JP2022127222A - Shell egg automatic supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a shell egg automatic supply device that can reduce shocks received by shell eggs.SOLUTION: A shell egg automatic supply device 1 automatically supplies shell eggs E into liquid W, and comprises a tray carrying device 3, a rotary drum 4, and a water tank 5. The tray carrying device 3 comprises a full tray carrying conveyor 31 for carrying a full tray 2, an empty tray carrying conveyor 32 for carrying an empty tray 2, and tray transfer means 33 for transferring the full tray 2 on the full tray carrying conveyor 31 onto the rotary drum 4, and transferring the empty tray 2 on the rotary drum 4 onto the empty tray carrying conveyor 32. The rotary drum 4 comprises a tray holding part 42 provided in an outer peripheral part. While holding the full tray 2 transferred from the full tray carrying conveyor 31 by the tray transfer means 33, the tray holding part 42 drops the shell eggs E on the full tray 2 into the liquid W depending on rotation of the rotary drum 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic shell egg feeder.

<Description of background technology>
Conventionally, an apparatus for washing shell eggs (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3) and an apparatus for aligning shell eggs (see, for example, Patent Document 4) have been proposed.

<Description of Patent Documents 1 to 4>
In the devices described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, it is necessary to manually supply shell eggs into a liquid such as a cleaning liquid stored in a water tank, whereas the device described in Patent Document 4 requires a water tank. It is excellent in productivity because eggs with shells are automatically supplied in the liquid.

<Requested technology-1>
However, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 4, a plurality of trays (egg protection sheets) on which a plurality of shell eggs are placed are transported by a conveyor in a state of being stacked in a case, and the case is transported at the terminal end of the conveyor. By inverting the shell, many shell eggs and multiple trays are thrown into the water tank at once, so not only the thrown shell eggs may receive a large impact, but also the thrown shell eggs and the tray must be collected separately.

JP-A-9-74936 JP-A-9-84482 JP-A-11-32616 JP-A-2004-187555

<Challenges of background technology>
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic shell egg feeder capable of reducing the shock received by shell eggs when they are fed into a liquid.

<Contents of Claim 1>
In order to achieve such objects, the present invention is grasped by the following configurations.
(1) The present invention is an automatic shell egg feeding device for automatically feeding shell eggs into a liquid, comprising a tray conveying device, a rotating drum, and a water tank, wherein the water tank stores the liquid. The tray conveying device includes a full tray conveying conveyor for conveying a full tray, which is a tray on which a plurality of the shell eggs are placed, and the tray on which the shell eggs are not placed. An empty tray conveying conveyor for conveying empty trays, the full trays on the full tray conveying conveyor being transferred onto the rotating drum, and the empty trays on the rotating drum being transferred onto the empty tray conveying conveyor. and a tray transfer means for loading, wherein the rotating drum includes a central shaft serving as the center of rotation of the rotating drum, and a tray holding portion provided on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating drum, wherein the tray holding portion includes holding the full tray transferred from the full tray conveyer by the tray transfer means, and dropping the shell eggs on the full tray into the liquid in accordance with the rotation of the rotating drum; After that, the empty tray is transferred to the tray transfer means.

<Contents of claim 2>
(2) In the configuration of (1) above, the tray includes a plurality of recesses for holding the shell eggs, a plurality of protrusions formed between the recesses, and upper surfaces of the protrusions. and the tray holding portion has an inner claw chuck that switches between a diameter-reduced state that can be inserted into the upper hole and a diameter-expanded state that engages with the upper hole from the inside. and holds the tray via the inner claw chuck.

<Contents of claim 3>
(3) In the configuration of (2), the inner claw chuck is maintained in the diameter-expanded state by the biasing force of the biasing member, and when the tray holding portion is at the tray transfer position, the It is switched to the reduced diameter state against the biasing force of the biasing member.

<Contents of Claim 4>
(4) In the present invention, in the configuration of (2) or (3), the inner claw chuck is movable relative to the tray holding portion in the circumferential direction and the central axis direction within a predetermined dimension range. Permissible.

<Contents of Claim 5>
(5) In the present invention, in the configuration of (4) above, the inner surface portion of the convex portion has a taper that becomes wider toward the bottom, and the inner claw chuck abuts on the taper to move the inner claw chuck. to the upper hole.

<Contents of Claim 6>
(6) In the present invention, in any one of the configurations (1) to (5) above, the rotating drum includes fins that generate a water flow in the liquid as the rotating drum rotates.

