JP2023023920A - Article sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

To relax impact on an article as much as possible, in making collecting means 5 collect the article.SOLUTION: An article sorting device 2 comprises conveying means 3 that moves article supporting means 12 that supports a vegetable 1 (an article), collecting means 5 that collects the vegetable 1 that is ejected from a predetermined ejection position B of the conveying means 3, and operating means 13 that brings the article supporting means 12 from a supporting state into an ejecting state. A cushion member 31 formed of flexible raw materials having a cylindrical shape is arranged at an ejection position for the vegetable 1 dropping from the article supporting means 12 brought into the ejecting state at the ejection position B, and a belt conveyor 32 equipped with a conveying belt 32a made of flexible raw materials is provided between the cushion member 31 and the collecting means 5. When the article supporting means 12 is brought into the ejecting state at the ejection position B, the vegetable 1 drops on the cushion member 31 and further is conveyed to the collecting means 5 through the conveying belt 32a of the belt conveyor 32.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus, and more particularly, it comprises a transport means for transporting an article by moving an article support means for supporting the article, and a recovery means for recovering the ejected article at a required ejection position of the transport means. It relates to an article sorting device.

Conventionally, vegetables and fruits are classified according to their size and sugar content before being shipped. Conveying means for conveying the vegetables by moving the article supporting means, collecting means for collecting the discharged vegetables at a required discharge position of the conveying means, and the article supporting means being changed from the supporting state to the discharging state at the discharging position. There is provided an article sorting device comprising an actuating means for actuating (Patent Documents 1 to 3).
In such an article sorting apparatus, when the article support means is placed in the discharge state, the vegetables may drop directly into the recovery means, and the vegetables may be damaged by the impact of the drop, resulting in a decrease in commercial value.
As a solution to this problem, for example, a cushioning belt conveyor is provided at the discharge position to reduce the impact on the articles falling from the article support means (Patent Document 4).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-49848 Japanese Patent No. 3660810 Japanese Patent No. 4875426 Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 53-156840

However, even with the configuration of Patent Document 4, it is not possible to completely absorb the impact on the article when it is dropped from the article support means to the cushioning belt conveyor, and further improvement has been desired.
In view of such problems, the present invention provides an article sorting apparatus capable of mitigating as much as possible the impact on the articles when the articles are collected by the collecting means.

That is, the article sorting apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 comprises a conveying means for conveying the articles by moving the article supporting means for supporting the articles, and a collecting means for collecting the discharged articles at a required discharge position of the conveying means. and an actuation means for changing the article supporting means from the supporting state to the ejecting state at the ejecting position,
A cushion member made of a flexible material having a cylindrical shape and rotatable about a rotation axis is provided at the discharge position of the conveying means, and a conveying belt is provided between the cushion member and the collecting means. provided with a belt conveyor,
When the article supporting means is brought into the discharging state at the discharging position, the articles are dropped onto the cushion member and then conveyed to the collecting means via the conveying belt of the belt conveyor. .

According to the above invention, since the cushion member made of a flexible material is provided at the article discharge position, the shock to the article dropped from the article support means is absorbed by the cushion member, and then the conveying belt made of a flexible material is further removed. Since the article is dropped onto the conveying belt of the belt conveyor having the .

Plan view of the article sorting device according to the present embodiment Side view of article sorting device Plan view for explaining article support means Side view for explaining article support means and actuation means Side view for explaining article support means and return means The top view explaining a cushion member and a belt conveyor Sectional view of the article sorting apparatus according to the second embodiment Plan view for explaining article support means Sectional drawing explaining an article|goods support means Sectional view of an article sorting apparatus according to the third embodiment

