JP3469030B2 - Crop processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a crop processing apparatus, a crop feeding apparatus for the processing apparatus, and a crop taking-out carrier provided in the crop feeding apparatus for picking up a crop from a crop feeding section and feeding it to the processing apparatus. The present invention relates to an agricultural crop processing facility provided with control means for controlling as described above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the above crop processing equipment, it was considered that each processing in the processing equipment always took the same amount of time to feed and operate the crop take-out carrier to the processing equipment. That is, the control means stores a certain processing time, and the crop take-out carrier sends the crop to the processing device every time the processing time elapses.

[0003]

The crops are usually treated from early in the morning, and the processing device operates slowly at the beginning of work when the temperature is low in the early morning, and the temperature rises over time and the treatment continues. Since there is a tendency that the device warms up and starts to operate at a desired speed (especially in a pneumatically-operated processing device, such an operating state is likely to occur), it is necessary to perform the processing in advance as in the conventional technique described above. The following problems may occur in the means in which the processing time per one time of the apparatus is initialized to a constant value and the crop take-out carrier sends the crops to the processing apparatus every time the processing time elapses. there were.

That is, when the processing device operates late in the early morning, the processing time is longer than the initially set processing time, and the succeeding crops can be processed before the processing device is reset to a state where the processing operation can be started. Was introduced into the crop receiving part, and the succeeding crops were clogged around the crop receiving part of the processing device, so that there was a problem that collection work of the crop and restoration of the processing device were required.

An object of the present invention is to prevent clogging of subsequent crops in the processing device even if there is a difference in processing time of the processing device within one day, and is caused by the clogging of the crop. Eliminating the work of recovering crops and restoring the processing equipment.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

[Structure] The characteristic structure of the invention according to claim 1 is, in the crop processing facility described at the beginning, a reset sensor for detecting that the processing device has been reset to a state in which processing operation can be started, and the crop taking-out and conveying. First detection means for detecting that the body is located at the front side position of the crop receiving portion of the processing device is provided, and the control means is based on the detection information of the reset sensor and the first detection means. When the crop pick-up carrier picks up the crop from the crop supply unit and is positioned at the front position of the crop receiving unit, if the detection signal of the reset sensor is not input, the crop pick-up carrier is the crop If the detection signal of the reset sensor is input after the standby stop at the front side position of the receiving section, the crop pick-up carrier is directly processed on the processing device side. Lies in that is configured so as to feed working.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first aspect, the presence / absence sensor for detecting whether or not there is a crop in the crop supply section, and the crop pick-up carrier is the crop supply section. Second detection means for detecting that it is located at the front side position, and the control means, based on the detection information from the presence / absence sensor and the second detection means, takes out and conveys the crops toward the crop supply unit side. If the detection signal of the presence sensor is not input when the body is located at the front side position of the crop supply unit, the crop take-out carrier is stopped by waiting at the front side position of the crop supply unit, and the presence or absence is detected. When the detection signal of the sensor is input, the crop pick-up carrier is taken out to the crop supply section side as it is and operated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the facility for treating crops described at the beginning, a reset sensor is provided for detecting that the treatment device has been reset to a state where the treatment operation can be started. A position sensor is provided for detecting that the pick-up carrier is located at the stroke intermediate point between the crop supply unit and the processing device, and the control means is based on the detection information of the reset sensor and the position sensor. In the state where the crop pick-up carrier is directed to the processing device side, if the detection signal of the reset sensor is not input after a set time has elapsed after the detection signal of the position sensor is input, the crop take-out carrier is on standby. When stopped and the detection signal of the reset sensor is input, the crop pick-up carrier is directly sent to the processing device side. Lies in that is configured so as to write operation.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the third aspect, there is provided a presence / absence sensor for detecting whether or not there is a crop in the crop supply section, and the control means includes the presence / absence sensor. Based on the detection information with the position sensor, in a state in which the crop take-out carrier is directed to the crop supply unit side, the detection signal of the presence / absence sensor is input after a set time has elapsed since the detection signal of the position sensor was input. If not, the crop take-out carrier is put on standby, and if the detection signal of the presence / absence sensor is input, the crop take-out carrier is taken out to the crop supply unit side and operated. It is in.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first, second, third, and fourth aspects, the control means resets the agricultural crop taking-out carrier after waiting and stopping. When the detection signal of the sensor is input, the crop take-out carrier is sent to the processing device side to be operated.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the second or fourth aspect, the control means receives the detection signal of the presence / absence sensor after the crop picking-up / transporting body stops waiting. It is configured such that the crop take-out carrier is taken out to the crop supply section side and operated.

[Operation] According to the configuration of claim 1, the following operation can be achieved. [A] The processing device can start the processing operation when the first detection means detects that the crop removal carrier has picked up the crop from the crop supply part and has reached the front position of the crop receiving part of the processing device. If the detection signal from the reset sensor that is reset to the state is not input to the control means,
When the crop pick-up carrier is stopped by waiting at the front side position of the crop receiving part and the detection signal is input, the crop pick-up carrier is sent directly to the processing device side to operate.

