JP4043065B2 - Agricultural product sorting and packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

【０１２８】
【表２】

【０１２９】
この試験により各貯溜コンベア２０２に排出された農産物個数と、各グループに連係する箱詰装置２０５の稼働率を調べて結果を下記表３に示した。
【０１３０】
【表３】

【０１３１】
この結果から分かるように、各箱詰装置の稼働率は平均的に高い（７４〜８８％）状態に維持できた。
【０１３２】
なお、各箱詰装置に対する仕分区分の割当ては、表２に限定するものではなく、例えば下記表４に示したように割当てをすることができる。
【０１３３】
【表４】

【０１３４】
この表４の例は、例えばロボット１は２Ｌ，Ｌ１，Ｌ２，Ｍ，Ｓ，２Ｓのうちの２Ｌ，Ｌ１，Ｌ２，Ｍ，Ｓの５階級を自動箱詰めする仕分区分とし、例えばロボット１は２Ｌ，Ｌ１，Ｌ２，Ｍ（等級はすべてに対応する）の４階級の農産物を受け入れることができるように対応するのに対し、ロボット６は２Ｌ，Ｌ２，Ｍ，Ｓの４階級の農産物に対応するようにされていて、各ロボットに割当てられた仕分区分の内容（階級）が同じではない場合を含むが、いずれのロボットも受け入れる階級は４階級である。こうすることにより、各包装ステージでは自動箱詰めする階級（５階級）の全てのトレイパックを準備することなく、４階級のトレイパックを準備して箱詰めすることができ、また、各ロボットの作業を平均化することができる。
【０１３５】
【発明の効果】
本願の各請求項記載の発明によれば、農産物の仕分区分の判定処理、仕分け処理、箱詰処理能という、処理能力が工程別に異なるために生ずるアンバランスを解消して、設備を経済的に有利に構成できる農産物の選別包装装置を提供することができる。また、能率の高い設備を構成できるので選果場の設備設置面積を小さくでき、各種装置の配置の連係や作業の連係を工夫することにも適した農産物の選別包装装置を提供できる。更に、多数の箱詰装置の全体の稼働効率を平均的に向上させることができるので、高価な箱詰装置の必要台数を削減できるなどの優れた効果が得られる。またこれに加えて以下の種々の効果を奏する。
【０１３６】
（１）請求項１の発明によれば、個々の受皿貯溜部に貯溜すべき農産物の仕分区分を選択して指定できるので、各受皿貯溜部のグループからこれに連係する包装ステージに送り出す回数を調整でき、したがって、空の受皿貯溜部を効率的に利用することができ、包装ステージの箱詰装置の稼働率を調整することができる。
また、各受皿貯溜部を空きの少ない状態で効率的に利用することができ、ひいては箱詰装置の稼働率を向上できる。また一つの受皿貯溜グループで取り扱う仕分区分の種類に応じて、これに連係した包装ステージで準備すべき例えば請求項１３に係る発明のようにトレイパックの種類を限定することができるという利点が得られる。更に、受皿貯溜部の効率的な利用を実現でき、また複数の受皿貯溜グループに割当てる仕分区分の組合せを選択することで包装ステージの箱詰装置の稼働率を平均化する調整を容易化できる。
【０１３７】
また、分布率の大きい仕分区分については複数のグループで同時に取り扱うことが可能なので、また例えば、分布率の大小によって概ね決まる指定受皿貯溜部への集積速度の違い（分布率大で速く、分布率小で遅い）を指定制御に組み込むことで、各グループから包装ステージに送り出す回数を平均化する制御を容易化できる。
請求項２、３に係る発明によれば、表２、表４に示すような受け持ち仕分区分とすることができ、各包装ステージにおける箱詰装置の稼働率を平均化することができる。
【０１３８】
請求項４に係る発明によれば、グループ内の受皿貯溜部が所定数の農産物を貯溜して包装ステージへの送り出しをまっている状況で、このグループ内の空きの受皿貯溜部を同じ仕分区分の農産物の受入れのために指定することができる。
【０１３９】
また、一つの受皿貯溜部のグループに連係した包装ステージで準備すべき例えば請求項１３に係る発明のようにトレイパックの種類を、階級区分数より少なくできて、箱詰装置やその周辺装置の構成を簡易化できる。
【０１４０】
（２）請求項５の発明によれば、包装ステージの稼働率を各グループの間で平均化できる。
【０１４１】
（３）請求項６の発明によれば、箱詰装置の稼働率に関連する受皿貯溜部のプール状況に基づいて箱詰装置の稼働率を各グループの間で平均化できる。
【０１４２】
（４）請求項７の発明によれば、複数の箱詰装置の稼働率を平均的に高めて全体として高い稼働率を示すようにできる。すなわち、ある仕分区分が指定された受皿貯留部に貯溜する受皿の集積速度はこの仕分区分に属する農産物の分布率と概ね比例するため、指定した仕分区分の分布率の和算した和（総和）を全てのグループの間で均等化するように各受皿貯溜部への指定を制御すれば、平均的な稼働率の向上が得られる。なお、稼働率を平均的に高めるための制御要素（情報）は、予め予想（前日とか前年度とかに先行して行われた実績等）される仕分区分別の分布率の情報、一つの荷口の処理を開始してから一定時間後の状態の情報を利用できる。
【０１４３】
（５）請求項８の発明によれば、先に空になった受皿貯溜部を優先することで受皿貯溜部の稼働を平均化し、間接的に箱詰装置の稼働率を平均化することができ、また包装ステージの稼働率が低いものを優先することにより直接的に箱詰装置の稼働率を平均化することができる。
【０１４４】
（６）請求項９の発明によれば、一つの包装ステージに連係する受皿貯溜部の複数からなるグループに対して割当てる仕分区分の組合せを固定的に指定できるので、各包装ステージの稼働率が平均化するように仕分区分を指定し、固定することで、全体の稼働率を向上させることができる。
【０１４５】
（７）請求項１０の発明によれば、分布率の和を平均化させるという簡単な組合せで各箱詰装置の稼働率を平均化することができる。
【０１４６】
（８）請求項１１の発明によれば、受皿貯溜部に対する仕分区分の指定を新たに指定し直す方式では、貯溜数を一箱包装単位の数とすることにより、各受皿貯溜部の滞留量を最大でも１箱の包装単位数とできるので、必要面積を小さくすることができる。
【０１４７】
（９）請求項１２の発明によれば、このような受皿を整列させる箱詰待機位置への受皿の送り出しのためには、例えば受皿を一列にして送り出すとか、受皿貯留部において複数列，複数行にまとめた状態として送り出すようにすることもできる。
【０１４８】
（１０）請求項１３、１４の発明によれば、箱詰装置に付属してトレイパックを包装箱に嵌挿させるトレイパック供給装置を設けた場合に、上記トレイパック選択信号の受信により行われる作業を効率化することができる。
【０１４９】
（１１）請求項１５の発明によれば、農産物が、格外品等の箱詰めが必要でないような場合、あるいは極めて分布が少ないために高価な箱詰装置を利用することなく作業者が処理終了後などにおいて手作業で包装すれば足りるような場合に、選別包装装置を簡略化ないし省略でき、経済的に有利な設備を提供できる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の実施形態１の農産物選別包装装置を示した平面図。
【図２】図１の選別包装装置の農産物の供給・等階級選別部の詳細を示した平面図。
【図３】図１の選別包装装置の選別仕分部の分岐箱詰ラインの一つを示した正面図。
【図４】図３の平面図。
【図５】吸着パッドを一列に有する取上手段により、一列の球塊状の農産物を吸着吊持する状態を示した正面図。
【図６】図５の側面図。
【図７】同図５の平面図。
【図８】実施形態１における吸着カップへの負圧，正圧の供給系統、およびエアシリンダ装置への圧力エアの供給系統を示した系統図。
【図９】農産物取上げ時のフリートレイの浮き上がり防止をなす装置の斜視図。
【図１０】取上手段により、積層したトレーパック群から一つのトレーパックを取上げた状態を示した正面図。
【図１１】図５の取上手段により、一列の球塊状の青果物を吸着吊持して箱容器に移載した状態を示した正面図。
【図１２】取上手段により、箱容器内に４列の配列パターンに一列づつ繰り返して球塊状の農産物を移載する手順を説明した図。
【図１３】配列パターンの異なるいくつかの状態を例示した図。
【図１４】選別コンベアで移送される受皿を所定の仕分区分が割当て指定された貯溜コンベアに排出し、所定数集積した後に箱詰する上記実施形態１の信号の送受信関係を説明するための図。
【図１５】等・階級判定による農産物の仕分区分を判定するための手順を説明するフローチャート。
【図１６】貯溜コンベアの複数からなる各グループに連係した箱詰装置の稼働率を均等化するための貯溜コンベアに対する仕分区分を指定する一例を説明するためのフローチャート。
【符号の説明】
１・・・選別コンベア、２・・・分岐箱詰ライン（貯溜部）、４・・・フリートレイ、５・・・バーコードリーダー、６・・・箱（段ボール箱）、７・・・ブロアー、８，９・・・切換弁、１０・・・リリーフ弁、１１・・・電磁弁、１３・・・トレイ浮き上がり防止装置、１６・・・排出制御装置、１７・・・箱詰制御装置、１８・・・トレイ送出制御装置、２１・・・（手詰め作業用）分岐箱詰ライン、２２・・・（格外品用の）分岐ライン、
１２・・・（段ボール箱の）供給・排出装置、
１２０１・・・空箱搬送コンベア、
１２０２・・・プッシャー、
１２０３・・・空箱降下装置、
１２０４・・・箱詰位置、
１２０５・・・排出コンベア、
１２０６・・・製品搬送コンベア。
１４・・・トレイパック供給装置、
１４０１〜１４０４・・・トレイパック、
１４０５・・・回転受台、
１４０６・・・支持枠、
１４０７・・・回転器、
１５・・・演算・制御装置、
１５１・・・演算装置、
１５１１・・・計測データ演算処理部、
１５１２・・・等階級判定部、
１５１３・・・アドレスメモリー、
１５１４・・・等・階級設定値、
１５１５・・・記録読出し部、
１５２・・・仕分・箱詰制御装置
１５２１・・・排出・箱詰制御部、
１５２２・・・グループ別仕分区分割当設定部、
１５２３・・・排出先記憶部、
１５２４・・・集積状態記憶部、
１５２５・・・単位集積数設定部、
１５３・・・外部入力装置
５０・・・作業者、
５１・・・リターンコンベア、
５１１・・・ピッチ付けスクリュー、
５２・・・搬送コンベア、
５２１・・・桟、
５２２・・・テーパーレール、
５３・・・トラッキング検出装置、
５４・・・撮像装置、
５５・・・バーコードリーダー、
５６・・・合流機構、
５６１・・・乗り継ぎコンベア、
５６２・・・傾斜レール、
５７・・・供給コンベア、
２０１・・・排出装置、
２０１１・・・回転テーブル、
２０１２・・・電磁吸着部、
２０１３・・・励磁手段、
２０１４，２０１５・・・励磁解除手段、
２０２（２０２１，２０２２）・・・貯溜コンベア、
２０２４・・・（集積状況監視用の）センサ、
２０３・・・箱詰待機位置、
２０３１・・・箱詰レーン、
２０３１１・・・ベルトコンベア、
２０３１２・・・ガイド壁、
２０３４・・・ストッパ機構、
２０４・・・トレイ送出装置、
２０４１・・・送出コンベア、
２０４２・・・エアシリンダ装置、
２０４３・・・横方向中継コンベア、
２０４４・・・縦方向中継コンベア、
２０４５・・・軸、
２０４６・・・ストッパ機構、
２０５・・・箱詰装置（作業ロボット）、
２０５１・・・本体、
２０５２・・・根元リンク機構、
２０５３・・・先端リンク機構、
２０５４・・・吸着カップホルダ、
２０５４１・・・レール、
２０５４２・・・エアシリンダ装置、
２０５４３・・・ピストンロッド、
２０５４５・・・レール、
２０５４６・・・サーボモータ、
２０５４７・・・パンタグラフ機構、
２０５４８・・・通気管、
２０５５・・・ブラケット、
２０５５１・・・ブラケット底部板、
２０５５２・・・ガイド、
２０５６・・・固定カップ吊体、
２０５６１・・・エアシリンダ装置、
２０５６２・・・ピストンロッド、
２０５６３・・・吸着カップ、
２０５７・・・移動カップ吊体、
２０５７１・・・エアシリンダ装置、
２０５７２・・・ピストンロッド、
２０５７３・・・吸着カップ、
２０５８・・・通気管、[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  The present invention sorts and boxes agricultural products such as fruits and vegetablesAgricultural product sorting and packaging equipmentAbout.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Traditionally, the fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural products are placed on a saucer one by one and transferred on the conveyor to measure the class elements such as the weight, size, and shape of the fruits, and the grades such as color, scratches, sugar content, etc. There is known a sorting and packaging device that collects and packs agricultural products by equality / class using a device that performs sorting / determination by detecting elements and sorts agricultural products based on the information of these equality / classes. .