1 and 2 show an article sorting apparatus 2 as an article sorting apparatus for sorting vegetables 1, which are articles, according to grades. , and FIG. 2 shows a side view, respectively.
As the vegetables 1 to be sorted by the article sorting apparatus 2 of this embodiment, elongated vegetables 1 such as carrots and radishes are suitable, but other vegetables 1, agricultural products such as fruits, and marine products such as fish can also be sorted. be.
The article sorting device 2 includes a conveying means 3 for conveying the vegetables 1, a quality inspection means 4 for inspecting the vegetables 1 to determine the class, and the vegetables 1 discharged from the conveying means 3 according to the class. It comprises a plurality of recovery means 5 for recovery and a control means 6 for controlling them.
1 and subsequent drawings, only one recovering means 5 located upstream of the conveying means 3 is shown, and the remaining recovering means 3 are omitted.
In the article sorting apparatus 2 of this embodiment, when the operator supplies the vegetables 1 at the supply position A set on the upstream side of the conveying means 3, the quality inspection means 4 inspects the quality such as the size and sugar content of the vegetables 1. and are graded according to the results of the inspection.
A plurality of collecting means 5 are provided on the downstream side of the quality inspection means 4 in the conveying means 3, and the conveying means 3 is located at the position of the collecting means 5 corresponding to the same class of vegetables 1 (discharge position B ) discharges the vegetables 1, and each collection means 5 collects the vegetables 1 of each class.
Since the quality inspection means 4 is conventionally known, further detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The conveying means 3 includes a chain 11 provided in parallel, an article supporting means 12 moved by the chain 11, and the article supporting means 12 operated at the discharging position B to discharge the vegetables 1 to the collecting means 5. and a return means 14 for returning the actuated article support means 12 .
The chains 11 are arranged in parallel, and a circulation path is formed by a plurality of sprockets 15 as shown in FIG. Of the sprockets 15, the required sprocket 15 is a drive sprocket 15a driven by a drive motor, and the drive sprocket 15a is provided with an encoder (not shown).

The article support means 12 are provided on the chain 11 at regular intervals, and the movement path on the upper side of the drawing by the chain 11 in FIG. forms a conveying route for the vegetables 1. On the other hand, the movement path on the lower side of the drawing constitutes a return surface for circulating and returning to the conveying surface.
The control means 6 stores the position of the article supporting means 12 by means of the encoder, and also stores the grade given by the quality inspection means 4 to each of the vegetables 1 supported by the article supporting means 12. It's becoming
When the article supporting means 12 reaches the discharge position B where the required collecting means 5 is provided and the class of the vegetables 1 matches the class corresponding to the collecting means 5, the control means 6 The actuating means 13 is operated to discharge the vegetables 1 from the article supporting means 12 to the collecting means 5 .

3 to 5 are diagrams for explaining the article supporting means 12, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show two article supporting means 12 adjacent to each other in the conveying direction.
In FIG. 4, the article supporting means 12 on the left side of the drawing shows a supporting state in which the vegetables 1 are supported, and the article supporting means 12 on the right side in the drawing shows a discharging state in which the vegetables 1 are discharged.
Rod-shaped stays 11a are provided at equal intervals between the chains 11 provided in parallel with each other. A plate-shaped bracket 11b is provided at each position.
As shown in FIG. 3, the end of the bracket 11b on the upstream side in the transport direction is bent in a crank shape, and the end of the bracket 11b located on the upstream side in the transport direction and the end of the bracket 11b located on the downstream side are bent. It is designed so that it does not interfere with the part.

The article support means 12 includes a swing shaft 16 orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying means 3 , a plurality of comb-like members 17 fixed to the swing shaft 16 , and an end portion of the swing shaft 16 . and holding means 19 for maintaining the comb-shaped member 17 in the above-described supported state.
The swing shaft 16 is rotatably provided between the brackets 11b and 11b, and the comb-shaped member 17 is a rod-shaped member fixed to the swing shaft 16 at a predetermined interval. , and the tip of the comb-like member 17 faces the upstream side in the conveying direction.
As shown in FIG. 4, the comb tooth-shaped member 17 has a substantially V-shaped shape with the center protruding downward. It is positioned at a bent portion of a dogleg shape.
From this state, when the article support means 12 is changed to the discharge state, the comb tooth-shaped member 17 swings around the swing shaft 16, and the tip portion moves downward to incline the comb tooth member 17. The supported vegetables 1 roll down toward the upstream side in the conveying direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the arms 18 are fixed at both ends of the swing shaft 16, i.e., at positions sandwiching the comb-shaped member 17, and rollers 18a are provided at the tips of the arms 18. ing.
When the article supporting means 12 is placed in the ejected state, the arm 18 faces the upstream side in the conveying direction. , and the roller 18a moves downward.