<Contents of claim 7>
(7) According to the present invention, in the configuration of (6) above, the tray includes a plurality of recesses for holding the shell eggs, and bottom holes formed in the bottom surfaces of the recesses, and the fins are , provided inside the rotating drum, for ejecting the water flow generated according to the rotation of the rotating drum to the outside of the rotating drum through the bottom hole;

<Contents of Claim 8>
(8) In the configuration of (7) above, the tray holding portion includes a tray support plate that supports the bottom portion of the tray, and the tray support plate is positioned in the bottom hole of the tray to be supported. A plurality of ejection holes are provided corresponding to positions, and the fins eject the water flow generated according to the rotation of the rotating drum to the outside of the rotating drum through the ejection holes and the bottom hole. .

<Contents of claim 9>
(9) In the present invention, in any one of the configurations (1) to (8), the rotating drum stops rotating each time the tray holding section reaches the upper limit tray transfer position, and the actual tray is The transfer conveyor and the empty tray transfer conveyor are arranged in parallel with each other in a plan view with the tray holding portion at the tray transfer position interposed therebetween, and the tray transfer means can move up and down to hold and release the full tray. an empty tray chuck mechanism capable of lifting and lowering for holding and releasing the empty tray; and a lateral movement mechanism for integrally laterally moving the full tray chuck mechanism and the empty tray chuck mechanism. and, when the full tray chuck mechanism is positioned on the full tray transport conveyor, the lateral movement mechanism positions the empty tray chuck mechanism on the tray holding portion at the tray transfer position, and moves the full tray chuck mechanism. is positioned above the tray holding portion at the tray transfer position, the empty tray chuck mechanism is positioned above the empty tray transport conveyor.

Effect of the Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an automatic shell egg feeder capable of reducing the shock received by shell eggs when they are fed into a liquid.

1 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of an automatic egg-in-shell feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a plan view showing trays placed on a rotating drum; It is a side sectional view showing an inner claw chuck and a tray. It is front sectional drawing of a rotating drum. It is a side sectional view of a rotating drum. It is a front view which shows the end plate of a rotating drum. It is a side view which shows the frame structure of a rotating drum. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a tray support plate of the rotating drum;

<Description of Embodiment-1>
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals are given to the same elements throughout the description of the embodiments.

<Configuration of shell egg automatic feeder-1>
FIG. 1 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of an automatic shell egg feeder according to one embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic shell egg feeder 1 is a device that automatically feeds a shell egg E into a liquid W. The washing liquid is applied to a shell egg washing apparatus that automatically feeds a plurality of shell eggs E placed on a tray 2 into a liquid W to wash the shell eggs E. The shell egg automatic feeding device 1 of the present invention is not limited to a shell egg washing device, and automatically feeds a plurality of shell eggs placed on a tray into a hot liquid. It can also be applied to a boiled egg manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing boiled eggs.

<Configuration of shell egg automatic feeder-2>
2 is a front cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a tray placed on a rotating drum, and FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing an inner claw chuck and a tray.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the tray 2 includes a plurality of (for example, 5×6=30) recesses 21 for holding shell eggs E, bottom holes 211 formed in the bottom surfaces of the recesses 21, It includes a plurality of protrusions 22 formed between the recesses 21 and upper holes 221 formed in the upper surfaces of the protrusions 22 . Further, the inner surface portion of the convex portion 22 has a taper 222 that becomes wider toward the bottom.

<Configuration of shell egg automatic feeder-3>
The tray 2 is a standard product used for transporting shelled eggs E (raw eggs), and a plurality of manufacturers manufacture trays 2 with substantially the same size. However, there are slight differences in the dimensions of the tray 2 depending on the manufacturer. For example, it has been confirmed that the position of the upper hole 221 has a dimensional difference of about ±1 mm in the XY directions in plan view. Hereinafter, the tray 2 on which a plurality of shell eggs E are placed is sometimes referred to as a full tray 2, and the tray 2 on which no shell eggs E are placed is sometimes referred to as an empty tray 2.

<Configuration of shell egg automatic feeder-4>
As shown in FIG. 1 , the automatic shell egg supply device 1 includes a tray conveying device 3 , a rotating drum 4 and a water tank 5 . First, the characteristic configuration and operation of each part will be described. The tray transport device 3 includes a full tray transport conveyor 31 that transports the full trays 2 , an empty tray transport conveyor 32 that transports the empty trays 2 , and the full trays 2 on the full tray transport conveyor 31 that are transferred onto the rotating drum 4 . and a tray transfer means 33 for transferring the empty tray 2 on the rotary drum 4 onto the empty tray transfer conveyor 32. - 特許庁The rotating drum 4 includes a central shaft 41 serving as the center of rotation of the rotating drum 4 and a tray holding portion 42 provided on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating drum 4 .

