JP2009126689A - Method and device for aligning head of chopstick - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for aligning heads of chopsticks, capable of efficiently and securely aligning chopsticks of which orientation is irregular in a uniform orientation by an inexpensive device. <P>SOLUTION: Chopsticks having one ends in the length direction as head parts for gripping parts and the other ends as nipping parts and having the gravity center shifted from a substantial central point in the length direction to the head part side are aligned. The substantial central points of the chopsticks carried to form a line in the horizontal direction are supported by a linear sorting part (25) formed by folding a plate member (15) in a mountain shape and having a narrow support area. By using dropping of the chopsticks supported by the linear sorting part (25) from the head parts due to the gravity, the chopsticks are aligned with the heads facing downward. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a chopstick head aligning method and a chopstick head aligning device that align chopsticks composed of a grip portion of a head portion and a pinch portion of a tip portion in a certain direction. Rent the relatively high-grade chopsticks to restaurants, restaurants, inns, and other facilities, collect the chopsticks used in such facilities, and wash and sterilize them for reuse. In a service for wrapping one package at a time and renting again, the method of aligning chopsticks heads, which is suitable for the implementation of the process of aligning chopsticks with different directions in a certain direction, and used for the implementation of this method The present invention relates to a head alignment device for chopsticks.

  As is well known in the art, disposable chopsticks are divided into two chopsticks when used in a meal and discarded when the meal is finished. Therefore, disposable chopsticks are guaranteed to be used only once, are clean, and can be manufactured relatively inexpensively in foreign countries using foreign wood and bamboo, especially in restaurants, restaurants, inns, etc. Widely used in the center. By the way, about 25 billion chopsticks are consumed annually in Japan, and the amount of chopsticks is equivalent to 17,000 to 20,000 building materials built in the country. Such chopsticks that are consumed in large quantities in recent years are concerned about the environmental deterioration caused by the felling of wood and bamboo as raw materials in China and other countries where the materials are produced. It is becoming. In addition, since used disposable chopsticks are treated as waste, there are environmental problems and processing costs are high.

  Chopsticks that are not disposable chopsticks, that is, painted chopsticks, wooden chopsticks, bamboo chopsticks, plastic chopsticks, etc., are washed and dried by hand after use, and are repeatedly reused. Such reusable and reusable chopsticks are often used in the home, but in view of the circumstances surrounding the above-mentioned disposable chopsticks, they are also used as reusable chopsticks to replace disposable chopsticks in restaurants, restaurants, inns, etc. Being considered. There are many used chopsticks in the cafeteria, etc., but if you immerse such chopsticks in the washing tub together with the dishes, only the chopsticks with low specific gravity will spread and float throughout the washing tub, so you can wash efficiently. It is difficult and labor intensive. Therefore, it is more expensive and time-consuming than disposable chopsticks. In addition, unlike disposable chopsticks that are used only once, there is a problem that it is difficult to ensure that chopsticks that are reused are clean to the user.

  Therefore, renting relatively high-quality chopsticks such as lacquered chopsticks to restaurants, etc., collecting chopsticks used in restaurants, etc., washing, drying, sterilizing, packaging and recycling them one by one, and again Rental service is a promising business. If implemented in this manner, a large amount of chopsticks can be processed efficiently and can be reproduced at low cost, so that an effect of renting at low cost can be expected. Furthermore, since the chopsticks are packaged one by one, the user can be assured that the chopsticks are clean.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-276198

  Patent Document 1 proposes a chopstick recycling apparatus that automatically cleans, dries, and repackages plastic or wooden used chopsticks. The chopstick recycling apparatus described in Patent Document 1 sterilizes chopsticks with infrared rays, a hopper for loading used chopsticks, a belt conveyor for transporting chopsticks, a chopstick cleaning unit, a drying unit for drying chopsticks It is composed of a sterilization section and a packaging section that wraps two chopsticks, that is, one chopstick. Therefore, when used chopsticks are put into the hopper, they are transported one by one on the belt conveyor, washed, dried and sterilized, and finally packaged one by one to regenerate the chopsticks.

  Even with the chopstick recycling apparatus described in Patent Document 1, used chopsticks are washed, dried, and sterilized, so that they can be used again. Furthermore, since the chopsticks are packaged one by one, it is possible to guarantee that the chopsticks have been regenerated in a sanitary manner. However, there are also disadvantages or problems to be improved.

  That is, the chopsticks have a relatively thick end portion, that is, a grip portion on the handle side, and a thin tip portion, that is, a grip portion on the side that holds food, and the chopsticks have directionality. This reproducing apparatus is not provided with any means for aligning the direction of the chopsticks. Used chopsticks that have been rented and collected are generally in an uneven direction. Therefore, even if such chopsticks with different directions are put into the hopper as they are, there is no guarantee that the directions of the two chopsticks will be aligned and packaged. In order to wrap the chopsticks in the same direction, it is necessary to align the chopstick heads in advance when putting the chopsticks into the hopper. However, manually aligning the chopstick heads is labor intensive and cumbersome. Since it becomes cost, it cannot be implemented roughly.

  Furthermore, since the hopper structure into which the chopsticks are inserted is not particularly considered, there is a risk that the chopsticks may interfere with each other inside the hopper and block the hopper's discharge port, and a plurality of chopsticks may be gathered at once. There is also a risk of being discharged from. That is, there is no guarantee that chopsticks will be discharged from the hopper one by one and placed on the belt conveyor.

  The present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems as described above, and can align chopsticks with different directions efficiently and reliably in a certain direction with an inexpensive device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a chopsticks head aligner used in the implementation of this method.

