JP2018054421A - Crops conveying tray - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a crops conveying tray for conveying crops in a stable state.SOLUTION: A crops conveying tray 10 according to the present invention includes: a tray body 14 including a cylindrical part 12; a holder 16 on the inner side of the cylindrical part 12; and a supporter 18 attached to the holder 16. A board part 38 is fixed to the inner periphery of the cylindrical part 12. The holder 16 has a containing part 46 with an opening in the upper part 44 and a mounted part 42 on the outer periphery of the upper part 44. The mounted part 42 is mounted on the board part 38 and is not fixed to the tray body 14 directly or indirectly.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a crop transport tray for transporting crops such as vegetables and fruits.

  Conventionally, agricultural products such as vegetables and fruits are sorted and shipped by class in the fruit selection area. In order to sort into equal classes, crops are placed on trays and transported on conveyors, and crops are inspected during transport. The class of crops is determined according to the inspection result. And as FIG. 13 of patent document 1 shows, a crop is sorted by transferring a tray to the fruit selection conveyor according to an equal class. In order to transfer the tray to the fruit selection conveyor, the tray is pushed by the fruit selection cylinder.

  However, when the tray is pushed with the selection cylinder, an impact is generated on the tray, and the crop may jump out of the tray due to the impact. In addition, the trays may collide during transportation, causing crops to jump out. Therefore, it is necessary to stably transport crops.

  A tray for placing agricultural products is described in Patent Document 2 below. The tray of Patent Document 2 includes an inclined receiving seat and a flexible fin-like elastic protrusion provided on the receiving seat. Patent Document 2 describes that various crops are stably supported by flexible fin-like elastic protrusions.

  However, in the tray of Patent Document 2, the impact generated in the tray is transmitted from the seat to the flexible fin-like elastic body, and further transmitted to the crop. That is, the impact is easily transmitted to the crops. There is a risk that the crop may come off the flexible fin-like elastic body and jump out of the tray.

JP2011-177650A JP2002-11414

  An object of the present invention is to provide a crop transport tray for transporting a crop in a stable state.

  The agricultural product carrying tray of the present invention is provided on the outer periphery of the cylindrical part, the inner peripheral base part of the cylindrical part, the inner part of the cylindrical part, the storage part with the upper part opened, and the upper part of the storage part. The mounting unit is movably mounted on the base unit. The accommodation part arranged inside the cylindrical part is only mounted on the base part and is movable.

  According to the present invention, the placing portion is movably placed on the base portion, and even if an impact occurs in the cylindrical portion, the impact is not easily transmitted to the housing portion. Agricultural crops in the storage section are stable and difficult to jump out of the crop transport tray.

It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the tray for agricultural products conveyance of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the tray for crop conveyance. It is the figure which expanded A of FIG. It is a top view of the tray for agricultural products conveyance. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 4 when a crop is put in a crop transport tray. It is CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 4 at the time of putting a crop into the crop conveyance tray. It is a figure which shows the structure at the time of mounting a ring on the upper part of a base part. It is a figure which shows a structure when a thing is abbreviate | omitted.

  The crop conveyance tray of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The crops to be transported are vegetables and fruits and are not particularly limited as long as they are placed on a crop transport tray.

  1 and 2 includes a tray main body 14 including a cylindrical portion 12, a holding body 16 disposed inside the cylindrical portion 12, and a support attached to the holding body 16. A body 18 is provided.

  The tray main body 14 includes a cylindrical portion 12 having a cylindrical shape and a bottom portion 20 connected to the lower end of the cylindrical portion 12. The tray body 14 is made of a hard resin. The tray body 14 can be formed by injection molding or the like.

  A plurality of protrusions 22 are provided so as to go around the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 12. The protrusion 22 suppresses deformation during molding. The protrusion 22 may be omitted if it does not deform during molding. Further, the protrusion 22 may be formed of a member different from the cylindrical portion 12. For example, the protrusion 22 may be made of an elastic body such as rubber so as to reduce the impact.

  A hollow 23 is formed in the cylindrical portion 12 so as to go around its outer periphery. A light emitting element is arranged on one side of the conveyor, and a light receiving element is arranged on the other side. Light emitted from the light emitting element crosses the conveyor and is received by the light receiving element. When the crop transport tray 10 is transported in a row on the conveyor, the light is blocked by the cylindrical portion 12 and passes through the recess 23. By counting the number of times the light is received by the light receiving element, it is possible to count the number of the crop conveyance trays 10 that have passed. A known photoelectric sensor can be used for the light emitting element and the light receiving element.