<Configuration of shell egg automatic feeder-5>
The tray holding unit 42 holds the full tray 2 transferred from the full tray transport conveyor 31 by the tray transfer means 33, and moves the shelled egg E on the full tray 2 according to the rotation of the rotary drum 4. After dropping into the liquid W, the empty tray 2 is transferred to the tray transfer means 33. According to the shell egg automatic supply device 1, the shell eggs E are dropped from the tray 2 into the liquid W, so that the shell eggs E are thrown into the liquid W together with the tray 2. In comparison with the above, not only can the impact received by the eggs E in the shell when being supplied into the liquid W be reduced, but the recovery of the empty tray 2 is facilitated. Hereinafter, the configuration of each part of the automatic shell egg feeder 1 will be described in sequence.

<Configuration of Tray Conveying Device-1>
The full tray transport conveyor 31 and the empty tray transport conveyor 32 are arranged in parallel with each other sandwiching the tray holding portion 42 located at the upper limit tray transfer position in plan view. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tray transfer means 33 includes a liftable full tray chuck mechanism 331 for holding and releasing the full tray 2, and a liftable empty tray mechanism 331 for holding and releasing the empty tray 2. A chuck mechanism 332 and a lateral movement mechanism 333 for laterally moving the full tray chuck mechanism 331 and the empty tray chuck mechanism 332 integrally are provided.

<Configuration of Tray Conveying Device-2>
The full tray chuck mechanism 331 and the empty tray chuck mechanism 332 include elevating frames 331a and 332a supported by the lateral movement mechanism 333 so as to be able to ascend and descend, chuck frames 331b and 332b provided at the lower ends of the elevating frames 331a and 332a, and chucks. A pair of left and right chuck members 331c and 332c provided openable and closable on frames 331b and 332b, and chuck cylinders 331d and 332d for opening and closing the pair of left and right chuck members 331c and 332c are provided.

<Configuration of Tray Conveying Device-3>
The pair of left and right chuck members 331c and 332c are lowered to the lateral position of the tray 2 in the open state and then closed, thereby chucking the tray 2 from both the left and right sides. can lift In addition, the tray 2 chucked by the actual tray conveying conveyor 31 can be placed on the tray holding portion 42 of the rotating drum 4 by the operation in the reverse order of lifting. The chucked tray 2 can be placed on the empty tray transport conveyor 32 .

<Configuration of Tray Conveying Device-4>
The lateral movement mechanism 333 includes a lateral movement frame 333a that supports the full tray chuck mechanism 331 and the empty tray chuck mechanism 332, guide rails 333b that guide the lateral movement frame 333a so as to be laterally movable, the lateral movement frame 333a, and a crank mechanism 333c. and a lateral movement motor 333d which is connected via and laterally moves the lateral movement frame 333a.

<Configuration of Tray Conveying Device-5>
When the full tray chuck mechanism 331 is positioned on the full tray transport conveyor 31, the lateral movement mechanism 333 positions the empty tray chuck mechanism 332 on the tray holding section 42 at the tray transfer position, and the full tray chuck mechanism 331 moves the tray. When positioned on the tray holding section 42 at the transfer position, the empty tray chuck mechanism 332 is positioned on the empty tray transport conveyor 32 .

<Configuration of Tray Conveying Device-6>
That is, when the full tray chuck mechanism 331 chucks and lifts the full tray 2 on the full tray transport conveyor 31 , the empty tray chuck mechanism 332 chucks and lifts the empty tray 2 on the tray holding section 42 . After that, when the full tray chuck mechanism 331 places the full tray 2 on the tray holding portion 42 , the empty tray chuck mechanism 332 places the empty tray 2 on the empty tray transport conveyor 32 . By repeating this process, it is possible to efficiently carry in the full tray 2 and carry out the empty tray 2 even with one lateral movement mechanism 333 .

<Structure of rotating drum-1>
5 is a front cross-sectional view of the rotating drum, FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of the rotating drum, FIG. 7 is a front view of the end plate of the rotating drum, FIG. 8 is a side view of the frame structure of the rotating drum, FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the tray support plate of the rotating drum.
As shown in FIGS. 5 to 9, the rotary drum 4 includes a central shaft 41 that is rotationally driven by a drum rotating motor (not shown), a pair of end plates 43 fixed to both ends of the central shaft 41, and a pair of Ladder-shaped tray holding frame 44 constructed between the end plates 43 of , and the bottom surface of the tray 2 provided on the tray holding frame 44 and transferred onto the rotating drum 4 by the tray transfer means 33. and a tray chuck device 46 provided on the tray support plate 44 for chucking the tray 2 on the tray support plate 45. It is composed of a frame 44 , a tray support plate 45 and a tray chuck device 46 .