[0003]
The process for processing such sorting / judgment, sorting, and boxed packaging is a process of placing the produce on a conveyor and passing it through a measurement stage in order to take out information for sorting / judgment for each produce, The process of judging the classification of agricultural products based on the detected information, the sorting process of collecting agricultural products by classification based on the information of the judgment results, and sending the agricultural products organized by classification to a dedicated packaging stage It is comprised by the process of box-packaging by an apparatus or manual labor.
[0004]
By the way, in such a system, for example, the typical “size” as the class element is 6 classes of 3L, 2L, L, M, S, and 2S, and the class elements are special (A), excellent (AP), and excellent. If sorting classification agricultural products consisting of five grades (B), good (BP), and average (C) are sorted and selected, the number of combinations (number of sorting sections) is 30. Therefore, if the equipment for this purpose is simply mechanized and automated, there will be a large number of boxing devices installed on the packaging stages for each sorting section, making it extremely economically unreasonable as a device for sorting and packaging agricultural products. .
[0005]
This is explained as follows. That is, in the above-mentioned case, the agricultural products are not evenly distributed in each of the 30 sorting categories, and there is a bias that is generally close to a normal distribution. Therefore, although the operation rate of the boxing device is high in the sorting section with a large distribution amount, the operation rate of the boxing device is extremely low in the sorting section with a small distribution amount, and thus the average operation efficiency of the entire boxing device cannot be increased. For this reason, the processing efficiency is low, and an excessive facility with high cost per agricultural product is required. In general, the processing capacity of the boxing equipment is as low as 1/3 to 1/5 compared to the processing capacity of the sorting / judgment and sorting processes. It is conceivable to install multiple dedicated reservoirs and boxing equipment, but in reality, the distribution of agricultural products brought into the selection yard varies depending on the producer and is usually not uniform. Therefore, it becomes necessary to provide a dedicated storage section and a boxing device for a plurality of sorting sections in response to such a change in distribution. Moreover, even if there is a bias in the distribution of agricultural products, the problem of operating the entire boxing device with high efficiency on average cannot be solved.
[0006]
As a method for solving such a problem, there is a proposal to provide a sorting storage section for all sorting categories and link it to the boxing device, and to give priority to the sorting categories to which agricultural products are frequently sent. No. 4-76847). However, even if it is boxed with priority on agricultural products that are sent frequently (that is, with a large amount of distribution) as in this method, there is a considerable amount of stagnation in the storage section of each of the various divisions with a large amount of distribution. It is necessary to secure an allowance, and the area of the reservoir becomes large. In addition, since the distribution of agricultural products varies from one consignment to another, the number of sorting sections that must secure a considerable number of stays in order to be able to cope with the distribution of various consignments increases, and the reservoir The area of becomes larger.
[0007]
In addition, as described above, in view of the fact that the capacity of the packing device is relatively low compared to the processing capacity of other processes, the amount of retention in the storage section of the fixed sorting section increases. It is conceivable to provide sorting / packaging apparatuses including the apparatus in a plurality of series. That is, it is a method of reducing the number of agricultural products processed per line. According to this, the processing speed is improved, and the amount of staying in the storage portion is reduced. However, the equipment cost required for each agricultural product for installing a plurality of sorting and packaging apparatuses increases, which is an economic burden, and it is advantageous in terms of the installation area because the apparatuses are provided in a plurality of series. Not.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, conventional sorting and packaging equipment minimizes the required installation area of the equipment in the fruit selection area, fully demonstrates the capabilities of various equipment used in each process, thereby improving operational efficiency and ultimately In particular, it was not easy to realize efficient sorting and packaging of agricultural products with little capital investment.
[0009]
The reason for this is that there is a problem peculiar to sorting devices that handle products from agricultural processes, in which the classification classification determined by agricultural product is distributed like a normal distribution, and the distribution also varies depending on the cargo port. As described above.
[0010]
  Moreover, apart from the problem of averaging and activating the operation rates of the multiple boxing devices described above, the configuration of the sorting and sorting equipment for agricultural products is simplified, making it difficult to reduce the equipment capacity and investment costs. There's a problem. That is, in the sorting and packaging process of agricultural products, especially fruits, in order to prevent the fruits from coming into contact with each other by vibration during the transportation from the fruit selection site to the market etc.Tray pack)) Is often laid in a box, and for the purpose of packing as much as possible in a common packaging box, if the size of the fruit is different, the number of packings is, for example, 6 (six types) as described above Generally, changing to 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, etc. is performed, but this is laid in the box.Tray packThe shape of will also be different. In this case, if all classes (six types) of fruits are boxed and packaged with a single boxing device, six types of shapes are different in advance.Tray packPrepare the packaging box with the insert inserted at another location and send it to the packaging position, or place each type of packaging at the packaging device location.Tray packIt is necessary to select each time and lay it in the box, which complicates the structure of an apparatus that performs this automatically.
[0011]
The present invention has been made to solve the various problems in the conventional sorting and packaging apparatus as described above, and one of its purposes is that the ability to determine the classification and sorting of agricultural products is high. An object of the present invention is to provide an agricultural product sorting apparatus capable of eliminating the uneconomical property of equipment resulting from an imbalance of processing capacities according to processes in which the processing capacity in the filling process is relatively low.
[0012]
Another object of the present invention is to provide an agricultural product sorting apparatus in which the arrangement of various apparatuses and the linkage of work are devised so that the facility installation area of the fruit selection field can be made as small as possible.
[0013]
Furthermore, the present invention provides an agricultural product sorting device that can improve the overall operation efficiency of a large number of boxing devices and reduce the number of boxing devices that are likely to be relatively expensive. Another purpose is to do.
[0014]
  Another object of the present invention is to use in one boxing device.Tray packAn object of the present invention is to provide an agricultural product sorting apparatus that can make the packaging device as simple as possible by allowing the number of types to be less than the number of classes of agricultural products.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The above object can be achieved by the inventions described in the claims.
[0016]
  Realizing the object of the present inventionAgricultural productsPackaging sortingapparatusFirst configuration ofIs the classification classificationFinishedLoaded with agricultural productsWith agricultural productsIt is connected to the sorting conveyor that transports the tray and branches off from this sorting conveyor.The agricultural product receiving tray discharged from the sorting conveyor is stopped by the operation of the stopper mechanism and stored, and the agricultural product receiving tray can be sent out by releasing the operation of the stopper mechanism.A number of saucer reservoirs;A tray containing agricultural products corresponding to the discharge destination instruction signal provided corresponding to each of the plurality of tray storage sections and moving on the sorting conveyor upon input of the discharge destination instruction signal. A tray discharge means for discharging to the tray, and a sorting classification of the tray containing the agricultural product to be stored in the tray storage section, and outputting a discharge destination instruction signal based on the sorting section to the tray discharge means corresponding to the tray storage section, The sorting classification designation control means for discharging the tray containing the agricultural product of the designated designated sorting category moving on the sorting conveyor to the designated tray storage section, and the sorting category constituting element constituting the sorting category of the agricultural product in the box packaging of the produce A plurality of packaging stages for accepting agricultural products, and each packaging stage has a boxed packaging unit capable of receiving a plurality of the sorting section components. Any one of the plurality of tray storage units is divided into a plurality of tray storage groups corresponding to the packaging stages, and each tray storage group is configured by a plurality of tray storage units, each of which constitutes each tray storage group. An agricultural product sorting and packaging apparatus for instructing a tray storage unit by a tray delivery control means and sending a group of agricultural product trays stored in the tray storage unit to a corresponding packaging stage via the tray delivery means. The sorting classification designation control means designates a plurality of tray storage sections belonging to each of the tray storage groups as a tray storage section for storing agricultural products having sorting section components that can be received at the corresponding packaging stage. One or a plurality of tray storage groups that can accept the agricultural product as a discharge destination of the tray containing the agricultural product that moves on the sorting conveyor. Specify one of the pan reservoir belonging to, and characterized by releasing the group of agricultural products containing saucer saucer reservoir is fed to sorting zoning of the pan reservoir.
[0017]
In this invention, “sorting classification” refers to a classification in which agricultural products are divided according to class elements such as size and weight, and grade elements such as color and scratches. For example, when agricultural products are sorted and packaged only by class. Anything can be used as long as it is classified by class, but generally it is used to sort agricultural products by judgment of equality or class.
[0018]
The sorting conveyor measures the class elements and grade elements for sorting at the upstream conveyor (or upstream of the sorting conveyor), and the tray on which the agricultural products whose sorting classification is determined is placed for automatic packaging of agricultural products Although it says what is conveyed, the saucer sent to the work area for hand-packing an extraordinary article etc. can also be mixed and conveyed with the saucer which put the agricultural product to pack these automatic boxes. The tray storage section generally refers to a conveyor that is branched from the sorting conveyor and accumulates a certain number of trays, and although not limited thereto, it can be normally provided as a tray storage conveyor using a conveyor. The tray is an agricultural product carrying tray generally called a free tray that is transferred without being restricted by a sorting conveyor or a tray storage conveyor.
[0019]
  The tray discharge meansIs for discharging the tray from the sorting conveyor to the tray storage section. For example, it detects the sign (for example, barcode) of the tray being conveyed on the sorting conveyor, and places the agricultural products of the specified sorting category. The tray is selected and discharged to a tray storage section in which this sorting category is designated. As the discharging means, for example, a known system that is arranged along the sorting conveyor and performs the above-described operation can be used. In the saucer reservoir where the classification is specified,StorageThe tray discharging means is controlled so that the trays on which the agricultural products belonging to the same sorting category are discharged until the number of trays to be processed reaches a predetermined number. Predetermined numberStorageThe saucer delivery means for delivering the received saucer is for delivering the saucer from the saucer reservoir to the packaging stage.StorageUntil the tray is stopped,StorageAt this time, it is possible to perform the operation for the packaging standby position where the automatic packaging device or the like is kept in an aligned state suitable for the packaging operation by the packaging device of the packaging stage based on the operation status and timing of the automatic packaging device.In this specification,“Equipment operation status” can be representative of status such as the accumulation state of the tray storage unit and the number of times the tray delivery device is operated, but is not limited to this, and in the packaging stage linked to the sorting device. The situation such as the number of times of boxing operation of the boxing device can be used.
