JP3069978B2 - Radish weight sorter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a weight sorter for sorting relatively long crops such as radish, ginseng, burdock, etc., continuously while setting the weight of each crop.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The work of sorting harvested radish and the like by weight using a scale or the like requires a lot of manpower and a lot of time, and is heavy labor. A sorter is desired. In this type of weight sorter, a transport chain is wound endlessly on both sides of an apparatus body that is long in the transport direction, and a large number of these transport chains are parallel to the apparatus width direction and are spaced apart in the transport direction. The bucket is connected to the connecting bar, and the bucket is attached to the connecting bar so as to be swingable in the transport direction, and a chute that discharges radish from the bucket to the side of the device below the ascending sorting section of the pair of transport chains is transported. Arrange multiple in the direction,
The bucket in the ascending selection section is guided and supported by the posture holding rail to hold the bucket in the horizontal storage state, and the movable rails arranged corresponding to the chutes and continuous with the posture holding rail are detached from the posture holding rail to remove the bucket. In the related art, the movable rail is separated from the attitude holding rail by a balance type using a weight or a spring.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a conventional balance type using a weight. A roller 103 is attached to one end of a bucket 102 which is pulled and conveyed by a conveying chain 100 via a connecting bar 101. A movable rail 105 is provided for each chute 106 continuous with a posture holding rail 104 on which the 103 rolls, and a movable rail 105 is attached to one end of a balance member 108 that can swing up and down around a fulcrum 107, and to the other end. The weight 109 is attached so that the position can be freely adjusted. When the weight of the bucket 102 storing the radish acting on the movable rail 105 exceeds the weight proportional to the weight 109, the movable rail 105 tilts downward,
The support of the bucket 102 is released, and the radish falls onto the chute due to the tilt of the bucket 102. By changing the weight of the weight 109 or adjusting the position of each chute, the falling weight of each chute can be set, and radish of various weights can be dropped on each chute by weight.

[0004]

The conventional balance type weight sorter as described above has the following problems. (1) The position of the radish in the bucket in the longitudinal direction varies, thereby changing the center of gravity and the fulcrum of the radish, and the accuracy near the weight setting boundary becomes unstable due to mechanical friction of the balance member etc. Even heavy ones fall on different chutes, causing variations. (2) The adjustment work is troublesome because the working weight is set by moving the weight. (3) The set weight is [weight of weighed material + weight of empty bucket (tare)]. If the tare weight of a large number of used buckets is not constant, accurate weighing and sorting cannot be performed. Usually, there is a manufacturing error in the bucket, and in order to perform accurate weighing, it is necessary to add weights to a large number of buckets in accordance with the bucket having the largest weight, and this adjustment requires a great deal of labor. (4) To prevent measurement errors due to deposits during use,
The weight adjustment work described above must be performed frequently. (5) Sorting weight cannot be changed freely.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to accurately weigh the weight of a weighed object so that the weight can be accurately sorted and the setting operation of the weight is easy. Another object of the present invention is to provide a radish weight sorter that can be manufactured in a short time.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a conveying means which is wound endlessly on both sides of an apparatus body,
A large number of connecting bars parallel to the width direction of the apparatus for connecting the pair of conveying means and spaced in the conveying direction, a bucket attached to the connecting bar so as to be swingable in the conveying direction, and a pair of conveying means; A plurality of chutes disposed below the ascending sorting section in the transport direction to discharge radish from the bucket to the side of the apparatus, and a posture holding rail for guiding and supporting the bucket in the ascending sorting section and holding the bucket in a horizontal storage state. And a radish weight sorter provided with a movable rail that is disposed in correspondence with each of the chutes and that can separate from the attitude holding rail and tilt the bucket downward, wherein the moving bucket in the ascending sorter is provided. A weight selection section capable of measuring the weight of the chute group is provided upstream of the chute group, and an actuator for operating the movable rail by an electric signal is connected to the movable rail. And measuring the weight from the weight measuring unit, to calculate the weight of radish such from an empty bucket weight corresponding to buckets measured in advance weighed select chute, based on the weight of the calculation radish acids, gravimetric connections bucket actuates the actuator to reach the movable rail of the chute to the selected control unit for tilting the bucket provided, to connect the connecting bar and the bucket
The member is connected to the connection fitting connected to the connecting bar and the bucket.
Composed of hinges to be connected, play the swinging pieces of the hinge
And hold the connection bracket and hinge together.
A bar inserted loosely into the hole and this bar inserted
It is configured by connecting via a pipe .