The holding means 19 includes a mounting member 20 provided on one bracket 11b (bracket 11b on the lower side in FIG. 3), a rotary shaft 21 provided rotatably with respect to the mounting member 20, and a rotating shaft 21. An operating plate 22 provided at the upper end of the shaft 21, a support plate 23 provided at the lower end of the rotating shaft 21, and biasing means (not shown) for maintaining the operating plate 22 and the support plate 23 in a supported state. ) and
The rotating shaft 21 is provided vertically in FIG. 4, and the operating plate 22 and the supporting plate 23 are elongated plate-like members. is provided.
The operating plate 22 and the support plate 23 are fixed so as to face the same direction with respect to the rotating shaft 21, and the operating plate 22 and the support plate 23 are moved by the biasing means in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction (see FIG. 3). It is urged to face in the vertical direction in the drawing.
When the article support means 12 is in the supporting state, the support plate 23 supports the arm 18 adjacent to the comb tooth-shaped member 17 from below so that the arm 18 and the comb tooth-shaped member 17 are not discharged. Hold.
In order to change the article supporting means 12 from the supporting state to the ejecting state, the end portion of the operating plate 22 is pressed to rotate around the rotating shaft 21, and the supporting plate 23 is rotated integrally.
Then, since the support plate 23 is separated from the lower side of the arm 18, the arm 18 and the comb-like member 17 are swung downward by their own weight, and the article support means 12 is brought into the ejection state.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the actuating means 13 are provided along the conveying path of the article supporting means 12, and are provided at each of the discharging positions B where the vegetables 1 are discharged to the collecting means 5. ing.
The actuating means 13 is composed of a solenoid provided above the article supporting means 12, and moves the release pin 13a up and down at a position through which the holding means 19 of the article supporting means 12 pass.
When the release pin 13a is retracted to the raised position, the actuating plate 22 of the holding means 19 does not come into contact with the release pin 13a even when the article support means 12 passes through. The state is maintained.
On the other hand, if the releasing pin 13a is protruded to the lowered position, the actuating plate 22 of the holding means 19 contacts the releasing pin 13a and rotates when the article supporting means 12 passes through. can be released from below the arm 18 to bring it into the discharged state.

Here, the article supporting means 12, whose conveying surface height has been moved to the downstream end in the conveying direction by the chain 11, moves along the sprocket 15, moves downward to the return height, and then moves toward the upstream side in the conveying direction. to move.
When the article support means 12 is moved to the return height, it is reversed, and the arm 18 tries to swing in the opposite direction together with the tip of the comb tooth-shaped member 17 to return to the support state.
However, since the support plate 23 of the holding means 19 is oriented in the vertical direction in FIG. The toothed member 17 and the arm 18 cannot be returned to the supporting state.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the return means 14 constituted by a solenoid and the return pin 14a which is moved up and down by the solenoid are provided on the return side of the article support means 12 in the chain 11. A return pin 14a is provided at a position through which the means 19 passes.
As a result, the return means 14 (return pin 14a) rotates the operation plate 22 when the article support means 12 passes, and the support plate 23 is separated from the arm 18 below.
Then, the arm 18 swings together with the comb tooth-shaped member 17, and the tip falls downward, and the roller 18a provided at the tip of the arm 18 collides with the bracket 11b, whereby the article supporting means 12 is placed in the supported state. will return to

The collecting means 5 are provided in the same number as the grades assigned to the vegetables 1, and the conveying means 3 is provided with the same number of discharge positions B as the collecting means 5.
The collecting means 5 includes a curved section 5A comprising a belt conveyor having a curved conveying path, a straight section 5B comprising a belt conveyor having a straight conveying path, and a work for packing the vegetables 1 by an operator. A platform 24 is provided.
The curved portion 5A is positioned between the conveying surface and the return surface of the article supporting means 12 of the conveying means 3, and the upstream starting end is provided in the same direction as the conveying direction of the conveying means 3. As shown in FIG.
The curved portion 5A bends the conveying direction in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying means 3, thereby changing the conveying direction of the vegetables 1 by 90° and delivering them to the straight portion 5B.
In this manner, the curved portion 5A and the straight portion 5B discharge the vegetables 1 conveyed by the conveying belt 32a, which will be described later, to the side of the conveying means 3 and transfer them to the vicinity of the workbench 24. ing.