[B] Agricultural crops are usually treated early in the morning, and the processing device operates slowly at the beginning of work when the temperature is low in the early morning. Although it tends to warm up and operate at a desired speed (particularly, such an operating state is likely to occur in a pneumatically-operated processing device), in the structure of claim 1, the crop picking / transporting body is disposed in the processing device. Even in the early morning when the operation tends to be delayed, the next crop is thrown into the crop receiving section after the processing device is reset to the state in which the processing operation can be started as described in [a].

[C] When the crop take-out carrier reaches the position on the front side of the crop receiving portion of the processing apparatus, it is judged whether or not the processing apparatus is reset to a state in which the processing operation can be started. Defects such as when determining when the crop pick-up carrier is located on the crop supply section side, that is, the processing device may be reset by the time the crop pick-up carrier reaches the processing device side. In addition, it is possible to avoid the problem that the crop take-out carrier is stopped on standby, and when the stand-by stopped crop take-out carrier is restarted, it is possible to shorten the time from the restart to sending the crop to the processing device.

According to the structure of claim 2, the following effects can be achieved. [D] When the second detecting means detects that the crop take-out carrier heading for the crop supply section reaches the front side position of the crop supply section, the presence / absence sensor from the presence / absence sensor indicating that the crop supply section has a crop If the detection signal is not input to the control means, the crop pick-up carrier stops waiting at the front position of the crop supply unit, and if the detection signal is input, the crop pick-up carrier is directly input to the crop supply unit. It operates to take it out.

[E] It is possible that the crop supply unit is not supplied with the crop for some reason, but in the structure of claim 2, the crop take-out carrier operates as described in [d] above. Even if there is no crop in the area, the crop pick-up carrier does not take out the crop supply section.

[F] When the crop take-out carrier reaches the position on the front side of the crop supply unit, it is determined whether or not there is a crop in the crop supply unit. The problem is that when the product is located at, the crop pick-up carrier may be fed by the time the crop pick-up carrier arrives at the crop supply section, but the crop pick-up carrier is put on standby. In addition to being able to avoid problems, it is possible to shorten the time from the restart of picking up crops to the time when picking up crops are resumed when the crop picking up carrier is restarted.

According to the structure of claim 3, the following effects can be achieved. [G] In a state in which the crop take-out carrier picks up a crop from the crop supply unit and heads for the processing device, a detection signal indicating that the stroke intermediate point between the crop supply unit and the processing device has been reached is output from the position sensor to the control unit. After a lapse of a set time from the input to the processing device, if the detection signal from the reset sensor that the processing device has been reset to the state in which the processing operation can be started is not input to the control means, the crop take-out carrier is stopped by waiting, When the detection signal is input, the crop take-out carrier is directly sent to the processing device side to operate.

[H] The crop take-out carrier is as described in [b] above.
Similarly to the above, even in the early morning when the operation of the processing apparatus tends to be delayed, the processing apparatus is reset to the state in which the processing operation can be started as described in [G] and then the next crop is put into the crop receiving section. Further, when the crop pick-up carrier is located at the front side position of the crop accepting part of the processing device, by setting the setting time to be longer within the range where the crop picking-up carrier does not reach the crop accepting part. Therefore, it is possible to stop and wait, and the same action as the above-mentioned action [C] can be achieved.

[I] When changing and adjusting the standby stop position of the crop take-out transporter, for example, in a structure in which the standby stop is immediately performed when a detection signal is input from a position sensor such as a proximity sensor, the mounting position of the position sensor is changed. However, according to the configuration of claim 3, when changing and adjusting the standby stop position,
It is only necessary to change the set time, and the change and adjustment can be easily performed.

According to the structure of claim 4, the following effects can be achieved. [Nu] In a state in which the crop take-out carrier is directed to the crop supply section side, after the set time elapses after the detection signal that the stroke intermediate point has been reached is input from the position sensor to the control means, the crop supply section receives the crop. If the detection signal from the presence sensor is not input to the control means, the crop pick-up carrier stops waiting, and if the detection signal is input, the crop pick-up carrier is directly to the crop supply unit. Take out and operate. Since the crop take-out carrier operates in this manner, the same operation as the above [e] can be achieved.

[L] By setting the setting time to a longer value within a range in which the crop take-out carrier does not reach the crop supply section, the crop take-out carrier reaches the position on the front side of the crop supply section. At any time, it can be stopped in standby, and the same action as the above [f] can be achieved. As described above, according to the configuration of claim 3, the crop take-out transporter can stand by at two positions, namely, the front position of the crop supply unit and the front position of the crop receiving unit of the processing device. As a means for waiting at these two locations, for example, there is means for providing one position sensor in a state corresponding to each location. Compared to this means, one position sensor is provided in the configuration of claim 3. The advantage is that Further, when changing the standby stop position, only the set time needs to be changed, and the change adjustment can be easily performed as in the case of [i].

