JP2535374B2 - Floating control device for seeds - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a granular material that is small and light enough to be lifted by air pressure and air flow, such as grains and vegetables.
Seeds of fruits, flowers, etc., semiconductor chips, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as “seeds, etc.”) from a seeds receiving portion containing a large number of seeds, etc.
The present invention relates to a floating control device for seeds or the like that is lifted to a certain height by air to bring it into a floating state, and can be used, for example, by being incorporated in a line of a sowing device.

[Conventional technology]

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a seeding device is known in which seeds contained in a container are adsorbed to a large number of nozzles by utilizing a vacuum, and the adsorbed seeds are dropped to each divided position of a nursery bed by releasing the vacuum. (JP-A-60-94006).

In the conventional device, a large number of seeds are put in one container, and an adsorber having a large number of nozzles comes down to adsorb the seeds one by one to each nozzle. However, because the frictional force due to the contact of the seeds acts between the many seeds placed in the container, the free movement of the seeds is restrained, and all the nozzles can surely adsorb the seeds. Not exclusively. In order to reduce this problem, conventionally, by vibrating the container and vibrating the seeds, each child itself is moved, and the friction coefficient between the seeds is changed from static to dynamic. I was devised so that I could move freely.

However, even if the seed is vibrated, it is still not possible for all the suction nozzles to suck the seed,
In the nursery bed, there were mixed compartments in which seeds were sown and areas in which seeds were not sown, resulting in a decrease in seeding efficiency.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

The problem with the conventional device is that seeds are put in one container, so that the gravity acting on each seed is supported by the reaction force acting on the contact point between the seeds and finally supported by the container. The action and reaction forces acting on the contact points of are generated by restraining each child. Vibration acts to reduce this inter-seed force, but it cannot be eliminated.

The present invention, by placing the seeds or the like in a floating state, balances the gravity acting on the seeds and the like with the levitation force by the air, and the action between the seeds and the like to support the weight of the seeds, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide a floating device for making the seeds, etc., zero, and thereby releasing the restraint of the seeds, etc., so that the seeds, etc. can move essentially freely.

However, since many nozzles for adsorbing seeds etc. are at the same height as each other, all of the nozzles can move freely. It is necessary to control the height to be a constant height, and an object of the present invention is to provide a floating control device for seeds and the like that can control the floating height to a constant height.

[Means for achieving the task]

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned subject is achieved by the following floating control device for seeds and the like. That is, an elongated hole extending in the lateral direction is formed inside, and a seed receiving portion that extends along the elongated hole and opens upward is formed in the upper portion. A block in which a slot is formed that connects the elongated hole and the seed receiving portion therebetween and extends along the elongated hole; and is fluidly connected to the elongated hole of the block to connect the seed and the seed to each other. Air supply means for supplying to the oblong hole an amount of air required to be lifted by air from the equal receiving portion; air provided in the slot of the block and supplied from the air supplying means into the oblong hole Rectifying means for rectifying the flow of air when flowing out to the seed receiving portion through the slot; provided above the lowermost part of the seed receiving portion of the block and passing through the rectifying means. And a level detection sensor for detecting the vertical position of a seed or the like in a floating state lifted upward from the seed or the like receiving section by the air flowing out to the seed or the like receiving section; A level control valve for controlling the amount of air supplied from the air supply means to the oblong hole of the block so that the lifting position of the seed etc. by the air has a constant height; Control device.

[Action]

In the above-mentioned device of the present invention, a large number of seeds and the like are put in the seed and the like receiving portion. The seeds etc. do not fall into the oblong holes because of the rectifying means. A large amount of air is supplied from the air supply means into the oblong holes of the block at low pressure. The air supplied to the long holes is rectified by the rectifying means through the slot, is made uniform over the entire plane of the slot, and flows out to the seed receiving portion, and lifts the seed and the like upward from the seed receiving portion and floats. The lifting height of seeds and the like is detected by a level detection sensor, and a signal is fed back so that the height becomes constant, and the level control vibrator controls the air amount.

According to the test, the seeds lifted by the air from the slot float while maintaining a flat horizontal state just above the slot, drop almost downward from the end of the flat horizontal surface, and receive the seed receiving part again. Return to. The seeds in the floating state are adsorbed by bringing a large number of adsorption nozzles aligned at the same height relatively close to the seeds floating in the horizontal plane with the same plane area as the slot plane area. Adsorbed on the nozzle.