  The bottom portion 20 is a plate having one surface 24 and the other surface 26. The outer periphery of the bottom portion 20 is circular, and the outer periphery of the bottom portion 20 is connected to the lower end of the tubular portion 12. The cylindrical portion 12 and the bottom portion 20 may be integrated, or may be fixed with an adhesive or the like. When the cylindrical portion 12 and the bottom portion 20 are formed of separate members, the bottom portion 20 may be formed of an elastic body such as rubber and the bottom portion 20 may absorb the impact of the conveyor.

  The center of the bottom portion 20 is a through hole 28, and light passes through the through plan 28. This is for irradiating the crop with light when the internal quality inspection of the crop is performed. The tray body 14 is preferably black so that light is not reflected by the tray body 14.

  A plurality of plate bodies 30 are provided on one surface 24 of the bottom portion 20. The shape of the plate body 30 is arbitrary, and the plane of the plate body 30 faces the vertical direction with respect to the one surface 24 of the bottom portion 20. The plate 30 suppresses deformation during molding, and the number of the plate 30 is determined as necessary. The plate body 30 may be omitted if it does not deform during molding.

  An IC tag 32 is disposed on the bottom 20. The IC tag 32 performs non-contact communication with a communication device such as an RFID (radio frequency identifier). The communication device is provided at a necessary portion of the conveyor. An IC tag 32 storing different identification information for each crop transport tray 10 is attached, and the crop transport tray 10 is identified from the information of the IC tag 32. In FIG. 2, a space 34 for arranging the IC tag 32 is provided on the bottom 20, and a lid 36 is provided on the other surface 26 of the bottom 20.

  The other surface 26 of the bottom 20 is a surface to be placed on the conveyor. The crop conveyance tray 10 is placed on the conveyor so that the other surface 26 of the bottom 20 contacts the conveyor. An elastic body or the like may be attached to the other surface 26 of the bottom portion 20 to absorb vibrations when moving on the conveyor.

  A base portion 38 is fixed to the inner periphery of the cylindrical portion 12. The base portion 38 has a ring shape and goes around the inner periphery of the cylindrical portion 12. The base portion 38 is made of hard rubber or resin. The upper portion 40 of the base portion 38 is a flat surface facing in the horizontal direction. A mounting portion 42 described later is mounted on the upper portion 40.

  In addition, if the mounting part 42 is mounted on the upper part 40 of the base part 38, the shape of the base part 38 will not be limited. Moreover, the base part 38 may make one round of the inner periphery of the cylindrical part 12 continuously, or may make one round intermittently. Further, the base portion 38 may be formed by expanding the inner periphery of the cylindrical portion 12.

  The holding body 16 includes a housing portion 46 whose upper portion 44 is opened in a circular shape and a mounting portion 42 provided on the outer peripheral portion of the upper portion 44. The inside of the cylindrical portion 12 is a space, and the holding body 16 is disposed inside the cylindrical portion 12.

  The shape of the accommodating portion 46 is a mortar shape. The upper part 44 is the most spread part of the mortar shape. The shape of the mortar is narrowing from the upper part 44 toward the lower part 48. Since the accommodating portion 46 has a mortar shape, the agricultural product tends to face the center of the accommodating portion 46 and is naturally placed at the center of the accommodating portion 46.

  The accommodating portion 46 includes a plurality of bent portions 50 on the way from the upper portion 44 to the lower portion 48. This is to make the accommodating portion 46 the same as or similar to the shape of the crop. The number and direction of bending are changed according to the shape of the crop.

  The accommodating portion 46 is formed of a deformable elastic body such as rubber or resin. Even if an impact is transmitted from the cylindrical portion 12, the accommodation portion 46 only swings, and the impact on the crop is reduced. The thickness of the accommodating part 46 is about 0.5-2 mm. Moreover, the accommodating part 46 is bent as mentioned above, and when the agricultural product is held, the accommodating part 46 is deformed from the bent part 50. This modification will be described later.

  The mounting portion 42 is provided downward from the outer peripheral portion of the upper portion 44 of the housing portion 46. The mounting portion 42 is annular, and the mounting portion 42 has an L-shaped cross section. The placing portion 42 is placed on the upper portion 40 of the base portion 38, and the accommodating portion 46 is floating in the air inside the cylindrical portion 12. The impact generated in the tray main body 14 is not directly transmitted to the accommodating portion 46, and the impact is not easily transmitted to the crops.