As described above, the conveying means 3 discharges the vegetables 1 supported by the article supporting means 12 to the collecting means 5 by changing the article supporting means 12 from the supporting state to the discharging state at the discharging position B. there is
When the article support means 12 is placed in the discharge state, the vegetables 1 roll down toward the upstream side in the conveying direction due to the inclined comb-like member 17. There is a problem that the vegetables 1 are damaged by the impact of the .
Therefore, in the article sorting apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, in order to reduce the impact of dropping onto the vegetables 1, the vegetables 1 are dropped from the article supporting means 12 in the discharged state at the discharging position B of the conveying means 3. A cushion member 31 made of a flexible material having a cylindrical shape and rotatably provided at the discharge position of the vegetables 1, and a conveyance made of a flexible material provided between the cushion member 31 and the collecting means 5. A belt conveyor 32 having a belt 32a is provided.
By providing the above-described configuration, when the article supporting means 12 is placed in the discharging state at the discharging position B as shown in FIG. and delivered to the collecting means 5.

More specifically, the cushion member 31 is provided rotatably about a first rotary shaft 31a, and the first rotary shaft 31a is provided in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, and is shown in FIG. A driving motor 33 provided below the cushion member 31 rotates the cushion member 31 clockwise as shown.
The length of the cushion member 31 is substantially the same as the width of the conveying means 3, and the top portion of the cushion member 31 is so high that it does not come into contact with the article supporting means 12 of the conveying means 3 in the supported state. is set to
The cushion member 31 is constructed so as to have shock absorption as a whole. It is made up of brushes with flocked bristles to ensure shock absorption.
By forming the cushion member 31 from a soft material such as a brush in this way, the vegetables 1 that have fallen onto the cushion member 31 at the discharge position are crushed by the bristles of the brush, as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. It is designed to be received so as to be buried in the member 31, and by sufficiently absorbing the impact applied to the vegetables 1 at that time, it is possible to suppress damage to the outer skin and internal damage as much as possible. .
As the soft material constituting the cushion member 31, instead of the brush, a material whose impact absorption is enhanced by foaming resin such as urethane is formed into a disc shape, and this is placed along the first rotating shaft 31a. It is good also as a structure provided with two or more. In other words, forming the cushion member 31 from a flexible material includes, in addition to the aspect of obtaining impact absorption by arranging the material like a brush, the use of a flexible material itself. is.
Further, the cushion member 31 is provided with a plurality of slits 31c along the first rotating shaft 31a, and the intervals and widths of the slits 31c are provided in accordance with the intervals and widths of the comb-shaped members 17. there is
Both ends of the cushion member 31 are provided with disk-shaped side guides 31b having a diameter larger than that of the cushion member 31, so that the vegetables 1 dropped from the article support means 12 are It is designed to prevent it from falling.
In this embodiment, the side guide 31b is fixed to the first rotating shaft 31a and configured to rotate together with the cushion member 31. The cushion member 31 may be configured to rotate with respect to the guide 31b.

The belt conveyor 32 includes a plurality of conveyor belts 32a provided at the positions of the slits 31c formed in the cushion member 31. One end of the conveyor belts 32a is connected to the first rotating shaft 31a of the cushion member 31. , and the other end is engaged with a second rotary shaft 32b provided adjacent to the cushion member 31. As shown in FIG.
Like the cushion member 31, the conveying belt 32a is made of a flexible material, and soft rubber is used in this embodiment.
The second rotating shaft 32b is provided at the same height as the rotating shaft 21 of the cushion member 31, and the conveying belt 32a is mounted on the second rotating shaft 32b so that the upper conveying surface of the conveying belt 32a is horizontal. A pulley is provided at each mounting position.
Since the first rotary shaft 31a of the cushion member 31 is driven by the drive motor 33, the belt conveyor 32 operates synchronously with the cushion member 31, and the vegetables 1 that have fallen on the belt conveyor 32 are distributed as shown in FIG. It is designed to be conveyed toward the right side of the drawing.
By using the first rotating shaft 31 a of the cushion member 31 as the driving shaft of the belt conveyor 32 in this way, the height of the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 32 can be made equal to the center height of the cushion member 31 . there is
The height of the upstream end of the first linear portion 5A of the collecting means 5 is set to the same height as the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 32, and the vegetables conveyed on the belt conveyor 32 are collected as described above. It is adapted to be transferred to rollers 5a of means 5. As shown in FIG.