According to the structure of claim 5, the above-mentioned claim 1,
In addition to being able to perform the same operation as the operation by any one of the configurations 2, 3, 4, [o] When the detection signal of the reset sensor is input after the crop pick-up carrier has stopped waiting, the crop pick-up and transfer is performed. The body sends the crops to the processing device side to operate, and sends the crops to the crop receiving part on the processing device side, and the crops are processed by the processing device.

According to the structure of claim 6, in addition to the same operation as the structure according to claim 2 or 3, it is possible to: When the detection signal is input, the crop take-out carrier is taken out to the crop supply section side to take out the crop from the crop supply section.

[Effect] Therefore, according to the structure of claim 1, even if there is a difference in the processing time of the processing apparatus within one day, the work can be performed due to the above-mentioned actions [a], [b] and [c]. It was possible to prevent clogging of subsequent crops in the processing device while suppressing the decrease in efficiency, and to eliminate the work of recovering the crops and restoring the processing device due to the clogging of the crops.

According to the structure of claim 2, in addition to the same effects as the effects of the structure of claim 1 above, in addition to the above-mentioned actions [d], [e], [f] It was possible to eliminate unnecessary movement of the carrier, improve work efficiency, and save power.

According to the structure of claim 3, even if there is a difference in the processing time of the processing apparatus within one day due to the above-mentioned operations [G] and [H], the processing is performed in a state in which the reduction in working efficiency is suppressed. It is possible to prevent the subsequent crops from being clogged in the device, eliminate the work of recovering the crops and restoring the processing device due to the clogging of the crops, and by the action (i), the processing device of the crop pick-up carrier. It was possible to improve the workability of the adjustment work for changing the standby stop position for.

According to the construction of claim 4, in addition to the same operation as the operation according to the construction of claim 3 described above, in addition to the above-mentioned operations [nu] and [ru], waste of the crop take-out carrier is caused. It is possible to improve the work efficiency by eliminating unnecessary movements, save power, reduce the manufacturing cost, and improve the workability of changing and adjusting the stand-by stop position for the crop supply section of the crop pick-up carrier. It was

According to the configuration of claim 5, the action [wo]
Further, according to the structure of claim 6, the operation [wa] can improve the flow of work until the crop is processed by the processing device.

[0030]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] As shown in FIG. 1, lettuce packaging apparatus 1
(Corresponding to a processing device, hereinafter abbreviated as a packaging device),
The lettuce supply device 2 that supplies lettuce to the packaging device 1 is placed on the floor independently of each other, and a control device 3 (corresponding to a control unit) that controls the both devices 1 and 2 is provided to lettuce packaging. The equipment is configured.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lettuce feeding device 2 includes a portal-shaped main frame 4 made of a round pipe that stands upright on the floor while facing the front wall of the packaging device 1. A round pipe in which the conveyor terminal end side of the belt conveyor 5 that horizontally feeds the lettuce supplied by the operator to the packaging device 1 side is provided on the side of the main frame 4 opposite to the packaging device 1. The first horizontal support frame 6 made of steel is supported through the support bracket 71 having the downwardly facing U-shaped member 71A, and the leg portion 5A is provided at the conveyance start end side of the belt conveyor 5 so that the belt conveyor 5 can take out a predetermined portion. Lettuce sent to the position A is a plurality of finger parts 16
A robot hand 9 that grasps and takes out by (corresponding to a crop take-out carrier) and sends it to the lettuce receiving section 8 of the packaging device 1.
(Corresponding to a crop feeding device) is supported by a second lateral support frame 10 provided on the side of the main frame 4 on the packaging device 1 side. A pair of shelves 11 are separately formed on both sides in the width direction on the conveying start end side of the belt conveyor 5, and a knife for cutting roots of lettuce, a towel for wiping the lettuce juice after root cutting, etc. are mounted. It can be placed.

Further, an annular lettuce support portion 19 having a plurality of notches 21 which allow the plurality of finger portions 16 to individually enter from the radially outer side to grip the lettuce.
A rubber lettuce support member 19 composed of A and a circular seat plate 19B integrally provided on the lettuce support portion 19A is provided on the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 5 at a constant pitch, and the lettuce is cut upward. It is configured to be conveyed to the robot hand 9 side while being positioned and supported by the lettuce support portion 19A in such a posture. The belt conveyor 5 is an intermittent operation type in which the belt conveyor 5 is moved by one pitch of the constant pitch and then repeatedly stopped for a set time.
In addition, the presence / absence sensor 78 including a light projecting unit 78A and a light receiving unit 78B that detects whether or not there is lettuce on the lettuce support member 19 at the extraction position A by detecting the presence or absence of light rays,
It is provided on the conveyance end side of the belt conveyor 5 (see FIG. 1).
reference).

The packaging device 1 receives the lettuce from the upward lettuce inlet 7 formed in the lettuce receiving portion 8 at the center of the upper surface, wraps it in a transparent wrapping sheet 49 (see FIG. 18), and connects it to the main frame 4. Is a device for discharging the lettuce that has been packaged from the discharge port 12 (see FIG. 1) provided on the opposite side surface, and the structure thereof will be described in detail later.