A large number of seeds, etc. floating at a fixed lifting height while maintaining a substantially horizontal state have a balance between the gravitational force acting on each child and the floating force of air, and the vertical force is zero,
In addition, the majority of them have a space between adjacent seeds, etc., and even if they come into contact with adjacent seeds during flowing, the vertical force is zero, so that the movements do not restrain each other and the horizontal direction is easy. , Which allow them to move easily and smoothly with essentially no binding force between them. Therefore, all the suction nozzles can surely suck one seed or the like.

Such a technical idea of adsorbing seeds and the like in a floating state is a novel idea that has never existed before.
Further, the fact that the suspended seeds and the like maintain a horizontal state makes it possible to exert a great effect in connecting with the adsorption device for the seeds and the like.

〔Example〕

Preferred embodiments of a seed floating control apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outline of a seeding device partially including the seed floating control device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing only a block of the seed floating control device in FIG. (When viewed from above), and FIG. 3 shows only the adsorption device in FIG. 1 in plan view (when viewed from below).

In FIG. 1, the floating controller 10 for seeds, etc. is a block.
It is composed of 20, an air supply means 30, a rectification means 40, a level detection sensor 50, and a level control valve 60. The seeding device includes a seed or the like floating control device 10 and an adsorption device 70 at the subsequent stage.

The block 20 has an elongated hole 22 extending horizontally in the lateral direction. At the upper part of the block 20, a seed receiving part 24 is formed which extends in the same direction as the elongated hole 22 and is open upward (FIG. 2). The seed receiving part 24 has a wider interval toward the upper part. It has a pair of tapered surfaces 24a and 24b. In the block 20, a slot 26 is formed between the elongated hole 22 and the seed receiving portion 24 to connect the elongated hole 22 and the seed receiving portion 24 and extend in the same direction as the elongated hole 22. Both ends in the longitudinal direction of the long hole 22 are closed. The horizontal width of the slot 26 is constant at all positions in the vertical direction. The upper end of the slot 26 is connected to the tapered surfaces 24a and 24b of the seed receiving tray 24.

The air supply means 30 is fluidly connected to the elongated hole 22 of the block 20 and supplies air to the elongated hole 22. The air supply means 30 is
An air source 32 such as an air blowing means such as a blower or an air cylinder,
And a pipe 34 connecting it to the slot 22 of the block 20. The capacity of the air source 32 is selected so as to have a pressure and an air volume required to lift the seeds 80 from the seed receiving portion 24 to the required height by air.

In the slot 26 of the block 20, the air 90 supplied to the elongated hole 22 from the air supply means 30 rectifies the flow of the air 90 when flowing out to the seed receiving portion 24 through the slot 26, the rectifying means 40. Is provided. The rectifying means 40 also prevents the seeds 80 from dropping from the seed receiving portion 24 through the slots 26 into the slot 22 by its own weight. The rectifying means 40 is composed of, for example, an air-permeable bronze filter obtained by sintering a large number of small bronze spheres, and rectifies the turbulent flow by eliminating it. The small spherical bronze sintered filter does not damage the seeds because the mesh has no corners.

The level detection sensor 50 is located above the lowermost portion of the seed receiving portion 24, and at a position that does not hinder the movement of the seeds that are lifted or dropped from the seed receiving portion 24 (the lateral position of these moving seeds). It is provided in. Level detection sensor 50
Is for detecting the vertical position of the seeds 80 in a floating state which are lifted up by air from the seeds receiving portion 24.

The level control valve 60 is provided in the middle of the pipe 34 of the air supply means 30, receives a signal from the level detection sensor 50 via a computer, and the level detection sensor 50 does not yet lift the seeds 80 to a certain height. When the air flow rate is detected, the air flow rate is increased, and when it is detected that the seeds 80 are lifted to a height exceeding a certain height, the air flow rate is decreased, and thus the lifting height of the seeds 80 is set to a constant height. , The amount of air supplied from the air supply means 30 to the elongated hole 22 of the block 20 is controlled. This control is feedback control.

The block 20 includes a suction device 70 by the front-back moving device 100.
It is moved back and forth toward and away from.

The suction device 70 includes a large number of suction nozzles 72 arranged in a line in a direction in which the block 20 extends and a direction orthogonal to the block 20 and a suction nozzle 72 in the direction in which the block 20 extends in a vacuum or negative direction. A plurality of suction manifolds 74 provided in a plurality of rows in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the block 20 extends, a suction negative pressure sensor 74 for detecting a negative pressure provided for each suction manifold 74, and a suction manifold 74. And a suction manifold up-and-down moving device 78 for integrally moving up and down. The suction manifold 74 is fluidly connected to a negative pressure source (not shown).

