JP3534954B2 - Orientation device for long agricultural products - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for aligning long agricultural products such as eggplant and carrots, which is used in a sorting and packing facility for long agricultural products. It is preferable to install it side by side.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a sorting and packaging facility that sorts and packs and ships agricultural products, boxing work of long agricultural products such as eggplant and carrots is classified by a sorting device by a grade (color, scratch, or other appearance grade). ) The long agricultural products, which are classified according to class and size (classified by size and weight), are packed in a cardboard box so that the long agricultural products are oriented in a certain direction so that no wasted space is created. There is.

Further, in order to improve the appearance,
The long agricultural products are aligned in a certain direction by arranging the long agricultural products in one direction.

For such a purpose, as a device for aligning the orientation of long agricultural products in a certain direction in the transportation process to the box packing device, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-76016 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-
There is a device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 41689.

The device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-76016 is orthogonal to the carrying direction on a substantially mountain-shaped conveyor in which the central side along the carrying direction of the carrying surface is high and both edge sides are low. The cross bars are provided at regular intervals (width that allows long agricultural products to fit in between). Then, on both edge sides of the conveyor, the deflecting plates having inclined surfaces are placed so as not to come into contact with the long agricultural products carried between the crosspieces and to come in contact with the long agricultural products carried above the crosspieces. It protrudes toward the center of the conveyor at various heights.

Therefore, when the long agricultural products are placed on the conveyor, a part of the long agricultural products whose longitudinal direction is orthogonal to the conveying direction (hereinafter, referred to as lateral direction) is accommodated between the crosspieces and conveyed in the longitudinal direction. The other long agricultural products oriented along the direction (hereinafter, referred to as “vertical direction”) move to both edges of the conveyor and are conveyed while being positioned above the crosspiece. Then, the deflecting plate is brought into contact with the inclined surface of the deflecting plate at a position where the deflecting plate is projected, the direction thereof is corrected in the lateral direction, and the deflecting plate falls between the crosspieces.

Further, in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-41689, the conveyor is constituted by a roller conveyor, and while the entire rollers constituting the conveying surface are conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side, The rollers rotate in opposite directions. Therefore, long-sized agricultural products naturally turn sideways while being transported.

[0008]

However, in both of the above devices, it is not possible to align the orientation of the long agricultural products by simply orienting the long agricultural products sideways and by orienting the sides of the agricultural products in a certain direction. Therefore, in a later step, rearrangement must be performed manually or by another method, and there is a problem that the work is complicated.

Further, in the apparatus of Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-76016, since the direction can be changed while being rubbed by the deflecting plate, there is a problem that the epidermis of long agricultural products is easily damaged. In the device of Japanese Patent No. 41689,
There is a problem that the skin of long agricultural products is easily damaged by the contact friction with the rotating roller. This problem is particularly serious in the case of long agricultural products such as eggplant, which have a soft skin.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to orient a long agricultural product not only in the lateral direction but also in a certain direction, for example, by using a scrap as a reference. An object of the present invention is to provide a device for aligning long agricultural products that can be formed and does not damage the long agricultural products.

[0011]

That is, according to the present invention, a long agricultural product is conveyed in its longitudinal direction on the downstream side of a supply conveyor which conveys long agricultural products while regulating its longitudinal direction in the conveying direction. On the other hand, arrange an alignment conveyor in which a concave mounting part that can be mounted sideways is arranged,
The long agricultural products transferred from the supply conveyor can be conveyed by the alignment conveyor while being oriented vertically in the upper part of the loading section.

A direction determining means is provided above the supply conveyor or above the starting end of the aligning conveyor so that the front-back direction of the long agricultural product to be conveyed can be determined, and the direction of the long-side agricultural product to the downstream side can be determined. Attitude changing means is provided for rotating the long agricultural product in the leftward or rightward direction by a quarter according to the determination result of the determination means.

Therefore, for example, when a long agricultural product having a front side and a long agricultural product having a back side are alternately conveyed on the alignment conveyor, the long agricultural product is changed by the posture changing means. If they are alternately rotated to the left or to the right, all the positions of the holes are set in the same direction and can be accommodated in the mounting portion. As a result, it becomes possible to omit the work of manually changing the direction before the subsequent packaging work.

[0014] Incidentally, the alignment conveyor, the conveying surface, a plurality of bars perpendicular to the conveying direction is constituted by a crosspiece with a conveyor provided at regular intervals, Ru Tei to rest portion between the rungs.