As shown in FIG. 7, the robot hand 9
Is provided with a support bracket 13 on the second lateral support frame 10, and the first electric motor M1 and the support bracket 1 are provided.
3 is provided with a finger support member 15 that suspends and supports a plurality of finger portions 16 on the swing end side of a swing arm 14 that is driven and swingably supported by the finger 3. A posture holding mechanism 17 for holding the posture of the portion 16 is provided, and with the swing of the swing arm 14, the finger portion 16 draws an arc locus while keeping the downward posture, and the take-out position A and the lettuce insertion port 7 are formed.
It is configured to reciprocate between the feeding position B corresponding to.

As shown in FIG. 6, the finger portion 16
Is made of a hollow rubber material formed on the bellows 16a on the back side at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction. The opening on the base end side of the hollow rubber material is externally fitted and connected to the support pipe 18 with a collar, and the compressor 20
The finger portion 16 is bent and deformed into a gripped state by the supply pressure of air into the finger portion 16 (see FIG. 8), and is restored to the gripped release state by discharging the air.

As shown in FIG. 10, the swing arm 14
A side surface 13A of the support bracket 13 is provided with a first proximity sensor 23 (corresponding to a position sensor) that detects that the arm is almost upright via a detection metal fitting 22 provided on the swing arm 14.
Based on the detection information of the first proximity sensor 23, a standby stop is formed as described later, and a pair of detected plates 24 are laterally extended from the swing arm 14 at one end side thereof. That the swing arm 14 is positioned on the lettuce take-out position A side or the lettuce feed-in position B side while being arranged side by side through the corresponding detected plate 24 of the pair of detected plates 24. A pair of second detecting
The proximity sensor 25 is provided on the side surface 13A of the support bracket 13, and based on the detection information of the pair of second proximity sensors 25, the swing arm 14 is stopped for taking out or feeding, and the swing direction is reversed. The control device 3 is configured so as to perform switching control.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, in constructing the posture maintaining mechanism 17, a supporting shaft 26 integrally provided on the finger supporting member 15 in a state along the lettuce conveying direction is attached to the swinging arm 14. A state in which the swing shaft 14 is rotatably supported by the swing end of the swing arm 14 in a posture parallel to the moving shaft O and the shaft is positioned on the supporting shaft P. An upper toothed pulley 27 provided on the support shaft 26 so as to rotate together,
The swing arm 1 is placed in a state where the axis is located on the swing axis O.
In addition to 4, the toothed belt 30 is wound around the lower toothed pulley 28, which is positionally fixed to the support bracket 13 via a support piece 29. Reference numeral 76 in the figure is a stopper for preventing overrun.

As shown in FIG. 6, the finger supporting member 15 is formed by connecting a hollow umbrella-shaped finger holding portion 15B continuously to the lower end of the vertical pipe portion 15A, and the finger supporting member 15 and its surroundings. The structure of
The lettuce push-out cylinder is provided with an elastically deformable lettuce push-out body 32 formed by coating a sponge 32a with a rubber or soft resin 32b having a smooth surface at the tip of a piston rod 31 having an oval cross section. The body 32 is supported in a downward posture from the vertical pipe portion 15A to the hollow portion of the finger holding portion 15B so that the body 32 moves in and out of the supporting member portion surrounded by the proximal ends of the plurality of finger portions 16, and the finger supporting member 15 The piston rod 31 is inserted into the oval hole 35A of the bracket 35 attached to the bottom plate 34 of the above, and the lettuce that is released from gripping or almost released from grip is configured to be pushed into the lettuce receiving portion 8 side of the packaging device 1, and the finger portion is formed. A finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism 36 for changing and adjusting the initial opening diameter of 16 is provided. The lettuce push-out body 32 is provided with a notch 32A for allowing each of the finger portions 16 in the gripped state to enter the other.
Are formed (see FIG. 7).

As shown in FIGS. 6, 11, 12, and 13, in constructing the finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism 36, the cylinder tube 37 of the air cylinder 33 is attached to the finger supporting member 15 and the cylinder shaft center. Each of the support pipes 18 is configured to be rotatable around Q, and the finger portions 16 are allowed to individually move in the radial direction of the finger support member 15 with respect to the finger support member 15.
Respectively into the plurality of guide grooves 38 provided in the bottom plate 34 of the finger support member 15 along the radial direction, and the support pipes 18 are provided in the plurality of long holes 39 spirally formed around the cylinder axis Q. When the cylinder tube 37 is rotated, the support pipe 18 is pushed and pulled in the radial direction while the guide groove 3 is inserted.
A disc-shaped cam body 40 to be moved in the outer peripheral portion 8 is externally fitted and fixed to the lower end portion of the cylinder tube 37, and a second electric motor M2 for rotating and driving the cylinder tube 37 is provided on the lower end side of the main frame 4, The upper end of the cylinder tube 37 on the side opposite to the lettuce push-out body 32 side is linked via a wire 42 to a rotating disc 41 which is integrally rotatably fitted on the outside.