<Structure of rotating drum-2>
The tray chuck device 46 includes a plurality of inner-claw chucks 461 , a connecting member 462 connected to the plurality of inner-claw chucks 461 , and a pair of switching operation portions 463 provided at both ends of the connecting member 462 .

<Structure of rotating drum-3>
The inner claw chuck 461 has an inner claw member 461a that can be deformed into a reduced diameter state that can be inserted into the upper hole 221 of the tray 2 and an enlarged diameter state that engages with the upper hole 221 from the inside. and the tapered portion 461ba at the tip protrudes from the inner claw member 461a, the inner claw member 461a is reduced in diameter, and the tapered portion 461ba enters the inner claw member 461a. In the two postures, a tapered rod 461b that expands the diameter of the inner claw member 461a, a first case 461c that supports the inner claw member 461a, a second case 461d that slidably supports the tapered rod 461b, and a base of the tapered rod 461b. A spring 461e provided at the end, a spring 461f provided between the second case 461d and the spring receiver 461e and serving as a biasing member that biases the tapered rod 461b toward the second posture, and the tray holder frame 44. and a plurality of screws 461g that connect the first case 461c and the second case 461d while sandwiching the screws 461g. The biasing member that biases the tapered rod 461b toward the second posture is not limited to the spring 461f, and may be elastically deformable rubber or a damper that biases with air pressure.

<Structure of rotating drum-4>
The connecting member 462 is connected to tapered rods 461 b of a plurality of inner jaw chucks 461 provided in one tray holding portion 42 . A pair of switching operation portions 463 project outward from both end portions of the connecting member 462 and are exposed to the outside of the rotary drum 4 through elongated holes 431 formed in the end plates 43 in the radial direction. is doing.

<Structure of rotating drum-5>
When the tray holding portion 42 is at the tray transfer position (upper limit position), the pair of switching operation portions 463 are pushed up by the pair of push-up members 464 provided on the non-rotating portion. Accordingly, when the connecting member 462 integrated with the switching operation portion 463 rises, the plurality of tapered rods 461b connected to the connecting member 462 assume the first posture against the urging force of the spring 461f, thereby moving the inner claw member 461a. Reduced diameter. This allows the tray transfer means 33 to place the full tray 2 on the tray holding section 42 and take out the empty tray 2 from the tray holding section 42 . The push-up member 464 of the present embodiment also serves as a positioning mechanism for positioning and fixing the rotating drum 4 at the tray mounting position by pushing up the switching operation portion 463 in a state where it is fitted in the V-groove portion 464a.

<Structure of rotating drum-6>
When the tray transfer means 33 places the full tray 2 on the tray holding portion 42 , the inner claw member 461 a having a reduced diameter is inserted into the upper hole 221 of the full tray 2 . After that, when the pair of switching operation portions 463 are released from being pushed up by the pair of push-up members 464, the taper rod 461b assumes the second posture due to the biasing force of the spring 461f, and the inner claw member 461a is switched to the enlarged diameter state. As a result, the tray holding section 42 is in a state of holding the full tray 2 via the inner claw chuck 461, and even while the rotary drum 4 is rotating, the tray 2 (full tray 2 and empty tray 2) is held by the biasing force of the spring 461f. Maintain hold.

<Structure of rotating drum-7>
Each inner claw chuck 461 is allowed to move in the circumferential direction and central axis direction of the rotary drum 4 within a predetermined dimension range (for example, ±1 mm) with respect to the tray holding portion 42 . More specifically, the diameter of an insertion hole 441 formed in the tray holder frame 44 and through which the screw 461g is inserted is larger than the outer diameter of the shaft portion of the screw 461g. movement of the inner claw chuck 461 with respect to the tray support plate 45 is allowed. In addition, the connecting portion between the taper rod 461b and the connecting member 462 is also provided with a backlash that permits the same relative movement, so that the minute movement of the inner claw chuck 461 is prevented from being restricted by the connecting member 462. According to such a configuration, even if there is a dimensional difference in the position of the upper hole 221 depending on the manufacturer of the tray 2, the inner claw chuck 461 can be moved to the upper position by minutely moving the inner claw chuck 461 within a predetermined dimension range. The tray 2 can be securely inserted into the hole 221 and chucked.