[0020]
  In the present invention, in addition to the above-described configuration, automatic boxing of a large number of tray storage units.And hand-packedThe tray storage section used for the above is divided into a plurality of groups, each group is linked to the packaging stage and each one, and the number of groups of the packaging stage and the tray storage section is less than the total number of sorting sections.can do. Here, the term “linkage” means that each tray storage section in one group is set to a relationship that allows the tray to be sent out to one common packaging stage. By having such a linkage relationship, one packaging stage and a plurality of saucer reservoirs switch the linkage relationship by the saucer sending means that receives and switches the linkage switching signal issued from the saucer delivery control means, The tray can be selectively delivered from each of the plurality of tray storage parts to one packaging stage. The switching of the linkage is performed when the tray sending means of each group receives a linkage switching signal from the tray sending control means. The number of tray storage sections that form a group is determined in consideration of the processing capacity of a boxing device that boxes a plurality of trays that are less than the total number of sorting sections.
[0021]
  SpecifiedThe selection of the sorting category to be newly specified after the release of, for example, the information on the operating status of a plurality of packaging devices, the presence / absence of other tray storage units that are accumulating cumulative information by sorting category by sorting and judgment The designation can be performed using an arithmetic unit (computer) that selects various conditions and analyzes them comprehensively.
[0022]
  According to this invention, the individual tray storage sectionStorageSince the classification of agricultural products to be selected can be selected and specified, the number of times each group can be sent to the packaging stage linked to this can be adjusted, so that empty tray storage can be used efficiently. The operating rate of the packaging stage boxing device can be adjusted.
[0023]
  The second configuration of the agricultural product packaging sorting apparatus that realizes the object of the present invention is the first configuration described above, and the packaging packaging unit accepts each packaging stage in all packaging stages for automatic packaging. A plurality of sorting section components are the same sorting section components.
[0029]
  The third configuration of the agricultural product packaging sorting apparatus that realizes the object of the present invention is the above-described first configuration, and the boxed packaging unit is used as a sorting division component for all the packaging stages for automatic boxing. Each packaging stage can accept fewer sorting category components than the set number, and a set of packaging stages in which all acceptable sorting category components match, and some of the acceptable sorting category components are It has a set of different packaging stages.
[0031]
  Realizing the object of the present inventionThe fourth configuration of the agricultural product sorting and packaging apparatus is any one of the above-described configurations, wherein the sorting classification designation control unit is configured for the tray storage group with respect to the number of the tray storage units constituting the tray storage group. The number of sorting category components that can be specified is reduced..
[0032]
According to the present invention, in a situation where the tray storage unit in the group accumulates a predetermined number of agricultural products and feeds them to the packaging stage, the empty tray storage unit in the group receives agricultural products of the same sorting category. Can be specified for.
[0035]
  The fifth configuration of the agricultural product sorting and packaging apparatus for realizing the object of the present invention is any one of the first to fourth configurations described above.In the aboveThe sorting classification designation control means can designate the same sorting section component for the tray storage sections of a plurality of tray storage groups, monitor the operation rate of the packaging stage to which these tray storage sections belong, and In order to improve or average the operation rate, one of the tray storage units corresponding to these packaging stages is designated..
[0036]
According to this invention,Packaging stageCan be averaged between groups.
[0037]
  The sixth configuration for realizing the object of the present invention is the above-described first to fourth configurations,SaidThe sorting classification designation control means is capable of designating the same sorting section component for the tray storage section of a plurality of tray storage groups, and has means for monitoring the pool status of the tray storage group to which these tray storage sections belong, Based on the pool situation of these tray storage groups, the tray storage section of any one of these tray storage groups is designated..
[0038]
According to the present invention, the operating rate of the boxing device can be averaged among the groups based on the pool status of the tray storage unit related to the operating rate of the boxing device.
[0039]
  A seventh configuration of the agricultural product packaging sorting apparatus that realizes the object of the present invention is the above-described first to fourth configurations, whereinSorting classification designation control means,When a new classification is specified in the tray storage unit, the distribution obtained by the classification predicted in advance or the distribution obtained after a certain period of time after starting the processing of one consignment is obtained.The sum of product distribution ratesSaucer storageSpecify the sorting classification in the tray storage section so that it is almost even among the groups.didIt is characterized by that.
[0040]
  According to this invention, the operating rate of a plurality of boxing devices can be increased on average to show a high operating rate as a whole. That is, since the accumulation speed of the saucer that accumulates in a certain saucer storage area for a certain classification category is roughly proportional to the distribution rate of agricultural products belonging to this classification category, the sum of the distribution rates of the specified classification category (sum) If the designation to each tray storage unit is controlled so that all the groups are evenly distributed, the average operating rate can be improved.The
[0041]
  The eighth configuration of the agricultural product packaging sorting apparatus that achieves the object of the present invention is any one of the first to fourth configurations described above.SaidThe sorting classification designation control means, when a plurality of tray storage units capable of designating a sorting category having the same sorting category component is in a sorting category designation release state,Priority is given to the saucer reservoir that has been emptied firstSpecifiedOrCorrespondingIt is characterized by preferentially specifying a tray storage section having a lower operation rate of the packaging stage.
[0042]
According to the above configuration, the operation of the tray storage unit can be averaged by giving priority to the previously empty tray storage unit, the operation rate of the boxing device can be averaged indirectly, and the packaging stage It is possible to directly average the operation rate of the boxing device by giving priority to those having a low operation rate.
[0043]
  The ninth configuration of the agricultural product packaging and sorting apparatus that realizes the object of the present invention is:Classification classification judgmentFinishedLoaded with agricultural productsWith agricultural productsIt is connected to the sorting conveyor that transports the tray and branches off from this sorting conveyor.The agricultural product receiving tray discharged from the sorting conveyor is stopped by the operation of the stopper mechanism and stored, and the agricultural product receiving tray can be sent out by releasing the operation of the stopper mechanism.A number of saucer reservoirs;A tray containing agricultural products corresponding to the discharge destination instruction signal provided corresponding to each of the plurality of tray storage sections and moving on the sorting conveyor upon input of the discharge destination instruction signal. A tray discharge means for discharging to the tray, and a sorting classification of the tray containing the agricultural product to be stored in the tray storage section, and outputting a discharge destination instruction signal based on the sorting section to the tray discharge means corresponding to the tray storage section, The sorting classification designation control means for discharging the tray containing the agricultural product of the designated designated sorting category moving on the sorting conveyor to the designated tray storage section, and the sorting category constituting element constituting the sorting category of the agricultural product in the box packaging of the produce A plurality of packaging stages for accepting agricultural products, and each packaging stage has a boxed packaging unit capable of receiving a plurality of the sorting section components. Any one of the plurality of tray storage units is divided into a plurality of tray storage groups corresponding to the packaging stages, and each tray storage group is configured by a plurality of tray storage units, each of which constitutes each tray storage group. An agricultural product sorting and packaging apparatus for instructing a tray storage unit by a tray delivery control means and sending a group of agricultural product trays stored in the tray storage unit to a corresponding packaging stage via the tray delivery means. The sorting category designation control means is capable of fixedly designating a sorting category based on a sorting category component that can be received by a corresponding packaging stage for a plurality of receiving tray storage units belonging to each receiving tray storage group. Features.
[0044]
  According to this invention, the combination of the sorting divisions to be assigned to the group consisting of a plurality of tray storage units linked to one packaging stage is selected so that the operating rate of the packaging device at each packaging stage is averaged.And fixedBy doing so, the overall operating rate can be improved.
[0045]
  The tenth configuration of the agricultural product packaging sorting apparatus that achieves the object of the present invention is the ninth configuration described above,Sorting classification designation control means,Farming obtained by the distribution rate by classification category expected in advance, or the distribution rate of the state after a certain time after starting the processing of one consignmentThe sum of product distribution ratesSaucer storageTo be roughly even across groupseachSorting in the tray storageFixedlySpecifieddidIt is characterized by that.
[0046]
According to the present invention, it is possible to average the operation rate of each boxing device with a simple combination of averaging the sum of the distribution rates.
[0047]
  BookAn eleventh configuration of a packaging sorting apparatus for agricultural products that achieves the object of the invention is any one of the configurations described above,The saucer delivery control means is provided in the saucer reservoir.A collection of trays containing farm productsOne unit of packaging packed in a packaging boxAsIt is characterized by being sent out to the packaging stage.
[0048]
The number of trays on which the agricultural products of the same sorting category are continuously accumulated in the tray storage unit is not necessarily limited to the number of one-box packaging units. In the method of re-specifying the classification, by setting the number of stacks to the number of packaging units in one box, the amount of retention in each tray storage unit can be set to the number of packaging units in one box at the maximum, reducing the required area. can do. Further, it is preferable because the control operation for redesignating the sorting category is facilitated.
[0049]
  The twelfth configuration of the agricultural product packaging sorting apparatus that realizes the object of the present invention is any one of the configurations described above,The delivery of the saucer from the saucer reservoir to the packaging stage is performed at a boxing standby position where the saucer is aligned for boxing work by the boxing device.
[0050]
In order to send the saucer to the packaging standby position for aligning such saucers, for example, the saucers may be sent out in a single row, or may be sent out in a state where the saucer storage unit is arranged in a plurality of rows and rows. it can.
[0051]
  The thirteenth configuration of the agricultural product packaging sorting apparatus that realizes the object of the present invention is any one of the configurations described above, and the boxed packaging unit uses the sorting division component as a class element, and a tray prepared for each class element. It is characterized in that each packaging stage can accept agricultural products of the sorting category corresponding to the pack.
  The fourteenth configuration of the agricultural product packaging sorting apparatus that realizes the object of the present invention is the above-described thirteenth configuration, in which the tray delivery control means is provided.Is characterized by outputting a tray pack selection signal instructing a packaging tray pack to be used in the packaging stage when the tray is sent from the designated tray storage section to the packaging stage.
[0052]
  According to this invention, it is attached to the boxing device.Tray packWhen a tray pack supply device for inserting the tray pack into the packaging box is provided, the work performed by receiving the tray pack selection signal can be made more efficient.
[0053]
  The fifteenth configuration of the agricultural product packaging sorting apparatus that realizes the object of the present invention is any one of the configurations described above.Sorting category for manual packaging was determinedAgricultural trayCorresponds to at least one manual boxing position that is transported in a mixed manner on the sorting conveyor and branched and connected to the sorting conveyor.Agricultural trayIt is characterized in that a tray discharge means for discharging the stool is provided.
[0054]
According to the present invention, when agricultural products are not required to be boxed, such as extraordinary products, or because the distribution is extremely small, the operator manually packs the product after processing without using an expensive boxing device. In this case, the sorting and packaging apparatus can be simplified or omitted, and economically advantageous equipment can be provided.
[0055]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings.
[0056]
Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a part of a fruit selection field equipped with a sorting and packaging apparatus for agricultural products equipped with a sorting apparatus according to the present invention (measurement for sorting and sorting agricultural products to a box). Yes, this sorting and packaging equipment can be broadly divided into the supply / equal class sorting section of the agricultural products, and the sorting products to be sorted and discharged to the branch boxing line (storage section) 2 which is the tray storage section of each sorting category. A sorting unit, three work processing units of a packaging unit for packaging a group (number of packaging units) of agricultural products sent to the packaging standby position of the packaging stage from the branch packaging line 2 of each classified classification; Based on information on sorting / sorting of classification and other information, the tray (hereinafter referred to as “free tray”) is controlled to be discharged to each branch boxing line 2 and sent from the branch boxing line 2 to the packaging stage. Control means for controlling There.
[0057]
In this example, the agricultural product supply / equal class sorting unit secures the work by visual judgment of relatively inefficient workers, and the sorting and sorting unit is a mechanical work so that it can work efficiently at high speed. In order to satisfy the requirements of each processing unit, which is intended to speed up the processing and efficiently operate a large number of boxing devices in the boxing and packaging unit, the free trays 4 are joined or switched at a timely stage. Can be done.