The second electric motor M2 has such an output that the base end side of each finger portion 16 located around the lettuce comes into contact with the lettuce and stops when the contact pressure exceeds a certain level. Detecting means for detecting, that is, a potentiometer 43 for detecting that the rotational change of the rotating disc 41 has disappeared is provided, and by the control of the control device 3,
The initial opening diameter of the finger portion 16 is set to the large diameter side (Fig. 1
1, FIG. 13 (a)), and in the state where the finger portions 16 are opened, each finger portion 16 is positioned around the lettuce, and then the second electric motor M2 is operated on the diameter reducing side,
When the potentiometer 43 detects that the base end side of the finger portions 16 approaches or contacts the lettuce, each finger portion 16 is configured to be gripped and bent toward the closing side based on the detection result (FIG. 12, FIG. 13 (b)).
Since the lettuce is gripped in this way, the lettuce can be held and gripped, and even if the lettuce is small or large, the finger portion 16 has a shape suitable for gripping along the shape of the lettuce when gripped. become.

As shown in FIGS. 6, 8 and 9, an air containing space 56 is formed between the cylinder tube 37 of the air cylinder 33 and the vertical pipe portion 15A to form the compressor 20 and the air containing space. The air gap 56 is connected to the air gap 56 via the first hose 72, and
The plurality of parts and the base end side opening of each finger portion 16 are separately connected to each other via a plurality of second hoses 73 so that air is supplied to and discharged from the compressor 20 into each finger portion 16. Configured.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, an upper part that covers the moving space of the finger portion 16 of the robot hand 9 from the conveying end side of the belt conveyor 5 to the lettuce receiving portion 8 of the packaging apparatus 1 from the side thereof. Open transparent cover 44
Is provided on the third lateral support frame 45, which is cantilevered on the main frame 4 above the first lateral support frame 6. The cover 44 is provided with a handle 46 on the free end side, and the outer frame portion 4 of the third lateral support frame 45 is provided.
With 5A as a fulcrum, the swing can be switched between a swing open state and a closed state via the gas spring 47.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 18, the packaging device 1 is
As described above, the packaging table 50 having the lettuce inlet 7 formed therein.
Is provided in the lettuce receiving section 8, and the lettuce is received while the packaging sheet 49 is placed on the packaging table 50 so as to cover the lettuce input port 7 and is packaged under the packaging table 50.

As shown in FIG. 28, in the control device 3, the finger portion 16 together with the swing arm 14 is taken out from the conveyance end side of the belt conveyor 5 based on the detection information of the presence / absence sensor 78 and the first proximity sensor 23. In the state toward the position A side (step # 1), the detection signal from the first proximity sensor 23 is input (step # 2) and then the set time T is reached.
When the detection signal of the presence sensor 78 is not input after one lapse of time (step # 3), the finger 16 is stopped on standby (steps # 4, # 5, see FIG. 15, at this time, the swing arm 14 is at the standby position). When the detection signal of the presence / absence sensor 78 is input, the finger portion 16 is taken out to the taking-out position A side as it is (steps # 4, # 6, see FIG. 16) and stands by. When the detection signal of the presence / absence sensor 78 is input after the stop, the finger portion 16 is taken out and operated (steps # 4, # 6). The swing arm 14 of the robot hand 9 is at the take-out position A.
After swinging to the side and standing still (at this time, the belt conveyor 5
Is stopped), the finger portion 16 supplied with the pressurized air bends and grips the lettuce (see FIG. 14).

On the wrapping table 50 of the wrapping device 1, one wrapping sheet 49 cut to a predetermined length after the end of the previous wrapping is placed, and the finger portion 16 swings after holding the lettuce. By letting the arm 14 swing, lettuce feeding position B
Head to the side. The packaging device 1 is provided with a reset sensor 79 as a detection unit that detects the end of the packaging process, that is, the state in which the movable table 52 described later returns and stops to the original position shown in FIGS. Yes (see Figure 1).

As shown in FIG. 29, the control device 3 is in a state in which the finger portions 16 face the packaging device 1 side based on the detection information of the reset sensor 79 and the first proximity sensor 23 (step # 7). If the detection signal of the reset sensor 79 is not input after the set time T2 has elapsed (step # 9) after the detection signal of the first proximity sensor 23 has been input (step # 8), the finger portion 16 is stopped for standby. (Steps # 10, # 11, see FIG. 17, at this time, the swing arm 14 is located at the standby position F.) When the detection signal of the reset sensor 79 is input, the finger portion 16 is left as it is. When the detection signal of the reset sensor 79 is input after the stand-by stop, the finger portion 16 is packaged. Is fed actuated 1 side (step # 10, # 12) are configured so. Finger part 1
6 brings the lettuce onto the packaging sheet 49 (Fig. 1
8) When the grip is released or almost released, the air cylinder 33 is driven to extend and the lettuce push-out body 32 pushes the lettuce inward of the lettuce inlet 7 (FIG. 19). The finger portion 16 is retracted to the upper side of the lettuce inlet 7 (FIG. 20), the movable table 52 is lowered, and the narrowing member 51 further squeezes the packaging sheet 49. The subsequent packaging process will be described after the packaging device 1 is described in detail.