  In general, one end of the chopsticks in the length direction is a head and the other end is a knob. The center of gravity is biased toward the head side from the substantial midpoint in the length direction. Alternatively, the head and the knob have different diameters. The present invention uses the point that the center of gravity is biased toward the head, and makes use of the point that the diameters of the head and the knob are different to achieve the object of the invention.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first aspect of the present invention has a grip portion at one end in the length direction at the head, a grip at the other end, and a center of gravity substantially in the length direction. A method of aligning chopsticks that are biased to the head side from the midpoint, and supporting the substantial midpoint of the chopsticks conveyed in a row in a horizontal direction with an unstable support member of a predetermined support area The chopsticks supported by the unstable support member are configured to align the chopsticks in a predetermined direction by using the fact that the chopsticks fall from the head due to gravity. In the invention according to claim 2, the grip portion at one end in the length direction is the head, the other end is the knob portion, and the diameter of the head is substantially larger than the diameter of the knob portion. The chopsticks transported by the transport device in a line are arranged by the transport device and a guide member arranged at a predetermined regulation interval with the transport device. The chopsticks are transported in a pinched state, and the chopsticks sandwiched between the transport device and the guide member are removed from the head that is not captured at the predetermined regulation interval so that the chopsticks are aligned in a predetermined direction. Configured.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the grip portion at one end portion in the length direction is the head portion, the other end portion is the knob portion, and the center of gravity is biased toward the head side from the substantial midpoint in the length direction. An apparatus for aligning chopsticks, comprising: a conveyor that conveys chopsticks in a line; and a chopstick head aligning member disposed at a downstream end of the conveyor. The head aligning member has a linear sorting part, and when the substantial midpoint of the chopsticks conveyed by the conveyor is on the linear sorting part, the chopsticks are headed on both sides from the linear sorting part. It is configured so that the heads of the chopsticks are aligned with each other by falling by gravity. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the grip portion at one end in the lengthwise direction is the head, the other end is the knob portion, and the diameter of the head is substantially larger than the diameter of the knob portion. The chopsticks are arranged in a row, and the apparatus comprises a conveying device that conveys chopsticks in a line, and a guide member that is arranged at a predetermined regulation interval with the conveying device, The chopsticks sandwiched between the transport device and the guide member are removed from the head that is not captured at the predetermined regulation interval, so that the chopsticks are aligned in a predetermined direction.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the guide member is a belt driven in synchronism with the conveying device, and the invention according to the sixth aspect is the present invention. The chopsticks head aligning device according to any one of 3 to 5 is a drying device comprising a cleaning device comprising a cleaning water spray nozzle, a sterilizing device comprising an ozone water spray nozzle, an air spray nozzle and a hot air spray nozzle. Configured to be incorporated into the device.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a substantial midpoint of chopsticks conveyed in a row in a horizontal direction is supported by an unstable support member having a predetermined support area, and the unstable support member Since the chopsticks supported on the head are dropped from the head due to gravity, the chopsticks are aligned in a predetermined direction. Folded linear distribution portions, edge portions of plate-like members, rod-like members and the like can be applied, and the structure is extremely simple and inexpensive. Since the structure is extremely simple, there is an effect that there is no failure and maintenance is easy. According to the present invention, since the chopsticks supported by the unstable support member are aligned using the fact that they fall from the head, the effect that they can be surely aligned is obtained. According to another invention, the chopsticks conveyed by the conveying device in a line are sandwiched between the conveying device and a guide member that is arranged at a predetermined regulation interval with the conveying device. Since the chopsticks that are transported in a state and are sandwiched between the transport device and the guide member come out from the head that is not captured at the predetermined regulation interval, the structure is similarly very simple. And since it arranges by the difference in a diameter, the effect of being reliable is acquired.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. The chopsticks head aligning device according to the embodiment of the present invention can be used alone, but can be used in combination with a chopstick reproducing device, a chopstick manufacturing device, or the like. An example incorporated in a chopstick player will be described below. A chopsticks recycling device is a device that collects rented chopsticks, cleans them, sterilizes them, dries them, and packs them one by one so that they can be rented again. It will be installed. As shown in FIG. 1, such a chopstick reproducing apparatus includes a chopstick head aligning device 1, a chopstick cleaning line HSL, and a chopstick packaging device HHS.

  The chopsticks head aligning device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail later, but schematically, a hopper 11 for loading chopsticks, a belt conveyor 12 for conveying chopsticks H, H,. The chopsticks H, H,... Are composed of a shower nozzle 13 for pre-washing, a chopsticks head alignment plate 15 provided at the downstream end of the belt conveyor 12 to align the heads of the chopsticks H, H,. ,... Are put into the hopper 11, and the chopsticks H, H,... Are placed one by one on the belt conveyor 12 and transported, and after pre-washing, the heads of the chopsticks are aligned to the cleaning bowls K, K,. It can be put in.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the chopstick cleaning line HSL is composed of a transport device 70 that suspends and transports cleaning tubs K, K,... With chopsticks H, H,. Along with this conveying device 70, various devices, that is, a cleaning device 80 for main cleaning chopsticks H, H,..., A sterilization device 90 for sterilizing chopsticks H, H,. 100 etc. are arranged. The chopsticks head aligning device 1 according to the present embodiment is disposed in the vicinity of the most upstream position of the chopstick cleaning line HSL configured as described above.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the conveying device 70 includes a conveying chain 71 closed in a loop shape, and a plurality of bifurcated hooks 72, 72,... Suspended from the conveying chain 71 at a predetermined interval. It is composed of The two cleaning rods K, K are suspended in parallel on the one fork hook 72. The moving speed of the transfer device 70 can be adjusted. For example, the transfer device 70 is adjusted to make one turn in about 30 minutes between the devices described below.

  The cleaning device 80 includes a plurality of rows of cleaning pipes 81, 81,... Provided therein. A plurality of cleaning nozzles 83, 83,... Are attached to the cleaning liquid pipes 81, 81,... At a predetermined interval in the moving direction of the transport chain 71. Are sprayed from the cleaning nozzles 83, 83,... Toward the chopsticks H, H,. Desirably, it is sprayed from a direction opposite to the moving direction of the cleaning rods K, K,. Although the sprayed cleaning water is not shown in the figure, it is collected in a drain pan or the like provided below the cleaning device 80, purified by filtration or the like, and supplied again as cleaning water. It has become.

  The sterilizer 90 is provided on the chopstick cleaning line HSL at a predetermined interval from the cleaner 80 so as to be positioned downstream of the cleaner 80. In this embodiment, ozone water in which ozone gas is dissolved is applied to the sterilization of the chopsticks H, H,... And the cleaning bowls K, K,. This is because ozone water can be easily obtained by dissolving ozone gas obtained by a commercially available ozone gas generator in water, or by an electrolytic ozone water generator, and has high sterilizing power. In addition, it can be sterilized without unevenness. Moreover, the sterilizer 90 to which ozone water is applied in this way has a sealed box body, and a plurality of rows of ozone water pipes 91, 91,. A plurality of ozone water injection nozzles 93, 93,... Are attached to these ozone water pipes 91, 91,... At a predetermined interval in the moving direction of the transport chain 71. Are sprayed toward the chopsticks H, H,... Put in the cleaning bowls K, K,. According to the present embodiment, the ozone water injection nozzles 93, 93,... Face in different directions. Therefore, ozone water, that is, a sterilizing liquid is applied to the cleaning baskets K, K,. As a result, the surfaces of the cleaning baskets K, K,... And the chopsticks H, H,. According to the present embodiment, the chopsticks H, H,... Are prewashed by the chopsticks head aligning device 1 and are finally washed by the washing device 80, so that the ozone water can be circulated as it is, but can be filtered if necessary. The ozone gas is replenished and reused.

  The drying apparatus 100 is provided in the chopstick cleaning line HSL adjacent to the sterilization apparatus 90 so as to be located on the downstream side of the sterilization apparatus 90. Although not shown in the drawing, the drying apparatus 100 includes a plurality of air nozzles for injecting air and a plurality of hot air nozzles 101, 101,. The air nozzle is disposed on the upstream side, and the hot air nozzles 101, 101,... Are disposed on the downstream side. The hot air nozzles 101, 101,... Arranged on the downstream side are supplied with hot air of a predetermined temperature from the blow pipes 102, 102,.

  The chopstick packaging device HHS is not shown in the figure, but is composed of a chopstick insertion unit, a chopstick packaging unit, and the like. As it is, it is packed one by one. Such a chopstick packaging apparatus HHS includes, for example, chopsticks described in JP-A-2002-154507, JP-A-2002-68114, etc., in addition to the chopstick reproducing apparatus described in Patent Document 1. The packaging device can be applied.

  Next, the operation of the above chopstick reproducing apparatus will be described. Two empty cleaning bowls K, K are installed in a predetermined place of the chopstick head alignment apparatus 1. Then, the belt conveyor 12 is driven. Then, the chopsticks H, H,... Are put in the hopper 11 together, but it is not necessary to align the directions of the chopsticks H, H,. Then, as will be described later, the chopsticks H, H,... Are placed on the belt conveyor 12 and conveyed, and after pre-washing, the heads of the chopsticks are aligned and placed in the cleaning bowls K, K. When a predetermined number of chopsticks H, H,... Are put in the cleaning bowls K, K, the two cleaning bowls K, K are removed, and two new empty washing baskets K, K are installed. The cleaning baskets K and K in which the chopsticks H, H,... Are put are conveyed to the cleaning line HSL.

  In the section sandwiched between the main cleaning device 80 and the drying device 100 of the chopstick cleaning line HSL, that is, the detachable zone TDZ, two cleaning baskets K, K into which chopsticks H, H,. It is hung on the bifurcated hook 72 of the book. Then, the set of cleaning bowls K and K is slowly conveyed by the conveyance chain 71. When the set of cleaning bowls K and K is conveyed into the cleaning device 80, cleaning water is sprayed onto the chopsticks H, H,. Since the chopsticks H, H,... Are pre-washed by the chopstick head aligning device 1, the dirt is easily peeled off from the surface of the chopsticks, and only the washing water sprayed from the washing nozzles 83, 83,. Falls easily. The pair of cleaning rods K and K that have been cleaned is visually confirmed by an operator in a section sandwiched between the cleaning device 80 and the sterilization device 90, that is, a confirmation zone KZ. The operator confirms whether or not dirt remains on the chopsticks H, H,... If the dirt is found, remove the dirt by hand washing or the like. Alternatively, the speed of the conveyance chain 71, the concentration of the cleaning water, the spraying speed of the cleaning water from the cleaning nozzles 83, 83,.

  Next, the set of cleaning bowls K and K is conveyed to the sterilizer 90. Inside the sterilizer 90, ozone water is sprayed on the chopsticks H, H,... Thereafter, the set of cleaning bowls K and K is conveyed to the drying apparatus 100. Inside the drying apparatus 100, high-pressure air is first jetted from the air nozzle, and water droplets adhering to the cleaning bowls K, K,... And chopsticks H, H,. And it is completely dried by the warm air of the predetermined temperature injected from warm air nozzle 101,101, .... According to the present embodiment, high-pressure air is jetted as a pretreatment for drying, and water droplets are blown away, so that drying is performed efficiently. The cleaning baskets K and K carried out from the drying apparatus 100 are detached from the fork hook 72 in the attachment / detachment zone TDZ and conveyed to the chopstick packaging apparatus HHS.

  The chopsticks H, H,... That have been cleaned, sterilized, and dried are taken out from the cleaning tubs K, K,. Then, in the chopstick packaging apparatus HHS, the chopsticks H, H,. At this time, since the chopsticks H, H,... Already have their chopstick heads aligned, the chopsticks are not wrapped in different directions.

  In the above description, a set of cleaning bowls K and K is described. However, a plurality of sets of cleaning bowls K, K,... Cleaning, sterilization, and drying are performed.

  Next, the chopsticks head alignment device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. The chopsticks head aligning device 1 according to the first embodiment is a device that aligns the chopstick heads using the fact that the center of gravity of the chopsticks is biased toward the chopstick head side with respect to the midpoint in the length direction, The chopsticks are supported near the midpoint and are dropped from the chopstick head by gravity. As shown in FIG. 2, the chopsticks head aligning device 1 is schematically composed of a hopper 11 into which used chopsticks H, H,... Are inserted, and chopsticks H discharged from the hopper 11 one by one. .. Of the conveyor belt 12 for transporting H,..., A plurality of shower nozzles 13, 13,... For pre-washing the chopsticks H, H,. A chopsticks head aligning plate 15 provided at the downstream end for aligning the heads of chopsticks H, H,.

  The hopper 11 is one of the main components that constitute the chopsticks head aligning device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is configured to reliably discharge chopsticks one by one. The configuration and operation will be described in detail later.

  The belt conveyor 12 is made of a rubber material, and is composed of a belt 17 slightly wider than the length of the chopsticks H, H,... To be conveyed, a driving roll 18 and driven rolls 19 and 19, and the belt 17 is composed of these rolls. Between 18, 19, and 19. On the hopper 11 side, which is the upstream side of the belt conveyor 12, the belt 17 is inclined in an upward slope, and portions where chopsticks are prewashed, that is, shower nozzles 13, 13,... And cleaning tools 14, 14,. The part that is marked is horizontal. On the surface of the belt 17, plate-like protrusions 21, 21,... For conveying one chopsticks H, H,. The plate-like protrusions 21, 21,... Are provided so as to cross the belt 17 in the width direction, but are interrupted at substantially the center thereof. A gap 22 is formed at the abutting end of the plate-like protrusion 21 due to the interruption. The plate-like protrusions 21 and 21 that form a pair of these two are formed over the entire circumference of the belt 17, and chopsticks enter between the plate-like protrusions 21 formed back and forth in the moving direction of the belt 17. It is like that. Further, since the gap 22 is formed between the plate-like protrusions 21 and 21, the heads of the chopsticks can be aligned as will be described in detail later. Guide plates 24 for guiding chopsticks are provided on both sides of the belt 17 thus configured.