[0058]
Hereinafter, the configuration of the above-described three work processing units will be described. The above-mentioned agricultural product supply / equal class selection unit is shown in detail in FIG. 2, while the free tray 4 returned by the return conveyor 51 is transferred on the transfer conveyor 52, the agricultural products on the supply conveyor 57 are transferred to the worker. 50 is placed on the free tray 4 and grades (for example, grades A, AP, B, BP, C, etc.) are visually discriminated to determine the position of the free tray 4 at the center, right middle, and right end of the conveyor 52. , Move it to the left middle and left end, and show its grade by tracking. In addition, the conveyance conveyor 52 of this example is a conveyor with a crosspiece provided with crosspieces 521 at regular intervals in the conveyance direction, and the crosspiece 521 is formed by a pitching screw 511 having a spiral groove provided at the end portion of the return conveyor 51. One free tray 4 is inserted for each divided square.
[0059]
Reference numeral 53 denotes a free tray position tracking detection device (camera or the like), which detects the grade of the agricultural product graded by tracking. After detecting the tracking, the free tray 4 is aligned in a line by the taper rail 522 and passed through the imaging device 54. The imaging device 54 images the appearance of agricultural products using a color camera, a sensor camera, or the like, and examines the size of each agricultural product by an appropriate calculation method to classify the agricultural products (for example, 2L, L1, L2, M, S, 2S). 6), etc.). Reference numeral 55 denotes a bar code reader that reads different identification marks displayed on the free tray 4, for example, bar code numbers. Information for specifying the grade, class and free tray 4 of these agricultural products is sent to a computer / control device 15 (see FIG. 1) configured by a computer, and the agricultural products on the specific free tray 4 are of the same class. It is determined which sort category it belongs to, and it is recorded in the address memory (recording device) 1513 as sort category information (barcode No + sort category) (see FIG. 14). This sorting information is used as information for discharging the free tray 4 from the sorting conveyor 1 to the storage conveyor 202.
[0060]
On the terminal side of the conveyor 52 in the supply / equal class sorting unit of this example, the junction mechanism 56 is used to transfer and join the free tray 4 from the two conveyors 52 to one sorting conveyor 1 that transfers at high speed. It has become. That is, the two conveyors 52 are provided in parallel so as to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and the both bars 521 are rotated by a 1/2 pitch. Then, the sorting conveyor 1 arranged in the middle of the both conveyors 52 and transported at approximately twice the speed is joined by the inclined rails 562 and 562 via the connecting conveyors 561 and 561 having the crosspieces 5611, respectively. Like to do. The transfer conveyor 561 has a large speed difference between the transfer conveyor 52 and the sorting conveyor 1 so that the transfer can be performed smoothly. An intermediate speed of 1 is set.
[0061]
The free tray 4 on which the agricultural products for which the class classification is determined as described above is sent to the sorting section by the sorting conveyor 1.
[0062]
Next, the sorting unit of the sorting and packaging apparatus of this example will be described. The sorting and packaging apparatus of this example is provided with the above-described supply / equal class sorting units in two series, and these two series of supply / equal class sorting units. Sorting conveyors 1 (two strips) for transporting the free tray 4 fed from the side are arranged in parallel in a vertically separated and stacked manner, and a number of branches in the lateral direction correspond to the sorting conveyors 1 on the top and bottom strips. A boxing line 2 is connected, and this branch boxing line 2 is constituted by a storage conveyor 202 (see FIG. 3). That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the free tray 4 on which the agricultural products whose sorting classification has been determined by the supply / equal class sorting unit is transported by the upper and lower sorting conveyors 1 and 1 as shown in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. 4, it is discharged to a storage conveyor 202 that is branched and connected in the horizontal direction to form a tray storage section.
[0063]
In this example, the discharge operation of the free tray 4 by the discharge device (the tray discharge means) 201 is performed as follows. That is, the bar code reader 5 (see FIG. 1) arranged on the upstream side of the sorting conveyor 1 reads the sign (bar code No.) of the free tray 4 and sends this information to the calculation / control device 15. The arithmetic / control unit 15 reads out the sorting classification information (barcode No + sorting classification) recorded in the address memory 1513 in a paired relationship with this indicator, and designates the corresponding sorting classification from the arrangement position of the barcode reader 5. The transfer distance (or time) to the storage conveyor 202 to the discharge device is calculated from the rotation amount of a pulse motor or the like that rotates the sorting conveyor 1, and the information is sent to the discharge control device 16 as a discharge destination instruction signal ( 1 and 14). The discharge control device 16 operates the discharge device 201 when the free tray 4 passes through the position of the corresponding discharge device 201. The designation of the sorting category for the storage conveyor, the release of the designation, and the control of discharging the free tray by the discharge destination instruction signal will be described later.
[0064]
In the storage conveyor 202 in the present example, a total of 8 upper and lower 4 strips form a group (group), and the packaging standby position 203 of one packaging stage (see FIG. 4). In the example shown in the figure, the eight branching boxing lines 2 composed of a set of 8 storage conveyor groups are linked to each packing standby position of one packaging stage. Has been.
[0065]
In addition, the three branch boxing lines 21 on the right side in FIG. 1 indicate lines for hand-packing work by an operator. For example, since a branching boxing line having a boxing standby position for hand-packing operations distributes only a very small number of agricultural products, even if the storage conveyor 202 for this sorting section is allocated and the boxing packaging is automated, the facility packaging rather When it is disadvantageous from the economical point of view, it is preferably used when it is discharged to a common line and boxed by an operator timely. In addition, agricultural products that cannot be shipped as non-standard products do not need to be packaged, so they may be discharged to a non-boxed line and processed together. The rightmost branch line 22 in FIG. 1 shows this line. Yes.
[0066]
Hereinafter, the configuration of a set of branch boxing lines 2 will be described in detail mainly with reference to FIGS. 1, 3, and 4. As shown in FIG. Upper and lower discharge devices 201 and 201 for discharging the free tray 4 from the upper and lower sorting conveyors 1, upper and lower storage conveyors 202 and 202 for storing the discharged free tray 4, and the upper and lower storage conveyors 202 to the boxing standby position 203 It comprises a tray delivery device (tray delivery means) 204 for delivering the free tray 4.
[0067]
The discharge device 201 can be configured using, for example, a discharge device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-278848, and is provided independently on each of the upper and lower sorting conveyors 1 and 1. In this example, the single discharge device 201 is configured to have a function of distributing the free tray 4 to the storage conveyor 202 (2021, 2022 in FIG. 4) in two lanes (two strips). The rotating table 2011 having the electromagnetic adsorption unit 2012 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4, and the adsorbing means 2013 for adsorbing at a predetermined position is used to adsorb and turn the free tray 4 to eject the free tray 4 from the sorting conveyor 1. Excitation of the electromagnetic adsorption unit 2012 fixed at two predetermined positions to excite the electromagnetic adsorption unit 2012 of the rotary table 2011 and distribute the free tray 4 to the two-lane storage conveyors 2021 and 2022 as described above. The means 2014, 2015 is configured to release the excitation and discharge.
[0068]
With such a configuration, for example, in the above-mentioned example in which the classification classification of the equal class is determined, the agricultural product of the size class L1 and the classification A is the storage in which the classification classification (L1, A) is designated. When passing through the position of the discharge device 201 corresponding to the conveyor 202, the excitation means 2013 is excited by the discharge destination instruction signal from the discharge control device 16, so that the free tray 4 on which the corresponding agricultural product is placed is electromagnetic It is adsorbed by a rotary table 2011 having an adsorbing part 2012, and is turned laterally from the sorting conveyor 1 according to the rotation of the rotary table 2011, and is discharged to, for example, a storage conveyor 2021. The storage conveyor 202 is configured by a belt conveyor or a roller conveyor.
[0069]
The above-described operation of the discharge device 201 is driven and controlled by a discharge control device 16 with a built-in local MPU (microprocessor unit) programmed in advance with a predetermined operation procedure.
[0070]
Note that the discharge device 201 and the storage conveyor 202 are provided independently for the upper and lower sorting conveyors 1, 1. Therefore, in the configuration of this example, the storage conveyor 202 is vertically arranged in each of the four branch boxing lines 2. Two strips and two discharge devices 201 are arranged on the top and bottom.
[0071]
Next, the linkage control between the packaging stage for packaging and the storage conveyor 202 and the tray delivery device 204 for tray delivery control will be described.
[0072]
A stopper mechanism 2046 serving as a storage conveyor gate that forms a part of the delivery device 204 and stops the tray free tray 4 is provided at the conveyance end position of each storage conveyor 202 in the above-described example. A swing-switching-type delivery conveyor 2041 for delivering agricultural products to the filling standby position 203 is arranged. The stopper mechanism 2046 is composed of a retractable air cylinder mechanism and normally operates to stop the conveyance of the free tray 4. On the other hand, when the accumulation status monitoring sensor 2024 provided in the vicinity of the storage conveyor 202 detects that the number of free trays has been accumulated up to a predetermined unit number of packaging, the accumulation information is calculated and controlled. 15, the tray delivery control device 18 (see FIG. 14) is actuated to switch to a linkage state that allows conveyance between the storage conveyor 202 in which the accumulation is detected and a boxing lane 2031 described later, and a group of free trays 4 is sent to the boxing standby position 203 and boxing is performed by the operation of the boxing device 205 by the boxing control device 17 (see FIGS. 14 and 16).
[0073]
The above-described packaging standby position 203 is free of the number of packaging units fed from one of the lanes of the upper and lower two-stage storage conveyors 202 included in one branch packaging line 2 (8 in this example). The tray 4 is provided as a boxing lane 2031 in which the trays 4 are lined up in a line for boxing, and a switchable tray delivery device 204 for feeding out agricultural products is provided from any storage conveyor 202 to the boxing lane. In order to send the free tray 4 to 2031, four feed conveyors 2041 provided in a vertically swinging manner, an air cylinder device 2042 for each lane that swings these feed conveyors 2041, In order to transfer the free tray 4 sent from the storage conveyor 202 via the delivery conveyor 2041 to the boxing lane 2031, the free tray 4 is extended in a perpendicular direction. It is constituted by the lateral relay conveyor 2043, and this is further connected at a right angle and longitudinal relay conveyor 2044 leading to the starting end of the case packer lanes 2031. Each air cylinder device 2042 performs the above calculation prior to the above-described stopper mechanism 2046 being switched to a state that allows conveyance in order to send out the group of free trays 4 from either one of the storage conveyors 202 paired up and down. -A driving device (not shown) of the air cylinder device 2042 is actuated by a sending instruction signal from the control device 15, and the sending conveyor 2041 is swung up and down around the shaft 2045 on the lateral relay conveyor 2043 side. The corresponding storage conveyor 202 and the boxing lane 2031 are switched to have a continuous relationship via the relay conveyors 2043 and 2044.
[0074]
FIG. 4 shows a state in which the delivery conveyor 2041 is sent out in a horizontal posture when 24 free trays 4 of the number of boxed packaging units are accumulated on the storage conveyor 2021 at the upper right end of the figure, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the free tray 4 of the number of boxed packaging units is sent out from the lower storage conveyor 202 in an inclined posture in which the delivery conveyor 2041 of FIG.
[0075]
The operation of the delivery device 204 described above is driven and controlled by the tray delivery control device 18 with a built-in local MPU programmed in advance with a predetermined operation procedure.
[0076]
Next, a packaging stage having a working robot as the boxing device 205 and peripheral devices related thereto will be described.