Further, the posture changing means is composed of four jetting devices capable of jetting the compressed fluid from both sides of the alignment conveyor to the front end side and the rear end side of the long agricultural product to be conveyed, and one side front side The other side rear side ejection device is paired, the one side rear side and the other side front side ejection device is another pair, and the pair of ejecting devices that are different from each other are actuated to convey the long agricultural products to the left or right. It can be allowed to rotate in any direction.

Further, the posture changing means is composed of a rotating body having a tunnel-shaped recess, and when a long agricultural product to be conveyed is going to pass through the recess, the rotating body rotates counterclockwise or clockwise 1 It can also be made to rotate / 4. Furthermore, the device according to the present invention is more effective when used for aligning long agricultural products.

The V-shape of the supply conveyor is not limited to the strict V-shape, but it is a U-shape such as a groove extending in the conveyance direction, or guide rails are provided on both sides of a flat conveyance surface to lengthen long agricultural products. It may be configured to be conveyed in a single line, and the point is that long agricultural products can be conveyed while being regulated in the vertical direction. As the compressed fluid, gas such as air or liquid such as water can be used. Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0018]

1 and 2 show an apparatus for aligning long agricultural products according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a wide conveyer arranged on the most upstream side of the apparatus, and is adapted to convey the sheet 2 supplied from a damper (not shown) in a random state. At the end of the wide conveyer 1, a scraper 3 whose front end extends to the upstream side of the wide conveyer 1 and whose front end can swing left and right (in the width direction of the wide conveyer 1) is kept at a constant interval. Three are provided.

Reference numeral 4 denotes four V-shaped belt conveyors provided on the downstream side of the wide conveyor 1, and the starting end of each of them is the edge of the wide conveyor 1 and the scraper on the lower side of the end of the wide conveyor 1. 3 or between two adjacent scrapers 3. Then, the terminal end sides thereof extend in a fan shape with the distance between them gradually increasing.

The V-shaped belt conveyor 4 is constructed by arranging two planar conveyors in a close proximity to each other and inclining them so that their facing edge portions are respectively on the lower side. Therefore, the two on the V-shaped belt conveyor 4
When is transported, the eggplant 2 is in a state in which its posture is oriented in the vertical direction.

Numeral 5 is a V-shaped belt conveyor having the same structure (short length) as the V-shaped belt conveyor 4 provided on the downstream side of each V-shaped belt conveyor 4, and spreads in a fan shape. The orbits of the V-shaped belt conveyors 4 are corrected so that they are parallel to each other. And this V
Conveyors 6 with crosspieces are provided on the downstream side of the belt conveyor 5.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the conveying surface of the conveyor 6 with crosspieces is provided so as to project in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction with a space enough to accommodate 2 formed by a plurality of crosspieces 7. . Reference numeral 8 denotes an orientation determination camera provided above the starting end portion side of the conveyor 6 with crosspieces, and image processing is performed based on the information of the determination camera to determine which side 2a of the formed 2 is facing. It is like this.

In this judgment, as shown in FIG. 5, the screen enclosed by the outer tangent line of the projected eggplant 2 is divided into small sections,
Within the constant areas A and B having the same area on the front side and the rear side, the direction of the formed 2 is determined depending on which of the sections a and b including the formed 2 is larger. That is, in the small sections a and b in the fixed areas A and B, it is determined that the smaller number of sections including the portion 2 is on the sagging side 2a and the larger number is on the opposite side to the sagging 2a. To do.

Reference numerals 9a, 9b, 10a and 10b respectively denote four air nozzles disposed on the downstream side of the orientation determination camera 8, which are provided to face one side and the other side of the conveyor 6 with crosspieces. The distance between the positions of the front air nozzles 9a and 9b and the positions of the rear air nozzles 10a and 10b is 2
The distance is kept slightly shorter than the length of.

The air nozzles 9a, 9b, 10a, 10
In b, the air nozzles 9a and 10b are set as one set and operate at the same time, and the air nozzles 9b and 10a are set as another set and operate at the same time. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of holes are formed in the vertical direction on the discharge surfaces of the air nozzles 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, and the air discharged from the plurality of holes is the top surface of the conveyor 6 with crosspieces. It is designed to be ejected in such a state that a thin wall that blocks the transport surface is created.

Reference numeral 11 denotes air nozzles 9a, 9b, 10a, 1
0 is a photoelectric sensor provided on the upstream side of 0b, and 12 is a clock generator provided on the side of the conveyor 6 with crosspieces. The photoelectric sensor 11 detects 2 which is conveyed on the conveyor 6 with crosspieces, and the detection is made. 2 made from the signal is the air nozzle 9
a, 9b, 10a, 10b, the clock generator 12 outputs a signal indicating the time required to reach the positions of a, 9b, 10a, and 10b.
The air nozzles 9a, 9b, 10a and 10b are activated by transmitting the signals to a, 9b, 10a and 10b.