  According to the present embodiment, the pre-washing device is composed of a plurality of shower nozzles 13, 13,... And a plurality of cleaning tools 14, 14,. The cleaning tools 14, 14,... Are longer than the width of the belt 17 and have a cylindrical shape, and the surface thereof is covered with a sponge-like flexible material, or brush hairs for cleaning are implanted to form a brush shape. It has become. The cleaning tools 14, 14,... Are rotatably supported with respect to the belt 17. As a result, the entire surfaces of the cleaning tools 14, 14,... Are in surface contact with the entire width direction of the belt 17, and when the belt 17 is driven, the cleaning tools 14, 14,. Further, a cleaning liquid made of hot water, detergent, or the like is jetted from shower nozzles 13, 13,... Provided above the cleaning tools 14, 14,. The container for receiving the cleaning liquid is not shown in FIG. 2, but the cleaning liquid subjected to the cleaning is subjected to processing such as filtration and is reused.

  The chopsticks head alignment plate 15 is made of a rectangular plate material. That is, the plate 15 is folded at a predetermined angle at the midpoint of the long side. The crease formed by the mountain fold is a linear distribution part 25 in which the chopsticks placed thereon become unstable. Slope portions 26 and 26 descending to both sides with the linear distribution portion 25 as a boundary are formed. Moreover, the protrusion 27 protruded to the belt conveyor 12 side in the form extended from the linear distribution part 25 is formed. Further, a chopstick fall-preventing plate 28 is provided at the end of the slope portions 26, 26 on the opposite side of the protrusion 27. The chopsticks head aligning plate 15 is arranged on the most downstream side of the belt conveyor 12 so that the protrusions 27 face the belt conveyor 12. More specifically, when the belt conveyor 12 is driven, one set of projections 27 is provided so that the plate-like projections 21 and 21 provided on the belt 17 do not interfere with the projections 27 of the chopstick head alignment plate 15. It arrange | positions so that it may be located in the clearance gap 22 of the plate-shaped protrusions 21 and 21 of this.

  Next, the operation of the chopsticks head alignment device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. Empty cleaning bowls K and K are respectively installed below the two slope portions 26 and 26 formed on the chopstick head alignment plate 15. The drive roll 18 is driven to drive the belt conveyor 12 in a predetermined direction, and the cleaning liquid is ejected from the shower nozzles 13, 13,. Used chopsticks H, H,... Are put into the hopper 11. At this time, it is not necessary to align the direction of the chopsticks. When the hopper 11 is inserted, the discharge port of the hopper 11 is narrowed in a slit shape, so that the chopsticks H, H,... Are discharged to one, and are placed one by one between the adjacent plate-like protrusions 21, 21,. As a result, the chopsticks H, H,... Are placed on the belt conveyor 12. The chopsticks H, H,... Conveyed on the belt conveyor 12 are brushed and pre-washed by the cleaning liquid sprayed from the shower nozzles 13, 13,. At this time, the cleaning tools 14, 14,... Are rotated by the movement of the belt 17, but the rotation of the cleaning tools 14, 14,. ,..., There is a speed difference between the speed of the belt 17 and the peripheral speed of the cleaning tools 14, 14,. Further, since the cleaning tools 14, 14,... Are provided obliquely with respect to the moving direction of the belt 17, a speed difference also occurs. Further, the chopsticks H, H,... By these combined phenomena, the chopsticks H, H,... Are more reliably washed.

  The chopsticks H, H,... Prewashed in this way are transported to the head alignment plate 15 and placed on the protrusions 27 of the head alignment plate 15. Incidentally, the width of the belt 17 is slightly wider than the length of the chopsticks H, H,... As described above, and the chopsticks H, H,. . Since the interval 22 formed in the plate-like protrusions 21 and 21 is located at a substantially central part in the width direction of the belt 17, the chopsticks H, H,. Is placed on the linear distribution unit 25. Since the center of gravity of the chopsticks H, H,... Is biased toward the head of the chopsticks relative to the midpoint, the chopsticks H, H,. Since the chopsticks are in an unstable state, they fall to the head side of the chopsticks due to gravity, and slide down with the slope portions 26 and 26 of the head aligning plate 15 facing down. Accordingly, the cleaning bowls K and K are put in a line with the chopsticks heads facing down. When a predetermined number of chopsticks H, H,... Are put in the cleaning bowls K, K, the cleaning bowls K, K are removed, and empty cleaning bowls K, K are installed again. The cleaning bowls K, K in which the chopsticks H, H,... Are put are transported and suspended on the chopstick cleaning line HSL already described. Alternatively, it is automatically conveyed and suspended.

  Next, a chopsticks head aligning device 2 according to a second embodiment will be described. This chopstick head aligning device 2 is also a device that aligns the chopstick heads by utilizing the fact that the center of gravity of the chopsticks is biased toward the chopstick head side relative to the midpoint, and a portion thereof is shown in FIG. . Elements similar to those of the chopsticks head aligning device 1 according to the above-described embodiment will not be described with the same reference numerals or the same reference numerals with a dash “′”, but according to the present embodiment. The slope portions 26 ′ and 26 ′ descending to both sides with respect to the linearly distributed portion 25 ′ of the mountain fold are formed so as to extend and curve to join downstream. Further, chopsticks fall prevention plates 28 ', 28',... Are provided on both outer sides of the curved slope portion. Therefore, if the receiving box UB is installed below the joined slope portion 26 ″, the heads of the chopsticks are aligned so that they come first and fall into the receiving box UK. At this time, the entire slope portion is moved by a vibration device or the like. It is possible to vibrate so that the chopsticks H, H, ... smoothly fall into the receiving box UK.If the capacity of the receiving box UB is selected large, it is not necessary to frequently replace the receiving box UB. The chopsticks H, H,... Stored in the receiving box UB are taken out manually and put into the cleaning bowls K, K,.

  Next, a chopsticks head aligning device 3 according to a third embodiment will be described. The chopstick head aligning device 3 according to the present embodiment is also a device that aligns the chopstick heads using the fact that the center of gravity of the chopsticks is biased toward the chopstick head side with respect to the midpoint. The parts are shown. Elements similar to those of the chopsticks head alignment device 1 according to the above-described embodiment will not be described in detail by adding the same reference numerals or dashes “′” to the same reference numerals. At the downstream end of the belt conveyor 12, a slope plate 30 that is uniformly inclined and narrows toward the downstream is provided. On both sides of the slope plate 30, chopstick fall prevention plates 28 'and 28' are provided, and an upstream portion of the slope plate 30 is provided with a distribution plate 31 having a substantially triangular shape and a small support area. By this distribution plate 31, the upstream side of the slope plate 30 is divided into two slope portions 32, 32 having the same width. One side 25 ′ on the upstream side of the distribution plate 31, that is, one side 25 ′ facing the belt conveyor 12 becomes a linear distribution unit 25 ′ that supports the midpoint of the chopsticks H, H,. Yes. This linear distribution part 25 'is inclined by a predetermined angle θ from the vertical direction. As will be described below, the chopsticks H, H,... Slide on the linear sorting portion 25 ′ on the downstream side, so that the angle θ is preferably 90 ° or slightly obtuse.