The operation of the article sorting apparatus 2 having the above configuration will be described below. First, as shown in FIG. 1, at the supply position A on the upstream side of the conveying means 3, a worker supplies the vegetables 1 to the article supporting means 12 of the conveying means 3 one by one. At this time, when the vegetables 1 are long and thin vegetables 1 such as carrots, the vegetables 1 are placed in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying means 3 .
The conveying means 3 moves the article supporting means 12, and when the vegetables 1 pass the quality inspecting means 4, the quality inspecting means 4 inspects the size and sugar content of the vegetables 1 and selects the appropriate class for each vegetable 1. set.
The control means 6 stores the grade assigned to the vegetables 1, and when the article supporting means 12 supporting the vegetables 1 reaches the discharging position B where the collecting means 5 is provided, the discharging position B actuating means 13 is operated or not.
If the grade of the vegetables 1 supported by the article support means 12 does not match the grade assigned to the collection means 5 of the discharge position B in question, the control means 6 will not activate the actuating means 13 and thus the article support means. 12 passes through the discharge position B while maintaining the supported state.

On the other hand, when the grade of the vegetables 1 supported by the article support means 12 matches the grade assigned to the collection means 5 of the discharge position B, the control means 6 operates the actuation means 13 to The support means 12 is changed from the supporting state to the discharging state.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the article support means 12 approaches the upstream side of the discharge position B, the control means 6 operates the solenoid as the actuation means 13 to cause the release pin 13a to protrude downward.
As a result, the actuating plate 22 provided on the holding means 19 of the article supporting means 12 about to pass rotates while colliding with the release pin 13a, and the supporting plate 23 supporting the arm 18 rotates integrally.
As a result, the support plate 23 is released from below the arm 18, and the arm 18 swings around the swing shaft 16 integrally with the comb-like member 17, and the tip portion of the comb-like member 17 moves downward. It will be in the ejection state that has moved.

When the article support means 12 is in the ejected state and the comb-shaped member 17 is inclined, the vegetables 1 that have been supported by the comb-shaped member 17 until then roll down toward the upstream side in the conveying direction.
At the discharging position B of the conveying means 3, the cushion member 31 is provided below the moving article supporting means 12, and the vegetables 1 rolled down from the article supporting means 12 in the discharged state to the upstream side in the conveying direction. will collide with the cushion member 31 .
Here, in this embodiment, when the article support means 12 is in the ejected state and the end portion of the comb-shaped member 17 swings, the comb-shaped member 17 passes through the slit 31c formed in the cushion member 31. , the cushion member 31 does not hinder the rocking movement.
Since the tip of the comb tooth-shaped member 17 passes through the slit 31c of the cushion member 31 in this way, the vegetables 1 that have been placed on the comb tooth-shaped member 17 until then roll down toward the upstream side in the conveying direction. However, it can be made to collide with the cushion member 31 immediately, and the impact on the vegetables 1 due to the collision can be mitigated as much as possible.

Since the cushion member 31 rotates clockwise in FIG. It's becoming
Since the conveyor belt 32a constituting the belt conveyor 32 is also made of a soft material, the impact on the vegetables 1 dropped from the cushion member 31 onto the belt conveyor 32 is reduced.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the height of the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 32 is equal to the height of the first rotating shaft 32a of the cushion member 31, the drop from the cushion member 31 to the belt conveyor 32 can be reduced. Therefore, the impact on the falling vegetables 1 can be mitigated.
The vegetables 1 dropped onto the belt conveyor 32 are then transferred to the collecting means 5, and the vegetables 1 are boxed by an operator on a work table 24 provided downstream of the roller conveyor.