The packaging device 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the pair of left and right guide rails 54 arranged below the lettuce inlet 7 of the packaging table 50 is provided with the first support member 55 slidably up and down, and on the upper portion of the first support member 55. A movable base 5 formed by bending four sides of a flat plate having a plus shape in plan view upward to the fixed second support member 56.
2 is elastically supported through a shock absorbing spring 57. An operation arm 58 swingable around the horizontal axis P1 of the fixed portion is connected to the first support member 55 by a pin and an elongated hole structure, and an air cylinder 59 for swinging the operation arm 58 up and down is provided. There is.

Horizontal axis P3 at the left and right ends of the second support member 56
A pair of holding arms 59 is swingably supported around it. A horizontally long sponge member 59 is provided on the upper end of the holding arm 59.
a and attach the left and right holding arms 59 to the movable table 5
A spring 60 is provided to urge it to swing to the 2 side.
As shown in FIG.
An operation arm 61 for switching between the up and down posture shown in FIG. 22 and the left and right posture shown in FIG. 22 is provided, and both ends of the operation arm 61 and the lower ends of the left and right holding arms 59 are connected by a link link 62.

As shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, a round bar-shaped first guide rail 63 and a plate-shaped second guide rail 6 are provided below the packaging table 50 on both sides of the lettuce inlet 7.
4 is provided. A boss portion 53a is fixed to one end of the holding member 53, and the boss portion 53a is slidably fitted onto the first guide rail 63. The lateral side portion 53b on the opposite side of the holding member 53 is attached to the second guide rail 64. It is put on and bent down.

A bracket 65 is fixed to the boss portion 53a of one holding member 53, and a double-acting air cylinder 66 is connected to the bracket 65. The balance arm 67 is swingably supported around the vertical axis P4 of the fixed portion, and the balance arm 67 is supported.
The roller 67a at one end is inserted into the recess of the bracket 65. The other end of the balance arm 67 and the other holding member 53
A linking rod 68 is erected and connected to the boss portion 53a.

With the above structure, when the air cylinder 66 in the expanded state is operated toward the contracted side as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, the holding member 53 on the right side of the paper slides to the left side of the paper. The balance arm 67 swings clockwise in the drawing in conjunction with this operation. As a result, the linking rod 68 is pulled rightward on the paper surface, and the other holding member 53 is slid rightward on the paper surface. As shown in FIG. The upper portion 49a of the seat 49 is narrowed down.

As shown in FIG. 25, below the pair of sandwiching members 53, there is provided a pair of auxiliary sandwiching members 69 which swing in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the sandwiching members 53. The auxiliary holding member 69 is swingably supported around the vertical axis P2 of the fixed portion below the holding member 53. The auxiliary holding member 69 is provided with an elliptic long hole 69a, and the holding member 5
A pair of rollers 53c provided on the back surface of the guide 3 is inserted into the long holes 69a, and a guide plate 70 that supports the auxiliary holding member 69 so as not to face downward is provided over both rollers 53c.

With the above structure, the air cylinder 66 starts to contract from the state shown in FIG.
When 3 starts to approach each other, the pair of auxiliary holding members 69 that have been opened also start to approach each other in conjunction with the movement of the roller 53c. When the air cylinder 66 contracts to the stroke end, the holding member 53 and the auxiliary holding member 69 are almost completely closed, and the upper portion 49a of the packaging sheet 49 is narrowed down.

In the above state, as described above, the finger portion 16 of the robot hand 9 places the lettuce on the packaging sheet 49, and after releasing the grip, the air cylinder 33 starts to operate and lettuce is removed. The packaging sheet 49 is pushed inside the lettuce inlet 7 and the lettuce wrapped to some extent in the packaging sheet 49 is moved to a movable table 52 as shown in FIG.
Then, the packaging device 1 automatically starts the packaging (see the states of FIG. 21 and FIG. 26A).

That is, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 26 (b), the pair of holding arms 59 is rocked to the lettuce side,
The lettuce is held on the movable table 52 by the holding arm 59, the descending operation of the movable table 52 is started, and the lettuce is stopped at a predetermined position. A plurality of rubber plate-shaped auxiliary squeezing members 51 are provided below the lettuce inlet 7 via a support ring 77 so as to surround the lettuce. 49 is better squeezed.

When the movable table 52 is stopped at the positions shown in FIGS. 22 and 26 (c) as described above, the pair of holding arms 59 is slightly opened as shown in FIG. As it progresses to the lettuce side, Fig. 26 (C)
And as shown in FIG. 27A, the upper portion 49a of the packaging sheet 49 is sandwiched and narrowed down, and the packaging sheet 4
Lettuce is wrapped in 9.