  As shown in FIG. 3, there is a gap 52 between the mounting portion 42 and the cylindrical portion 12, and the mounting portion 42 is not fixed to the cylindrical portion 12 and the base portion 38. That is, the mounting portion 42 is movably mounted on the base portion 38 and is not directly or indirectly fixed to the tray body 14. When an impact occurs on the tray body 14, the position of the mounting portion 42 moves slightly, and the impact on the storage portion 46 is reduced. The shaking movement of the accommodating part 46 mentioned above also becomes small, and jumping out of agricultural products can be prevented.

  The thickness of the mounting portion 42 is greater than the thickness of the accommodating portion 46. The mounting portion 42 is formed of the same material as the housing portion 46 and is an elastic body made of rubber or resin. By increasing the thickness of the mounting portion 42, the mounting portion 42 is less likely to be deformed than the accommodating portion 46.

  Further, a hard circular ring 56 is attached to the inner periphery 54 of the mounting portion 42. The shape of the mounting portion 42 and the upper portion 44 is maintained in a circular shape by the ring 56. When the agricultural product is put in the storage unit 46, the mounting part 42 and the upper part 44 tend to be deformed by the weight of the agricultural product, but the mounting part 42 and the upper part 44 are maintained in a circular shape. It can prevent falling from the base part 38. FIG. Further, it is possible to prevent the mounting portion 42 and the upper portion 44 from being deformed even when an impact occurs on the tray body 14.

  The cross section of the mounting portion 42 is bent by 90 °, and the bottom portion 57 of the mounting portion 42 faces the mounting portion 42 inward. As described above, the placing portion 42 faces downward from the outer periphery of the upper portion 44 of the accommodating portion 46. Therefore, the bottom portion 57 of the mounting portion 42 and the upper portion 44 of the accommodating portion 46 have a portion where the inner periphery 54 of the mounting portion 42 is recessed outward. A ring 56 is fitted into the inner periphery 54 of the recessed mounting portion 54. The ring 56 is prevented from being detached from the inner periphery 54 of the mounting portion 42.

  A through hole 58 is formed in the lower portion 48 of the accommodating portion 46. Similar to the through hole 28 of the tray main body 14, the through hole 58 of the accommodating portion 46 is for passing light used for the internal quality inspection of the agricultural products. The housing portion 46 is black so that light is not reflected by the housing portion 46. The through hole 58 of the accommodating portion 46 is smaller than the crop so that the crop does not fall from the through hole 58.

  A cover 60 is attached to the upper end of the cylindrical portion 12. The cover 60 is disposed above a part or all of the placement portion 42. Even if an impact occurs on the tray main body 14 and the accommodation portion 46 is about to jump out, the placement portion 42 hits the cover 60, and the placement portion 42 and the accommodation portion 46 do not jump out of the cylindrical portion 12.

  It should be noted that the size of the cover 60 is arbitrary as long as the cover 60 does not get in the way when the crop is put in and out of the crop transport tray 10.

  The cover 60 is an elastic body made of rubber or resin. Even if the mounting portion 42 collides with the cover 60, the impact on the mounting portion 42 and the accommodating portion 46 is alleviated and the crops are prevented from jumping out.

  As shown in FIG. 3, there is a gap 62 between the cover 60 and the placement portion 42. The mounting portion 42 is not pressed or fixed by the cover 60. When an impact is generated on the tray main body 14, the placing portion 42 moves freely, absorbs the impact on the storage portion 46, and relaxes.

  If the cover 60 is arranged not only above the placement portion 42 but also above the upper portion 44 of the accommodating portion 46, a gap 62 is provided between the cover 60 and the upper portion 44.

  The cover 60 can be attached to and detached from the upper end of the cylindrical portion 12. The holding body 16 is disposed in the tray body 14 with the cover 60 removed, and then the cover 60 is attached to the upper end of the cylindrical portion 12.

  The support 18 is fixed to the inner side of the accommodating portion 46. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, four supports 18 are attached between the upper portion 44 and the lower portion 48 of the accommodating portion 46. The interval between the supports 18 is set to a constant angle with the through hole 58 as the center. This is to support crops evenly.

  The support 18 includes a fixing portion 64 to the accommodating portion 46 and a spring portion 66 (FIG. 2). The support 18 is made of rubber or resin.

  The fixing part 64 is plate-shaped and is a part attached to the accommodating part 46. The accommodating portion 46 and the fixing portion 64 are fixed with an adhesive or the like. The fixed portion 64 is disposed above the spring portion 66.

  The spring portion 66 has a plate shape that is thinner than the fixed portion 64, and is curved so as to swell to the opposite side with respect to the accommodating portion 46. A space 68 is formed between the accommodating portion 46 and the spring portion 66. The tip of the spring portion 66 may contact the housing portion 46, but is not fixed to the housing portion 46.