According to the above-described embodiment, even if the article supporting means 12 is in the discharging state at the discharging position B set at the required position of the conveying means 3 and the vegetables 1 are discharged, the discharged vegetables 1 are not made of flexible materials. The cushion member 31 made of a soft material reduces the impact of the drop, and then it falls on the belt conveyor 32 equipped with the conveyor belt 32a made of a flexible material, so that the impact until it is recovered by the recovery means 5 is reduced as much as possible. It can be done.
In particular, in this embodiment, since the comb-shaped member 17 of the article supporting means 12 passes through the slit 31c provided in the cushion member 31, the article-supporting means 12 is placed in the ejection state and the comb-shaped member 17 swings. Also, the comb-teeth member 17 and the cushion member 31 do not interfere with each other, and the vegetables 1 falling from the comb-teeth member 17 immediately contact the cushion member 31, so that the impact caused by the fall can be reduced.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the conveying belt 32a of the belt conveyor 32 is provided between the first rotating shaft 31a of the cushion member 31 and the second rotating shaft 32b provided at the same height as the first rotating shaft 31a. Therefore, the drop when the vegetables 1 collided with the upper part of the cushion member 31 and fall onto the belt conveyor 32 can be reduced, and the impact caused by the fall can be reduced.

7 to 9 show an article sorting apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment, which is equipped with a conveying means 103 having a structure different from that of the conveying means 3 of the first embodiment. In the following description, the description of the configuration common to the first embodiment will be omitted, and the code used in the first embodiment plus 100 will be used.
The conveying means 103 of the second embodiment has an article supporting means 112 between the chains 111, which is different from the structure of the first embodiment. It's becoming
The article support means 112 supports the apple 101 by means of a pair of openable/closable cups 117, and the cups 117 are moved from the supported state to the ejected state by the operating means 113 provided at the ejection position B, whereby the above-mentioned The apple 101 is dropped from the cup 117 .
The article sorting apparatus 102 of this embodiment also has the cushion member 31 and the belt conveyor 32 below the discharge position B. It is provided so as to discharge the apples 101 picked up in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction.

The article support means 112 includes a pair of openable and closable cups 117, holding means 119 for holding the cups 117 in a supported state, and operation of the holding means 119 to move the cups 117 from the supported state to the discharged state. and actuating means 113 for actuating.
The cups 117 have a shape such that a recess is formed in the center when they are in a supported state, and the base of each cup 117 is connected to a mounting plate 111a connected to the chain 111 so as to be able to swing. It is
The holding means 119 includes a rod-shaped rocking shaft 119a provided between the mounting plates 111a and the mounting plates 111a, a locking claw 119b provided at the center of the rocking shaft 119a, and the rocking shaft. and a lever 119c provided at one end of 119a.
As shown in FIG. 9, when the cup 117 is in the supported state, the locking claws 119b support the cup 117 from below, thereby maintaining the supported state of the cup 117. It's like
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the lever 119c projects upward relative to the swing shaft 119a. When the lever 119c is pressed, the swing shaft 119a rotates clockwise in FIG. there is
When the swing shaft 119a rotates, the engaging claw 119b is released from below the cup 117, the cup 117 is opened by its own weight, and the article supporting means 112 is brought into the ejecting state.

The operating means 113 is composed of a solenoid provided at the ejection position B, and the solenoid rotates a knocker 113a provided at the tip of the rotating shaft.
The knocker 113a is provided at a position through which the lever 119c provided on the article supporting means 112 passing through the ejection position B passes. be evacuated.
In order to bring the article support means 112 into the ejection state at the ejection position B, the actuation means 113 causes the knocker 113a to protrude, and the lever 119c of the article support means 112 about to pass collides with the knocker 113a.
Then, the lever 119c rotates, and the locking claw 119b is separated from the cup 117, the cup 117 is opened, and the apple 101 falls downward.

The cushion member 131 of this embodiment has the same structure as the cushion member 31 of the first embodiment except that the first rotating shaft 131a is provided in the same direction as the conveying direction of the conveying means 103. As shown in FIG.
The center of the cushion member 131 is set at a position slightly deviated from the dividing position between the cups 117 in the article supporting means 112. Specifically, in FIG. It is provided in a position biased to the side.
Although not shown, slits are formed in the cushion member 131 at predetermined intervals, and a conveyor belt 132a constituting a belt conveyor 132 is provided at the position of the slit.
The conveying belt 132a of the belt conveyor 132 is provided at the same height as the first rotating shaft 131a of the cushion member 131 and the second rotating shaft 131a provided on the right side of the cushion member 131 in the drawing. It is provided between the shaft 132b.
The cushion member 131 is rotated clockwise in the figure by the driving means (not shown), and accordingly the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 132 changes from the left to the right in the figure.