Next, the upper portion 49a of the packaging sheet 49 sandwiched by the sandwiching members 53 is heated by the heater 81 to melt and cut, and the packaging sheet 49 is welded by this heating to fasten the packaging sheet 49.

After that, as shown in FIG. 27B, the holding arm 59 is operated to open to the left and right, the movable table 52 is operated sideways, and the lettuce is discharged to the slide table 80 and collected.
As described above, the packaging of one lettuce is completed, the movable table 52 is again lifted to the original position shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 26 (a), and stopped. It is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the packaging device 1
The casters 38 are provided to the control device 3 and the control device 3 so as to be independently movable. Then, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, the start switch 7 of the packaging device 1 is provided together with other operation switches on the inclined operation panel 3A above the control device 3.
5 and the start switch 82 of the robot hand 9 are provided, the cover 71 is opened, and the start switch 82 of the robot hand 9 is turned off.
The lettuce is put into the lettuce receiving section 8 and the start switch 75 of the packaging device 1 is turned on so that the lettuce can be wrapped. Since the control device 3 can be moved independently of the packaging device 1, it is possible to perform the work while the control device 3 is moved to a place where it is easy to operate the switch.

[Second Embodiment] As shown in FIG. 32, a third proximity sensor 83 (first detection) for detecting that the finger portion 16 is located at the front side position C of the lettuce receiving portion 8 of the packaging apparatus 1. Means) and a fourth proximity sensor 84 (corresponding to a second detecting means) for detecting that the finger portion 16 is positioned at the front side position D of the take-out position A. The control device 3 is constructed as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG. 30, based on the detection information of the presence / absence sensor 78 and the fourth proximity sensor 84, the finger portion 16 (step # 1) heading to the take-out position A side is moved to the take-out position A. When the detection signal of the presence sensor 78 is not input when the finger 16 is located at the front side position D (step # 2), the finger portion 16 is stopped by waiting at the front side position D of the take-out position A (step # 3). ，
# 4), if the detection signal of the presence sensor 78 is input,
The finger portion 16 is operated to be taken out as it is (steps # 3 and # 5), and when the detection signal of the presence / absence sensor 78 is input after the standby is stopped, the finger portion 16 is taken out and operated (steps # 3 and # 5). , FIG. 31
As shown in, the reset sensor 79 and the third proximity sensor 8
When the finger portion 16 takes out the lettuce from the conveyance end portion of the belt conveyor 5 based on the detection information of 3 (step # 6) and is located at the front side position C of the lettuce receiving portion 8 (step # 7). If the detection signal of the reset sensor 79 is not input, the finger portion 16 is made to stand by at the front side position C of the lettuce receiving portion 8 (step # 8,
# 9), if the detection signal of the reset sensor 79 is input, the finger portion 16 is sent to the lettuce receiving portion 8 side of the packaging device 1 as it is and operated (steps # 8, # 1).
0), when the detection signal of the reset sensor 79 is input after the stand-by stop, the finger portion 16 is taken out and operated (steps # 8, # 10). Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

In the above-mentioned structure, the processing device is not limited to the packaging device, and may be a processing device such as an agricultural product grade discrimination device.

[Brief description of drawings]

1] Overall perspective view of lettuce packaging equipment

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure around a conveyance end side of a belt conveyor.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing lettuce packaging equipment as viewed from the lower side in the conveying direction of the belt conveyor.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a packaging device and a control device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a packaging device and a control device.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional side view of the robot hand.

FIG. 7: Side view of robot hand

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional plan view showing an air supply / discharge path between a compressor and a hollow portion of a finger portion.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an air supply / discharge path between a compressor and a hollow portion of a finger portion.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the swing arm of the robot hand is upright.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism in a state where the opening diameter of the finger portion is large.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism in a state where the opening diameter of the finger portion is small.

FIG. 13 (a) A cross-sectional plan view showing the finger portion in a state where the opening diameter of the finger portion is large and the lettuce immediately before being gripped by the finger portion (b) The opening diameter of the finger portion is small. Cross-sectional plan view showing a finger portion in a state and lettuce held by the finger portion

FIG. 14 is a view showing a state where the robot hand holds lettuce at the take-out position.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a state in which the finger portion is on standby at the take-out position side

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a robot hand holding lettuce.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a state in which the finger portion is on standby at the packaging device side.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a state in which the robot hand is located on the feeding position side.

FIG. 19 is a view showing a state where the lettuce push-out body pushes the lettuce into the lettuce receiving section.

FIG. 20 is a view showing a state in which lettuce is supplied to a movable table by a lettuce push-out body.

FIG. 21 is a front view of the vicinity of the movable table showing a state in which the object to be packaged is pushed into the opening of the packaging table and dropped on the movable table.

22 is a front view showing a state in which the pair of holding arms are closed from the state shown in FIG. 21 and the movable table is lowered to the lower side of the holding member.