<Structure of rotating drum-8>
A first case 461 c of the inner claw chuck 461 includes a guide portion 461 ca that contacts the taper 222 of the tray 2 and guides the inner claw chuck 461 (inner claw member 461 a and taper rod 461 b ) to the upper hole 221 of the tray 2 . For example, like the taper 222 of the tray 2, the guide portion 461ca is formed with a taper that becomes wider toward the bottom. According to such a configuration, the inner claw chuck 461 can be reliably inserted into the upper hole 221 and the tray 2 can be chucked in combination with the fine movement of the inner claw chuck 461 .

<Structure of rotating drum-9>
The rotating drum 4 is used with the central axis 41 positioned at approximately the same height as the liquid surface WL of the liquid W or within the liquid W. As shown in FIG. Further, the rotary drum 4 stops rotating each time the tray holding portion 42 reaches the upper limit tray transfer position, and after the tray transfer means 33 completes the removal of the empty tray 2 and the supply of the full tray 2, It rotates in a predetermined rotation direction A.

<Structure of rotating drum-10>
In the rotating drum 4 configured as described above, it is preferable that a plurality of the tray holding portions 42 are arranged in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating drum 4, and more preferably, the number of the tray holding portions 42 arranged in the circumferential direction is 6 or more. The reason for this is that not only can the shell eggs E be efficiently supplied into the liquid W by sequentially holding the actual trays 2 in the plurality of tray holding portions 42 arranged in the circumferential direction, but also the shell eggs E can be fed into the liquid W. This is because it can be inserted gently (low impact).

<Structure of rotating drum-11>
For example, when the number of tray holding portions 42 arranged in the circumferential direction is 4, the angle of the actual tray 2 changes from 0°→90°→180°→270°→0° according to the rotation of the rotary drum 4. When the number of tray holding portions 42 arranged in the circumferential direction is 5, the angle of the actual tray 2 changes from 0°→72°→144°→216°→ Since the change is from 288° to 0°, the shell eggs E start falling from the actual tray 2 at 90° and 72°, and are thrown into the liquid W from above the liquid surface WL. A lot of E occurs. Such a shell egg E may be cracked by a large impact received when it collides with the liquid surface WL or another shell egg E just thrown into the liquid surface WL.

<Structure of rotating drum-12>
On the other hand, when the number of tray holding portions 42 arranged in the circumferential direction is 6, the angle of the actual tray 2 changes from 0°→60°→120°→180°→240°→ Since the change is from 300° to 0°, the shelled egg E falling from the actual tray 2 at 60° is suppressed, and the shell from the actual tray 2 in the liquid W when rotating from 60° to 120°. The shelled egg E is dropped, and the impact received by the shelled egg E when dropped can be greatly reduced.

<Structure of rotating drum-13>
Further, when the number of tray holding portions 42 arranged in the circumferential direction is 7 or more, by deeply submerging the rotating drum 4 in the liquid W, the number of tray holding portions 42 arranged in the circumferential direction is set to 6. , the shell egg E can be dropped gently in the liquid W. Costs go up significantly. The rotary drum 4 of the present embodiment has six tray holding portions 42 arranged in the circumferential direction for the above reason.

<Structure of rotating drum-14>
In some cases, the shelled eggs E placed on the actual tray 2 may have cracks during transportation. Not only does it harden between and become pasty and may not fall from the tray 2, but if it is forcibly peeled off from the tray 2, the shell will crack and the egg white and yolk will flow out into the liquid W, contaminating the liquid W. there is a possibility. For such hard-to-drop shelled eggs E, the rotating drum 4 of the present embodiment holds the shelled eggs E in the liquid W at least for a predetermined time (for example, 15 seconds) in the rotation range of 120° to 240°. Since the egg white can be immersed in the water, the egg white that has solidified in a pasty state can be softened and dropped from the tray 2 without difficulty.

<Structure of rotating drum-15>
Moreover, the tray holding part 42 can hold a plurality of trays 2 arranged in the central axis direction. For example, the tray holding part 42 of this embodiment holds four trays 2 arranged in the central axis direction (see FIG. 3). With such a rotating drum 4, the number of shelled eggs E that can be processed at the same time is increased, and productivity is enhanced. The tray transfer means 33 is configured to simultaneously transfer four trays 2 arranged in the central axis direction.