According to the article sorting apparatus 102 of the second embodiment having the above configuration, when the apple 101 is supported by the article supporting means 112 in the supporting state in the conveying means 103, the quality inspection means is applied to the apple 101. Attach the required grade.
Then, when the required equal grade apple 101 reaches the position of the corresponding equal grade recovery means 105, the operating means 113 provided at the discharge position B is activated, and the knocker 113a is projected.
When the knocker 113a presses the lever 119c of the holding means 119 constituting the article supporting means 112 and the swing shaft 119a rotates, the engaging claw 119b is separated from the cup 117, and the cup 117 opens downward. be done.
As a result, the article support means 112 is brought into the discharge state, and the apple 101 supported by the cup 117 falls downward and collides with the cushion member 131 provided at the discharge position B. As shown in FIG.
However, since the cushion member 131 is made of a flexible material, the impact of the apple 101 being dropped is reduced.
In addition, the cushion member 131 rotates clockwise in FIG. 7, and the center is provided at a position deviated from the center of the conveying means 103. Therefore, after the falling apple 101 collides with the cushion member 131, It rolls to the right side of the drawing.
Then, the rolling apple 101 falls onto the belt conveyor 132, but since the conveying belt 132a is also made of a flexible material, the impact on the apple 101 is mitigated.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 132 is also at the same height as the first rotating shaft 131a of the cushion member 131, so that the drop from the cushion member 131 to the belt conveyor 132 is small. The impact on the is softened.

FIG. 10 shows an article sorting apparatus 202 according to the third embodiment, which has a conveying means 203 having a different structure from the conveying means 3 and 103 of the first and second embodiments. In the following description, the description of the configuration common to the first and second embodiments will be omitted, and a code obtained by adding 200 to the code used in the first embodiment will be used.
The conveying means 203 of the third embodiment protrudes substantially rod-shaped support members 217 laterally (in this embodiment, on the right side in the drawing) with respect to the conveyor chain 211, and the plurality of support members 217 aligned in the conveying direction It is configured to support an article 201 (for example, a mandarin orange), and the plurality of support members 217 constitute article support means 212 .
The support members 217 are swingably provided at the ends of the stays 211a provided on the upper part of the conveyor chain 211, and the upper surface of each support member 217 is formed with a large number of protrusions made of a soft material, which can be used to store articles. 201 is supported by these numerous projections.
Here, in the case of an elongated article 201 such as a carrot, one carrot is supported by about 5 to 7 supporting members 217, and in the case of a fruit such as an apple 101, for example, about 3 to 4 supporting members 217 are used. It has come to support.

A swing shaft 216 for swingably holding the support member 217 is provided at a position biased toward the conveyor chain 211 side (hereinafter referred to as inner side) with respect to the support member 217, thereby swinging the support member 217. When the conveyor chain 211 is moved, the opposite side (hereinafter referred to as outer side) of the conveyor chain 211 moves downward due to its own weight, thereby causing the article 201 supported substantially in the center of the support member 217 to roll outward.
The support member 217 is provided with an engagement pin 217a inside the swing shaft 216, and a holding means 219 for holding the support member 217 in a supported state is swingable on the stay 211a. It is configured by a lock lever provided in the
The holding means 219 made up of the lock lever has an engaging portion 219a formed at its tip, and engages with the engaging pin 217a of the supporting member 217 to hold the supporting member 217 in a supported state. It's becoming
In the supported state, the inner end of the lock lever is spaced above the stay 211a, and when the inner end is pressed downward, the lock lever swings and the engaging portion 219a moves to the supporting position. It is detached from the engaging pin 217 a of the member 217 .
Then, the support member 217 swings about the swing shaft 119a, and the outer end portion is lowered into an inclined ejection state, so that the supported article 201 rolls outward.

The actuation means 213 is constituted by a solenoid provided in accordance with the ejection position B, and has a knocker 213a rotated by the solenoid.
The knocker 213a is provided at a position through which the holding means 219 (lock lever) of the article supporting means 212 passing through the ejection position B passes. be evacuated.
When the knocker 213a is protruded, the holding means 219 (lock lever) of the article supporting means 212 about to pass collides with the knocker 213a, the lock lever swings, and the engaging portion 219a is moved from the engaging pin 217a. Detach|separating and it will be in the discharge|ejection state which the support member 217 rocked.