[0007]

The weight of the bucket storing the radish is measured by the weight measuring unit while moving, and the measured weight is input to the control unit. In the control device is registered each empty bucket weight is measured in advance is, the measured weights, <br/> weight radish compound is calculated by the difference between the air bucket weight corresponding to the measured bucket . And weight of the calculated radish such, compared with the selection reference value of each chute chute for discharging is selected the measured radish acids. When the weighed bucket reaches the movable rail of the selected chute, the actuator is actuated to tilt the bucket. Radishes are thrown into corresponding shoots, and radishes are sorted by weight. At this time, since the hinge of the connection member can freely move with respect to the connection fitting, vibration from the connection bar can be significantly reduced while the bucket is towing the weight measuring section, and the weighing accuracy can be improved.

[0008]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention; This is an example of a weight sorter that sorts radishes into six classes. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, mainly a pair of transport chains 1, a connecting bar 2, a bucket 3, a chute 4, a posture holding rail. 5, a movable rail 6, a weight measuring unit 7, a solenoid 8, and a control device 9. The transport direction of the radish is the direction of the white arrow in FIG.
The apparatus main body is composed of two upper and lower support frames 10 which are long in the transport direction, and can be moved by wheels 10a (FIG. 2) attached to the lower surface. The side part 4 in the upper stage of the support base 10
A sprocket 11 is provided at a corner, and the sprocket 11
Is wound around the transport chain 1. A pair of sprockets 11 are mounted on the same rotating shaft 12 in the machine width direction (the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction), and the end of the rotating shaft 12 is
(FIG. 2) so that the pair of transport chains 1 are driven synchronously. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotation drive of the transport chain 1 is performed by connecting a motor 15 via a power transmission mechanism 14 such as a chain and a sprocket to a lower rotating shaft 12 in the transport direction. In addition, the rotating shaft 12 at the lower portion on the upstream side in the transport direction is disposed so as to protrude from the upper portion, and an inclined portion having an upward slope of, for example, 45 ° is formed in the upstream portion in the transport direction.

[0009] The connecting bars 2 are members parallel to the width direction of the apparatus for connecting the pair of transport chains 1, and are arranged at a predetermined pitch in the transport direction. The bucket 3 is a horizontally long container having a drain hole formed in the bottom and capable of storing a radish. The bucket 3 is disposed in parallel with the connection bar 2, and its front side plate is connected to the connection bar 2 as described later. It is connected so as to be swingable in the transport direction via the member 16 so as to be towed and transported. By the pair of transport chains 1, the connecting bar 2, the bucket 3, and the like,
In order from the upstream side in the transport direction, an inclined placement section A for carrying radish into the apparatus, an ascending sorting section B for measuring and sorting the radish, and a vertical section C and a descending section D for returning empty buckets are formed. The pair of transport chains 1 is provided with a guide plate 17 at the inclined mounting portion A.
, And is held from below by the guide plate 18 in the ascending sorting portion B, thereby preventing the chain from bending and lateral deflection (see FIG. 2). In the inclined mounting portion A, a guide rail 19 on which the bottom surface of the empty bucket 3 slides is disposed at a central portion between the pair of transport chains 1, and guides the empty bucket 3 returned by suspending the descending portion D. The radish is supported substantially parallel to the inclined surface by the rail 19 so that the radish can be continuously loaded by the carry-in conveyor or can be manually placed. The connection bar 2 is provided with a buffer member 20 made of a rubber plate that covers a gap between the connection bar 2 and the bucket 3 so that the radish to be supplied is not damaged.