  Next, the operation of the head aligning device 3 according to the third embodiment will be described. When the chopsticks H, H,... Are dropped from the belt conveyor 12 onto the slope plate 30, the chopsticks H, H,. Since the linear allocating portion 25 ′ is inclined by a predetermined angle θ with respect to the vertical direction, the chopsticks H, H,... Gradually lean toward the head of the chopsticks while sliding. Then, the chopsticks H, H,... Slide on the slope plate 30 with the head of the chopsticks first, and fall into the receiving box UB. When the entire slope plate 30 is vibrated by a vibration device or the like, the chopsticks H, H,... Slide smoothly without being caught in the middle of the slope portions 32, 32. In the head aligning device 3 according to the present embodiment, the plate-like protrusions 21 ', 21', ... provided on the belt conveyor 12 do not need to be interrupted at the center.

  Next, a chopsticks head aligning device 4 according to a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This chopstick head aligning device 4 is also a device that aligns the chopstick heads by utilizing the fact that the center of gravity of the chopsticks is biased toward the chopstick head side relative to the midpoint, part of which is shown in FIG. It is shown. Elements similar to those of the chopsticks head alignment device 1 according to the above-described embodiment will not be described in detail by adding the same reference numerals or dashes “′” to the same reference numerals. At the downstream end of the belt conveyor 12, a chopsticks head alignment cylinder 35 having a flat funnel shape is provided. One opening of the chopstick head alignment cylinder 35 is a wide chopstick insertion slot 36, and the other opening is a narrow chopstick outlet 37. That is, the inside of the cylinder is narrowed from the chopstick insertion slot 36 toward the chopstick outlet 37. The planar shape of the chopstick insertion slot 36 is a rectangle, and the length of the long side is substantially equal to the width of the belt conveyor 12. Further, on the upper part of the chopsticks head alignment cylinder 35, a distribution plate 31 is provided so as to divide the upper part of the cylinder into two equal parts. Therefore, the chopstick insertion slot 36 is divided into two parts by the linear distribution part 25 ″ formed on the upper side of the distribution plate 31.

  The operation of the head aligning device 4 will be described. When the chopsticks H, H,... Are dropped from the belt conveyor 12 onto the chopstick head aligning cylinder 35, the vicinity of the midpoint of the chopsticks H, H,. As shown, the chopsticks H, H,... Fall inside the chopstick head alignment tube 35 so that the chopstick heads come first, and the chopsticks H, H,. Can be placed in the washing basket K. If a cushion member such as a rubber material is provided on the linear sorting part 25 ", the chopsticks H, H, ... will be damaged when they hit the linear sorting part 25". The plate-like protrusions 21 ′, 21 ′,... Provided on the belt conveyor 12 of the head aligning device 4 according to this embodiment are the chopstick head aligning device according to the third embodiment. Similar to 3, there is no need to be interrupted at the center.

  Next, a chopsticks head aligning device 5 according to a fifth embodiment will be described. This chopstick head aligning device 5 is a device for aligning chopstick heads by utilizing the difference in diameter of the chopsticks between the head portion and the tip portion of the chopsticks, as shown in FIG. It is configured. Elements similar to those of the chopsticks head alignment device 1 according to the above-described embodiment will not be described in detail by adding the same reference numerals or dashes “′” to the same reference numerals. At a predetermined position of the belt conveyor 12, two elongated sorting rollers 41 and 41 ′ whose surface is made of a material having a high friction coefficient such as soft urethane are provided. The two sorting rollers 41 and 41 'are such that the cylindrical surface of the roller is spaced from the surface of the belt 17 by a predetermined distance, that is, larger than the diameter of the middle point of the chopsticks and larger than the diameter of the chopstick head portion. The shafts of the sorting rollers 41 and 41 ′ are arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the flow direction of the belt conveyor 12 at a small interval. This interval is a so-called regulation interval that does not pass the head portion of the chopsticks. More specifically, one end of each of the two sorting rollers 41 and 41 ′ is provided in the vicinity of the center of the belt conveyor 12 in the width direction, and the other end is provided at an edge of the belt conveyor 12. In other words, the two sorting rollers 41 and 41 ′ are arranged so as to exhibit a “C” shape spreading toward the downstream side of the belt conveyor 12. Such sorting rollers 41, 41 'are rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow by a driving device not shown in the drawing. On both sides of the belt conveyor 12 corresponding to the sorting rollers 41, 41 ', slope plates 42, 42 having chopstick fall-preventing plates 43, 43,.

  The operation of the head aligning device 5 according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7A shows sorting rollers 41 and 41 ′, a part of the belt 17, and a chopstick H that is conveyed by the belt 17 and that has a chopstick head facing downward in the drawing. Although not shown in the drawing, the belt 17 and the sorting rollers 41 and 41 ′ are separated from each other by the regulation interval in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface as described above. This regulation interval is substantially equal to the diameter of the predetermined portion B from the head of the chopsticks H.

  When the chopsticks H are conveyed in the direction of the arrow Y1 and reach the position shown in FIG. 7A, a predetermined portion of the chopsticks H is formed by the belt 17 and the sorting roller 41 shown at the bottom of the drawing. B comes to be sandwiched. Since the predetermined portion B of the chopsticks H sandwiched is caught in the regulation interval, the chopsticks H cannot be pulled upward in FIG. On the other hand, since the sorting rollers 41 and 41 ′ are rotated so as to push out the sandwiched chopsticks toward the edge of the belt 17, the chopsticks H are moved toward the arrow Y2 as shown in FIG. Extruded in the direction of. When the chopsticks H are further pushed out and pushed out to a certain extent, they drop from the belt 17 as shown in FIG. The dropped chopstick H falls on the slope plate 42 and slides with the chopstick head down. If the cleaning bowl K is installed below the slope plate 42, the chopsticks with the chopstick heads aligned can be placed.

  The chopsticks H with the head direction of the chopsticks turned in the opposite direction is pushed upward from the belt 17 by the sorting roller 41 'shown by the chain line in the upper part of FIG. And the other slope plate 42 is slid. If the cleaning bowl K is also installed below the other slope plate 42, the heads of the chopsticks are aligned and the chopsticks can be put in.