<Structure of rotating drum-16>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the rotating drum 4 of this embodiment includes a plurality of fins 47 that generate water flow in the liquid W as the rotating drum 4 rotates. It can be provided on the inner surface of the end plate 43 or on the disk 48 integrally provided in the intermediate portion of the central shaft 41 or the like. A plurality of fins 47 are provided inside the rotating drum 4 and eject the water flow generated according to the rotation of the rotating drum 4 to the outside of the rotating drum 4 through the bottom hole 211 of the tray 2 . Specifically, the tray support plate 45 that supports the bottom surface of the tray 2 has a plurality of ejection holes 451 corresponding to the positions of the bottom holes 211 of the supported tray 2, and the fins 47 are formed. The water flow is ejected to the outside of the rotating drum 4 through the ejection hole 451 of the tray support plate 45 and the bottom hole 211 of the tray 2 . According to such a rotating drum 4, the shell eggs E on the filling tray 2 are ejected from the bottom hole 211 of the tray 2 at the timing when they enter the liquid W according to the rotation of the rotating drum 4. Since the shell eggs E are received and sequentially discharged into the liquid W from the actual tray 2, the collision between the shell eggs E can be suppressed. In addition, since the water jet is jetted through the jetting holes 451 of the tray support plate 45, the water jet can be prevented from hitting the bottom surface of the tray 2 and the tray 2 can be prevented from coming off the rotary drum 4 due to the water jet.

<Configuration of water tank -1>
As shown in FIG. 1, the water tank 5 includes a bottom surface 51, an inclined surface 52 that guides the shell eggs E dropped from the rotating drum 4 to the bottom surface 51, and a discharge conveyor 53 that extends from the bottom surface 51 to the outside of the liquid W. , provided. The shelled eggs E near the bottom surface 51 are placed on the leading end of the discharge conveyor 53 by the water flow generated by the fins 47 of the rotating drum 4 and conveyed out of the liquid W by the discharge conveyor 53 .

<Effect of Embodiment-1>
The effect of the embodiment described above will be described.
An automatic shell egg supply device 1 for automatically supplying shell eggs E into a liquid W, comprising a tray conveying device 3, a rotating drum 4, and a water tank 5, wherein the water tank 5 stores the liquid W, The tray transport device 3 includes a full tray transport conveyor 31 that transports the full trays 2 , an empty tray transport conveyor 32 that transports the empty trays 2 , and the full trays 2 on the full tray transport conveyor 31 that are transferred onto the rotating drum 4 . and a tray transfer means 33 for transferring the empty tray 2 on the rotary drum 4 onto the empty tray transport conveyor 32. and a tray holding portion 42 provided on the outer peripheral portion of the drum 4 . 4, the shell eggs E on the actual tray 2 are dropped into the liquid W, and then the empty tray 2 is transferred to the tray transfer means 33. Compared to the case of throwing into the liquid W, not only is it possible to reduce the shock received by the shell eggs E when they are supplied into the liquid W, but also the recovery of the empty tray 2 is facilitated.

<Effect of Embodiment-2>
Further, since a plurality of tray holding portions 42 are arranged in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating drum 4, the actual trays 2 are sequentially held by the plurality of tray holding portions 42 arranged in the circumferential direction, and the shelled eggs E are liquidized. It can be efficiently supplied into W.

<Effect of Embodiment-3>
In addition, since the number of tray holders 42 arranged in the circumferential direction is 6 or more, the shelled eggs E can be gently thrown into the liquid W (see paragraphs [0045] and [0046] for the reason).

<Effect of Embodiment-4>
Further, since the tray holding portion 42 holds a plurality of trays 2 arranged in the central axis direction, the number of trays 2 held simultaneously by the rotary drum 4 is further increased, and productivity is enhanced.

<Effect of Embodiment-5>
In addition, the tray 2 includes a plurality of recesses 21 for holding shelled eggs E, a plurality of protrusions 22 formed between the recesses 21, and upper holes 221 formed in the upper surfaces of the protrusions 22. , the tray holding portion 42 includes an inner claw chuck 461 that switches between a diameter-reduced state that allows insertion into the upper hole 221 and a diameter-expanded state that engages with the upper hole 221 from the inside. Since the tray 2 is held by the upper hole 221 of the tray 2, the tray 2 can be held.

<Effect of Embodiment-6>
In addition, the inner claw chuck 461 is maintained in the expanded state by the biasing force of the spring 461f, and is switched to the contracted state against the biasing force of the spring 461f when the tray holding portion 42 is at the tray transfer position. , the tray 2 can be reliably held while the rotary drum 4 is rotating while allowing the tray 2 to be transferred at the tray transfer position.

