JP2528347Y2 - Agricultural sorting equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for sorting agricultural products, and more particularly, to a structure of a sorting apparatus which can speed up sorting of agricultural products by weight.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a sorting device for sorting various agricultural products such as carrots, tomatoes, potatoes and the like by weight, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-69.
A sorting apparatus of the same type as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 690 is widely practiced. This will be described with reference to symbols. As shown in FIG. 2, the agricultural products 23 are placed one by one on the tray (receiver) 1, and while the tray 1 is being conveyed by the endless rotating chain 2, the protrusion (slider) 7 protruding from the tray 1 is moved. The guide 7 is slid on a guide (guide rail) 8 so that the protrusion 7 is weighed as shown in FIG.
When the weight of the pan 1 is heavier than the weight set by the weight 11 in the state of being transferred to the important portion (complementary rail) 8 ′ of the twelve 12, the operating rod 10 rotates downward around the fulcrum 9,
However, the saucer 1 is rotated downward by dropping from the important portion 8 ', and the agricultural products 23 on the saucer 1 are dropped and sorted.

FIG. 11 shows a projection 7 in the above-mentioned conventional means.
Indicates the operation when the user drops out of the important point 8 ′. The protrusion 7 slides on the right guide 8 in the direction of the arrow and moves onto the important point 8 '(see reference numerals a and b). Here, saucer 1
If the weight on the side is heavier than the weight set by the weight 11, the weighted portion 8 'falls from the solid line position to the chain line position due to the load. Next, the projection 7 slides from the position C to the position D, cannot fall on the left guide 8, and falls off from the important point 8 ', and the pan 1 loses support and rotates in the direction of the arrow, and the pan 1 The agricultural products 23 are sorted by dropping. Next, the focus portion 8 ′ is rotated upward by the weight moment of the weight 11, rises and returns to the position indicated by the solid line, and waits for the next projection 7 to arrive.

When the weight of the pan 1 is lighter than the set weight of the weight 11, the focus portion 8 'does not descend, and the projection 7 is transferred from the focus portion 8' onto the left guide 8 as it is. To the weighing machine 12.

[0005]

In this kind of sorting apparatus, in order to increase the sorting operation efficiency (the number of sorting per unit time), the conveying speed of the tray 1 by the endless chain 2 must be increased. No. However, if the transport speed is increased, in FIG. 11, the next projection 7 arrives on the important point 8 'before the important point 8' completely returns from the dashed line position to the solid line position. Therefore, the tray 1 must be conveyed slowly so that the next projection 7 arrives on the important portion 8 'after the important portion 8' is completely lifted and returned. This is a main reason that the work efficiency cannot be improved. Had become.

As means for improving the work efficiency, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-201688,
There is a two-way means for arranging two receivers side by side, and according to such means, the working efficiency can be doubled. However, the use of the dual means increases the size of the apparatus and increases the cost. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a means for easily increasing the efficiency of sorting agricultural products.

[0007]

According to the present invention, sliders 59 of receivers 53 adjacent to each other in the forward and rearward directions with respect to the traveling direction are alternately protruded left and right, and guide rails on which the sliders 59 slide. 54 are disposed along the left and right endless rotation chains 51 and the weighing device 61 provided with the complementary rails 61a is disposed along these left and right guide rails 54, so that the receiver 53 is weighed. The left and right weighers 61
Alternately.

[0008]

According to the above construction, since the sliders 59 of the adjacent receivers 53 are alternately transferred to the complementary rails 61a of the left and right weighing devices 61, every other receiver 5 is mounted on the complementary rail 61a.
The third slider 59 moves. Therefore, even if the transport speed of the receiver 53 is increased, the slider 59 can be reliably transferred to the complementary rail 61a that has returned to the raised position, and the transport speed of the receiver 53 is doubled as compared with the conventional means, so that the sorting operation efficiency is substantially reduced. Can be doubled.

