JP2014202719A - Agricultural product measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an agricultural product measuring device capable of performing a continuous measuring operation of an agricultural product in the conveyance passage of the agricultural product.SOLUTION: An agricultural product measuring device 10 is provided with a plurality of buckets 20 arranged in a conveyance direction of a conveyer chain 18 with a prescribed interval, and weight measuring means 30 for measuring a weight of the agricultural product mounted on the bucket 20 in a conveyance passage. The bucket 20 is fixed on a lower part of a tray 22 with a prescribed interval in a state of facing the tray 22 on which the agricultural product is mounted, and is configured to include: a pair of movable members 26, 27 provided with a pair of long holes 24, 25 formed vertically in the conveyance direction; and a pair of slat members 28, 29 inserted to one long hole 24 and the other long hole 25 respectively with which a pair of movable members 26, 27 is provided, respectively. At least upper side end parts 24a, 25a in a longitudinal direction of the pair of long holes 24, 25 are in a tapered shape.

Description

  The present invention relates to an agricultural product weighing apparatus that enables continuous weighing work in an agricultural product conveyance path.

  When shipping agricultural products, various sorting operations according to the types of agricultural products are performed, and then the boxes are packed and packed in a predetermined shipping unit. In particular, when shipping long vegetables such as persimmons and persimmons, mud adhering to the root part at the time of harvest, waste leaves that can not be shipped as products due to damage and insect bites are removed, and bundled at the specified shipping weight In general, the shipment form is to ship.

  Conventionally, various weight measuring means for agricultural products including these long vegetables have been disclosed, such as those equipped with a weighing device in the transport path related to the agricultural product sorting device, buckets that can measure the weight of agricultural products during transport, etc. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 to 3.)

  The weight measuring means according to the agricultural product sorting apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is composed of a short belt conveyor and a load cell that are provided so as to be interrupted in the middle of the conveying path of the conveying conveyor. When the transport tray on which the agricultural product is placed is transferred onto the belt conveyor, the total weight of the agricultural product and the transport tray is measured by the load cell, and the weight of the agricultural product is subtracted from the weight of the transport tray that has been measured in advance. It is to grasp.

  Moreover, according to the bucket which concerns on the agricultural product selection apparatus disclosed by patent document 2 and patent document 3, the bucket itself is attached to the conveyor chain which concerns on a conveyance conveyor in the loosely-fitted state via the attachment member. And, when passing through the weight measuring means provided in the transport path, the weight of the produce can be measured together with the bucket by bringing the bucket on which the produce is placed and the drive system including the conveyor chain into a non-contact state. Yes.

JP 2005-46794 A Japanese Patent No. 3254077 JP 2002-11413 A

  According to the weight measuring means and the bucket relating to the agricultural product sorting device disclosed in each of the above patent documents, the agricultural product can be continuously measured in the process of transporting the agricultural product, so that the weighing work is performed very efficiently. Can do. However, each configuration is complicated and the equipment itself is very expensive, so it can be introduced if it is a large collection / shipment facility, etc., but it can be introduced by a small facility or producer. It is difficult.

  Moreover, in order to continuously and accurately measure agricultural products in the transport path, it is necessary to ensure that the bucket on which the agricultural products are placed and the drive system are in a non-contact state. However, when the connection structure between the bucket and the drive system becomes complicated, it becomes difficult to ensure a non-contact state between the bucket and the drive system during measurement.

  Further, the sorting operation itself of the agricultural products is performed by visual observation, and when the operation of bundling with a predetermined shipping weight when performing boxing or bagging in a predetermined shipping unit is necessary, as disclosed in each of the above patent documents. A large-scale device is not necessary. However, commercially available weighing devices have only a mode independent of the conveying device, the combination of the weighing device and the conveying device becomes complicated, the introduction cost is high, and labor saving of the weighing work itself can hardly be expected. . Therefore, small-scale facilities and producers have hardly been introduced by themselves, and the actual situation is that they are still manually weighed and bundled one by one.

  Therefore, in view of the above problems, the inventor of the present application provides an agricultural product weighing device capable of continuously measuring agricultural products in the conveyance path while conveying long vegetables in a horizontal state among agricultural products. As a result of intensive studies, the present invention has been achieved.