  The chopsticks head alignment device 6 according to the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This chopstick head aligning device 6 is also a device for aligning the chopstick heads by utilizing the difference in diameter between the chopstick tip portion and the chopstick head portion. Elements similar to those of the chopsticks head alignment device 1 according to the above-described embodiment will not be described in detail by adding the same reference numerals or dashes “′” to the same reference numerals. Unlike the belt conveyors of the chopstick head alignment devices 1 to 5 according to the first to fifth embodiments, the belt conveyor 45 is twisted at the intermediate portion 46. That is, the surface of the belt conveyor 45 on which the chopsticks H, H,... Are placed is twisted so as to be substantially horizontal on the upstream side but substantially vertical on the downstream side. Thus, although the belt conveyor 45 is twisted, since it is guided by the plurality of intermediate rollers 47, 47,..., It can be driven smoothly. The belt conveyor 45 is provided with an elongated plate-like chopstick presser guide 48 along the longitudinal direction of the belt conveyor 45. The chopstick presser guide 48 is twisted at an intermediate portion in the same manner as the belt conveyor 45, and is kept parallel to the belt conveyor 45 by being separated from the surface of the belt conveyor 45 by a predetermined distance over the entire length in the longitudinal direction. The predetermined interval is selected to be larger than the diameter of the midpoint of the chopsticks and smaller than the diameter of the head portion of the chopsticks, and is a so-called regulation interval that does not pass the head portion of the chopsticks. Such a chopstick presser guide 48 is formed of a member having a relatively high rigidity. However, since the surface is processed by, for example, a fluororesin to reduce the friction coefficient, the chopsticks H, H,. 48 Even if you slide while touching the surface, chopsticks H, H, ... will not be damaged. Further, since the warped portion 49 is formed at the upstream end of the chopstick presser guide 48, the ends H, H,... Hit the end of the chopstick presser guide 48, and the chopsticks H, H,. There is nothing.

  The upstream side of the vertical portion of the belt conveyor 45 configured in this way is the first sorting unit 51 and the downstream side is the second sorting unit 52, as will be apparent from the description of the following operation. It has become.

  The operation of the head aligning device 6 of the present embodiment will be described. The first washing basket K1 is installed at a portion where the belt conveyor 45 is vertical and immediately after the end of the guide plate 24 ', that is, corresponding to the first sorting unit 51. Further, the second washing basket K2 is installed at the most downstream part of the belt conveyor 45 immediately after the end of the chopstick presser guide 48, that is, corresponding to the second sorting part 52. Then, when the chopsticks H, H,... Are put into the hopper 11, the chopsticks H, H,... Are arranged one by one on the belt conveyor 45 and conveyed as described above. The chopsticks H, H,... Placed on the belt conveyor 45 are sandwiched between the belt conveyor 45 and the chopstick presser guide 48 near the center of the chopsticks, that is, the belly portion of the chopsticks. Since the friction coefficient of the belt conveyor 45 is large and the friction coefficient of the chopstick presser guide 48 is small, the chopsticks H, H,... Slide while contacting the chopstick presser guide 48 and are carried on the belt conveyor 45. After the twisted intermediate portion 46 is smoothly conveyed, the chopsticks H, H,... With the chopstick heads pointing down are dropped by the first sorting unit 51 and put into the first washing basket K1. The chopsticks H, H,... With the chopstick head facing upward are conveyed as they are without dropping in the chopstick sorting unit 51 because the diameter of the chopstick head is larger than the distance between the belt conveyor 45 and the chopstick presser guide 48. And it falls by the 2nd selection part 52, and is put into the 2nd washing bowl K2. According to the present embodiment, the chopsticks H, H,... Put in the first cleaning bowl K1 are chopsticks H, H,. The head is up.

  The hopper 11 according to the first embodiment will be described. The object of the present embodiment is to provide a hopper in which even when a large number of chopsticks are inserted, the chopsticks are not clogged inside, and the chopsticks are surely discharged one by one. In order to achieve this object, the hopper is configured as follows. That is, a housing in which a plurality of chopsticks can be placed in a horizontal direction, a chopstick holding plate for holding or guiding the chopsticks placed in the housing, a chopstick feed wheel for discharging one chopstick from the housing, and the like It is composed of The casing has a back plate that is curved inward so that the radius of curvature gradually decreases as it goes downward, a front plate that is bent inward in the same manner as the back plate, and two sheets that are substantially triangular. It is comprised from the side plate in the substantially funnel shape. The chopstick presser plate is formed in substantially the same shape as the back plate, and its lower end extends downward from the lower end of the front plate. An upper opening formed by the back plate and the chopstick holding plate is a chopstick insertion slot, and a slit at the lower end is a chopstick discharge slot. In the extended portion of the chopstick presser plate, cutout portions cut from the lower side with a predetermined interval are formed, and a pair of chopstick feed wheels are provided horizontally in these cutout portions. The outer peripheral portions of the pair of chopstick feeding wheels reach the vicinity of the surface of the back plate beyond the chopstick holding plate. The rear plate and the lower end portion of the chopstick press plate thus configured face the conveyor, and the pair of chopstick feed wheels and the conveyor are driven to rotate synchronously.

  Hereinafter, a more specific description will be given with reference to FIG. Elements similar to those of the chopsticks head alignment device 1 according to the above-described embodiment will not be described in detail by adding the same reference numerals or dashes “′” to the same reference numerals. The hopper 11 generally includes a casing 51 in which chopsticks are horizontally placed, a chopstick presser plate 52 that holds or guides chopsticks H, H,... It is composed of chopstick feed wheels 53, 53, etc. for discharging H, H,. The casing 51 is composed of a rectangular plate and a back plate 54 constituting the back surface, a front plate 55 made of a rectangular plate material shorter than the back plate 54 and constituting the front surface, and two substantially triangular shapes. The side plates 56, 56 are configured to have a substantially square funnel shape.

  The back plate 54 is curved inward so that the upper portion is nearly vertical, but the curvature decreases as it goes downward, and the vicinity of the lower end portion 54 ′ is almost horizontal and continues to the belt conveyor 12. The front plate 55 is similarly formed, but its lower end 55 ′ ends before reaching the belt conveyor 12. In other words, only the lower end portion 54 ′ of the back plate 54 is connected to the belt conveyor 12.