[0009]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of an agricultural product sorting apparatus, and FIG.
Is a side view of the same. The sorting apparatus includes a sorting unit A that sorts agricultural products (for example, carrots) P by weight, and a supply unit B that supplies the agricultural products P to the sorting unit A.

The sorting section A includes a pair of left and right endless rotating chains 5.
1 and a rotating shaft 5 bridged over the endless rotating chain 51.
2 and a projecting receiver 53 whose front end on the traveling side is rotatably supported by the rotating shaft 52. In this embodiment, the object to be sorted is a carrot, and thus the recipient 53
Is a container type, but when selecting flowers such as chrysanthemums, roses, and carnations, the receiver is, for example, 1-696.
No. 89 discloses an arm-shaped support arm disclosed in FIG. That is, the shape of the receiver is changed depending on the sorting target.

In FIG. 1, guide rails 54 are provided on the left and right along the endless rotating chain 51. On the side of the guide rail 54, weighers 61 are arranged at a pitch. As shown in FIG.
Is composed of a complementary rail 61a that complements a cutout part cut away from the guide rail 54, an arm 61b that extends laterally from the complementary rail 61a, and a weight 61c that is loaded on the distal end of the arm 61b. Made up of Arm 6
1b is rotatably supported by a rotation shaft 61e provided on a bracket 61d. 61f is a stopper for defining an upper rotation limit of the arm 61b, 61g is a stopper for defining a lower rotation limit, and 62 is a bracket 6
1d is an angle material to be fixed. Of course, as the weighting means, for example, another method shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-137790 can be applied.

Reference numeral 59 denotes a slider protruding from the receiver 53. As shown in FIG. 1, the sliders 59 of the receiver 53 adjacent to each other in the front and rear direction with respect to the traveling direction are alternately protruded left and right, and the upper sliders 59a, 59c, 59 in FIG.
e slide on the upper guide rail 54 and are weighed by the upper scale 61. Also, the lower slider 59b,
59d slide on the lower guide rail 54 and are weighed by the lower weighing device 61. Next, the detailed structure of the supply unit B will be described with reference to FIGS.

Reference numeral 11 denotes an endless band such as a pair of left and right endless chains that rotate along sprockets 13 and 14. A plurality of rods 12 are attached at a pitch.
The endless belt 11 and the rods 12 are used as a conveyor 1 for the agricultural product P.
0. The sprocket 6 of the sorting section A and the chain 7 are tuned to the sprocket 13, and the endless conveyor 51 and the conveyor 10 are driven by the same motor 5 and rotate synchronously. Of course, the conveyor 10 may be driven by an independent motor. A pinion 33 is mounted on the rod 12 (see FIG. 5). This pinion 33
Is engaged with a rack 34 provided along the steep portion 10B, and the rod 12 moves upward while rotating in the direction of arrow N (see also FIG. 6). A projection 39 is provided on the peripheral surface of the rod-shaped body 12.

In FIG. 2, the upstream side of the conveyor 10 is a horizontal section 10A, and the downstream side is a steep section 10B. A plate-shaped fall prevention member 15 for agricultural products P is provided along the transport surface of the conveyor 10. In FIG. 3, 29 is a cover body of the endless belt 11 and the sprockets 13 and 14, and 21 is a support frame. The operator randomly inputs the agricultural products P onto the horizontal portion 10A. Alternatively, agricultural products P are supplied to the horizontal portion 10A from a washing machine (not shown) or the like.

In the steep part 10B, the fall prevention member 1
An opening 16 is partially notched near the side of 5, and a roller 17 is provided immediately below the opening 16 as a means for removing excess agricultural products P (FIG. 5, FIG. 5).
See FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 6, the roller 17 is pivotally mounted on a swing arm 18, and the swing arm 18 is connected to a rod 20 of a solenoid 19 as driving means. 21 is a rotation axis. In FIG.
When 0 is retracted, the roller 17 rotates clockwise, and the extra agricultural product PS1 on the rod 12 and conveyed upward.
Is lifted from below and dropped downward (see also FIG. 5B).