  The spring portion 66 is deformed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when a crop 70 such as a tomato is placed in the crop transport tray 10, the spring portion 66 is deformed according to the shape of the crop 70. Since the spring portion 66 tries to return to its original shape, the crop 70 can be held by the plurality of spring portions 66. Even if an impact occurs on the tray body 14, the crop 70 can be held without changing the direction. The direction of the crop 70 (such as the vertical direction of the crop 70) can be kept constant, and the appearance of the crop 70 can be easily inspected. When boxing the crops 70 with the robot arm, the robot arm can pack the crops 70 in a certain direction. The appearance inspection of the crop 70 includes inspection by image processing and visual inspection.

  When the agricultural product 70 is put in the housing portion 46, the housing portion 46 is lowered while being deformed downward. At that time, a part or all of the bent portions 50 are deformed toward the crop 70 and are brought into close contact with or close to the crop 70. For example, in FIG. 6, one bent portion 50 is deformed toward the crop 70. The bent portion 50 deformed toward the crop 70 in a portion where the support 18 is not provided is in close contact with the crop 70, and the crop 70 can be held by the accommodating portion 46. It becomes easy to hold the crop 70 stably. Further, the container 46 can be shielded from the crop 70 by the container 46 when the container 46 comes into close contact with the crop 70 or approaches the crop 70.

  In order to hold the crop 70 by the support 18 and the container 46, when the crop 70 is taken out, the holder 16 and the support 18 may be lifted together with the crop 70. At that time, the placing portion 42 hits the cover 60, the ascent of the holding body 16 is restricted, and the holding body 16 and the support body 18 are separated from the crop 77.

  As described above, since the holding body 16 is not fixed inside the tray body 14 and can freely move, even if an impact occurs in the tray body 14, the impact is not directly transmitted to the holding body 16 and the support body 18, and the crop 70. Can ease the shock to the. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the crop 70 from jumping out from the crop transport tray 10 or from changing the direction of the crop 70 inside the housing portion 46.

  As mentioned above, although one embodiment was described about the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, although the mounting part 42 is directly mounted on the upper part 40 of the base part 38, it may be mounted indirectly. As shown in FIG. 7, the ring 72 protrudes below the placement portion 74, and the ring 72 is placed on the upper portion 40. The ring 72 is not fixed to the upper portion 40. Due to the impact on the tray body 14, the ring 72 is moved to absorb and alleviate the impact on the holding body 16.

  Although the shape of the accommodating part 46 of FIG. 2 is mortar shape, it is not limited to mortar shape. The receiving portion 46 may have another shape such as a bowl shape or a dish shape as long as the shape swells downward.

  Although the said embodiment used the rings 56 and 72, if the shape of the mounting part 42 does not deform | transform, the rings 56 and 72 may be abbreviate | omitted. In that case, like the mounting part 74 in FIG. 8, the thickness of the mounting part 74 may be increased to increase the strength of the mounting part 42.

  In addition, the present invention can be carried out in a mode in which various improvements, modifications, and changes are added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

10: Tray for transporting crops 12: Cylindrical portion 14: Tray main body 16: Holding body 18: Support body 20: Bottom portion 22: Protrusion 23 on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 23: Depression on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 24: One surface 26 on the bottom portion : Bottom other surface 28: Bottom through-hole 30: Plate body 32: IC tag 34: Bottom space 36: Lid 38: Base 40: Upper part 42 of the base part, 74: Placement part 44: Upper part of the accommodating part 46: accommodating portion 48: lower portion 50 of accommodating portion: bent portion 52: gap between cylindrical portion and placing portion 54: inner periphery 56 of placing portion, 72: ring 58: through hole 60 in accommodating portion: cover 62: Clearance 64 between mounting part and cover 64: Fixing part 66: Spring part 68: Space 70: Crop

Claims (6)

A tubular part;
A pedestal that is arranged on the inner periphery of the cylindrical part or inflated the inner periphery of the cylindrical part;
An accommodating portion disposed inside the cylindrical portion and having an open upper portion;
A mounting portion that is provided on the outer periphery of the upper portion of the housing portion and is movably mounted on the base portion;
A tray for transporting crops. 2. The agricultural product transport tray according to claim 1, wherein a gap is provided between the tubular portion and the placing portion. The agricultural product carrying tray according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thickness of the placing portion is larger than the thickness of the accommodating portion. The agricultural product carrying tray according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a hard ring attached to the mounting portion. A cover disposed above the mounting portion;
A gap between the mounting portion and the cover,
The crop conveyance tray according to claim 1, further comprising: The crop conveyance tray according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a support body including a fixed portion fixed to the housing portion and a deformable spring portion.

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