Below the ascending sorting section B, six rubber chutes 4 capable of discharging the radish from the bucket 3 to the side of the apparatus are continuously arranged in the transport direction. The weight measuring section 7 is disposed between the chute group and the inclined placing section A, and the attitude holding rail 5 and the movable rail 6 are disposed only at the side end on the side opposite to the discharge side in parallel with the transport chain 1. The weight measuring unit 7 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, the wheel comprises a H-shaped measuring rail 21 and a load cell 22, and four wheels 23 are attached to the lower surface of each bucket 3 so that the weight of the moving bucket 3 can be accurately measured. The measuring rail 21 includes a pair of traveling rails 21a parallel to the transport direction,
1a comprises a support beam 21b which integrally connects the centers. The wheels 23 of the bucket 3 are provided with brackets 24 on both sides at the center of the lower surface.
3 are mounted in pairs in the transport direction so that they can roll on the traveling rail 21a. The travel rail 21a has a length that allows a pair of wheels 23 to move in the transport direction.

The load cell 22 is a strain gauge type sensor generally used for detecting weight, and has an elastic body 22a connected to the center of a support beam 21b and a base 22b.
Is attached to the support plate 25 to support the measuring rail 21. The support plate 25 is attached to the support gantry 10 via the vibration-proof rubber 26 so that the vibration of the body is not transmitted to the weight measuring unit 7. In addition, the traveling rail 21 of the measuring rail 21
Guide rails 27 are provided before and after in the transport direction of a.
The upper surface of the guide rail 27 is set several millimeters lower than the upper surface of the traveling rail 21a, and the thin plate 2
8 so that the bucket 3 smoothly moves on the measuring rail 21 so that the measuring accuracy is improved.

Further, two connecting members 16 for connecting the connecting bar 2 and the bucket 3 are arranged at two locations in the longitudinal direction of the connecting bar 2 with a gap therebetween, and as shown in FIG. It comprises a U-shaped connection fitting 29 and a hinge 30. That is, the projecting pieces 29a at both ends of the connection fitting 29
At the same time, a mounting hole 31 larger than the diameter of the threaded bar 32 for connection is formed, and the swinging pieces 30a, 30b of the hinge 30 are connected by a threaded bar 33 smaller in diameter than the normal shaft. Moving piece 30
a pipe 34 having a diameter larger than the diameter of the threaded rod 32 is fixed to the distal end of the pipe 34 by welding.
To allow the rocking piece 30b to be displaced in all directions with a relatively inexpensive and simple configuration. A connection fitting 29 is screwed to the connection bar 2, and a swinging piece 30 b is attached to the bucket 3.
Screw. With such a configuration, the bucket 3 can move freely with respect to the connecting bar 2, so that the influence of the vibration of the connecting bar 2 during towing travel by the weight measuring unit 7 can be significantly reduced, and the weighing accuracy is improved. be able to.

The posture holding rail 5 and the movable rail 6 are shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, a rail for holding and transporting the bucket 3 containing the radish, whose weight has been measured, substantially horizontally, and a roller 35 for rolling the rails 5 and 6 is provided at the rail-side end of each bucket 3. Is protruding. The roller 35 is provided on the upper side on the side opposite to the end of the bucket 3 so that the bucket 3 is slightly inclined downward toward the upstream side, and the radish in the bucket 3 is easily transferred to the chute 4. To be able to carry. The movable rail 6 is a short rail that is normally continuous with the attitude holding rail 5 and retreats horizontally during operation to release the support of the bucket 3 and tilt the bucket 3. 4-1 to 4-5 are arranged at the center in the transport direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the movable rail 6 is integrally attached to a distal end of a slide member 37 slidably supported by a support member 36, and a plunger 8a of the solenoid 8 is attached to a base end of the slide member 37. Connecting. When the solenoid 8 is operated, the plunger 8a is retracted, and the movable rail 6 moves away from the attitude holding rail 5. The return movement of the movable rail 6 is performed by the support member 36 and the slide member 37.
This is performed by a coil spring 38 that connects the base end of the coil spring 38.

As shown in FIG. 2, the attitude holding rail 5 extends up to a position immediately before the sixth chute 4-6, and the bucket 3 which is horizontally held so far is tilted so that the first to fifth chute 4-6 are tilted. All the radishes that have passed through 1 to 4-5 are dropped onto the sixth chute 4-6 (see FIG. 2).
The most upstream side of the attitude holding rail 5, that is, between the weight measuring section 7 and the first chute 4-1 is a slope section 5a having a downward slope so that the horizontal state can be shifted to a slightly inclined horizontal state. As shown in FIG. 7, on the downstream side of each movable rail 6 and above the sixth chute 4-6,
A cushioning member 39 having a curved rubber plate is provided so that the roller 35 of the tilted bucket 3 collides and then rolls.

