JP5425128B2 - Agricultural product sorting device and sorting unit for agricultural product sorting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an agricultural product sorting device and a sorting unit for an agricultural product sorting device, and is suitable for application when sorting agricultural products such as potatoes according to their shapes. More specifically, the present invention relates to an agricultural product sorting apparatus that can quickly execute an adjustment operation to match the size of the agricultural product to be sorted.

  Conventionally, in the agricultural product sorting device, there are a weight sorting device and a shape sorting device. There are mechanical weighing type, electronic weighing type, etc. in the weight sorting device, and there are mechanical type, photoelectric type, camera type, etc. in the shape sorting device.

  The mechanical shape sorter sorts the difference in size by using a gap such as a sieve or a roll. The accuracy is slightly reduced but the efficiency is good, so it can be processed in large quantities, and the structure of the machine is simple. Maintenance is also easy and relatively inexpensive. These are often used in the case of rough sorting, which removes stones, soil blocks, small balls that do not become commodities, etc. from the harvested agricultural products.

  As such a mechanical shape sorter, as a specific configuration, a plurality of axes are arranged in parallel, and a plurality of discs are fitted to each axis according to the desired size to be sorted. There is known a sorting device in which a disk is rotated in the same direction (hereinafter, such a configuration is referred to as a “shape sorting device”).

  In such a shape sorting apparatus, when each rotary shaft is rotated in the same direction and agricultural products are supplied onto the disk, the agricultural products are sent from the front to the rear, and anything smaller than the gap falls between the gaps. Only large ones are sent backwards. As described above, the shape sorting device sorts agricultural products according to the size of the gap between the disks.

  In addition, as a shape selection apparatus, the thing like the following patent documents 1-4 is specifically known.

JP-A-9-225410 ("Agricultural Product Sorting Device" (Toyo Agricultural Machinery)) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-319713 ("Multi-turn disc type sieving device" (Okutama Industry)) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-21089 ("Agricultural Product Sorting Device" (Shinoda Agricultural Machinery)) JP 2-35972 ("Fruit Sorting Device" (Harazawa Seisakusho))

  Such an adjustment method for the gap of the shape selection device is usually performed by adjusting the width between a plurality of disks, that is, the selection width, and there are the following adjustment methods.

  As a first adjustment method, in the conventional potato sorting apparatus described in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, a plurality of disks 122 and 124 attached to the rotating shafts 121 and 123, respectively. By changing the number of spacers 125 between the disks (5 → 4), exchanging with spacers of different sizes, etc., the sorting space 126 having the width W1 between the disks is changed to the sorting space 127 having the width W2. Adjustments have been made.

  As a second adjustment method, in the apparatus of the embodiment described in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, a plurality of disks 132 and 134 attached to a plurality of rotating shafts 131 and 133 are provided. Are simultaneously moved by the same distance, whereby the sorting space 139 having the width W1 is adjusted to the sorting space 140 having the width W2.

  In this case, in this apparatus, by using the scrapers 137 and 138 attached to the scraper shafts 135 and 136 and the pantograph mechanism (not shown), the discs 132 and 134 can be moved to the left and right while being held. In order to fix the disks 132 and 134, prismatic driving cams (not shown) are provided on the rotary shafts 131 and 133, respectively.

  As a third adjusting method, in the apparatuses described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, fixed rotating shafts 151 and 152 and a movable rotating shaft 153 for adjusting the sorting space, Are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction, and the movable rotating shaft 153 is moved in the axial direction (arrow direction) to adjust the sorting space 157 having the width W1 to the sorting space 158 having the width W2.

  Thus, in the apparatus corresponding to the first adjustment method and the second adjustment method, the disc 122 and the disc 124 (FIGS. 12A and 12B), the disc 132 and the disc 134 (FIG. 13 ( A) and (B)) are assembled in a front-rear and left-right grid, and the front-rear direction disc 122 and disc 124 (FIGS. 12A and 12B), the disc 132 and disc 134 (FIG. 13A). ) And (B)) are collinear.

Further, in the apparatus corresponding to the third adjustment method, the plurality of disks 154 and 155 of the fixed rotating shafts 151 and 152 and the plurality of disks 156 of the movable rotating shaft 153 are assembled so as to fit into each other. 154, 155 and 156 are arranged in a staggered state.

  In the apparatus corresponding to the first to third adjustment methods, in the case of rough sorting, the size of sorting varies depending on the lot to be sorted, and the minimum size when shipped as a product. However, there is a demand for quick fine adjustment for sorting.

  However, in the apparatus corresponding to the first adjustment method, it is necessary to remove all the disks 122 and 124 and the spacers 125 from the rotating shaft at the time of adjustment and to combine the spacers 125 to match the predetermined thickness PT of the potato 100. It is necessary to prepare the number of sets and then attach the disks 122 and 124 and the spacer 125 to the rotating shafts 121 and 123 again. Since this work involves a large number of parts and repetitive work, it takes a lot of time and labor, and if the combination of the spacers 125 is wrong, the work must be repeated.

  Currently, in the example of the apparatus using the first adjustment method, the adjustment takes about half a day, and there is a problem that the sorting operation is forced to be interrupted during that time.

  Further, in the apparatus corresponding to the second adjustment method, the discs 132 and 134 are simultaneously moved by the same distance, and a mechanism for fixing the discs 132 and 134 to the shafts 131 and 132 is necessary. In addition to being complicated (pantograph type mechanism is used), operation is not easy (the process of rotating the nut and sliding the disk in the direction of the rotation axis must be performed for each rotation axis) ).

  Furthermore, in the apparatus corresponding to the third adjustment method, it is necessary to move several movable rotating shafts 153 to the left and right, and there is a problem that the entire apparatus becomes large.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is intended to propose an agricultural product sorting apparatus that can adjust the sorting width quickly while having a simple configuration in the shape sorting apparatus. is there.

  In the present invention according to Claim 1, a plurality of sorting discs are arranged in the axial direction of a plurality of rotating shafts arranged in parallel, and an agricultural product sorting using a gap between the sorting discs of two adjacent rotating shafts as a sorting space. The apparatus is configured such that a sorting disk is slidably attached in the axial direction, an elastic member is disposed between the sorting disks, and a gap between the sorting disks is variable.

  As a result, the agricultural product sorting device can easily realize the change of the gap formed by the gap between the sorting disks, and can easily realize the positioning of the sorting disk in the axial direction by the elastic force of the elastic member.

  Moreover, in this invention which concerns on Claim 2, the compression coil spring which can be obtained easily as an elastic member can be used.

  Further, in the present invention according to claim 3, since the section of the fitting portion between the sorting disk and the rotating shaft is a polygon, only the sorting disk rotates in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft separately from the rotating shaft. It is possible to prevent the rotation of the rotating shaft and the rotating operation in a state where the rotating shaft and the sorting disk are integrated.

  Further, in the present invention according to claim 4 and claim 5, the hollow member slides on the rotating shaft in accordance with the movement of the slide guide portion in the rotating shaft direction according to the rotation of the slide screw shaft. Since the sorting disks also slide in the axial direction, it is possible to easily realize the interval adjustment work between the sorting disks.

  Further, in the present invention according to claim 6, since the scraper moves in the same direction in conjunction with the sliding of the sorting disk, the foreign matter adhering to the sorting disk is removed even after adjusting the interval between the sorting disks. It can be removed reliably and the performance as a sorting device can be maintained.

  Further, in the present invention according to claims 7 and 8, since the minimum unit corresponding to the sorting part of the agricultural product sorting apparatus can be provided, the sorting unit is selected according to efficiency, quantity, type of agricultural product, etc. They can be combined as appropriate, thus facilitating the design of increasing or reducing the scale of the sorting apparatus.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the time required for the clearance adjustment work of the sorting space in the agricultural product sorting device can be greatly shortened with a simple configuration and simple operation. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform the gap adjustment work of the sorting space even when the agricultural product sorting apparatus is in operation without interrupting the sorting work.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the elastic member is deformed by the force in the axial direction, fine adjustment (for example, in 1 mm units) of the gap in the sorting space can be realized, which can contribute to improving the accuracy of the sorting process result. . Furthermore, according to the present invention, the rotation axis is set as one set and the number of series is increased, so that the user's desired efficiency can be changed as compared with the conventional sorting device in which the sorting unit is fixed and integrated. Can be dealt with flexibly and easily.

It is the upper side figure and side view which show the whole structure of the shape selection apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a diagram with which it uses for description of the selection operation | movement by the shape selection apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a diagram which shows the dimension of a potato. It is a diagram which shows the structure of the selection unit in embodiment of this invention. It is a diagram which shows the structure of the selection axis | shaft in embodiment of this invention. It is a diagram which shows the variation of the selection disk in embodiment of this invention. It is a diagram with which it uses for description of adjustment of the selection unit in embodiment of this invention. It is a diagram which shows the example of space | interval adjustment in embodiment of this invention. It is a diagram with which it uses for description of the selection according to the selection width of the selection unit. It is a schematic diagram of the drive mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a systematic diagram of the drive mechanism in embodiment of this invention. It is a diagram with which it uses for description of the adjustment by the spacer between the conventional discs. It is a diagram with which it uses for description of adjustment by hold | maintaining the conventional disc and moving to right and left. It is a diagram with which it uses for description of the adjustment by the axis | shaft for the conventional sorting space.

(1) Overall Configuration of Shape Sorting Device Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 (A) and 1 (B) and FIGS. 2 (A) and 2 (B), reference numeral 5 denotes a shape selection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention as a whole.

  The shape sorting device 5 is arranged on the upstream side serving as an entrance chute and supplies the agricultural product to be sorted in the feeding direction from the right side to the left side, and is disposed on the downstream side serving as an exit chute and is arranged from below to above. Agricultural products that are arranged between the transport conveyor 3 that transports the agricultural products after sorting in the transport direction, and between the supply conveyor 2 and the transport conveyor 3, and are not subject to sorting from the bottom to the upper discharge direction, like the transport conveyor 3. The shape sorting device 5 is disposed directly above the discharge conveyor 4.

  The supply conveyor 2 supplies the agricultural product, for example, potato, placed on the belt 7 to the shape selection device 5 by rotating the belt 7 in the supply direction by the supply conveyor motor 6.

  Moreover, the conveyor 3 conveys the agricultural products more than a fixed magnitude | size after sorting by the shape sorter 5 by rotating the belt 8 to a conveyance direction by the conveyance conveyor motor which is not shown in figure through the belt 8. FIG. .

  Further, the discharge conveyor 4 is driven by a discharge conveyor motor (not shown) to rotate the belt 9 in the discharge direction, so that the produce having a size outside the selection target that has been dropped by the shape selection device 5 and dropped downward, Other earth clumps are discharged through the belt 9.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 3, there is a potato 100 as an agricultural product selected by the shape selection device 5, and the potato 100 has a shape obtained by crushing a sphere, and its dimensions are length PL> width. PW> thickness PT.

  In other words, the shape sorting device 5 sorts only a plurality of agricultural products, for example, potato 100, which is carried through the belt 7 of the supply conveyor 2 and has a size larger than a predetermined size (thickness PT), and sorts the sorted products. A plurality of potatoes 100 can be transported via the belt 8 of the transport conveyor 3.

  On the other hand, the shape sorting device 5 is a belt 9 of a discharge conveyor 4 in which non-standard potatoes, soil blocks, pebbles, etc. of a potato 100 smaller than a predetermined size (thickness PT) are arranged below the shape sorting device 5. It is made to be able to discharge through.

(2) Specific Configuration of Shape Sorting Device The shape sorting device 5 (FIGS. 1 and 2) includes three sorting units 5A to 5C arranged in parallel along the supply direction, and three sorting units 5D to 5F. Are arranged in parallel along the supply direction, and the sorting units 5A to 5C and the sorting units 5D to 5F are arranged with their one end portions facing each other.

  However, the shape sorting device 5 is not only composed of six sorting units 5A to 5F, but also composed of various other numbers of sorting units 5 according to efficiency, the amount of sorting, the type of agricultural products, and the like. For example, when the number of sorting units 5 is increased, the number of sorting opportunities can be increased, so that a more accurate sorting result can be obtained.

  Further, the shape sorting device 5 is provided with a drive mechanism 11 at a substantially intermediate portion where one end of the sorting units 5A to 5C and one end of the sorting units 5D to 5F face each other, for supplying power to the drive mechanism 11. A drive motor 10 is attached.

  Therefore, the shape selection device 5 rotates the selection units 5A to 5C and the selection units 5D to 5F in the supply direction via the drive motor 10 and the drive mechanism 11, thereby the selection units 5A to 5C and the selection units 5D to 5F. A plurality of potatoes 100 that are transferred and moved while rolling up are transferred to the conveyor 3 while being sorted.

  The shape selection device 5 is provided with a central supply guide portion 12 so as to be placed on the belt 7 of the supply conveyor 2 on the supply side of the potato 100, and is supplied to the right so as to be placed on the belt 7. A guide part 13 and a left supply guide part 14 are provided.

  As a result, the shape selection device 5 is driven by the central supply guide portion 12 without the plurality of potatoes 100 being carried on the belt 7 falling from the belt 7 by the right supply guide portion 13 and the left supply guide portion 14. Without colliding with the mechanism 11, it is guided to the sorting unit 5 </ b> A and the sorting unit 5 </ b> D of the shape sorting device 5.

(2-1) Configuration of Sorting Unit Next, the sorting units 5A to 5F, which are the minimum units constituting the shape sorting device 5, will be described. However, the sorting units 5A to 5F all have the same structure, and therefore, for convenience of explanation. