JP2014019566A - Carrying device of agricultural animal product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carrying device to be set only in a line of a full load state by filling up a line of an empty state, before carrying an agricultural animal product to the next process to a large number of agricultural animal products carried in a matrix state of mixedly existing on the line of the full load state and the line of the empty state.SOLUTION: The carrying device of the agricultural animal product includes a first carrying part for carrying the agricultural animal product in the matrix state composed of any line of the line of the full load state placed with the agricultural animal product and the line of the empty state unplaced with the agricultural animal product, a receiving part capable of receiving the agricultural animal product in a line unit from the first carrying part, that is, the receiving part driven for sending the agricultural animal product to the next process, a determining part for determining that the respective lines of the first carrying part are the line of the full load state or the line of the empty state, a driving part for driving the receiving part and a control part for controlling the driving part. The control part controls operation of the driving part in response to the line of the full load state or the line of the empty state based on a determination of the determining part.

Description

  The present invention relates to an agricultural and livestock product transfer device, and more particularly, to a transfer device before filling an accommodation container with an agricultural and livestock product containing chicken eggs.

  Eggs laid in the poultry house are transported to a GP center (Grading and Packaging Center) that sorts and wraps the eggs and is subjected to a cleaning process or the like. Before carrying eggs to the GP center, the laid eggs are collected and packed in a predetermined container called an American tray, for example. An apparatus for packing chicken eggs into a predetermined container is called a farm packer. An example of a document disclosing a farm packer is, for example, Patent Document 1.

  In the farm packer, the eggs transported from the poultry house are sorted and then oriented so that they can be filled into the storage container while being transported by the transport rollers, that is, aligned. The aligned eggs will be sequentially filled into American trays.

  Here, a case is assumed in which, for example, eggs are divided into six rows and transported, with the direction substantially orthogonal to the chicken egg transport direction as the row and the transport direction as the column. In other words, it is desirable to arrange so that six eggs are located in each row in the conveyance before filling the eggs. However, in reality, there are cases where there are no eggs in a column in a certain row, and there are rows where the number of eggs is less than six.

  In such a case, it is possible to reduce the number of eggs in one row to six by taking the eggs from other rows and transferring them to a place where there are no eggs in a row while the eggs are being transported. At this time, when transferring eggs to a plurality of rows, by taking a plurality of eggs from one other row, a full row where 6 chicken eggs are located, and an empty row where no eggs are located And can be formed. In this way, if the full rows and the empty rows are formed and then the empty rows are filled, that is, removed, a matrix state consisting of only the full rows is formed. Thereby, a hen egg can be conveyed by a full line, and the filling operation | work to an American tray can be made efficient and easy.

JP 2008-1114889 A

  For a large number of agricultural and livestock products that are transported in a matrix with a mixture of full and empty rows, the empty rows are packed before the agricultural and livestock products are transported to the next process. Provided only as a transfer device.

  A first transport unit that transports a large number of agricultural and livestock products, where the direction orthogonal to the transport direction is a row, the transport direction is a column, and each row is a fully loaded row with agricultural and livestock products placed in all columns And the 1st conveyance part which conveys agricultural and livestock products in the matrix state which consists of any line of the empty state row | line | column where the agricultural and livestock products are not mounted in all the columns, The carrying-out side of the said 1st conveyance part And a receiving unit that is capable of receiving agricultural and livestock products in line units from the end of the first transport unit, and is driven to send the agricultural and livestock products received from the first transport unit to the next process. And a determination unit that determines that each row of the first transport unit is a full row or an empty row, a drive unit that drives the receiving unit, and a control unit that controls the drive unit And a control unit.

  Based on the determination of the determination unit, the control unit drives the driving unit when the receiving unit receives the agricultural and livestock product corresponding to the full line that has reached the end of the first transport unit. The driving unit is not driven when the receiving unit does not receive the agricultural and livestock product corresponding to the empty row that has reached the end of the first conveying unit.

  According to the method for transporting agricultural and livestock products according to the present invention, even if an empty row occurs in an agricultural and livestock product transported in a matrix state, the empty row is packed in the middle of the transport, In other words, it is possible to obtain a matrix state with only full rows without empty rows. Thereby, for example, the work of filling agricultural and livestock products in the next process of conveyance is made efficient.

It is a perspective view which shows roughly the structure of the farm packer which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of the farm packer in the same embodiment. In the same embodiment, it is a partial top view which shows the example of the coordinate by which a chicken egg is mounted in the 1st conveyance part for demonstrating rearrangement of a chicken egg. In the embodiment, it is a partial plan view showing an arrangement state before rearranging eggs in case A. FIG. FIG. 5 is a partial plan view showing an arrangement state of eggs after the arrangement state shown in FIG. 4 in the same embodiment. In the embodiment, it is a partial plan view showing an arrangement state before rearranging eggs in Case B. FIG. FIG. 7 is a partial plan view showing an arrangement state of eggs after the arrangement state shown in FIG. 6 in the same embodiment. In the embodiment, in the case C, it is a partial plan view showing an arrangement state before rearranged eggs. FIG. 9 is a partial plan view showing an arrangement state of eggs after the arrangement state shown in FIG. 8 in the same embodiment. FIG. 10 is a partial plan view showing an arrangement state of eggs after the arrangement state shown in FIG. 9 in the same embodiment. In the embodiment, it is a partial plan view showing an arrangement state before rearranging eggs in Case D. FIG. FIG. 12 is a partial plan view showing an arrangement state of eggs after the arrangement state shown in FIG. 11 in the same embodiment. In the same embodiment, it is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of rearrangement of a chicken egg. In the same embodiment, it is a flowchart which shows the other example of the procedure of a rearrangement of a chicken egg. In the same embodiment, it is a perspective view which shows the movement of the egg in a direction alignment part. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the structure of the farm packer which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of the farm packer in the same embodiment. In the embodiment, it is a perspective view which shows the movement of the egg in a direction alignment filling part.

Embodiment 1
A farm packer as an agricultural and livestock product conveying apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the farm packer 1 receives the eggs divided in the front conveyor 21, and the first conveying unit 2 that conveys the eggs and the long axis of the eggs so that the blunt ends of the eggs are on the top. A direction aligning unit 11 that changes the direction and a second transport unit 7 that transports the eggs with the blunt end side facing up are provided. In the 1st conveyance part 2, a predetermined rearrangement is performed as the rearrangement part 4, conveying a chicken egg. The second transport unit is connected to the carry-out side of the first transport unit.

  The first transport unit 2 includes, as a first drive unit (not shown), a shaft portion (not shown) that connects one and the other of the pair of first conveyor chains forming an endless track in the transport direction. They are attached at a distance from each other. A plurality of transport rollers 3 are attached to each of the shaft portions so as to correspond to the divided eggs. The chicken egg is supported by the conveying roller 3 and the conveying roller 3 which are adjacent in the conveying direction (front and rear), and is conveyed with the long axis of the egg lying sideways (substantially horizontal).

  The first drive unit includes a first power source (not shown) such as a motor that provides power to the pair of first conveyor chains. Accordingly, when the first driving unit drives the first conveying unit 2, the power of the first power source is transmitted to the conveying roller 3 via the first conveyor chain. Thereby, the conveyance roller 3 moves and the egg supported by the adjacent conveyance roller 3 and the conveyance roller 3 is conveyed.

  A sensor unit 9 that detects the presence or absence of chicken eggs is attached immediately above the first transport unit 2 that receives the eggs divided by the alignment unit 22 of the front conveyor 21. As the sensor unit 9, for example, there is a photosensor using infrared rays or the like. On the side of the first transport unit 2, a SCARA robot 15 that performs a predetermined rearrangement while transporting the eggs based on the information on the presence or absence of the eggs detected by the sensor unit 9 is disposed. A SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm) type robot is a horizontal articulated robot in which an arm moves in a horizontal direction. The operation of the SCARA robot 15 is controlled by the control unit 17 together with a series of operations of the farm packer 1. In addition, a temporary placement table 19 serving as a buffer unit for temporarily placing eggs at the time of rearrangement is disposed on the side of the first transport unit 2. The driving of the first transport unit 2 (that is, the operation of the first driving unit) is controlled by the control unit 17.

  Here, assuming that the direction substantially perpendicular to the egg transport direction is a row, the transport direction is a column, and the sorting unit 22 divides the egg into six columns, the sensor unit 9 places the eggs for each row. Unused empty coordinates are detected and stored in the control unit 17. Based on the information on the coordinates of the vacancy, in one line, either all the eggs are placed (full state) or the hens are not placed at all (empty state). The eggs are rearranged (transferred) by the SCARA robot 15 so as to be in one state. From the information of the above-described empty coordinates after the rearrangement, it is determined by the determination unit provided together with the control unit 17 that each row is in the full state or the empty state. A specific example of rearrangement of eggs will be described in detail later.

  In the direction alignment unit 11, the eggs that have been transported through the first transport unit 2 with the long axis lying sideways are aligned so that the long axis is vertical (substantially vertical) with the blunt end side up. . An example of such a direction alignment unit 11 is an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 47-21448.

  The eggs whose directions are aligned by the direction aligning unit 11 are delivered to the second transport unit 7. A shaft portion (not shown) connecting one end of the pair of second conveyor chains forming an endless track and the other is attached to the second transport section 7 as a second drive section at an interval in the transport direction. It has been. A plurality of cups are attached to each of the shaft portions so as to correspond to the divided eggs. The plurality of cups act as receiving units that receive a plurality of eggs (six in the illustrated example) from the first transport unit 2 in units of rows. The chicken eggs are held in each cup and transported in a state where the long axis of the eggs is vertical (substantially vertical).

  The second transport unit is a cup conveyor, and the second drive unit includes a second power source (not shown) such as a motor that provides power to the pair of second conveyor chains. Therefore, when the second driving unit drives the second transport unit, the power of the second power source is transmitted to the cup through the second conveyor chain, the cup moves, and the eggs held in the cup are moved. It is conveyed (that is, sent to the next process).

  On the downstream side of the second transport unit 7, as a next step, a suction unit 13 that collectively sucks a predetermined number of eggs that have been transported with the blunt end side facing up is disposed. An American tray 23 filled with a predetermined number of eggs sucked by the suction unit 13 and a tray transport unit 24 that transports the American tray 23 are arranged on the side of the second transport unit 7.

  Next, the operation of the farm packer 1 described above will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 2, eggs laid in the poultry house are transported by the front conveyor 21 and divided into, for example, six rows by the alignment unit 22. Next, the sorted eggs E are sequentially placed one line at a time on the carry-in side of the first transport unit 2 between the transport roller 3 and the transport roller 3 of the corresponding first transport unit 2. At this time, the empty coordinate where the egg E is not mounted is detected for every line by the sensor part 9 arrange | positioned above the carrying-in side of the 1st conveyance part 2. FIG. Information on the detected empty coordinates is sent to the control unit 17 and stored therein.

  Next, in the 1st conveyance part 2 as the rearrangement part 4, the rearrangement operation | movement of the egg E is performed by the SCARA robot 15 based on the information of an empty coordinate, conveying the egg E. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, a range (area) AR in which the eggs E can be rearranged by the SCARA robot 15 in one scene in which the eggs E are continuously conveyed in the first transport unit 2. The specific rearrangement of eggs will be described with the coordinates (rows, columns) of (1, 1) to (7, 6), for example. In addition, arrow Y shows the conveyance direction of a chicken egg.

(Case A)
In case A, as shown in FIG. 4, description will be made according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 13 on the assumption that there are enough eggs E on the temporary table 19. First, in step S1, coordinates detected by the sensor unit 9 where no egg is placed are, for example, empty coordinates (1, 4), (3, 2), (5, 5), (6, 2) and (7, 6).

  Next, in step S2, it is determined that the egg E is present on the temporary table 19, and in step S3, the egg E on the temporary table 19 is transferred to empty coordinates. As shown in FIG. 4, among the eggs E placed on the temporary table 19, the egg E1 is transferred to the empty coordinates (1, 4), and the egg E2 is transferred to the empty coordinates (3, 2). The Also, the egg E3 is transferred to the empty coordinates (5, 5), and the egg E4 is transferred to the empty coordinates (6, 2). Furthermore, the egg E5 is transferred to the empty coordinates (7, 6).

  Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the eggs E1 to E5 are placed on all the empty coordinates in the range AR in which the eggs E can be rearranged by the SCARA robot 15, and in each row in the range AR, It becomes the state (packed state) where the eggs E are placed in all the rows. Thereby, in the 1st conveyance part 2, many eggs are conveyed in the matrix state which consists of a line of a full state in the range AR.

  In step S4, empty coordinates (1, 4), (3, 2), (5, 5), (6, 2), (7, 6) on which the eggs E1 to E5 are placed are deleted. Thereafter, the empty coordinates are updated for the eggs E that are continuously conveyed, and the rearrangement of the eggs E is repeated. By such rearrangement, the determination unit provided together with the control unit 17 determines that each row is in a full state from the information on the empty coordinates after the rearrangement.

(Case B)
In Case B, as shown in FIG. 6, assuming that there is no egg on the temporary table 19, the first example will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 13. First, in step S1, coordinates detected by the sensor unit 9 where no egg is placed are, for example, empty coordinates (1, 4), (3, 2), (5, 5), (6, 2) and (7, 6).

  Next, in step S2, it is determined that there is no egg on the temporary table 19, and in step S5, the coordinates of a specific line among the empty coordinates are stored, and in step S6, the coordinates of the specific line are loaded. The placed eggs are transferred to empty coordinates other than the coordinates of the line.

  As shown in FIG. 6, among the empty coordinates, the eggs E1, E2, E3, E4 placed in the row of coordinates (3, 2) are empty coordinates other than the row of coordinates (3, 2). It is transferred to. The egg E1 is transferred to the empty coordinates (1, 4), and the egg E2 is transferred to the empty coordinates (5, 5). Further, the egg E3 is transferred to the empty coordinates (6, 2), and the egg E4 is transferred to the empty coordinates (7, 6). Thus, in step S7, it is determined that the eggs have been transferred to all the empty coordinates other than the empty coordinate (3, 2) line. Next, in step S8, the empty eggs E1 to E4 are transferred. The coordinates (1, 4), (5, 5), (6, 2), and (7, 6) are deleted.

  Next, in step S9, it is determined whether or not chicken eggs remain in the row of coordinates (3, 2). In this case, since the egg E5 remains at the coordinates (3, 1), the remaining egg E5 is transferred to the temporary table 19 in step S10. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, the row of coordinates (3, 1) to (3, 7) is in an empty state in which no eggs are placed. Further, the egg E5 is temporarily placed on the temporary table 19. Thereafter, the empty coordinates are updated and the rearrangement is repeated for the eggs that are continuously conveyed.

  In step S7, when the eggs are not transferred to all the empty coordinates, the empty coordinates where the eggs are transferred are deleted in step S11, and in a next step S12, the specific line is moved to a specific line. When the eggs remain, the eggs are transferred to empty coordinates other than the specific row (step S6), and the rearrangement of the eggs is repeated. On the other hand, if there are no eggs remaining in the specific row in step S12, the coordinates of other specific rows are stored (step S5), and the eggs in that row are moved to empty coordinates other than the other rows. (Step S6), and the rearrangement of the eggs is repeated. By these, in the 1st conveyance part 2, many hen eggs are conveyed in the matrix state which consists of either a full line state or an empty line. Further, by such rearrangement, the determination unit determines whether each row is in the full state or the empty state from the information of the empty coordinates after the rearrangement.