<Effect of Embodiment-7>
In addition, since the inner claw chuck 461 is allowed to move in the circumferential direction and the central axis direction within a predetermined dimension range with respect to the tray holding portion 42 , the position of the upper hole 221 varies depending on the manufacturer of the tray 2 . Even if there is, the inner claw chuck 461 can be reliably inserted into the upper hole 221 and the tray 2 can be chucked by the minute movement of the inner claw chuck 461 within the range of the predetermined dimension.

<Effect of Embodiment-8>
The inner surface of the convex portion 22 of the tray 2 has a taper 222 that becomes wider toward the bottom. Since the inner claw chuck 461ca is provided, the inner claw chuck 461 can be reliably inserted into the upper hole 221 and the tray 2 can be chucked in combination with the minute movement of the inner claw chuck 461 .

<Effect of Embodiment-9>
In addition, since the central axis 41 is positioned at approximately the same height as the liquid surface WL of the liquid W or within the liquid W, the shell eggs E on the actual tray 2 are gently fed into the liquid W, It is possible to prevent the shelled egg E from cracking due to impact.

<Effect of Embodiment-10>
Further, since the rotating drum 4 is provided with fins 47 that generate a water flow in the liquid W according to the rotation of the rotating drum 4, the flow of the shelled eggs E in the liquid W can be controlled.

<Effect of Embodiment -11>
Further, the tray 2 has a bottom hole 211 formed in the bottom surface of the recess 21 , and the fins 47 are provided inside the rotary drum 4 and allow the water flow generated according to the rotation of the rotary drum 4 to pass through the bottom hole 211 . Since the shell eggs E are ejected to the outside of the rotating drum 4 via the , the timing of dropping the shell eggs E from the tray 2 can be arranged, and collision between the shell eggs E can be suppressed.

<Effect of Embodiment -12>
The tray holding portion 42 also includes a tray support plate 45 that supports the bottom surface of the tray 2. The tray support plate 45 has a plurality of ejection holes 451 provided corresponding to the positions of the bottom holes 211 of the tray 2 that it supports. , and the fins 47 eject the water flow generated according to the rotation of the rotating drum 4 to the outside of the rotating drum 4 through the ejection holes 451 of the tray support plate 45 and the bottom holes 211 of the tray 2. can prevent the tray 2 from coming off the rotating drum 4 in the liquid W by hitting the bottom surface of the tray 2.

<Effect of Embodiment -13>
In addition, the water tank 5 includes a bottom surface 51, an inclined surface 52 that guides the shelled eggs E dropped from the rotating drum 4 to the bottom surface 51, and a shell egg E in the liquid W that extends from the bottom surface 51 to the outside of the liquid W. to the outside of the liquid W, and since the shelled eggs E near the bottom surface 51 are placed on the discharge conveyor 53 by the water flow generated by the fins 47, a separate nozzle or pump that generates water flow becomes unnecessary, and the number of parts and cost can be reduced.

<Effect of Embodiment -14>
Further, the rotating drum 4 stops rotating each time the tray holding portion 42 reaches the upper limit tray transfer position, and the full tray transport conveyor 31 and the empty tray transport conveyor 32 move the trays at the tray transfer position in plan view. The tray transfer means 33 are arranged in parallel with the holding portion 42 interposed therebetween, and consist of a full tray chuck mechanism 331 capable of lifting and lowering for holding and releasing the full tray 2 and an empty tray chuck mechanism 331 capable of lifting and lowering holding and releasing the empty tray 2 . A tray chuck mechanism 332 and a lateral movement mechanism 333 for integrally laterally moving the full tray chuck mechanism 331 and the empty tray chuck mechanism 332 are provided. When positioned above, the empty tray chuck mechanism 332 is positioned on the tray holding portion 42 at the tray transfer position, and when the actual tray chuck mechanism 331 is positioned on the tray holding portion 42 at the tray transfer position, the empty tray chuck is positioned. Since the mechanism 332 is positioned on the empty tray transport conveyor 32, it is possible to supply full trays 2 and take out empty trays 2 by one lateral movement mechanism 333, thereby reducing the number of parts and cost.