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 25 denotes a frame extended over the cover body 29. An optical detecting means 26 is provided near the side of the frame 25 opposite to the opening 16.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 31 denotes a rotating shaft on which the endless belt 11 is adjusted, and a rotating plate 35 is mounted. A sensor 36 is provided on a side portion of the rotating plate 35,
The light shielding portion 35a protruding from the rotating plate 35 is detected (FIG. 8).
See also). The rotating plate 35 rotates in synchronization with the travel of the rod 12, and a sensor 36 is provided at a timing at which the rod 12 is detected by the detection means 26.
Is designed to detect the light shielding portion 35a. That is, the sensor 36 and the rotating plate 35 serve as a detecting means of the rod-shaped body 12.

In FIG. 3 and FIG.
Inside the roll 41 as means for holding the agricultural product P
Is provided. The roll 41 is pivotally mounted on a swing arm 42, and the rear end of the swing arm 42 is connected to a rod 44 of a solenoid 43. 45 is a rotation axis. When the rod 44 is retracted, the swing arm 42 rotates clockwise and presses the agricultural product P which should not be dropped so as not to fall. The roll 41 is formed of an elastic material such as sponge or rubber so as not to damage the agricultural product P. Note that, without providing the solenoid 43, the roll 41 may be elastically held by a spring material, and the roll 41 may be pressed against the agricultural product P by the spring force of the spring material.

FIG. 10 is an electric circuit diagram. The solenoids 19 and 43, the detecting means 26, and the switch sections 26a and 36a of the sensor 36 are connected in series to a control section 46. When the rod-shaped body 12 comes directly below the detecting means 26 and is detected by the detecting means 26, the switch 26a of the detecting means 26 closes, but at that timing, the sensor 36 is shielded from light, so the switch 36a does not close. . Thus, the circuit remains open and the solenoids 19, 43 do not operate.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the agricultural product P comes directly below the detecting means 26 and is detected by the detecting means 26, the switch 26a is closed. At this time, the sensor 36 is not shielded from light, so that the switch 36a is also closed. Accordingly, the solenoids 19 and 43 are operated, and the roller 17 rotates clockwise in FIG. 6 to lift the agricultural product P on the rod 12 from below, and the roll 41 in FIG.
Rotates clockwise, and presses the agricultural product P from above so as to prevent the agricultural product P from being thrown out by the roller 17 and falling. As described above, in the present means, since the detecting means 26 cannot discriminate the agricultural product P from the rod 12, the sensor 36 and the rotating plate 35 which are the detecting means for the rod 12 are provided.
When the bar 6 detects the rod 12, the removing means 17 is not operated.

The present apparatus has the above-described configuration, and the operation will be described next. The agricultural product P randomly input to the horizontal portion 10A enters between the rods 12 and is conveyed to the sorting section A. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, when a plurality of agricultural products P <b> 1 and P <b> 2 are stacked between the rods 12, the rods 12 are
In the steep portion 10B, the surplus agricultural products P2 fall downward, and only the agricultural products P1 are conveyed upward while being pushed up by the rods 12. In this case, since the projection 39 is provided on the rod-shaped body 12, the surplus agricultural product P2 can be more reliably dropped.
Of course, various shapes of the projections are conceivable, and the same effect can be obtained by using a rod-shaped body having irregularities on the peripheral surface.

As shown in FIG. 5 (a), when a large agricultural product PL comes under the detecting means 26 and is detected, the solenoids 19 and 43 are activated, and the roller 17 is moved to the left end of the agricultural product PL. The part 41 is lifted from below, and at the same time, the roll 41 presses the agricultural product PL from above. Therefore, this agricultural product PL is conveyed upward as it is without falling downward, supplied to the receiver 53 of the sorting unit A, and weighed and sorted by the weighing device 61. The roll 41 is provided to prevent a large agricultural product PL that should not fall down from being erroneously dropped. Even without the roll 41, the large agricultural product PL can be rolled. The roll 41 need not be provided because it is hardly dropped by the lifter 17 and falls downward.