(Case C)
In case C, as shown in FIG. 8, assuming that there is no egg on the temporary table 19, a second example will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 14. First, in step T1, coordinates detected by the sensor unit 9 where the egg is not placed are, for example, empty coordinates (1, 4), (3, 2), (5, 5), (6, 2) and (7, 6).

  Next, in step T2, it is determined that there is no egg on the temporary table 19, and in step T3, for example, a row of empty coordinates (3, 2) is stored, and in step T4, FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, all the eggs E <b> 1 to E <b> 5 placed at the coordinates (3, 1) to (3, 6) of the row are transferred to the temporary placement table 19.

  Next, in step T5, the eggs E1 to E5 of the temporary table 19 are transferred to empty coordinates. As shown in FIG. 10, the egg E1 is transferred to the empty coordinates (1, 4), and the egg E2 is transferred to the empty coordinates (5, 5). Further, the egg E3 is transferred to the empty coordinates (6, 2), and the egg E4 is transferred to the empty coordinates (7, 6). Next, in step T6, the empty coordinates (1, 4), (5, 5), (6, 2), and (7, 6) on which the eggs are transferred are deleted. Thereafter, the empty coordinates are updated for the eggs E that are continuously conveyed (step T1). Next, in step T2, it is determined that there is a chicken egg E5 on the temporary table 19, and in step T5, the chicken egg E5 is transferred to a new empty coordinate and the rearrangement is repeated. By these, in the 1st conveyance part 2, many hen eggs are conveyed in the matrix state which consists of either a full line state or an empty line. Further, by such rearrangement, the determination unit determines whether each row is in the full state or the empty state from the information of the empty coordinates after the rearrangement.

(Case D)
In case D, as shown in FIG. 11, description will be made according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 13 on the assumption that the temporary table 19 has eggs E <b> 1 to E <b> 4. First, in step S1, coordinates detected by the sensor unit 9 where no egg is placed are, for example, empty coordinates (1, 4), (3, 2), (5, 5), (6, 2) and (7, 6).

  Next, in step S2, it is determined that there are eggs E1 to E4 on the temporary table 19, and in step S3, the eggs E1 to E4 on the temporary table 19 are transferred to empty coordinates. As shown in FIG. 11, among the eggs E1 to E4 placed on the temporary table 19, the egg E1 is transferred to the empty coordinates (1, 4), and the egg E2 is transferred to the empty coordinates (3, 2). It will be posted. Also, the egg E3 is transferred to the empty coordinates (5, 5), and the egg E4 is transferred to the empty coordinates (6, 2).

  Thus, as shown in FIG. 12, empty coordinates (1, 4), (3, 2), (5, 5), (6, 2) in the range AR in which the eggs can be rearranged by the SCARA robot 15. ), (7, 6), leaving empty coordinates (7, 6), all the eggs E1 to E4 of the temporary table 19 are empty coordinates (1, 4), (3, 2), It will be placed at (5, 5), (6, 2). In step S4, empty coordinates (1, 4), (3, 2), (5, 5), and (6, 2) on which the chicken egg is placed are deleted. Thereafter, the empty coordinates are updated for the eggs E that are continuously conveyed, and it is determined that there are no eggs on the temporary table 19, and the eggs are rearranged according to Case B or Case C. Will be repeated. By these, in the 1st conveyance part 2, many hen eggs are conveyed in the matrix state which consists of either a full line state or an empty line. Further, by such rearrangement, the determination unit determines whether each row is in the full state or the empty state from the information of the empty coordinates after the rearrangement. Such a determination may be performed by detecting a full line and determining a line that is not full as an empty line, or detecting an empty line and determining a non-empty line as a full line. May be.