  That is, in the agricultural product weighing apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of buckets for placing and transporting agricultural products are arranged at predetermined intervals in the conveying direction of the conveyor chain, and are placed on the buckets in the conveying path. An agricultural product weighing device comprising a weight measuring means for measuring the weight of agricultural products, wherein the bucket is fixed in a state where the agricultural products are placed on the receiving tray and a lower portion of the receiving tray facing each other at a predetermined interval, A pair of movable members provided with a pair of long holes formed in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and a pair of ones inserted into the long holes and the other long holes respectively provided in the pair of movable members. Slat members, and at least the upper ends in the longitudinal direction of the pair of long holes have a tapered shape, intermittently drive the conveyor chain, and the produce is placed while the bucket is stopped. Characterized by measuring the weight of the pan and the pair of movable members by the weight measuring means.

  Further, in the agricultural product weighing device according to the present invention, the pair of movable members are restricted from moving in the horizontal direction with respect to the conveying direction on the upper side and / or the lower side of the pair of slat members where the pair of movable members are located. It is characterized in that a notch portion for forming is formed.

  In the agricultural product weighing apparatus of the present invention, the bucket is further provided with an arm extending from the tray, and a support member provided at an end of the arm and supporting a part of the agricultural product protruding from the tray. And the arm is rotatably connected to the tray.

  In the agricultural product weighing apparatus of the present invention, a binding machine for binding the agricultural products is provided on the downstream side of the weight measuring means in the transport direction.

  Furthermore, in the agricultural product weighing device of the present invention, a cutting machine for cutting a part of the agricultural product is provided on the downstream side of the weight measuring means in the conveying direction.

  According to the agricultural product weighing device of the present invention, it is of course possible to continuously measure agricultural products in the conveying path while conveying agricultural products, but at least in the longitudinal direction of the pair of long holes. By making the upper end tapered, an accurate weighing operation can be easily performed, and the apparatus itself can be provided at a low cost because the apparatus itself has a simple configuration.

  Further, in the agricultural product weighing device according to the present invention, since the notch portions are formed on the upper side and / or the lower side of the pair of slat members where the pair of movable members are located, the pair of movable members are in the horizontal direction with respect to the transport direction. The trays fixed to the pair of movable members do not swing horizontally in the transport path, and the agricultural products can be transported stably.

  Further, the bucket according to the agricultural product weighing apparatus of the present invention further includes an arm that extends from the tray, and a support member that is provided at an end of the arm and supports a part of the agricultural product that protrudes from the tray. Therefore, even long vegetables can be stably conveyed. Further, since the arm is pivotally connected to the tray, when the agricultural product is transported and the bucket returns from the downstream side to the upstream side of the transport path, the arm and the support member are rotated by their own weight. Since it is moved and folded in the downward direction, other devices added to the agricultural product weighing device can be installed in close proximity, and the entire device can be made compact.

  Further, in the agricultural product weighing device of the present invention, by providing a binding machine or a cutting machine downstream of the weight measuring means in the conveying direction, the measured agricultural products are bundled while being conveyed, and further unnecessary portions are cut. This makes it possible to further improve the efficiency of shipping work.

It is the front view which showed one Example of the agricultural product measuring device of this invention. It is a top view of the agricultural product measuring device shown in FIG. It is a schematic side view of the agricultural product weighing | measuring apparatus shown in FIG. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the weight measurement means in the agricultural product weighing | measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: (a) is the time of non-measurement, (b) shows the state at the time of measurement.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an agricultural product weighing device of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In the following examples, long vegetables such as persimmons and persimmons will be described in detail as examples of agricultural products, but agricultural products that can be measured with the agricultural product weighing device of the present invention are not limited to long vegetables. .

  The agricultural product weighing device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 continuously performs weighing work while conveying long vegetables (agricultural products) in a horizontal state. Specifically, a predetermined interval is provided in the conveying direction (X direction in FIG. 1) of the pair of left and right conveyor chains 18 and 18 that are spanned by the drive sprocket 14 and the driven sprocket 16 that are pivotally attached to the base 12. A plurality of buckets 20 are disposed via the attachment member 19. The long vegetable is placed in the bucket 20 in the supply unit for the long vegetable located upstream in the transport direction according to the agricultural product weighing apparatus 10, and is long by the weight measuring means 30 described later in the process of transporting in the X direction. Vegetable weight is measured. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a control device of the agricultural product weighing device 10.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the bucket 20 according to the agricultural product weighing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is in a state of facing a tray 22 on which a long vegetable is placed and a lower portion of the tray 22 with a predetermined interval therebetween. A pair of movable members 26 and 27 having a pair of long holes 24 and 25 that are fixed and formed in a direction perpendicular to the transport X direction, and one long hole 24 that each of the pair of movable members 26 and 27 includes, and A pair of slat members 28 and 29 inserted loosely into the other long holes 25 are included. Here, the pair of left and right slat members 28, 29 inserted into the pair of long holes 24, 25 provided in the pair of movable members 26, 27 fixed to the receiving tray 22 are connected to the pair of left and right conveyors via the attachment member 19. It is fixed to the chains 18 and 18. That is, the tray 22 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction along the pair of long holes 24 and 25 together with the pair of movable members 26 and 27. The upper end portions 24a, 25a and the lower end portions 24b, 25b in the longitudinal direction of the pair of long holes 24, 25 are tapered.

  Further, when the slat member 28 is inserted into one of the long holes 24 provided in the pair of movable members 26 and 27, the upper side 28a and the lower side 28b of the slat member 28 according to the agricultural product weighing device 10 of the present embodiment are paired. Cutout portions 40a and 40b are formed at locations where the movable members 26 and 27 are located. Similarly, the pair of movable members 26 and 27 are positioned on the upper side 29a and the lower side 29b of the slat member 29 when the slat member 29 is inserted into the other long holes 25 provided in the pair of movable members 26 and 27, respectively. Notches 41a and 41b are formed at the locations.

  Furthermore, the bucket 20 according to the agricultural product weighing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is provided with an arm 42 extending from the tray 22 and a part of the long vegetable protruding from the tray 22 (the root portion). ), And the arm 42 is rotatably connected to the tray 22 by a pin 46. When the bucket 20 moves in the conveyance X direction, the end of the arm 42 on the tray 22 side comes into contact with the back surface of the tray 22 and the arm 42 is restricted from rotating in a horizontal state. On the other hand, when the bucket 20 moves in the direction opposite to the conveyance X direction, that is, when the bucket 20 returns from the downstream side to the upstream side of the conveyance path, the arm 42 and the support member 44 use the pin 46 as an axis by their own weight. It turns and is in a state of being folded downward.

  The weight measuring means 30 provided in the transport path of the agricultural product weighing device 10 of the present embodiment includes a weighing plate 31, a load cell 32, a rod 33, an electric cylinder 34, and a display unit 35. The weighing plate 31 provided with the load cell 32 moves up and down as the rod 33 moves up and down, and when the weighing plate 31 moves upward, the receiving plate 22 is lifted via the pair of movable members 26 and 27, thereby It is possible to measure the weight of the long vegetables placed by the load cell 32.

  According to the agricultural product weighing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, it is possible to perform the measurement of long vegetables in the following flow. A predetermined amount of long vegetables is placed on the support member 44 side from the saucer 22 associated with the bucket 20 in the agricultural product supply unit located upstream in the conveyance X direction of the agricultural product weighing device 10. The This placement operation may be performed manually by an operator or may be automatically supplied by a separate device. In addition, the predetermined amount of the long vegetables placed here may be an amount approximate to the shipping weight required at the time of shipping, and does not require an accurate shipping weight.

  The bucket 20 on which the long vegetables are placed from the tray 22 to the support member 44 is intermittently conveyed in the X direction by driving the conveyor chain 18 intermittently. In the state where the conveyor chain 18 is driven and the bucket 20 is conveyed, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the tray 22 moves downward with the weight of the tray 22, the pair of movable members 26 and 27, and the long vegetables, The upper end portions 24a and 25a of the pair of long holes 24 and 25 respectively provided in the pair of movable members 26 and 27 are formed in the notches 40a and 41a formed in the upper sides 28a and 29a of the pair of slat members 28 and 29, respectively. It is in a fitted state. At this time, since the upper end portions 24a and 25a of the pair of long holes 24 and 25 are tapered, when the tray 22 and the pair of movable members 26 and 27 move downward, in other words, a pair of slats. When the members 28 and 29 move upward in the pair of long holes 24 and 25, the pair of slat members 28 and 29 are guided by the pair of long holes 24 and 25 having a tapered shape, and the pair of long holes 24. , 25 in the center in the short direction (width direction). Note that the weighing plate 31 associated with the weight measuring means 30 is in a state of being retracted downward.

  Then, when the bucket 20 on which the long vegetables are placed reaches the position of the weight measuring means 30, as shown in FIG. The weighing plate 31 provided rises and lifts the tray 22 through the pair of movable members 26 and 27 provided in the bucket 20. Then, the fitting state between the notches 40a and 41a related to the pair of slat members 28 and 29 and the upper end portions 24a and 25a of the pair of long holes 24 and 25 related to the pair of movable members 26 and 27 is released. Only the saucer 22 (including the arm 42 and the support member 44) on which the long vegetables are placed and the pair of movable members 26 and 27 are placed on the weighing plate 31. Therefore, by grasping the weights of the tray 22 and the pair of movable members 26 and 27 in advance, the weight of the long vegetables placed on the tray 22 can be measured.

  Here, the measured value by the load cell 32 is displayed on the display unit 35, and it is determined whether or not a predetermined shipping weight has been reached. If it is within the predetermined allowable range of the shipping weight, the measuring plate 31 is lowered and conveyed again in the X direction. On the other hand, when the predetermined shipping weight has not been reached or the allowable range has been exceeded, the operator replenishes or removes the long vegetables, and if it falls within the allowable range, the weighing plate 31 descends, and again It will be conveyed in the X direction.

  The long vegetables weighed by the weight measuring means 30 are bound by the binding machine 50 provided on the downstream side of the weight measuring means 30, and further the root of the long vegetables by the cutting machine 52 provided on the downstream side thereof. After unnecessary portions in the section are cut, they are sent to the final shipping process.

  And the bucket 20 from which the long vegetables were removed moves to the opposite side of a conveyance surface in the most downstream side of a conveyance path | route, and returns to the upstream side of a conveyance path | route. At this time, the tray 22 and the pair of movable members 26 and 27 move downward due to their own weight, and a pair of movable members are formed in the notches 40b and 41b formed in the lower sides 28b and 29b of the pair of slat members 28 and 29. The lower end portions 24b and 25b of the pair of long holes 24 and 25 provided in the members 26 and 27 are in a fitted state. At this time, since the lower end portions 24b and 25b of the pair of long holes 24 and 25 have a tapered shape, when the tray 22 and the pair of movable members 26 and 27 move downward, in other words, When the slat members 28 and 29 move upward in the pair of long holes 24 and 25, the pair of slat members 28 and 29 are guided by the pair of long holes 24 and 25 having a tapered shape, and the pair of long holes 24 and 25 are arranged in the center part in the short direction (width direction). Further, the arm 42 and the support member 44 are rotated about the pin 46 by their own weights and are folded downward.

  As mentioned above, although the agricultural product measuring device 10 which concerns on one Example of this invention was explained in full detail, according to the agricultural product measuring device 10 of a present Example, while conveying the long vegetables which are agricultural products, it is continuously in the conveyance path | route. It is possible to measure long vegetables. Furthermore, since the agricultural product weighing device 10 itself has a simple configuration, it is possible to easily perform an accurate weighing operation, and the device itself can be provided at a low cost.

  In particular, since the upper end portions 24a, 25a in the longitudinal direction of the pair of long holes 24, 25 related to the pair of movable members 26, 27 of the agricultural product weighing device 10 of the present embodiment are tapered, a pair of slat members 28 and 29 are guided by a pair of long holes 24 and 25 having a tapered shape, and are arranged in the center in the short direction (width direction) of the pair of long holes 24 and 25. Therefore, when the weighing plate 31 related to the weight measuring means 30 lifts the pair of movable members 26 and 27, the pair of slat members 28 and 29 are surely placed in the center in the short direction (width direction) of the pair of long holes 24 and 25. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the contact between the pair of movable members 26 and 27 and the pair of slat members 28 and 29, and to accurately measure the weight. Further, the lower end portions 24b and 25b in the longitudinal direction of the pair of long holes 24 and 25 are also tapered, so that the bucket 20 from which the long vegetables have been removed is located on the most downstream side of the transport path and opposite to the transport surface. The bucket 20 can be returned stably even when moving to and returning to the upstream side of the transport path.

  Further, in the agricultural product weighing device 10 of the present embodiment, the pair of movable members because the notches 40a, 41a, 40b, 41b are formed in the upper sides 28a, 29a and the lower sides 28b, 29b of the pair of slat members 28, 29. It is possible to restrict the movement of the members 26 and 27 in the horizontal direction with respect to the transport direction. That is, the saucer 22 fixed to the pair of movable members 26 and 27 does not swing in the horizontal direction in the transport path, can stably transport long vegetables, and the bucket 20 including the saucer 22. Can easily avoid contact with other components related to the agricultural product weighing device 10.

  Moreover, since the bucket 20 according to the agricultural product weighing device 10 of the present embodiment is configured to include the arm 42 and the support member 44, it is possible to stably convey even a long vegetable or the like. . In addition, since the arm 42 is rotatably connected to the tray 22, when the bucket 20 returns from the downstream side to the upstream side of the transport path after transporting the long vegetables, the arm 42 and the support member 44 are Since it rotates by its own weight and is folded downward, it becomes possible to install a binding machine and a cutting machine added to the agricultural product weighing apparatus 10 in close proximity, and to make the entire apparatus compact. be able to.

  Further, in the agricultural product weighing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, by binding the weighed long vegetables by providing the binding machine 50 and the cutting machine 52 on the downstream side of the weight measuring means 30 in the transport direction, Unnecessary portions can be cut, and the shipping work can be made more efficient.

  The agricultural product weighing device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention exemplified above should not be construed as substantially limiting the technical idea of the present invention. For example, the pair of long holes 24 and 25 according to the agricultural product weighing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment has both the upper end portions 24a and 25a and the lower end portions 24b and 25b in the longitudinal direction tapered, but at least the upper side The ends 24a and 25a may be tapered. The lower ends 24b and 25b are also tapered, so that the bucket 20 can be returned stably even when the bucket 20 is returned to the upstream side of the transport path.

  Further, in the agricultural product weighing device 10 of the present embodiment, it is preferable that the pair of slat members 28, 29 have upper portions 28a, 29a and lower sides 28b, 29b formed with cutout portions 40a, 41a, 40b, 41b. These notches are not necessarily formed, and for example, only one of the upper side 28a, 29a or the lower side 28b, 29b, or the upper side 28a of the pair of slat members 28, 29 where the movable member 26 (27) is located. In addition, a cutout portion may be formed only on the lower side 28b.

  Furthermore, the arm 42 and the support member 44 according to the agricultural product weighing device 10 of this embodiment can also be removed depending on the agricultural product to be weighed. Further, the weight measuring means 30 according to the agricultural product weighing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is not limited to one, and a plurality of weight measuring means 30 may be arranged. It can be carried out while improving, changing or adding appropriately.

10: Agricultural product weighing device 11: Control device 12: Base 14: Drive sprocket 16: Driven sprocket 18: Conveyor chain 19: Mounting member 20: Bucket 22: Sauce tray 24, 25: Long hole 24a, 25a: Longitudinal direction of long hole Upper end portions 24b, 25b: Lower end portions 26, 27 in the longitudinal direction of the long holes 26, 27: Movable members 28, 29: Slat members 28a, 29a: Upper sides of the slat members 28b, 29b: Lower sides of the slat members 30: Weight measurement Means 31: Measuring plate 32: Load cell 33: Rod 34: Electric cylinder 35: Display part 40a, 40b, 41a, 41b: Notch part 42: Arm 44: Support member 46: Pin 50: Binding machine 52: Cutting machine

Claims (5)

A plurality of buckets for placing and transporting agricultural products are arranged at predetermined intervals in the transport direction of the conveyor chain, and weight measurement for measuring the weight of agricultural products placed on the buckets in the transport path An agricultural product weighing device comprising means,
The bucket is fixed to a receiving tray on which the agricultural product is placed, and a pair of movable holes provided with a pair of elongated holes that are fixed to the lower portion of the receiving tray in a state of being opposed to each other at a predetermined interval and formed perpendicular to the conveying direction. Comprising a member and a pair of slat members respectively inserted into one of the long holes and the other long hole of each of the pair of movable members,
At least the upper end in the longitudinal direction of the pair of long holes has a tapered shape,
An agricultural product weighing apparatus, wherein the conveyor chain is intermittently driven, and the weight of the tray and the pair of movable members on which the agricultural product is placed is measured by the weight measuring means while the bucket is stopped.   A notch is formed on the upper side and / or the lower side of the pair of slat members where the pair of movable members are positioned to restrict the pair of movable members from moving in the horizontal direction with respect to the conveying direction. The agricultural product weighing device according to claim 1, wherein The bucket further includes an arm extending from the saucer, and a support member provided at an end of the arm and supporting a part of the agricultural product protruding from the saucer.
The agricultural product weighing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the arm is rotatably connected to the tray.   The agricultural product weighing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a binding machine for binding the agricultural products is provided downstream of the weight measuring means in the conveying direction. The agricultural product weighing device according to claim 4, wherein a cutting machine for cutting a part of the agricultural product is provided on the downstream side of the binding machine in the conveying direction.