At this time, the air nozzles 9a, 9b, 1
For 0a and 10b, the air nozzles 9a and 10b operate or the air nozzles 9b and 10a operate depending on the determination result of the orientation determination camera 8. That is, if the bent 2a of the eggplant 2 faces the front side, the air nozzles 9a, 10b.
Is operated, and if the bent 2a of the eggplant 2 faces the rear side, the air nozzles 9b, 10a are operated. by this,
All the eggplants 2 that are transported are laid sideways between the crosspieces 7,
In addition, the state where the side 2a is directed in the same direction is obtained.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 13 is a speed adjusting conveyor having the same construction as the crosspiece conveyor 6 and having a slightly shorter length. This speed adjusting conveyor 13 is set so that the conveying speed is slower than that of the conveyor 6 with crosspieces. Since the direction of the conveyor 6 with crosspieces is changed from vertical to horizontal, the speed adjustment conveyors 13 are mounted between the crosspieces 7 in a discontinuous manner. The placed eggplants 2 are placed one by one between the bars 7.

A merging conveyor 14 is disposed downstream of the speed adjusting conveyor 13. The merging conveyor 14 includes a plurality of sliders 1 that can move laterally.
4a are connected to each other, and each slider 14a
It is designed to be able to place 2 of each one.

The merging conveyor 14 is composed of two sets,
The start end side branches into two transport paths, which are connected to the end portions of the four speed adjusting conveyors 13, and the respective end end sides merge into one to form two transport paths. Therefore, the transport speed of the merging conveyor 14 is
It is approximately twice as fast as the transport speed of the speed adjusting conveyor 13.

Then, the sheet 2 conveyed by the merging conveyor 14 is transferred to two transit conveyors 15 provided on the downstream side of the merging conveyor 14, which are similar to the conveyor 6 with a crosspiece and the speed adjusting conveyor 13, and the transits are made. It is transferred from the conveyor 15 to two sorting conveyors 16 provided further downstream thereof.

The sorting conveyor 16 is provided with the orientations of the sides 2a aligned by an orientation aligning device.
Is sorted into grades and classes, and then sorted from a predetermined discharge position onto a drawer conveyor (not shown). At the time of discharge, a bucket (not shown) is gradually tilted. The direction of 2a is not changed. By doing this, a drawer conveyor (not shown)
The eggplant 2 ejected on the upper side is ejected with the sides 2a thereof aligned in the same direction and conveyed as it is to a boxing device (not shown).

Further, as in this embodiment, by providing the aligning device in the front stage (upstream side) of the sorting conveyor 16, it is possible to save the labor of manually supplying the two aligning directions, and at the same time, to package the product in a box. There is an advantage that the head 2a can be supplied to the device (not shown) in the same direction.

In FIG. 1, 14b, 15a, 1
Reference numeral 6a denotes a transfer roller for transfer, which is made of a brush or a sponge, and abuts on the upper side of the transfer device 2 to assist the transfer process smoothly.

As described above, according to the apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to make all the conveyed 2 folds 2a sideways in a state of being aligned in the same direction. As a result, there is no need to manually turn around before packaging. Moreover, since the eggplant 2 is turned sideways by blowing air, the epidermis of the eggplant 2 is not damaged.

In the above example, the conveyor 6 with crosspieces is used.
If the crosspiece 7 is formed of a thin plate, the crosspiece 2 conveyed on the crosspiece 7 is easily scratched. Therefore, the crosspiece 7 may be formed to have a certain thickness, or the top corners of the crosspiece 7 may be rounded. It is preferable to add a mark.

7 and 8 show another example of the present invention. That is, in this example, a posture changing means 18 having a rotary flat brush 17 is provided instead of the air nozzles 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b in the above example.

The posture changing means 18 is a conveyor 6 with a crosspiece.
The gate-shaped support frame 19 provided so as to straddle the conveyance surface of a.
Servomotor 20 is attached to the upper center of the
0a is rotatably passed through the support frame 19, and a nylon rotary flat brush 17 is connected to the lower end thereof.

The rotary flat brush 17 is provided with a tunnel-shaped concave portion 17a, and the vertically oriented portion 2 can be inserted through the concave portion 17a. Therefore, when the eggplant 2 tries to pass through the concave portion 17a of the rotary flat brush 17, the servomotor 20 is operated to rotate the rotary flat brush 17 by 1/2, so that the intermediate rotation (1
/ 4 rotation) turns sideways and can be dropped between the crosspieces 7a.