  In this way, by rearranging the eggs by the SCARA robot 15, as shown in FIG. 2, in each row of the first transport unit, the eggs are placed in all rows (full load). State), or eggs are not placed in all rows (empty state). Further, from the information on the empty coordinates described above, the determination unit determines that each row is full or empty. However, the determination unit directly detects the presence of the eggs E in each row by a detection unit such as an optical sensor (not shown) provided on the carry-out side of the first transfer unit 2 regardless of the information on the empty coordinates. A full state or an empty state may be determined based on the detection result.

  When the fully loaded row reaches the carry-out side of the first transport unit 2 (that is, the end of the first transport unit 2), the direction aligning unit 11 is driven and the long axis AE is moved sideways as shown in FIG. In this state, the eggs E that have been transported through the first transport unit 2 (see FIG. 2) are aligned so that the long axis AE is vertical (substantially vertical) with the blunt end side up, and the second transport It is sent to the unit 7 (see FIG. 2). The 2nd conveyance part 7 receives the egg by which the long axis AE became vertical by the receiving part 8 (namely, several cup) per line. Next, in preparation for the next full line to reach the carry-out side of the first transport unit 2, the second transport unit 7 is driven (that is, the second drive unit is operated), and the next receiving unit 8 is driven. Is prepared. On the other hand, when the empty row reaches the carry-out side, the direction aligning unit 11 and the second transport unit 7 stop driving (that is, the second driving unit operates), and then the full line arrives. (That is, the second transport unit 7 is not operated). The operation of the second drive unit is controlled by the control unit 17 based on the determination by the determination unit.

  The control unit 17 controls the second driving unit in accordance with whether the full line or the empty line has reached the carry-out side of the first conveyance unit 2, whereby the second conveyance is performed. The unit 7 is driven intermittently. Thereby, the 2nd conveyance part 7 will be filled with an empty line, and can convey the egg E only by a full line. That is, by intermittently driving the receiving unit depending on whether it is full or empty, the egg E is transferred in the second transfer unit 7 without any empty rows.

  Further, when the eggs are transferred from the first transfer unit 2 to the second transfer unit 7, the direction of the eggs is aligned by the direction aligning device. That is, in the transport device according to the present embodiment, the function of filling empty rows and the function of aligning eggs are integrated.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, on the carry-out side of the second transport unit 7, for example, when 30 eggs (5 rows × 6 columns) have been transported, the sucking eggs 13 are collectively collected by the suction unit 13. The operation of sucking and transferring to the American tray 23 is performed. Thus, a series of processes by the farm packer 1 is completed. The eggs transferred to the American tray 23 are then sent to the GP center. In other words, in the transport device according to the embodiment of the present invention, by filling empty rows, the suction unit 13 can suck a plurality of rows of eggs E in a full state efficiently, so that the American tray 23 can be efficiently accommodated. Egg E can be filled.

  In the farm packer 1 described above, empty coordinates on which the eggs E are not placed are detected on the carry-in side of the first transfer unit 2, and the eggs E are transferred in each row while conveying the eggs E based on the empty coordinates. Is rearranged so that the eggs are placed in all rows (full load state) or the eggs are not placed in all rows (empty state).

  Thereby, it is not necessary to stop the 1st conveyance part 2 compared with the case where the conveyance part is stopped on the carrying-in side of a conveyance part until the egg sent from a front | former stage conveyor becomes a full load state, and egg E The processing speed of the filling operation to the American tray 23 can be increased. Also, on the carry-in side, in order to make the eggs full, pressure is applied to the eggs from the upstream side in the transport direction, and there is no stress on the eggs E compared to the case where it is done manually, It can suppress that egg E is damaged.

  Moreover, in the farm packer 1, the 2nd conveyance part 7 is driven in the 2nd conveyance part 7 by driving the 2nd conveyance part 7 intermittently with respect to the egg E conveyed from the 1st conveyance part 2 according to a full load state or an empty state. The egg E is transported in a state where there are no empty rows. Thereby, the number of eggs filled in the American tray does not reach a predetermined number.