The article sorting apparatus 102 of this embodiment has two upper and lower cushion members 231A and 231B at the ejection position B where the articles 201 drop from the article support means 212. As shown in FIG.
The upper cushion member 231A is provided at a position where the article 201 rolls down from the article support means 212, and the lower cushion member 231B is provided at a position where the article 201 collided with the upper cushion member 231A rolls down.
Slits are formed in the upper cushion member 231A and the lower cushion member 231B, respectively. By shifting the positions of these slits and forming them, part of the upper cushion member 231A is wrapped around the lower cushion member 231B. It has been established. This allows the upper cushion member 231A and the lower cushion member 231B to approach each other.

At the position of the slit formed in the lower cushion member 231B, a conveyor belt 232a is mounted between the first rotating shaft 231a of the lower cushion member 231B and the second rotating shaft 232b provided outside. , constitute the belt conveyor 232 .
As in the second embodiment, the first rotating shaft 231a of the cushion member 231 and the second rotating shaft 232b of the belt conveyor 232 are provided in the same direction as the conveying direction of the conveying means 203. It rotates around.
With such a configuration, when the article 201 is ejected from the article support means 212 in the ejection state to the outside of the conveying means 203, the article 201 drops onto the two cushion members 231A and 231B, and then moves to the belt conveyor 232. , to the outside of the conveying means 203 and collected by the collecting means 5 (not shown).

According to this embodiment, a plurality of cushion members 231A and 231B provided on the upper and lower sides receive the articles 201 rolling down from the article support means 212 in the discharged state, thereby mitigating the impact on the articles 201 and then 1. Dropping the article 201 onto the belt conveyor 232 in the same manner as in the second embodiment makes it possible to mitigate the impact on the article 201 as much as possible.
It should be noted that the first and second embodiments may also be provided with two upper and lower cushion members as in the third embodiment. It is good also as a structure provided with the member.

In each of the above embodiments, an article sorting apparatus for sorting carrots, apples, etc., as articles has been described. By providing the cushion member 31 and the belt conveyor 32, it is possible to reduce the impact on the falling articles.
Further, in the first to third embodiments, the rotating shaft 32a of the belt conveyor 32 is shared with the rotating shaft 31a of the cushion member 31, but the cushion member 31 and the belt conveyor 32 may be separated. However, it is desirable to arrange the cushion member 31 in consideration of the drop from the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 32 .
Further, in the first to third embodiments, the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 32 is horizontal. Excessive rolling of falling articles may be mitigated.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 vegetable (article) 2 article sorting device 3 conveying means 4 quality inspection means 5 collecting means 12 article supporting means 13 operating means 17 comb tooth-shaped member 31 cushion member 31a first rotating shaft 32 belt conveyor 32a conveying belt 32b second rotating shaft

Claims (4)

Conveying means for moving an article supporting means for supporting an article to convey the article; collecting means for collecting the discharged article at a required discharge position of the conveying means; and a state in which the article supporting means is supported at the discharge position. In an article sorting device comprising an actuation means for discharging from the
A cushion member made of a flexible material having a cylindrical shape and rotatable about a rotation axis is provided at the discharge position of the conveying means, and a conveying belt is provided between the cushion member and the collecting means. provided with a belt conveyor,
When the article support means is put in the ejection state at the ejection position, the articles fall onto the cushion member and are conveyed to the collection means via the conveyor belt of the belt conveyor. Goods sorting device. providing a plurality of slits in the cushion member along the axial direction of the rotation axis of the cushion member;
The belt conveyor is composed of a plurality of conveying belts, each conveying belt is arranged at the position of the slit of the cushion member, and each conveying belt is wound around the rotating shaft of the cushion member. The article sorting device according to claim 1. The cushion member is provided below the conveying path of the conveying means, and the rotating shaft of the cushion member is provided in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying means,
The article supporting means includes a swing shaft provided orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying means, and a plurality of comb-shaped members fixed to the swing shaft and provided in accordance with the intervals of the slits of the cushion member. and
When the actuating means shifts the article supporting means from the supporting state to the ejecting state, the comb-shaped member swings about the swing shaft to drop the article toward the cushion member. 3. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the member passes through the slit of the cushion member. 4. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cushion member is composed of a brush having a plurality of bristles.

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