Although the present invention has been described using the embodiments, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. In addition, it is clear from the description of the scope of the claims that forms with such modifications or improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 shell egg automatic supply device 2 tray 21 concave portion 211 bottom hole 22 convex portion 221 upper hole 222 taper 3 tray transport device 31 full tray transport conveyor 32 empty tray transport conveyor 33 tray transfer means 331 full tray chuck mechanism 331a lifting frame 331b Chuck frame 331c Chuck member 331d Chuck cylinder 332 Empty tray chuck mechanism 332a Lifting frame 332b Chuck frame 332c Chuck member 332d Chuck cylinder 333 Lateral movement mechanism 333a Lateral movement frame 333b Guide rail 333c Crank mechanism 333d Lateral movement motor 4 Rotating drum 41 Center shaft 42 tray holder 43 end plate 431 long hole 44 tray holder frame 441 insertion hole 45 tray support plate 451 ejection hole 46 tray chuck device 461 inner claw chuck 461a inner claw member 461b taper rod
461ba taper portion 461c first case
461ca guide portion 461d second case 461f spring 461g screw 462 connecting member 463 switching operation portion 464 push-up member 464a V-groove portion 47 fin 48 disk 5 water tank 51 bottom surface 52 inclined surface 53 discharge conveyor E egg in shell W liquid WL liquid surface A rotation direction

Claims (9)

An automatic shell egg feeder for automatically feeding shell eggs into a liquid,
Equipped with a tray conveying device, a rotating drum, and a water tank,
The water tank stores the liquid,
The tray transport device is
a full tray transport conveyor for transporting full trays, which are trays on which the plurality of shell eggs are placed;
an empty tray conveying conveyor for conveying the empty tray, which is the tray on which the shell eggs are not placed;
Tray transfer means for transferring the full trays on the full tray transport conveyor onto the rotating drum and transferring the empty trays on the rotating drum onto the empty tray transport conveyor,
The rotating drum is
a central axis serving as the center of rotation of the rotating drum;
and a tray holding portion provided on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating drum,
The tray holding section holds the full tray transferred from the full tray conveyer by the tray transfer means, and moves the shell eggs on the full tray according to the rotation of the rotating drum. An automatic egg-in-shell feeder for transferring the empty tray to the tray transfer means after dropping it into the liquid. The tray is
a plurality of recesses for holding the shell eggs;
a plurality of protrusions formed between the recesses;
and an upper hole formed in the upper surface of the protrusion,
The tray holding portion has an inner claw chuck that switches between a diameter-reduced state that allows insertion into the upper hole and a diameter-expanded state that engages with the upper hole from the inside, and the tray is held through the inner claw chuck. The automatic shell egg feeder according to claim 1, which holds a The inner jaw chuck is maintained in the diameter-expanded state by the biasing force of the biasing member, and when the tray holding portion is at the tray transfer position, the inner-claw chuck is in the diameter-reduced state against the biasing force of the biasing member. 3. The shell egg automatic feeder of claim 2, wherein the automatic shell egg feeder is switchable. 4. The automatic shell egg feeder according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said inner claw chuck is allowed to move in said circumferential direction and said center axis direction within a predetermined dimension range with respect to said tray holding portion. The inner surface portion of the convex portion has a taper that becomes wider toward the bottom,
The shell-on egg automatic feeder according to claim 4, wherein the inner-claw chuck has a guide part that abuts against the taper and guides the inner-claw chuck to the upper hole. The shell egg automatic feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rotating drum includes fins that generate a water flow in the liquid as the rotating drum rotates. The tray is
a plurality of recesses for holding the shell eggs;
a bottom hole formed in the bottom surface of the recess,
7. The shell according to claim 6, wherein said fins are provided inside said rotating drum and eject said water flow generated according to rotation of said rotating drum to the outside of said rotating drum through said bottom hole. with automatic egg feeder. The tray holding unit includes a tray support plate that supports the bottom surface of the tray,
The tray support plate has a plurality of ejection holes provided corresponding to the positions of the bottom holes of the tray to be supported,
8. The automatic shell egg feeder according to claim 7, wherein said fins eject said water flow generated in response to rotation of said rotating drum to the outside of said rotating drum through said ejection hole and said bottom hole. The rotating drum stops rotating each time the tray holding unit reaches an upper limit tray transfer position,
The full tray transport conveyor and the empty tray transport conveyor are arranged in parallel across the tray holding portion at the tray transfer position in a plan view,
The tray transfer means is
a full tray chuck mechanism capable of lifting and lowering for holding and releasing the full tray;
an empty tray chuck mechanism capable of lifting and lowering for holding and releasing the empty tray;
a lateral movement mechanism for integrally laterally moving the full tray chuck mechanism and the empty tray chuck mechanism;
The lateral movement mechanism is
When the full tray chuck mechanism is positioned on the full tray transport conveyor, the empty tray chuck mechanism is positioned on the tray holding portion at the tray transfer position, and the full tray chuck mechanism is positioned at the tray transfer position. The shell egg automatic supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the empty tray chuck mechanism is positioned on the empty tray conveyer when positioned on the tray holding section.

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