As shown in FIG. 9, the control device 9 controls the solenoid 8 based on signals from the load cell 22 and the proximity switches 50 and 51, and includes a processing device (programmable controller) 52, a converter 53 and the like. It consists of. The control device 9 includes a power switch 60, a weighing switch 61, an emergency stop button 62, a weight display 63 for digitally displaying a weighing result, a weight setting device 64 for setting a falling weight of each chute 4, an adjustment mode / weighing. mode·
A mode selection switch 65 for selecting a setting mode and a pattern setting switch 66 are provided. Proximity switch 50,
Reference numeral 51 denotes a non-contact sensor that detects only the No. 1 bucket 3 (1), and a non-contact sensor that detects all the buckets 3 (1 to n) of No. 1 to No. n, as shown in FIG. The bucket 3 is installed at a position where the bucket 3 is not detected above the upstream side of the weight measuring unit 7, and the connecting bar 2 to which the bucket 3 is connected is connected.
To detect the end of the The proximity switch 50
A metal piece 54 thicker than the detection distance is attached to the surface of the connection bar 2 of No. 1 so that other connection bars are not detected.
In addition, there is a method of arranging these proximity switches outside the transport chain 1 and attaching a detection piece to the transport chain 1 via an attachment. However, detecting the connection bar can reduce the cost without additional components. .

Signals from the proximity switches 50 and 51 are processed as follows by a program stored in the computer (RAM). That is, the proximity switch 50
If the detection signal of the proximity switch 51 is counted based on the detection signal of the No. 1 bucket and the detection signal of the proximity switch 51 from the detection of the origin, the count value becomes the bucket number. If the travel time from the detection of the bucket number to the weight measurement, and the travel time from the weight measurement to the movable rail of each chute are set based on the distance and the transport speed, the number of the bucket whose weight was measured can be determined. The bucket can be tilted on any chute.

The weighing signal from the load cell 22 is transmitted to the converter 5
3 is input to the processing device 52, and is subjected to the following arithmetic processing according to the program. See the processing flow of FIG. [Adjustment Mode] The apparatus is operated in an empty bucket state, and the tare weight of the buckets 3 (1 to n) of No. 1 to No. n is measured. Check the bucket origin. The weighed value of each empty bucket 3 is read and averaged. This process is performed a plurality of times within the set time (while the bucket is positioned at the middle of the weighing rail), and the average value is defined as the tare weight. The tare weight of each bucket No. 1 to No. n is stored in the memory of the microcomputer in correspondence with the bucket number.

[Measurement Mode] The set value (reference selection value) for each chute is read and the set value is confirmed. The bucket is activated, and the weight of the bucket containing the radish is sequentially measured by the weight measuring unit 7. The weighing is performed a plurality of times within the set time similarly to the adjustment mode described above, and the average value is used as the weighing value. Calculate (weighing value-tare weight) from the weighing value and the registered tare weight of the bucket of the corresponding number. The calculated weight is compared with the set value, and the comparison result is output. A shoot is selected based on the comparison result. [Setting Mode] The set value number, that is, the shoot number is confirmed, and the set value (reference selection value) of the shoot is displayed. A new set value is input and updated according to the type of radish and the like. The above mode selection is performed by the mode selection switch 65. The pattern setting switch 66 is for selecting a plurality of selection patterns, and a pattern obtained by combining a plurality of reference selection values is registered in a computer so that it can be appropriately selected according to the type or the like.

The converter 53 has an amplifying function, a scaling function, and the like in order to make the signal inputtable to the processing device 52. The signal input from the converter 53 is
Since it fluctuates due to vibration or impact of the device, smoothing processing is performed by using an input filter.