As shown in FIG. 5 (b), there are cases where a plurality of small agricultural products PS1 and PS2 are pushed up by the rods 12 and conveyed. In this case, when the right agricultural product PS2 is detected by the detecting means 26, the solenoids 19 and 43 operate, the roller 17 rotates clockwise in FIG. It is lifted and falls downward. Therefore,
Only the agricultural product PS2 on the right is transported upward as it is, supplied to the receiver 53 of the sorting unit A, and weighed and sorted by the weighing device 61. As described above, according to the present apparatus, the conveyor 1
If agricultural products P are randomly input to the horizontal portion 10A of 0,
The agricultural products P can be supplied one by one to the receiver 53 of the sorting unit A.

The receiver 53 moves to the left in FIG.
The slider 59 is moved from the guide rail 54 to the complementary rail 61a.
When the weight on the receiver 53 is heavier than the weight set by the weight 61c, as described with reference to FIG. 11, the complementary rail 61c is lowered by the load on the receiver 53 to move the slider. 59 falls off the supplementary rail 61c, the receiver 53 rotates downward, and the agricultural products P are dropped and sorted.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the present means, the sliders 59 are alternately projected right and left. Therefore, every other slider 59a, 5
9c, 59e... Are sequentially transferred to the lower complementary rail 6
1a has every other slider 59b, 59d, 59f
・ ・ Transfer in order. Therefore, the distance d between the sliders 59 is long (twice that of the conventional means), and after the slider (for example, the slider 59a) on the complementary rail 61a is transferred, the complementary rail 61a is not moved until the next slider 59c is transferred. It can fully return to the raised position. In other words, the transfer speed of the receiver 53 may be double the speed of the conventional means, and the sorting operation efficiency can be greatly increased.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the sliders 59 of the receiver 53 adjacent to the front and rear in the traveling direction are alternately protruded left and right, and the guide rails 54 on which the sliders 59 slide are provided. By arranging right and left along the left and right endless rotating chains 51 and weighing devices 61 along these left and right guide rails 54, the weighing of the receiver 53 is alternately performed by the left and right weighing devices 61. Therefore, the conveying speed of the receiver 53 can be increased, and the sorting operation efficiency can be greatly increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the agricultural product sorting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the agricultural product sorting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a supply unit of the agricultural product sorting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of the agricultural product sorting device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a main part.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a driving unit.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a driving unit.

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an electric circuit.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the weighing means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 51 Endless rotating chain 53 Receiver 54 Guide rail 59 Slider 61 Scale 61a Complementary rail

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A pair of left and right endless rotation chains 51, a receiver 53 for agricultural products P rotatably mounted on the endless rotation chain 51 via a rotation shaft 52, and an endless rotation chain 51. A guide rail 54, a slider 59 protruding from the receiver 53 and sliding on the guide rail 54, and a plurality of scales 61 provided along the guide rail 54. If the weight of the receiver 53 is heavier than the weight set by the weighing device 61,
The complementary rail 61a on which the slider 59 is transferred is the receiver 5
The slider 59 is dropped by the load on the third side to drop the slider 59 from the supplementary rail 61a, and the receiver 53 is rotated downward so that the agricultural product P placed on the receiver 53 is dropped and sorted. In the sorting device, the slider 59 of the receiver 53 adjacent to the front and rear in the traveling direction
The guide rails 54 on which the slider 59 slides are arranged left and right along the left and right endless rotating chains 51, and the weighing device 61 is connected to the left and right guide rails 54. Characterized in that the receivers 53 are alternately weighed by the right and left weighing devices 61 by being disposed along the same.