Embodiment 2
A farm packer provided with an agricultural and livestock product rearranging apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 16, the farm packer 1 receives the eggs sorted in the front conveyor 21, and rearranges the eggs while transporting the eggs. A direction-aligned filling section 12 is provided that directly fills the American tray 23 by changing the direction of the major axis of the egg so that the blunt end is on the top. As an example of such a direction alignment filling part 12, there exists an apparatus currently disclosed by Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 05-8851 or Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 58-73515, for example. In addition, since it is the same as that of the farm packer shown in FIG. 1 about a structure other than this, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same member and the description is not repeated.

  Next, the operation of the farm packer 1 described above will be described. The operation of rearranging the eggs sent from the front conveyor 21 by the SCARA robot 15 in the first transport unit 2 is exactly the same as the farm packer 1 described above. That is, based on the information of the empty coordinates where no eggs are placed, as shown in FIG. 17, in each row of the first transport unit 2, the eggs are placed in all columns (full load). The eggs E are rearranged (transferred) so that the eggs E are not placed in all rows (empty state).

  The direction alignment filling unit 12 uses a pitch conversion mechanism such as a seat member for accommodation (so-called intermediate bucket) capable of adjusting the mutual distance from the first transport unit 2 (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-200906). The American tray 23 is filled with eggs while adapting the pitch between them to the pitch of the American tray 23. At this time, the accommodation seat member (bucket) of the pitch conversion mechanism acts as a receiving portion, and filling the American tray 23 is the next step.

  When the full line reaches the carry-out side of the first transport unit 2, as shown in FIG. 18, the direction aligning and filling unit 12 is driven, and the first transport unit 2 is moved in a state where the long axis AE is lying sideways. The transferred eggs E are aligned so that the long axis AE is vertical (substantially vertical) with the blunt end side up, and directly transferred to a predetermined position on the American tray 23. The pitch conversion mechanism receives the eggs E having the long axis AE in the vertical direction by the receiving unit (that is, the storage seat member) in units of rows, and fills the American tray 23 with the eggs E. Next, in preparation for the next full line to reach the carry-out side of the first transport unit 2, the second transport unit 7 is driven (that is, the second drive unit is operated), and the receiving unit is moved to the first transport unit. It returns to the position which receives an egg from the conveyance part 2.

  On the other hand, when the empty row reaches the carry-out side of the first transport unit 2, the direction alignment filling unit 12 stops driving (that is, the second drive unit operates), and then the full row arrives. The operation is stopped until (That is, the second transport unit 7 is not operated). The operation of the second drive unit is controlled by the control unit 17 based on the determination by the determination unit.

  The eggs E in the full row are sequentially transferred to the American tray 23, and, for example, 30 eggs (5 rows × 6 columns) are filled. The egg E transferred to the American tray 23 is then sent to the GP center.

  In the farm packer 1 described above, as described for the farm packer 1 described above, the eggs E are placed in all columns in each row while the eggs E are transported based on the empty coordinates where the eggs E are not placed. The eggs E are rearranged so that they are placed (full state) or not placed in all rows (empty state).

  Thereby, it is not necessary to stop the 1st conveyance part 2 compared with the case where the conveyance part is stopped on the carrying-in side of a conveyance part until the egg sent from a front | former stage conveyor becomes a full load state, and egg E The processing speed of the filling operation to the American tray 23 can be increased.

  In the farm packer 1, the direction alignment filling unit 12 is intermittently driven with respect to the egg E conveyed from the first conveyance unit 2 depending on whether the egg is full or empty. The egg E is transported in a state where there are no empty rows. Thereby, the number of eggs filled in the American tray does not reach a predetermined number.

In each farm packer 1 described above, a photo sensor using infrared rays or the like is described as an example of the sensor unit 9. The sensor unit is not limited to a photosensor, and a contact switch that detects the presence or absence of a chicken egg depending on whether or not it has touched the chicken egg may be applied. Further, a line sensor in which charge coupled devices (CCDs) are arranged one-dimensionally may be applied. Furthermore, an area sensor in which charge coupled devices are two-dimensionally arranged may be applied.

  Moreover, in each farm packer 1 mentioned above, the long axis AE is made vertical so that the blunt end side is up for the egg E that has been transported through the first transport unit 2 with the long axis AE lying down. Therefore, the case where the direction alignment part 11 or the direction alignment filling part 12 was provided was demonstrated. In order to align the direction of the blunt end side of the eggs E, a robot may be used instead of the direction alignment unit 11 or the direction alignment filling unit 12.

  Furthermore, in each farm packer 1 described above, the SCARA robot 15 has been described as an example of the robot that transfers the eggs E. As a robot for transferring the egg E, an orthogonal robot constituted by two or three orthogonal slide axes may be applied. Also, a parallel link robot using a parallel mechanism may be applied. Moreover, the operation | work which transfers the egg E may be performed by the operation | work of a person irrespective of a robot like a SCARA type robot.

  In addition, the above-described line in the full load state does not need to be in a full load state considering that the eggs are broken and removed due to an accident or the like. For example, in an egg conveyed in six columns, there may be a row conveyed in five columns with one missing.

  Moreover, the farm packer which conveys a chicken egg as a conveying apparatus was demonstrated. As a conveying apparatus, it is not restricted to the conveying apparatus of a chicken egg, For example, it can apply also to conveyance of agricultural and livestock products, such as a fruit and a vegetable.

  The embodiment disclosed this time is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the scope described above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is effectively used for an apparatus for filling agricultural and livestock products into a predetermined container.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Farm packer, 2 1st conveyance part, 3 conveyance roller, 4 rearrangement part, 7 2nd conveyance part, 8 receiving part, 9 sensor part, 11 direction alignment part, 12 direction alignment filling part, 13 suction part, 15 scalar Type robot, 17 control unit, 19 temporary table, 21 front conveyor, 22 alignment unit, 23 American tray, 24 tray transport unit, E egg, AE long axis, AR rearrangement range.

Claims (3)

A first transport unit that transports a large number of agricultural and livestock products, where the direction orthogonal to the transport direction is a row, the transport direction is a column, and each row is a fully loaded row with agricultural and livestock products placed in all columns A first transport unit that transports agricultural and livestock products in a matrix state consisting of any one of the empty rows in which no agricultural and livestock products are placed in all columns;
A receiving unit connected to the carry-out side of the first transport unit and capable of receiving agricultural and livestock products in line units from the end of the first transport unit, wherein the agricultural and livestock product received from the first transport unit is a next step A receiving unit driven to send to,
A determination unit that determines that each row of the first transport unit is a full row or an empty row;
A drive unit for driving the receiving unit;
A control unit for controlling the drive unit,
Based on the determination of the determination unit, the control unit drives the driving unit when the receiving unit receives the agricultural and livestock product corresponding to the full line that has reached the end of the first transport unit. An agricultural and livestock product transporting apparatus that does not drive the driving unit when the receiving unit does not receive the agricultural and livestock product corresponding to an empty row that has reached the end of the first transporting unit.
The agricultural and livestock products are eggs;
The first transport unit transports the egg in a state where the long axis of the egg is oriented in the horizontal direction,
The apparatus for conveying agricultural and livestock products according to claim 1, further comprising a direction aligning unit that aligns the direction of the egg so that the long axis of the egg is oriented in a vertical direction when the receiving unit receives the egg.
Furthermore, a second transport unit including the receiving unit is included,
The said next process is an agricultural and livestock product conveyance apparatus of Claim 1 provided with the suction part which attracts | sucks the agricultural and livestock product conveyed by the said 2nd conveyance part for every several rows.

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