[0077]
As described above, the free tray 4 sent from the predetermined storage conveyor 202 by the tray delivery device 204 is sent onto the boxing lane 2031 and is a stopper mechanism as an empty tray discharge gate provided at the tip of the boxing lane 2031. It is stopped by 2034 and is put into a boxing standby state. This stopper mechanism 2034 can be configured in the same manner as the stopper mechanism 2046, and is based on an empty tray discharge instruction signal from the boxing control device 17 at the end of picking up agricultural products (or at the time when there is no hindrance to transport after picking up). After switching to a state in which the conveyance is permitted, the empty free tray 4 is sent to the return conveyor 51, and then the subsequent free tray 4 is returned to a state of being stopped again. The end of the return conveyor 51 is connected to the transport conveyor 52 shown in FIGS.
[0078]
The boxing device 205 is configured as a working robot having a vertical articulated arm mechanism (hereinafter referred to as “working robot 205”), and is queued in line in the boxing lane 2031 at the boxing standby position 203. It operates to pick up agricultural products P from above a predetermined number of free trays 4 and sequentially pack them one by one in a cardboard box 6 into which tray packs (1401 to 1404) are inserted.
[0079]
The boxing device of this example is packed in 5 × 4 rows (20 in total) when, for example, a product of size L1 is boxed, but six when packing a product of size M. Since x4 rows (24 in total) are packed, the suction cup is provided so that it can be retracted to a retracted position that is not involved in picking up so as to cope with different picking numbers. It has a configuration. Some of such boxed arrangement patterns are shown in FIG.
[0080]
The details of the working robot 205 of this example will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, a root link mechanism 2052 that performs parallelogram link motion is extended from the main body 2051, and this root link mechanism 2052. A tip link mechanism 2053 that performs a parallelogram link motion is connected to the tip of the tip link mechanism 2053 via a hinge that allows rotation about a horizontal axis, and a suction cup holder 2054 is connected to the tip of the tip link mechanism 2053 via a bracket 2055. With the arm mechanism configured by these link mechanisms, the bracket 2055 can move up and down and back and forth while always maintaining a horizontal posture.
[0081]
As shown in detail in FIGS. 5 and 6, the bracket 2055 slides so that a pair of guides 20552 provided on the bracket bottom plate 20551 and a rail 20541 provided on the upper surface of the suction cup holder 2054 can move in the horizontal direction. Thus, the suction cup holder 2054 is suspended so as to be movable in the Y-Y direction of FIG. 5 and the piston rod 20543 of the air cylinder device 20542 assembled to the upper surface of the suction cup holder 2054 is attached to the bracket bottom plate 20551. By being connected, the positions of the suction cup holder 2054 and the bracket 2055 in the YY direction can be determined.
[0082]
The suction cup holder 2054 has, in this example, one fixed cup suspension 2056 at the end fixed so as not to move in the YY direction as shown in FIG. The rail 20545 provided on the lower surface of the holder 2054 is provided so as to suspend a combination of six moving cup suspensions 2057 that are slidably moved in the Y-Y direction. Each of the cup suspensions has air cylinder devices 20561 and 20571 having piston rods 20562 and 20572 below which are driven vertically, and has suction cups 20563 and 20573 at the lower ends of the piston rods 20562 and 20572, respectively. In addition, this adsorption cup can use the known thing which has a flexible bellows for improving the adhesiveness with the agricultural product to pick up.
[0083]
Further, the seven cup suspensions described above are provided with a pantograph mechanism 20547 having a servo motor 20546 as a driving means as a distance changing means, and the moving cup suspensions 2057 that are sequentially adjacent to each other with the fixed cup suspension 2056 as a reference. The interval can be changed. The details of the interval changing means are shown in FIG. 7, and the horizontal position of the fixed cup suspension 2056 and the movable cup suspension 2057 located farthest from the fixed cup suspension 2056 are moved by the servo motor 20546. The interval change and equalization are achieved by equalizing the adjacent intervals of the remaining cup suspensions between the pair of cup suspensions by the pantograph mechanism 20547.
[0084]
Furthermore, the suction cups 20563 and 20573 are connected to the blower 7 via a vent pipe 2058 in this example. The connection relationship between the suction cup and the blower is shown in the system diagram of FIG. 8. Each suction cup 20563, 20573 is connected to the blower 7 through the switching valve 8, 9 and the vent pipe 2058 on the way. That is, the switching valve 8 is interposed in the middle of the vent pipe connected to the suction port of the blower 7, and air is sucked into the blower 7 through the vent pipe at the time of opening, so that the suction cup 20563, The inside of 20573 becomes a negative pressure and sucks and adsorbs agricultural products. In other cases, the agricultural product is closed and the negative pressure in the suction cup is released. Further, the switching valve 9 is interposed in the middle of a vent pipe connected to the discharge port of the blower 7, and when the circuit is opened, the discharge air (positive pressure) of the blower 7 is supplied to the suction cups 20563 and 20573 and sucked. The agricultural product P that has been removed is removed, and in other cases, it is closed and the supply of positive pressure is stopped. In addition, 10 is a relief valve, and adjusts the pressure of the positive pressure (discharge air) supplied from the blower 7 and acts to moderately remove from the suction cup so as not to damage the agricultural product P. 11 is an electromagnetic valve for supplying air to the air cylinder devices 20561 and 20571 of the cup suspension through the vent pipe 20548.
[0085]
The operation of the boxing device described above is driven and controlled by the boxing control device 17 with a built-in local MPU programmed in advance with a predetermined operation procedure.
[0086]
Next, peripheral devices and the like provided on the packaging stage will be described.
[0087]
Reference numeral 12 denotes a supply / discharge device for the cardboard box 6. The empty box 6 conveyed by the empty box transfer conveyor 1201 is pushed into the empty box lowering device 1203 by the pusher 1202 at a predetermined timing, and the pushed empty box 6 is lowered. After that, it is sent to the boxing position 1204 along the arrows shown in FIGS. The corrugated cardboard box 6 in which the packaging of the agricultural products P has been completed is lowered from the packaging position 1204 to the discharge conveyor 1205 by an elevator (not shown), and is transported to a predetermined product accumulation place by the product transport conveyor 1206.
[0088]
Reference numeral 13 denotes a tray lifting prevention device provided at the boxing standby position 203, and the details of one example are shown in FIG. That is, in the boxing lane 2031 formed by the belt conveyor 20311 and the guide walls 20312 on both sides, a predetermined number of free trays 4 that are stopped by the stopper mechanism 2034 in the boxing standby state are part of the upper surface. The hook-type tray lifting prevention device 13 is extended inwardly from the guide walls 20312 on both sides so that the agricultural products P are sucked by the suction cups 20563 and 20573 by the tray lifting prevention device 13 thus provided. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent the free tray 4 from being lifted together when picking up.
[0089]
Reference numeral 14 denotes a tray pack supply device. In the processing of the boxed packaging of this example, thin plastic tray packs 1401 to 1404 in which the concave portions for placing the agricultural products P one by one are formed in a matrix shape or a staggered shape are inserted into the cardboard box 6 and used. The work robot 205, which is the above-described means for picking up agricultural products, is also used for inserting the tray pack into the cardboard box.
[0090]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tray pack supply device 14 has four types of tray packs 1401 to 1401 in a space surrounded by the above-described packing lane 2031, the horizontal relay conveyor 2043, and the vertical relay conveyor 2044. A tray that is composed of a rotation receiving base 1405 for stacking and mounting 1404, a support frame 1406 for supporting the stacked stack tray pack, and a rotator 1407 for rotating the rotation receiving base 1405 by 90 °. In response to a command from the boxing control device 17, rotation by the rotator 1407 is performed between the state shown in FIG. 4 and the state rotated in the direction of the arrow so that the stack of packs is positioned on the boxing lane 2031 side. It is supposed to be done. By doing in this way, the work robot 205 can select and take out the tray packs that match the different boxed states in the sorting sections. Reference numeral 1410 denotes a tray pack replenishment operation path provided above the box branching line 2 so as to be orthogonal thereto as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 (see FIG. 3). In addition, in the present example, the above-described rotation operation of taking out a predetermined pack (any one of 1401 to 1404) of the tray pack supply device 14 to the take-out position is performed by the tray delivery device 204 described above from any one of the storage conveyors 202. When the tray is sent out, it is performed by outputting a command signal from the boxing control device 17 in synchronization with a signal for operating the stopper mechanism 2046.
[0091]
As described above, a group of free trays 4 each carrying a box of agricultural products are sent to the boxing standby position 203, so that the multi-joint work robot 205 sequentially performs the boxing operation in a row. Done.
[0092]
  As an example of this work, a boxing device (work robot) 205 is first loaded on an empty cardboard box 6 sent to the boxing position 1204 by the cardboard box supply / discharge device 12. For ballsTray packThe arm mechanism is operated by a driving means (not shown) at the position / posture indicated by the solid line in FIG. 3 so that 1401 is picked up by the suction cup. On this occasion,Tray packThe rotator 1407 of the supply device 14 is for the 24 balls (pieces).Tray packIt rotates so that 1401 may be located in the state (state of FIG. 4) close to the packaging lane 2031. As shown in FIG.Tray packIn order to ensure the picking up of the cup, the interval between the cup suspensions 2056 and 2057 is narrowed, and six cup suspensions are used.Tray pack1401 is taken up. And took upTray pack1401 moves the arm mechanism of the work robot 205 to the position / posture shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3 and inserts it into the cardboard box 6 at the packing position 1204.
[0093]
  Next, to the packing position 1204Tray pack(In the above state, for size MTray pack1401) in the state where the corrugated cardboard box 6 is on standby and the free tray 4 containing the agricultural product P is stopped in the packing lane 2031, the work robot 205 transfers the agricultural product P from the free tray 4 to the box. Agricultural products are boxed.
[0094]
At this time, since the work robot 205 of this example has a total of seven cup suspensions (one fixed cup suspension 2056 and six movable cup suspensions 2057), the agricultural product P to be lifted and picked up. Since there are six, there is an extra cup suspension for one. Therefore, the suction cup 20573 of the air cylinder device 20571 of the moving cup suspension 2057 farthest from the fixed cup suspension 2056 is retreated upward from the position where it operates for normal agricultural product transfer by intake air from the vent pipe 20548. In such a case, it is impossible to participate in operations such as picking up and transferring the agricultural product P. In addition, the positions and intervals at which the cup suspensions 2056 and 2057 are suitable for adsorbing and lifting the agricultural products P on the six free trays 4 stopped in the boxing lane 2031 are the positions of the air cylinder device 20542. Actuation and activation of the pantograph mechanism 20547 are provided. The arm mechanism having six cup suspensions controlled in this way is moved to the position / posture shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, and the suction cups 20563 and 20573 absorb one row (six) of agricultural products P. Take up. The free tray 4 is prevented from being lifted together at the time of picking up by the tray lifting prevention device 13 described above.
[0095]
The work robot 205 that sucks and suspends the picked agricultural products P moves the cup suspensions 2056 and 2057 to the boxing position by controlling the posture of the arm mechanism, and the operation of the pantograph mechanism 20547 during the movement. Thus, the adjacent interval between the row of cup suspensions 2056 and 2057 is changed to a state suitable for boxing. This changed state is shown in FIG. The empty free tray 4 from which the agricultural products P are picked up is sent out to the return conveyor 51 with the stopper mechanism 2034 retracted. Then, the free tray 4 on which the subsequent agricultural product P is loaded is transferred to the boxing lane 2031, stopped by the returned stopper mechanism 2034, and waited for the next boxing. And the boxing operation | work of the agricultural products P of the 2nd row is performed by the work robot 205 which extended the adjacent space | interval of the cup suspension in the state of FIG.