  The chopstick presser plate 52 is made of, for example, a non-rust steel plate and substantially the same shape as the back plate 54. That is, the length of the short side is substantially equal to the length of the chopsticks H, H,..., And the length of the long side is substantially equal to the length of the back plate 54, and is curved inward with substantially the same curvature. The lower end portion 52 ′ of the chopstick presser plate 52 protrudes from the front plate 55 and faces the belt conveyor 12 like the back plate 54. A pair of notches 58 and 58 are formed at a predetermined interval at the lower end portion protruding from the front plate 55. Corresponding to these notches 58, 58, chopstick feed wheels 53, 53 are provided. The upper edge of the chopstick presser plate 52 thus formed is placed in the housing 51 directly, and the middle part is attached to the support bar 57 via the support arm 57 ′. Both ends of the support rod 57 are supported by side plates 56 and 56 and are driven in the arrow direction A in an electric manner. As a result, the distance between the back plate 54 and the chopstick presser plate 52 is adjusted.

  The pair of chopstick feed wheels 53, 53 is made of, for example, soft plastic. A plurality of gripping grooves 53 ′, 53 ′,... Having a predetermined depth are formed on the outer peripheral portions of the chopstick feed wheels 53, 53 at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. The chopstick feed wheels 53 and 53 configured as described above are provided so that the outer peripheral portions thereof reach the inside of the casing 51 from the notches 58 and 58 of the chopstick holding plate 52, and in synchronization with the belt conveyor 12, It is designed to be rotated at the same speed.

  The operation of the hopper 11 will be described. The support bar 57 is driven in the direction of arrow A, and the distance between the back plate 54 and the chopstick presser plate 52 is adjusted according to the size of the chopsticks H, H,. Chopsticks H, H,... Are put into the casing 51 from the opening above the casing 51. The chopsticks H, H,... Arranged in a plurality of rows in the housing 51 have a narrower gap between the back plate 54 and the chopstick presser plate 52, so that the number of rows decreases as it descends downward. Eventually, one by one in the horizontal direction, reaching the lower end 52 ′ of the chopstick presser plate 52 or the slit of the lower end 54 ′ of the back plate 54. At this time, light vibration can be applied to the housing 51. The belt conveyor 12 and the pair of chopstick feed wheels 53 and 53 are driven. Then, the grip grooves 53 ′ and 53 ′ of the pair of chopstick feed wheels 53 and 53 grip the vicinity of both ends of the chopsticks H, H,... Arranged one by one, and the plate-like protrusions 21 and 21 of the belt conveyor 12 Drop in between. As a result, the chopsticks H, H,... In the hopper 11 are reliably supplied to the single belt conveyor 12.

  A hopper 11 'according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Elements similar to those of the chopsticks head alignment device 1 according to the above-described embodiment will not be described in detail by adding the same reference numerals or dashes “′” to the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 10A, the hopper 11 ′ is generally composed of a hopper main body 61 and a chopstick presser brush 62, and the belt conveyor 12 is inclined at a predetermined angle. It is provided in the upstream part. The hopper body 61 is made of a rectangular plate material that forms the back surface, a back plate 63, a front plate 64 that is made of a rectangular plate material shorter than the back plate 63 and forms the front surface, and two side plates 65, 65 to form a substantially square funnel shape. As shown in FIG. 10 (a), the back plate 63 is provided obliquely so that the chopsticks H, H,... Put into the hopper 11 ′ slide smoothly. Since the gap D1 provided in the upper plate-like protrusions 21, 21,... Is narrower than the diameter of the head of the chopsticks, there is no possibility that the chopsticks H, H,. Since the front plate 64 is vertically spaced apart from the back plate 63 by a predetermined length, the back plate 63 and the front plate 64 have a relatively long range of the inclined surface of the upstream portion of the belt conveyor 12. Only D2 is enclosed. Further, since the front plate 64 is separated from the plate-like protrusions 21, 21,... On the belt conveyor 12 by a predetermined width D3, the chopsticks H, H dropped by the chopstick presser brush 62, as will be described later. ,... Can roll on the belt conveyor 12, pass through the predetermined width D3, and return to the hopper body 61 again. A chopstick presser brush 62 is attached to the front of the hopper body 61 via a bracket 66, and the brush of the chopstick presser brush 62 is in slight contact with the plate-like protrusions 21, 21,.

The operation of the hopper 11 ′ will be described. The belt conveyor 12 is driven in the direction of the arrow Y3, and chopsticks H, H,. The inserted chopsticks H, H,... Slide on the back plate 63 and fall in the hopper body 61, and are inserted into one between the plate-like protrusions 21, 21,. Although the upstream portion of the belt conveyor 12 is inclined at a predetermined angle, the chopsticks H, H,... Are supported by the plate-like protrusions 21, 21,. Be transported. The interval between the plate-like protrusions 21, 21 provided on the belt conveyor 12 is selected to be a width in which just one chopstick H is inserted, so that it is inserted between the plate-like protrusions 21, 21,. Although there is only one chopstick, there is a case where another chopstick H is superimposed on the chopstick H that is rarely inserted, conveyed on the belt conveyor 12, and discharged from the hopper body 62. The chopsticks H, H,... That are stacked and conveyed in this way are pressed by the brush of the chopstick presser brush 62. Then, the pressed chopsticks H, H,... Roll on the belt conveyor 12 in an inclined direction, pass through the predetermined width D3 provided at the lower portion of the front plate 64 as described above, and again the hopper body 62. Return inside. In this way, the chopsticks H, H,... In the hopper 11 ′ are inserted between the plate-like protrusions 21, 21,.
In the hopper 11 ′ according to the present embodiment, the chopstick presser brush 62 has been described as being provided separately from the hopper body 61. However, the chopstick presser brush 62 is provided at a predetermined width D 3 provided at the lower portion of the front plate 64. Also good. In this way, the structure of the hopper 11 ′ is further simplified, and the hopper 11 ′ can be provided at a low price.

  The chopsticks head alignment device according to the present embodiment can be variously modified. For example, in the apparatus according to the first to fourth embodiments that aligns the chopstick heads by utilizing the fact that the center of gravity of the chopsticks is biased toward the chopstick head side from the midpoint, the chopsticks are supported near the midpoint. In the chopstick head aligning apparatus according to the first and second embodiments, the chopstick head aligning plate can be aligned if it has a linear distribution part. It can be carried out without a protrusion protruding from the linear distribution part to the belt conveyor side. When carrying out in this way, the plate-like protrusions formed on the belt conveyor need not be interrupted at the center of the belt width. In addition, in the chopsticks head aligning apparatus according to the third and fourth embodiments, a stick-like protrusion can be used instead of the distribution plate 31. In this way, even when implemented with a bar-shaped protrusion, the bar-shaped protrusion supports the chopsticks in the vicinity of the midpoint, so that the chopsticks can fall from the head and align the heads of the chopsticks. Further, in addition to the chopstick head aligning device provided with the chopstick head aligning plate and the chopstick head aligning tube, the chopstick head aligning device can be configured only by the belt conveyor. That is, the linear distribution part may be formed on the belt by bending the belt of the belt conveyor downstream at the middle line of the belt width. If implemented in this manner, slope portions descending by the belt are formed on both sides with the linear distribution portion on the belt as a boundary. The middle point of the chopsticks is supported by the branch, and the slope part falls from the head of the chopsticks.

  For the devices according to the fifth and sixth embodiments that align the chopstick heads by utilizing the difference in diameter between the head portion of the chopsticks and the picking portion at the tip portion of the chopsticks, the belt conveyor that conveys the chopsticks It is only necessary to provide a member for holding the chopsticks, which is separated by a predetermined interval, that is, larger than the diameter of the midpoint of the chopsticks and smaller than the diameter of the head portion of the chopsticks. In the form, instead of the chopstick presser guide 48, a narrow second belt conveyor driven in synchronization with the belt conveyor may be provided. If implemented in this way, there is no slip between the chopsticks and the second belt conveyor, so that the effect that the chopsticks are not damaged is obtained.

  Further, the chopsticks with their heads aligned are described as being placed in the cleaning bowls K, K,..., But may be placed on other belt conveyors as they are and conveyed to the chopstick cleaning line HSL. Furthermore, although it has been described that the chopsticks aligning apparatus according to the first embodiment is provided with a cleaning nozzle for pre-washing chopsticks, it is obvious that the chopsticks aligning apparatus can be implemented without the cleaning nozzle. That is, the chopsticks aligning device according to the present embodiment can be applied to any device between a cleaning device, a sterilization device, a drying device, and the like. For example, it can be carried out so as to be aligned before packaging. In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the heads of relatively expensive or high-quality coated chopsticks coated with lacquer are assumed, but it is a matter of course that the heads of chopsticks can be aligned in the same manner.

  The chopstick head aligning method and chopstick head aligning apparatus according to the present invention are useful when implemented alone, but are implemented by being incorporated in a part of a chopstick reproducing apparatus, for example, the chopstick reproducing apparatus described in Patent Document 1. Then it is even more useful. When implemented in this way, one chopstick is surely aligned and packed in the same direction without being particularly conscious of the direction of the chopsticks put into the hopper. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a factory that manufactures chopsticks. That is, by applying the chopstick head aligning method and chopstick head aligning apparatus according to the present invention, randomly manufactured chopsticks can be shipped with their heads aligned. In addition, the chopsticks head aligning device according to the present invention can be directly installed in a kitchen such as a restaurant or a restaurant, and the chopsticks heads can be aligned when the used chopsticks are reproduced at the site of use.

  Furthermore, since the hopper according to the present embodiment applied to the chopsticks head aligning device can reliably place one chopstick on the belt conveyor, the hopper of the chopstick packaging device or the hopper of the chopstick cleaning device It is also applicable.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a chopstick reproducing apparatus provided with a chopstick head aligning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the head alignment apparatus of the chopsticks which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows a part of chopsticks head alignment apparatus based on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows a part of chopsticks head alignment apparatus based on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the head alignment apparatus of the chopsticks concerning the 4th Embodiment of this invention, The (a) is a perspective view which shows a part of head alignment apparatus, The (a) is the head of a chopstick It is a side view of an alignment cylinder. It is a perspective view which shows the head alignment apparatus of the chopsticks which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the effect | action of the chopsticks head aligning apparatus which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention, The (a)-(e) shows a mode that a chopstick is extruded from a belt with the head of a chopstick at the head. It is a top view shown in steps. It is a perspective view which shows the head alignment apparatus of the chopsticks which concerns on the 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the hopper which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the hopper which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, The (a) is a perspective view which shows a hopper, The (a) is a cross-sectional front view of a hopper.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Chopstick Head Alignment Device 12 Belt Conveyor 15 Chopstick Head Alignment Plate 17 Belt 21 Plate-like Projection 22 Spacing 25 Linear Distribution Part 26 Slope Part 27 Protrusion 30 Slope Part 31 Distribution Board 32 Slope section 35 Chopstick head alignment tube
41 Sorting roller 42 Slope part
45 Belt conveyor 48 Chopstick presser guide

Claims (6)

It is a method of aligning chopsticks where one end in the length direction is the head of the grip part, the other end is the knob part, and the center of gravity is offset from the substantial midpoint in the length direction to the head side. ,
A substantial midpoint of chopsticks conveyed in a row in a horizontal direction is supported by an unstable support member having a predetermined support area, and the chopsticks supported by the unstable support member are A method of aligning heads of chopsticks, wherein the chopsticks are aligned in a predetermined direction by using falling from the head. A method of aligning chopsticks in which the grip portion at one end in the length direction is the head, the other end is the knob, and the diameter of the head is substantially larger than the diameter of the knob. ,
The chopsticks transported by the transport device in a line are transported in a state of being sandwiched between the transport device and a guide member arranged at a predetermined regulation interval with the transport device, and the transport device And aligning the chopsticks in a predetermined direction using the fact that the chopsticks sandwiched between the guide member and the chopsticks are removed from the head not captured at the predetermined regulation interval. . A device for aligning chopsticks with a grip portion at one end in the length direction at the head, a grip at the other end, and a center of gravity deviating from a substantial midpoint in the length direction toward the head. ,
The apparatus comprises a conveyor that conveys chopsticks in a row, and a chopsticks head alignment member disposed at the downstream end of the conveyor,
The head alignment member of the chopsticks has a linear sorting part, and when the substantial midpoint of the chopsticks conveyed by the conveyor is on the linear sorting part, the chopsticks are separated from the linear sorting part. A chopsticks head aligning device, characterized in that the heads of the chopsticks fall on both sides due to gravity, so that the heads of the chopsticks are aligned. A device for aligning chopsticks with a grip portion at one end in the length direction at the head, the other end as a knob, and a diameter of the head substantially larger than the diameter of the knob. ,
The device comprises a transport device that transports chopsticks in a line, and a guide member that is arranged at a predetermined regulation interval with the transport device,
A chopsticks head aligning device characterized in that the chopsticks sandwiched between the transport device and the guide member are removed from the head not captured at the predetermined regulation interval, thereby aligning the chopsticks in a predetermined direction. . 5. The chopsticks head aligning device according to claim 4, wherein the guide member is a belt driven in synchronization with the transport device. The chopsticks head aligning device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, comprising a cleaning device including a cleaning water injection nozzle, a sterilization device including an ozone water injection nozzle, an air injection nozzle, and a hot air injection nozzle. A chopsticks head alignment device that is designed to be incorporated into a drying device.

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