A is placed is tilted in a direction corresponding to the visual grade, Since the inclination of the bucket 13 is detected by the inclination detection switches S2 and S3 and the grade is visually determined, a plurality of pieces of information regarding the produce A can be recognized, and the selection accuracy can be improved. Moreover, since it is a simple structure which only inclines the bucket 13, operability is good and the operation | movement at the time of making it recognize information can be performed easily and easily. Further, by simply providing the bucket 13 so as to be able to tilt, it is possible to visually discriminate a plurality of grades and discharge the agricultural product A from the bucket 13, simplifying the structure of the entire sorting device and reducing the cost. Furthermore, since the configuration and structure of the bucket 13 itself are simplified, the assembly work of the bucket 13 can be performed in a short time and can be manufactured at low cost.

In the correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment,
The article of this invention corresponds to the agricultural product A of the example,
Similarly,
The inclination detection means corresponds to the inclination detection sensors S2 and S3,
The article passage detection means corresponds to the article passage detection sensors R1 to R6,
The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, but can be applied based on the technical idea shown in the claims, and many embodiments can be obtained.

  For example, the inclination detection sensors S2 and S2 of the areas a1 to a6, the conveyor guides installed on both sides of the conveyance path, and the like may be color-coded for each area so that the boundaries between the areas a1 to a6 of the article supply area a can be seen at a glance. Good.

  Moreover, you may comprise so that the bucket 13 of the bucket conveyor 2 may incline to either one of right and left.

  Also, when receiving Agricultural Product A, for example, receiving information such as producer number, number of containers, variety, item, harvest time (date and time), weather at harvest, garden (production location and status), expiration date, etc. It may be input automatically or manually by an input device arranged near the unit and stored in the control device 7.

The top view which shows the whole structure of a bucket type sorting apparatus. The top view which shows the inclination operation | movement of the bucket at the time of mounting agricultural products. The rear view which shows the attachment state of the bucket which can incline right and left. The rear view which shows the detection state of the agricultural products mounted in the bucket. The rear view which shows the bucket located in the neutral horizontal attitude | position. The rear view which shows the detection state of the bucket inclined in the left side inclination attitude | position. The rear view which shows the detection state of the bucket inclined in the right side inclination attitude | position. The front view which shows discharge | emission operation | movement of the agricultural products mounted in the bucket. The top view which shows the state which has arrange | positioned the inclination apparatus to right and left.

Explanation of symbols

a ... article supply area a1 to a6 ... area b ... measurement area c ... sorting area c1 ... discharge part A ... agricultural product D ... worker R1 to R6 ... article passage detection sensor S2, S3 ... tilt detection sensor T1 ... top reading sensor T2 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Count sensor 1 ... Bucket type sorter 2 ... Bucket conveyor 3 ... Conveyance conveyor 4 ... Weight measuring device 5 ... Internal measuring device 6 ... External measuring device 7 ... Control device 13 ... Bucket 17 ... Inclining device 23 ... Storage box

Claims (2)

On the transport path of the transport means that has a plurality of buckets on which articles can be placed and each bucket is configured to be tiltable,
In the bucket type sorting apparatus provided with the sorting area for tilting the bucket to the discharging section provided for each sorting section and discharging the articles, the article supplying area for supplying the article to the bucket conveyed manually,
When an article is manually supplied to a bucket passing through the article supply area, an inclination detecting means for detecting that the bucket is inclined is provided, and the grade of the article is visually determined by detecting the attitude of the bucket at that time. The bucket type sorting device characterized by distinguishing. The article supply area is divided into a plurality of areas,
An article passage detection means for detecting the passage of the article is provided at the end of each area,
The grade of the article is discriminated by a combination of the attitude of the bucket when the article detected by the inclination detecting means is supplied and the area supplied with the article detected by the article passage detecting means. The bucket type sorting apparatus according to claim 1.

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