[0096]
In the present example, the above operation is continuously performed for four rows as shown in FIG. 12, and thus the boxing operation for one box is completed, and the box 6 after the operation is completed is discharged from the discharge conveyor 1205 to the product sorting conveyor. The product is conveyed to a predetermined product accumulation location via 1206. On the other hand, the boxing operation is performed on the next box 6. That is, supply of the empty box 6 to the boxing position 1204, feeding a predetermined number of free trays 4 on which the agricultural products P are loaded from any one of the storage conveyors 202 to the boxing lane 2031, predetermined tray packs (1401 to 1404) ) Is inserted into the box 6, and a series of operations of picking up and packing the agricultural products one by one is performed. At this time, when the boxing is performed on the agricultural product of size L, the second cup is hung from the left side of FIG. The body 2057 also needs to be retracted to the same retracted state as the left-most cup suspension 2057, and the agricultural product stuffing state is staggered and the degree of change in the adjacent spacing of the cup suspension is different. Accordingly, these change controls can also retract the second cup suspension 2057 from the left side only by operating the air cylinder device 20571, and the air cylinder device 20542 is also changed for each row in order to change the arrangement pattern. The suction cup holder 2054 is actuated to move in the YY direction of FIG. 4 and the operation of the pantograph mechanism 20547 is adjusted very simply. It can be.
[0097]
  The present example described above is for the case of 20 balls (pieces) and 24 balls (pieces), but the boxing arrangement pattern is not limited to these. . Furthermore, the type of the packing arrangement pattern that one work robot 205 is responsible for may be one or more than the drawing, for example, four types (18 balls, 20 balls, 24 balls, 28 balls). InTray packIn the supply device 14, four typesTray packThis can be implemented by configuring 1401 to 1404 to be stacked. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, the arrangement pattern can be various numbers of boxes and arrangement patterns, and any of these arrangement patterns shown in FIG. The work robots 205 having seven cup suspensions in a row can be used in common.
[0098]
As an example of the boxing and packaging operation of agricultural products by the sorting and packaging apparatus configured as described above, a plurality of sorting sections are allocated to each branch boxing line 2 composed of a group of a plurality of storage conveyors 202 (for sorting sections having a large distribution). Are assigned to a plurality of branch boxing lines 2), and regarding the designation of the sorting category for each storage conveyor 202, the designation is canceled every time the accumulated agricultural products are sent to the packaging stage, and the sorting conveyor 1 is discharged. FIG. 14 showing the flow of each signal such as a control signal in the case where a new re-designation (new designation) is performed when deciding the destination, and a flowchart showing the work procedure for determining the classification of agricultural products in the example Referring to FIG. 15 shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 showing the operation procedure from the designation of the sorting classification to the storage conveyor 202 to the boxing, with reference to FIG. Explain.
[0099]
In the agricultural product supply / equal class selection unit, as shown in FIG. 15, while the agricultural products are placed on the free tray 4 and conveyed by the conveyance conveyor 52, the above-described grade element measurement by tracking detection of the barcode reader 53 (step 101). : In the figure, the step is indicated by S. In the following, the class element measurement by the imaging device 54 (step 102) and the identification mark (barcode No) detection by the barcode reader 55 (step 103) are performed. The broken free trays 4 are joined together by the joining mechanism 56 from the two transport conveyors 52 arranged side by side and transferred to the sorting conveyor 1. The measured equality / class elements are sent to the arithmetic device 151 of the arithmetic / control device 15, and the measurement data processing arithmetic unit 1511 performs predetermined image processing on color, scratches, size, appearance, etc. After that, the classification classification of agricultural products is determined in the equal class determination unit 1512 (step 104). Information on individual agricultural products as determination results is linked to identification information (barcode No.) of the free tray 4 and recorded in the address memory 1513 of the arithmetic device 151 (step 105).
[0100]
It should be noted that the reference data used when determining the classification category in the equal class determining unit 1512 can be set in advance as an equal / class set value 1514 by an external input device 153 such as a keyboard, and this set value can be set as necessary. Can be changed.
[0101]
FIG. 14 showing each processing unit of the above work procedure in blocks is actually a microprocessor unit (MPU) incorporating information detection means such as sensors and cameras, and a program for processing electrical signals detected by these means. ) Configured to process with a built-in computer.
[0102]
Next, sorting control will be described.
[0103]
The free tray 4 on which the agricultural products P whose sorting classification has been determined by the above equal / class sorting is transported by the upper and lower two-stage sorting conveyors 1 is freed by the barcode reader 5 in step 201 in FIG. The bar code No. of the tray 4 is read, and the record reading unit 1515 reads out the sorting classification information of the agricultural products recorded by linking with the free tray corresponding to the bar code No. from the address memory 1513 (step 202). Is sent to the discharge / boxing control unit 1521 of the sorting boxing control device 152.
[0104]
Based on the read sorting section information, the discharge / boxing control unit 1521 checks in step 204 whether the storage conveyor 202 for the sorting section is designated.
[0105]
If a storage conveyor for this sorting category has already been specified, a discharge destination instruction is given to the discharge apparatus 201 corresponding to the corresponding specified storage conveyor 202 (for example, the third conveyor of group 2) via the discharge control device 16. A signal is commanded, and the free tray 4 is discharged and accumulated when the free tray 4 carrying the agricultural products of the sorting section is transferred (step 205). Then, in step 206, it is checked whether or not the accumulated free tray 4 has reached the preset number of accumulations. If the number of accumulations has not been reached, the agricultural products of the same sorting category are subsequently placed. Each time the free tray 4 is transported, it is discharged to the designated storage conveyor 202. At this time, in this example, the storage conveyor 202 corresponding to the predetermined sorting section is located at the position where the discharge destination matrix of the storage conveyor 202 corresponding to all the sorting sections specified at that time is discharged. It is ensured by storing in the storage unit 1523 (see FIG. 14). Note that the data in the discharge destination storage unit 1523 is updated each time the classification classification for the storage conveyor is designated and the designation is canceled. In addition, since the number of accumulations varies depending on the classification category, in this example, the accumulation number of each classification category is input by the external input device 153, set in the unit accumulation number setting unit 1525, and read out in step 203.
[0106]
On the other hand, when the storage conveyor 202 for accumulating the agricultural products of the classification category corresponding to the classification category information read out from the address memory 1513 is not designated in step 204, the control specifies the classification category designation for the storage conveyor. To the subroutine for That is, when the storage conveyor to be accumulated is not designated, the process proceeds to step 301 to search for a group to which a sorting category that can accumulate the agricultural products of the sorting category is searched, and when there are a plurality of assigned groups. Selects one of the groups (step 302). However, when there is only one allocation group, that one group is selected, and therefore it is often preferable to allocate at least two groups even for the classification division with a low distribution rate. It is checked whether or not there is an empty storage conveyor in the selected group (step 303), and if there is no empty, the process returns to step 301 to specify another group.
[0107]
When the storage conveyor 202 to discharge the free tray 4 on which the agricultural product P transported on the sorting conveyor 1 is designated (step 304), the sorting classification designation map is updated (step 305). Thereafter, the process returns to step 205 to perform discharging. Then, each time the free tray 4 carrying the agricultural products of the same sorting section is conveyed, it is discharged to the designated storage conveyor 202.
[0108]
As described above, one storage conveyor 202 that discharges the corresponding sorting section of the free tray 4 in accordance with the reading is specified. In the sorting classification designation control that designates the sorting classification for the storage conveyor in steps 301 to 304 described above, each branch boxing line 2 (and therefore the robot (boxing apparatus) 205 to which this is linked) is input by input to the external input device 153. Based on information from the group-by-group sorting category assignment setting unit 1522 that pre-sets the sorting category of agricultural products that can be handled, and information from the stacking status storage unit 1524 that monitors the stacking (pool) status of the storage conveyor 202, Select one of the groups to which the relevant sorting category is assigned, and if any one of the storage conveyors 202 in the selected group is empty, specify that empty conveyor as the agricultural product accumulation conveyor of the specified category However, in selecting the above groups, the operation of each storage conveyor Situation (frequency of use, such as the number of times the delivery of the free tray packaging stage) and, (such as frequency of use) the operational status of the boxing device can also be used to select a group as the conditions. For example, the former not only stores the discharge destination matrix at that time in the discharge destination storage unit 1523 described above, but also preferentially selects a group of storage conveyors 202 that is less frequently used by storing and saving the history of operating conditions. The latter includes a method of accumulating the number of boxing operations of the boxing device 205 and preferentially selecting a storage conveyor group linked to the boxing device having a lower number of operations. it can. In addition, when there are storage conveyors that can be allocated in a plurality of groups, the group that has been emptied first can be selected preferentially.
[0109]
The free tray 4 in which the sorting classification is read and the storage conveyor of the discharge destination is specified is supplied to the discharge device 201 of the specified storage conveyor 202 (for example, the third conveyor of group 2) via the discharge control device 16. By instructing the discharge destination instruction signal for No. 4, every time the free tray 4 carrying the agricultural products of the sorting section is transferred, it is discharged and accumulated on the storage conveyor (step 205). The stopper mechanism 2046 disposed at the end of each storage conveyor 202 is in a state where the free tray 4 is stopped.
[0110]
In step 206, it is checked whether or not the number of free trays on which the agricultural products to be accumulated on the designated designated storage conveyor 202 have reached the number of one unit of packaging, and if the accumulation has reached the number of one unit, step 207 Then, the discharge instruction of the free tray 4 to the third conveyor of the group 2 is stopped, and the process proceeds to Step 208. On the other hand, when the accumulation has not reached the number of one unit, the process returns to step 202 to accumulate the free trays 4 on which the agricultural products of the same classification to be accumulated on the storage conveyor 202 are accumulated. Since the number of accumulations differs according to the number of boxed packages depending on the sorting category, the number of accumulations for each designated category is set in advance in the unit accumulation number setting unit 1525 by the external input device 153 (step 203). This is as described above.
[0111]
The free tray 4 accumulated on each storage conveyor 202 by the discharge command is detected by a sensor 2024.
[0112]
By accumulating according to the above procedure, when the storage conveyor 202 to be collected is designated, when the storage conveyor is not designated, or when the storage conveyor 202 is already designated, it is free to the packaging stage. In any case where the tray 4 is not sent out, all the agricultural products can be accumulated.
[0113]
Next, the packaging control will be described.
[0114]
In this example, 20 sorting categories for automatic boxing out of a total of 30 sorting categories for 6 classes and 5 grades, 4 storage conveyors for each of 2 groups of sorting conveyors 1 on the upper and lower sides for 8 groups. As described above, it is configured so as to be branched and connected as a group, and the upper and lower storage conveyors (four each) can be linked in common to the packaging device 205 of one packaging stage. Further, among the 30 sorting categories, three groups of branch boxing lines 21 for manual packaging, which are responsible for the remaining 10 sorting categories that are not automatically boxed, and a branch line 22 for extraordinary items are provided to the upper and lower sorting conveyors 1 respectively. Branch connection is independent.
[0115]
In step 206, the storage conveyor 202 in which the accumulation of one unit of boxing has been detected by the sensor 2024 moves to step 208 after stopping the discharge of the next tray in step 207, and waits for boxing of the conveyor 202 and the packaging stage. Linkage with the position 203 is performed. That is, a delivery instruction signal for boxing can be output from the discharge / boxing control unit 1521 to the tray delivery control device 18 of the group to which the storage conveyor belongs, and the stopper mechanism 2046 which is the gate at the end of each storage conveyor can be retracted and sent out. The stopper mechanism 2046 of the other storage conveyors in this group is maintained in a state where the feeding is stopped. Needless to say, the delivery of the free tray 4 by this operation has a timing that does not overlap with the work of the boxing device 205 performed before that. Also, an instruction signal for moving the necessary pack to a predetermined position is output to the tray pack supply device 14 in synchronization with the delivery instruction (step 209).