FIG. 23 is a front view showing a state where the upper portion of the packaging sheet is sandwiched by the pair of clamping members from the state shown in FIG. 22 and the movable table is being lifted.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing a slide drive structure of a pair of holding members.

FIG. 25 is a plan view showing a slide and swing drive structure of a pair of holding members and an auxiliary holding member.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing the flow of wrapping from insertion of an article to be packaged into an opening to squeezing of a wrapping sheet by a holding member.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the flow of packaging from the opening operation of the holding member to the discharging of the packaged article and a state in which the packaging is completed.

FIG. 28 is a flow chart showing the operation until the finger portion takes out lettuce.

FIG. 29 is a flow chart showing the operation until the finger portion sends lettuce to the lettuce receiving portion.

FIG. 30 is a flow chart of another embodiment showing the operation until the finger portion takes out lettuce.

FIG. 31 is a flow chart of another embodiment showing the operation until the finger portion sends lettuce to the lettuce receiving portion.

FIG. 32 is a view showing another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 processor 3 control means 8 agricultural products reception department 9 Agricultural products feeding device 16 Agricultural crops removal carrier 23 Position sensor 78 Presence sensor 79 Reset sensor 83 First detecting means 84 first detecting means C Front position of crop receiving part D Front position of crop supply section T1, T2 set time

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-7-215310 (JP, A) JP-A-4-189709 (JP, A) JP-A-8-192808 (JP, A) JP-A-10- 175609 (JP, A) JP 10-217172 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65B 25/04 B65B 35/24 B65B 57/00 B65B 57/10 B65G 47/52

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A crop processing device, a crop feeding device for the processing device, and a control means for controlling a crop take-out carrier provided in the crop feeding device so as to take the crop from the crop supply unit and send it to the processing device. And a reset sensor for detecting that the processing device has been reset to a state in which processing operation can be started, and the crop unloading carrier is in front of the crop receiving portion of the processing device. A first detection means for detecting that the crop removal carrier is located at a side position, and the control means controls the crop pick-up carrier from the crop supply section based on the detection information of the reset sensor and the first detection means. If the detection signal of the reset sensor is not input when the product is taken out and positioned at the front side position of the crop receiving part, It is configured to stop the pick-up carrier at a position on the front side of the crop receiving part, and when the detection signal of the reset sensor is input, the crop pick-up carrier is directly sent to the processing device side to be operated. Agricultural crop processing equipment. 2. A presence / absence sensor for detecting whether or not there is a crop in the crop supply section, and a second sensor for detecting that the crop pick-up carrier is located at the front side position of the crop supply section.
The detection means is provided, and the control means, based on the detection information of the presence / absence sensor and the second detection means, the crop pick-up carrier heading to the crop supply section side is located at the front side position of the crop supply section. At this time, if the detection signal of the presence / absence sensor is not input, the crop take-out carrier is stopped at a position on the front side of the crop supply unit, and the detection signal of the presence / absence sensor is input, The crop processing facility according to claim 1, wherein the pick-up carrier is configured to be picked up and operated as it is toward the crop supply unit. 3. A crop processing apparatus, a crop feeding apparatus for the processing apparatus, and a control means for controlling the crop taking-out carrier provided in the crop feeding apparatus so as to take the crop from the crop supply unit and send it to the processing apparatus. And a reset sensor for detecting that the processing device has been reset to a state in which the processing operation can be started, and the crop unloading carrier is the crop supply unit and the processing device. A position sensor is provided for detecting that it is located at a stroke intermediate point between the control unit and the control unit, and based on the detection information of the reset sensor and the position sensor, the crop take-out carrier moves toward the processing device side. In this state, the reset sensor detection signal is input after the set time elapses after the position sensor detection signal is input. If it is not, the crop take-out carrier is put on standby, and if the detection signal of the reset sensor is input, the crop take-out carrier is sent directly to the processing device side to operate. Processing equipment. 4. The presence / absence sensor for detecting whether or not there is a crop in the crop supply unit is provided, and the control means causes the crop pick-up and transporter to detect the presence / absence of the crop based on detection information from the presence / absence sensor and the position sensor. When the detection signal of the presence sensor is not input after a set time has elapsed after the detection signal of the position sensor is input in the state toward the crop supply unit side, the crop take-out carrier is stopped on standby, and the existence The crop processing equipment according to claim 3, wherein when the detection signal of the sensor is inputted, the crop taking-out carrier is taken out to the crop supplying section side as it is and operated. 5. The control means is configured to, when the detection signal of the reset sensor is input after the crop take-out carrier is on standby, send the crop take-out carrier to the processing device side for operation. Items 1, 2,
The processing facility for agricultural crops according to any one of 3 and 4. 6. The control means is configured to, when the detection signal of the presence / absence sensor is input after the crop take-out carrier is on standby, take out the crop take-out carrier to the crop supply unit side. The facility for treating agricultural crops according to claim 2 or 4.