Reference numeral 21 is a guide portion fixed to portions corresponding to both sides of the crosspiece conveyor 6a in the support frame 19, and when the rotating flat brush 17 is rotated, the force of the rotational force is changed. This prevents the egg 2 from largely deviating from the center side of the transport surface.

The structure of the other parts is the same as the above-mentioned example. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions. Regarding the function and effect, the rotary flat brush 1
Since 7 is made of soft nylon, the eggplant 2 is not damaged when the eggplant 2 is rotated, as in the above example.

[0042]

In the above example, the long agricultural product 2 is defined as 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is a long agricultural product such as carrot and radish, and there is a difference between both ends of the agricultural product (whether or not there is a looseness, thick and thin). Etc.) can be used for anything. In addition, an air nozzle 9 that ejects air
Instead of a, 9b, 10a, 10b, a nozzle for ejecting a liquid such as water may be used. Further, the conveying surface of the conveyors 6 and 6a with crosspieces may be formed by connecting a plurality of grooves having a V-shaped cross section so as to be orthogonal to the conveying direction.

[0044]

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION Since the apparatus for aligning long agricultural products according to the present invention is configured as described above, the long agricultural products to be conveyed are aligned in a certain direction with respect to the flat, for example. Now you can turn it sideways. Therefore, it becomes possible to save the trouble of changing the direction manually later.

Further, by using a jetting device capable of jetting a compressed fluid and a rotating body having a tunnel-shaped recess through which a long agricultural product can pass as the posture changing means, the long agricultural product is scratched when the long agricultural product is turned sideways. You will be able to prevent that. Therefore, the practical effect is great.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an apparatus for aligning long agricultural products according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the long agricultural product orientation device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a main part of a device for aligning long agricultural products according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a main part of the device for aligning long agricultural products shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method of orientation determination.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the air nozzle rotates.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a state in which the rotary flat brush rotates the eggplant.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an example using a rotating flat brush.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Wide conveyor 2 eggplant 2a 3 scrapers 4,5 V type belt conveyor 6,6a Conveyor with crosspiece 7,7a crosspiece 8 Direction determination camera 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b Air nozzle 11 Photoelectric sensor 12 clock generator 13 Speed adjustment conveyor 14 Confluence conveyor 14a slider 14b Crossing roller 15 Transfer conveyor 15a Transition roller 16 sorting conveyor 16a Transition roller 17 rotating flat brush 17a recess 18 Attitude changing means 19 Support frame 20 Servo motor 20a rotating shaft 21 Guide

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI B65G 47/28 B65G 47/28 L (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 43/08 B65B 35 / 56 B65G 15/42 B65G 15/44 B65G 47/28

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A supply conveyor that conveys a long agricultural product while regulating the longitudinal direction of the long agricultural product in a conveying direction, and a supply conveyor that is disposed on the downstream side of the supply conveyor so that the longitudinal direction of the long agricultural product is orthogonal to the conveying direction. An alignment conveyor in which a concave mounting portion that can be placed toward the conveyance surface is continuously provided, and a long agricultural product that is disposed above the supply conveyor or above the starting end side of the alignment conveyor and is conveyed by the supply conveyor or the alignment conveyor. Direction determining means for determining the orientation of the long conveyor, which is provided at a predetermined position of the aligning conveyor and is transported in the transport direction with the longitudinal direction on the aligning conveyor depending on the determination result of the orientation determining means. The alignment conveyor comprises: a posture changing unit that rotates a quarter turn to the right and places the same on the placement unit in a state in which they are all oriented in the same direction.
, A plurality of crosspieces orthogonal to the transport direction are provided at regular intervals.
An apparatus for aligning long agricultural products, characterized in that the mounting portion is formed between the crosspieces . 2. Attitude changing means are provided on both sides of the aligning conveyor at positions corresponding to the front end and the rear end of the long agricultural products, respectively, and are capable of ejecting compressed fluid toward the center of the aligning conveyor. The ejection device on the one side front side and the ejection device on the other side rear side are paired to eject the compressed fluid at the same time, and the ejection device on the one side rear side and the other side front side are the other pair to be simultaneously compressed fluid. The device for orienting long agricultural products according to claim 1 , wherein the device for ejecting long agricultural products. Wherein the attitude changing means, the orientation of Chobutsu produce according to claim 1, which consists of the rotating body having a tunnel-like recess Chobutsu produce can pass being conveyed and along the longitudinal direction in the transport direction Alignment device. 4. The apparatus for orienting a long agricultural product according to claim 1 , 2 or 3 , wherein the long agricultural product is provided with a flat and the flat is arranged in one direction.