[0116]
Next, at step 210, a boxing operation signal is instructed to the boxing device 205 associated with the corresponding storage conveyor via the boxing control device 17, and the boxing operation is performed. When the packaging operation for one unit of packaging is completed, a packaging completion signal is output to the discharge / packaging control unit 1521.
[0117]
In addition, since the storage conveyor 202 that has finished sending out the free tray is ready to receive the next free tray, the designation of the sorting section is canceled in step 211 so that a new sorting section can be designated, In addition, a list (sorting category designation map) showing the history of designation of the sorting category in step 212 is updated. This sorting classification designation map can be stored in a memory using, for example, the discharge matrix described above.
[0118]
In the sorting apparatus of this example described above, when assigning a plurality of sorting sections to the storage conveyors divided into groups, if the number of sorting sections assigned to one group is the same as the number of storage conveyor strips, Agricultural products of the same sorting division are accumulated in one group in less than the number of strips (for example, 1 unit of packaging is accumulated on another storage conveyor before being sent to the packaging stage) In the case where it is possible to perform the above, it is possible to adopt any of the cases where the number is greater than the number of the storage conveyors and is allocated to a large number of groups, and different effects can be obtained. For example, when assigning a larger number of sorting sections than the number of storage conveyors, it is convenient to average the operating rate of the boxing device.
[0119]
Embodiment 2
This example shows the case where the sorting classification of the agricultural products discharged from the sorting conveyor 1 is fixedly specified for the storage conveyor 202. In order to simplify the description, the sorting and packaging apparatus of this example is assumed to be an apparatus including only the upper sorting conveyor shown in FIG. 1, and therefore the delivery conveyor 2041 is always maintained in a horizontal state and does not swing up and down. To do.
[0120]
In the apparatus of this example, each group of eight groups is constituted by four storage conveyors 202, and one boxing device can be selectively linked to these four storage conveyors 202. The total number of storage conveyors for packing is 32.
[0121]
In such an apparatus, if the classification of agricultural products to be classified and sorted for automatic boxing is now 5 for the class and 5 for the class, the number of classification is 5 × 5 = 25. In addition to this, there are also a sorting category for hand-packing work and a sorting category for unqualified products, but the description thereof will be omitted.
[0122]
In this example, for example, for 25 sorting categories, one storage reservoir 202 is fixedly designated in one sorting category, and the remaining 7 storing conveyors 202 are predicted to have a large distribution in this example. Each article is fixedly designated. By doing in this way, about the sorting division with high distribution rate, and therefore the frequency of the agricultural products P conveyed on the sorting conveyor 1 is accumulated on one storage conveyor 202, but still on the packaging stage after 1 unit packaging. Even when the next packaging unit for the sorting section is transported on the sorting conveyor 1 before being sent out, another storage conveyor can be received, so that there is little possibility of staying in the stacking unit. In order to solve the problem when the next free tray 4 is transported to the sorting conveyor 1 in a state where it cannot be stacked on the stacking storage conveyor regardless of the size of the distribution, for example, the barcode reader 5 from an appropriate position is used. It is also possible to provide a return conveyor for returning the free tray to the upstream position.
[0123]
According to the configuration of this example, the number of storage conveyors constituting one group is four, which is less than the number of classification categories 5 that are fixedly specified. The maximum number of tray packs to be supplied by the pack supply device is 4, and the configuration of the tray pack supply device prepared for each boxing device can be simplified as compared with the case of targeting the fifth class.
[0124]
Since the combination of agricultural product classifications fixedly designated on the four-line storage conveyor 202 of each group is arbitrarily determined except for satisfying the above conditions, a distribution rate (expected to be roughly proportional to the accumulation speed) By adopting a combination in which each distribution group is as uniform as possible in each group, the operation rate of the boxing device can be averaged.
[0125]
In this example, the sorting divisions of all 32 storage conveyors 202 are fixedly designated. However, in the configuration of the first embodiment, all the storage conveyors 202 are set for each delivery of a group of free trays 4. Although the specification is newly redesigned (designation and designation cancellation), the designation can be fixed for a part of the storage conveyor 202, and the rest can be designated and designated in the first embodiment.
[0126]
【Example】
Example 1
Using the apparatus of the first embodiment described above, classification of 6 classes (2L, L1, L2, M, S, 2S) and 5 classes (A, AP, B, BP, C) The number of divisions is L1, L2, M, S × 5 grades total 20) for the agricultural products (apples) showing the distribution ratio shown in Table 1 below, each of the upper and lower groups of 8 groups of the boxing device 205 (No1 to No8). As shown in Table 2 below, allocation categories are assigned to the four-line storage conveyor 202 (indicated as lines or pool lines in the table), and the number of full portions for each classification category (class) is set. The sorting screening test was conducted for the above time. The number of agricultural products transferred was 1632.
[0127]
[Table 1]

[0128]
[Table 2]

[0129]
The number of agricultural products discharged to each storage conveyor 202 by this test and the operation rate of the boxing device 205 linked to each group were examined, and the results are shown in Table 3 below.
[0130]
[Table 3]

[0131]
As can be seen from this result, the operating rate of each boxing device was maintained at a high average (74 to 88%).
[0132]
Note that the assignment of the sorting category to each boxing device is not limited to Table 2. For example, assignment can be performed as shown in Table 4 below.
[0133]
[Table 4]

[0134]
In the example of Table 4, for example, the robot 1 is classified into 2 L, L1, L2, M, and S of 2L of 2L, L1, L2, M, S, and 2S for automatic boxing. , L 1, L 2, M (grades correspond to all grades) can be accepted, while robot 6 corresponds to 2 L, L 2, M, S grade 4 produce. The classification (class) assigned to each robot is not the same, but the class accepted by any robot is the fourth class. By doing so, it is possible to prepare and pack 4th-class tray packs without preparing all tray packs of the class (5th class) to be automatically boxed at each packaging stage, and to perform the work of each robot. Can be averaged.
[0135]
【The invention's effect】
  According to the invention described in each claim of the present application, it is possible to eliminate the imbalance that occurs because the processing ability differs depending on the process, such as the judgment processing of the sorting classification of agricultural products, the sorting processing, and the boxing processing ability, and the facility Agricultural products that can be advantageously constructedSorting and packaging equipmentCan be provided. In addition, since it is possible to configure highly efficient equipment, it is possible to reduce the equipment installation area of the fruit selection area, and to produce agricultural products suitable for linking various equipment arrangements and work coordination.Sorting and packaging equipmentCan provide. Furthermore, since the overall operating efficiency of a large number of boxing devices can be improved on average, excellent effects such as reduction in the required number of expensive boxing devices can be obtained. In addition to this, the following various effects are obtained.
[0136]
  (1) According to the invention of claim 1, the individual tray reservoirsStorageSince the classification of agricultural products to be selected can be selected and specified, the number of times each group can be sent to the packaging stage linked to this can be adjusted, so that empty tray storage can be used efficiently. The operating rate of the packaging stage boxing device can be adjusted.
  Also,Each tray storage part can be used efficiently in a state where there is little space, and as a result, the operating rate of the boxing device can be improved.Another saucer storage groupDepending on the type of sorting handled in, it should be prepared at the packaging stage linked to thisFor example, the tray pack as in the invention according to claim 13The advantage is that the types of can be limited. In addition, efficient use of the tray reservoir can be realized, and multipleSaucer storageBy selecting the combination of the classification categories to be assigned to the group, it is possible to facilitate the adjustment for averaging the operation rate of the packaging stage boxing device.
[0137]
  Also,Handling classifications with a large distribution rate in multiple groups at the same timeButPossibleSoIn addition, for example, the number of times of delivery from each group to the packaging stage by incorporating in the specified control the difference in the accumulation rate (high distribution rate is high, low distribution rate is low and slow) in the specified tray storage part, which is largely determined by the size of the distribution rate. Can be easily controlled.
  According to the inventions according to claims 2 and 3, it is possible to make the charge classification as shown in Tables 2 and 4, and it is possible to average the operation rate of the boxing device in each packaging stage.
[0138]
  Claim 4Pertaining toAccording to the invention, the tray storage section in the group supplies a predetermined number of agricultural products.StorageIn the situation where the delivery to the packaging stage is stopped, an empty tray storage section in this group can be designated for receiving agricultural products of the same sorting category.
[0139]
  In addition, it should be prepared at the packaging stage linked to one tray storage group.For example, the tray pack as in the invention according to claim 13The number of types can be less than the number of class divisions, and the configuration of the boxing device and its peripheral devices can be simplified.
[0140]
  (2Claim5According to the invention ofPackaging stageCan be averaged between groups.
[0141]
  (3Claim6According to this invention, the operation rate of the boxing device can be averaged among the groups based on the pool situation of the tray storage section related to the operation rate of the boxing device.
[0142]
  (4Claim7According to the invention, it is possible to increase the operating rate of the plurality of boxing devices on average to show a high operating rate as a whole. In other words, in the tray storage part where a certain classification is specifiedStorageSince the collection speed of the saucer to be used is roughly proportional to the distribution rate of the agricultural products belonging to this sorting category, each saucer so that the sum (sum) of the distribution rates of the specified sorting category is equalized among all groups. If the designation to the reservoir is controlled, an improvement in average operating rate can be obtained. In addition, the control factor (information) for increasing the operating rate on average is the distribution rate information for each classification category, which is predicted in advance (actually performed in the previous day or previous year, etc.) Status information after a certain period of timeNewsAvailable.
[0143]
  (5Claim8According to the invention, it is possible to average the operation of the tray storage section by giving priority to the tray tray storage section that has been emptied first, and indirectly average the operation rate of the boxing device. By prioritizing the one with a low operating rate, the operating rate of the boxing device can be directly averaged.
[0144]
  (6Claim9According to the invention, the combination of the sorting divisions to be assigned to the group consisting of a plurality of saucer reservoirs linked to one packaging stageSince it can be fixedly specified, each packaging stageAs the utilization rate is averagedSpecify the classification class and fix itBy doing so, the overall operating rate can be improved.
[0145]
  (7Claim10According to this invention, it is possible to average the operation rate of each boxing device with a simple combination of averaging the sum of the distribution rates.
[0146]
  (8Claim11According to the invention, ReceivedDish storageReservoirIn the method of re-specifying the classification classification for parts,StorageEach tray can be stored by setting the number as the number of packaging units in one box.ReservoirSince the retention amount of the part can be at most the number of packaging units in one box, the required area can be reduced.
[0147]
  (9Claim12According to the invention, in order to send the saucer to the packaging standby position where the saucers are aligned, for example, the saucer is sent out in a single row, or in a state where the saucer storage unit is arranged in a plurality of columns and rows. It can also be sent out.
[0148]
  (10Claim13, 14According to the invention of the boxing deviceTray packWhen a tray pack supply device for inserting the tray pack into the packaging box is provided, the work performed by receiving the tray pack selection signal can be made more efficient.
[0149]
  (11Claim15According to the invention, when the agricultural product does not require packaging of an extraordinary product or the like, or because the distribution is extremely small, the operator manually packs the product after the processing without using an expensive packaging device. In this case, the sorting and packaging apparatus can be simplified or omitted, and economically advantageous equipment can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an agricultural product sorting and packaging apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
2 is a plan view showing details of an agricultural product supply / equal class sorting unit of the sorting and packaging apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG.
3 is a front view showing one of the branched boxing lines of the sorting unit of the sorting and packaging apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.
4 is a plan view of FIG. 3. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state in which a row of farm products is sucked and suspended by a lifting means having a row of suction pads.
6 is a side view of FIG. 5. FIG.
7 is a plan view of FIG.