 Next, the operation of the above device will be described.

 The seeds 80 are put in the seed receiving portion 24 of the block 20.

A large amount of relatively low pressure (greater than atmospheric pressure) air is supplied from the air supply means 30 to the elongated hole 22 of the block 20. Slot 22
The air 90 supplied inside passes through the slot 26 and
It is rectified by the rectifying means 40 provided in the 26 to receive the seeds and the like.
It flows out to 24, and the seeds 80 are lifted from the seed receiving part 24 by air and flowed. The seeds 80 flow and float in the horizontal plane at the highest point of lifting, fall at the end of the horizontal plane where the air pressure is not received, and return to the seed receiving section 24. The lifting height of the seeds 80 is detected by the level detection sensor 50, and the level control valve 60 is feedback-controlled.
It is controlled to a constant height by controlling the air flow rate.

In this state, the block 20 is advanced by the front-rear moving device 100. The seeds 80 that have been floated and lifted are adsorbed by the suction nozzles 72 of the suction manifold 74 in the front row, and the suction negative pressure sensor 76 of the suction manifold 74 in the front row makes all the suction nozzles 72 of the suction manifold 74 in the front row. Surely seeds etc. 80
Is detected (it can be detected by the negative pressure and the negative pressure change speed), the block 20 is advanced to the row of the suction nozzles 72 of the next suction manifold 74 by the front-rear moving device 100, and the same as above. The suction nozzles 72 perform suction and are repeated one after another, and the suction nozzles 72 of the suction manifolds 74 in all rows complete suction of seeds and the like.

Next, the block 20 is moved backward by the front-rear moving device 100 and returned to its original position.

Subsequently, the suction manifold 74 is lowered by the suction manifold vertical movement device 78, stopped at a position corresponding to the nursery bed (not shown), and suction is released to remove seeds 80 adsorbed by the suction nozzle 72 from the nursery bed. It is dropped into a predetermined section and is returned to its original upper position by the suction manifold vertical movement device 78 again. This completes one cycle, and the above is repeated thereafter.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (A) Since it is a device that lifts seeds etc. to a certain height by air, there is essentially no binding force between the lifted seeds etc.
It is possible to adsorb seeds and the like to all adsorption nozzles.

(B) Since seeds and the like are lifted by the air that has passed through the slot and the rectifying means, a horizontal plane for lifting seeds and the like, which has almost the same area as the slot, is formed above the slot, and this horizontal plane is the flow rate of air by the level detection sensor and control valve It is maintained at a constant height by feedback control,
By these, the reliable adsorption of seeds or the like to all the adsorption nozzles becomes possible.

In the above description, the seeds and the like have been described by taking the seeds used in the seeding device as an example, but the seeds and the like are not limited to the seeds, and can be lifted by air, small and lightweight. It includes a granular material and can be applied to, for example, a semiconductor chip floating / capturing device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a seeding device including a seed floating control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a block of the seed floating control device of the device of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the adsorption device of the device of FIG. 10 …… Floating controller for seeds 20 …… Block 30 …… Air supply means 40 …… Rectification means 50 …… Level detection sensor 60 …… Level control valve 70 …… Adsorption device 80 …… Seeds 90 …… Air 100 ...... Front-back movement device

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An elongated hole extending in the lateral direction is formed inside, and a seed receiving portion that extends along the elongated hole and opens upward is formed in the upper portion. A block in which the slot is formed between the receiving part and the receiving part such that the seed and the like receiving part communicate with each other; and the seed is fluidly connected to the elongated hole of the block, Air supply means for supplying to the oblong hole an amount of air required for lifting the seeds and the like from the seed receiving portion by air; provided in the slot of the block and supplied into the oblong hole from the air supplying means. Rectifying means for rectifying the flow of air when the air flows out to the seed receiving portion through the slot; and the rectifying means provided above the lowermost portion of the seed receiving portion of the block. Rectified through A level detection sensor for detecting the vertical position of a seed or the like in a floating state that is lifted upward from the seed or the like receiving portion by the air flowing out to the seed or the like receiving portion; A level control valve for controlling the amount of air supplied from the air supply means to the oblong hole of the block so that the lifting position of the seed or the like by the air has a constant height; Floating control device for seeds.