In the above configuration, weight sorting is performed as follows. (1) Select the adjustment mode before weighing, and newly measure and register the tare weight. The empty bucket 3 has a difference of several tens of grams between a new state and a dirty state after use, and by measuring the tare weight in the operating state, it is possible to prevent a measurement error due to an attached matter during use. . (2) Select the setting mode as necessary, change the shoot setting value according to the radish variety, etc., or select a sorting pattern. (3) Select the weighing mode, rotate the continuous buckets endlessly, and carry in the radish from the inclined mounting portion A. (4) When the weight value of the No. k bucket is obtained by the weight measurement unit 7, the difference between the measured value and the registered tare weight of the No. k bucket is calculated, and the calculated value (radish weight) is calculated. Is compared with the reference selection value of the shoot, and one of the six shoots 4-j is selected. (5) When the time corresponding to the selected chute 4-j has elapsed, the solenoid 8-j of this chute 4-j operates. At this time, the No. k bucket is located on the movable rail 6-j, the bucket tilts due to the detachment of the movable rail, and the radish falls into the chute and is discharged to the side of the apparatus. (6) The chute 4-1 to 4-5 are sequentially sorted in accordance with the weight, and those that fall outside the weight range of these chute are thrown into the most downstream chute 4-6.

Although the above description has been made on the weight sorting of radish, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to other relatively long crops.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the weight of the moving bucket is measured by the weight measuring unit installed on the upstream side of the chute group, and the radish is calculated from the measured weight and the previously measured empty bucket weight. The weight is calculated, a chute is selected based on the calculated radish weight, and the bucket is tilted by operating the actuator when the bucket whose weight is measured reaches the movable rail of the selected chute.
The following effects are obtained. (1) The weight is not affected by the position of the radish in the bucket as in the conventional mechanical type, and there is no instability in the weight setting accuracy due to the mechanical friction, and the weight can be accurately sorted for each chute. (2) The reference selection value of each chute can be easily adjusted by the setting device. (3) Register the weight of each empty bucket with different weight,
Since the radish weight is calculated from the tare weight, accurate sorting can be performed regardless of the manufacturing error of each bucket. Also,
It is possible to eliminate the conventional troublesome weight adjustment work. (4) It is possible to eliminate a measurement error due to a deposit attached during use. (5) A plurality of sorting patterns can be registered, and the sorting weight can be changed quickly and freely. (6) The moving bucket can be accurately measured by the measuring rail on which the wheels of the bucket roll or the thin plate covering the upper surfaces of the measuring rail and the guide rail. (7) By connecting the connecting bar and the bucket with a hinge having play and a connection fitting, vibration from the body to the bucket can be significantly reduced, and the weighing accuracy can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a weight sorter of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a weight measuring unit of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a connection member between the connection bar and the bucket.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an actuator of a movable rail.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the cushioning member of the tilted bucket.

FIG. 8A is a plan view showing an arrangement of proximity switches,
(B) is a similar sectional view.

FIG. 9A is a front view showing a panel of the control device;
(B) is a similar block diagram.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a sorting process.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a conventional balance-type weight sorter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveying chain 2 Connection bar 3 Bucket 4 Chute 5 Attitude holding rail 6 Movable rail 7 Weight measuring part 8 Solenoid 9 Control device 10 Supporting stand

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A conveying means which is wound endlessly on both sides of an apparatus main body, a large number of connecting bars which are parallel to a width direction of the apparatus and connect the pair of conveying means and are spaced apart in the conveying direction. A bucket mounted parallel to the connecting bar and swingably in the transport direction, and a plurality of chutes arranged in the transport direction below the ascending sorting section of the pair of transport means and discharging radish from the bucket to the side of the apparatus. And a posture holding rail for guiding and supporting the bucket in the ascending sorting unit to hold the bucket in a horizontal storage state, and disposed in correspondence with each of the chutes, detaching from the posture holding rail and tilting the bucket downward. In a radish weight sorter provided with a movable rail, a weight sorter capable of measuring the weight of a moving bucket in the ascending sorter is provided upstream of the chute group, An actuator for actuating the electrical signal the movable rail to the moving rail connected, and the measured weight from the weight measuring unit, to calculate the weight of radish such from an empty bucket weight corresponding to buckets measured in advance gravimetrically selects the chute, based on the weight of the calculation radish such, provided a control device for tilting the bucket by operating the actuator to reach the movable rail shoots buckets weighing is selected, connecting bar and bucket To the connection bar
From the connection fitting to be connected and the hinge to be connected to the bucket
Configure, connect the swinging pieces of the hinge with play,
Insert the connection fitting and hinge into the mounting hole of the connection fitting with a loose fit.
To be inserted through the pipe into which this bar is inserted.
A weight sorter for radishes that has continued .