FIG. 8 is a system diagram showing a negative pressure and positive pressure supply system to the suction cup and a pressure air supply system to the air cylinder device in the first embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an apparatus for preventing a free tray from being lifted when picking up agricultural products.
FIG. 10 is a front view showing a state where one tray pack is picked up from the stacked tray pack group by the pick-up means.
FIG. 11 is a front view showing a state in which a row of ball-like fruits and vegetables is adsorbed and suspended by the pick-up means of FIG. 5 and transferred to a box container.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for transferring a ball-shaped agricultural product repeatedly in a four-row arrangement pattern in a box container by a pickup means;
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating several states with different arrangement patterns.
FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a signal transmission / reception relationship of the first embodiment in which a tray transported by a sorting conveyor is discharged to a storage conveyor to which a predetermined sorting section is assigned and specified, and is packed after a predetermined number of stacks. .
FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure for determining the classification of agricultural products by equality / class determination.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining an example of specifying a sorting section for the storage conveyor for equalizing the operating rate of the boxing device linked to each group of storage conveyors.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sorting conveyor, 2 ... Branch boxing line (storage part), 4 ... Free tray, 5 ... Bar code reader, 6 ... Box (cardboard box), 7 ... Blower 8, 9 ... switching valve, 10 ... relief valve, 11 ... solenoid valve, 13 ... tray lifting prevention device, 16 ... discharge control device, 17 ... boxing control device, 18 ... Tray delivery control device, 21 ... Branch boxing line (for hand-packing operations), 22 ... Branch line (for non-standard products),
12 ... supply / discharge device (for cardboard box),
1201 ... Empty box conveyor,
1202... Pusher,
1203 ... Empty box lowering device,
1204 ... Packing position,
1205 ... discharge conveyor,
1206: Product conveyor.
14 ... Tray pack supply device,
1401-1404 ... tray pack,
1405 ... Rotation cradle,
1406 ... support frame,
1407 Rotator,
15 ... arithmetic / control device,
151... Arithmetic device,
1511 ... Measurement data calculation processing unit,
1512... Class determination unit,
1513 ... Address memory,
1514, etc., class setting value,
1515 ... Recording / reading unit,
152 ... Sorting / boxing control device
1521... Discharge / boxing control unit,
1522: Sorting division allocation setting part by group,
1523 ... Discharge destination storage unit,
1524 ... Accumulation state storage unit,
1525 ... Unit integration number setting section,
153: External input device
50 ... worker,
51 ... return conveyor,
511 ... Pitching screw,
52 ... Conveyor,
521 ...
522 ... Tapered rail,
53... Tracking detection device,
54 ... Imaging device,
55 ... Barcode reader,
56 ... Merging mechanism,
561: transit conveyor,
562 ... inclined rail,
57 ... supply conveyor,
201 ... discharge device,
2011 ... rotary table,
2012 ... electromagnetic adsorption part,
2013 ... excitation means,
2014, 2015 ... excitation release means,
202 (2021, 2022) ... storage conveyor,
2024 ... Sensor (for monitoring integration status),
203 ... Packing standby position,
2031 ... Box lane,
20311 ... belt conveyor,
20312 ... Guide wall,
2034 ... Stopper mechanism,
204 ... Tray delivery device,
2041... Delivery conveyor,
2042 ... Air cylinder device,
2043: Horizontal relay conveyor,
2044: Longitudinal relay conveyor,
2045 ... axis,
2046 ... Stopper mechanism,
205 ... Boxing device (work robot)
2051 ... main body,
2052 ... Root link mechanism,
2053... End link mechanism,
2054 ... Suction cup holder,
20541 ... Rail,
20542 ... Air cylinder device,
20543 ... Piston rod,
20545 ... Rail,
20546 ... Servo motor,
20547 ... Pantograph mechanism,
20548 ... Vent pipe,
2055 ... Bracket,
20551 ... Bracket bottom plate,
20552 ... guide,
2056 ... Fixed cup suspension,
20561... Air cylinder device,
20562 ... Piston rod,
20563 ... Suction cup,
2057 ... Moving cup suspension,
20571 ... Air cylinder device,
20572 ... Piston rod,
20573 ... Suction cup,
2058 ... Vent pipe,

Claims (15)

A sorting conveyor for conveying the agricultural products containing pan loaded with sorting category determination already produce,
Branched from the sorting conveyor and connected , the tray containing agricultural products discharged from the sorting conveyor is stopped and stored by operating the stopper mechanism, and the tray containing agricultural products can be sent out by deactivating the stopper mechanism. A number of saucer reservoirs;
A tray containing agricultural products corresponding to the discharge destination instruction signal provided corresponding to each of the plurality of tray storage sections and moving on the sorting conveyor upon input of the discharge destination instruction signal. Tray receiving means for discharging to the section;
Designate the sorting category of the tray containing agricultural products to be stored in the tray storage section, output a discharge destination instruction signal based on the sorting section to the tray discharge means corresponding to the tray storage section, and move on the sorting conveyor Sorting category designation control means for discharging the trays containing agricultural products of the designated sorting category to the designated tray storage part;
Arrangement of multiple packaging stages with the conditions for accepting agricultural products for the packaging of agricultural products as the classification components constituting the agricultural product classifications, and each packaging stage can accept a plurality of the classification components A boxing and packaging unit;
Have
Either of the plurality of saucer reservoirs is grouped into a plurality of saucer reservoir groups corresponding to each packaging stage, and each of the saucer reservoir groups is constituted by a plurality of saucer reservoirs, and each of the saucer reservoir groups is configured. A receiving and storing unit of the agricultural product, and a sorting and packaging apparatus for agricultural products that sends a group of agricultural products receiving trays stored in the receiving tray storage section to the corresponding packaging stage via the receiving tray sending means,
The sorting classification designation control means can be designated as a tray storage section for storing agricultural products having sorting section components that can be received at the corresponding packaging stage for a plurality of tray storage sections belonging to each of the tray storage groups. And, as a discharge destination of the trays containing agricultural products that move on the sorting conveyor, designate any tray storage part belonging to one or a plurality of tray storage groups that can receive the agricultural products, and a group of agricultural products of the tray storage units A sorting and packaging apparatus for agricultural products, wherein when the receiving tray is sent out, the sorting classification designation of the receiving tray storage section is canceled . 2. The agricultural product according to claim 1, wherein the packaging unit includes a plurality of sorting division components received by each packaging stage as the same sorting division component in all packaging stages for automatic packaging. Sorting and packaging equipment. The packaging and packaging unit allows each packaging stage to accept fewer sorting categories than the set number of sorting categories for all packaging stages for automatic packaging. 2. The agricultural product sorting and packaging apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a set of packaging stages in which all of the elements are coincident and a set of packaging stages in which some of the acceptable sorting components are different. The said classification classification designation | designated control means reduced the number of the classification classification components which can be designated with respect to the said tray storage group with respect to the number of the tray storage parts which comprise the said tray storage group. To 3. The apparatus for sorting and packaging agricultural products according to any one of items 1 to 3 . The sorting category designation control means is capable of designating the same sorting category component for the tray storage portions of a plurality of tray storage groups, monitoring the operation rate of the packaging stage to which these tray storage portions belong, and these packaging stages. The tray storage unit of any of the tray storage groups corresponding to these packaging stages is designated so as to improve or average the operation rate of the agricultural products. Sorting and packaging equipment . The sorting category designation control means has means for allowing the same sorting category component to be designated for the tray storage sections of a plurality of tray storage groups, and monitoring the pool status of the tray storage group to which these tray storage sections belong. The agricultural product sorting and packaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a tray storage section of any one of the tray storage groups is designated based on a pool situation of the tray storage groups . The sorting zoning control means, the new time of the sorting segment to specify the pan reservoir, previously expected sorting Segment distribution ratio, or a certain time after the start of processing of consignments state of the sum of the distribution ratio of the agricultural products obtained by the distribution ratio, any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that specifying the sorting divided into pan reservoir substantially evenly among the pan reservoir group Agricultural product sorting and packaging equipment described in 1 . When the plurality of tray storage units that enable the specification of the classification category having the same classification category component are in the sorting category designation release state, the sorting category designation control means empties first among the plurality of tray storage units. became saucer or a reservoir preferentially specified, or the corresponding agricultural products according to any one of claims 1 to 4 in which the operation rate of the packaging stage is characterized by specifying priority the lower pan reservoir of the sorting and packaging Equipment . A sorting conveyor for conveying the agricultural products containing pan loaded with sorting category determination already produce,
Branched from the sorting conveyor and connected , the tray containing agricultural products discharged from the sorting conveyor is stopped and stored by operating the stopper mechanism, and the tray containing agricultural products can be sent out by deactivating the stopper mechanism. A number of saucer reservoirs;
A tray containing agricultural products corresponding to the discharge destination instruction signal provided corresponding to each of the plurality of tray storage sections and moving on the sorting conveyor upon input of the discharge destination instruction signal. Tray receiving means for discharging to the section;
Designate the sorting category of the tray containing agricultural products to be stored in the tray storage section, output a discharge destination instruction signal based on the sorting section to the tray discharge means corresponding to the tray storage section, and move on the sorting conveyor Sorting category designation control means for discharging the trays containing agricultural products of the designated sorting category to the designated tray storage part;
Arrangement of multiple packaging stages with the conditions for accepting agricultural products for the packaging of agricultural products as the classification components constituting the agricultural product classifications, and each packaging stage can accept a plurality of the classification components A boxing and packaging unit;
Have
Either of the plurality of saucer reservoirs is grouped into a plurality of saucer reservoir groups corresponding to each packaging stage, and each of the saucer reservoir groups is constituted by a plurality of saucer reservoirs, and each of the saucer reservoir groups is configured. A receiving and storing unit of the agricultural product, and a sorting and packaging apparatus for agricultural products that sends a group of agricultural products receiving trays stored in the receiving tray storage section to the corresponding packaging stage via the receiving tray sending means,
The sorting classification designation control means is capable of fixedly designating a sorting section based on a sorting section component that can be received by a corresponding packaging stage for a plurality of receiving tray storage sections belonging to each receiving tray storage group. Agricultural product sorting and packaging equipment. The sorting zoning control means, sorting Segment distribution ratio, or the sum of the distribution ratio of one obtained by the distribution ratio of the state after a certain time from the start of the process of the consignments agricultural product that is expected in advance 10. The agricultural product sorting and packaging apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a sorting section is fixedly designated in each tray storage section so as to be substantially uniform among the tray storage groups. The pan delivery control means from claim 1, characterized in that sending the number of agricultural products containing saucer packaging a unit pack a group of agricultural products containing saucer that accumulated in pan reservoir in the packaging box packaging stage 10 The agricultural product sorting and packaging apparatus according to any one of the above . The pan feeding of the pan from the reservoir to the packaging stage, according to any of claims 1, wherein the performing relative boxing standby position to align the pan for packing work by boxing device 11 Agricultural product sorting and packaging equipment. 13. The packaged packaging unit according to claim 1, wherein each of the packaging stages is capable of accepting the agricultural product of the sorting section corresponding to the tray pack prepared for each class element, wherein the sorting section component is a class element. The agricultural product sorting and packaging apparatus according to any one of the above. The tray receiving control means outputs a tray pack selection signal for instructing a packaging tray pack to be used in the packaging stage when the tray is sent out from the designated tray storing section to the packaging stage . Agricultural product sorting and packaging equipment . Agricultural product receiving trays for which sorting classification for manual boxing is determined are mixed and transported to the sorting conveyor, and the agricultural product receiving tray corresponding to at least one manual packaging position branched and connected to the sorting conveyor is discharged. The apparatus for sorting and packaging agricultural products according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising a tray discharging means.

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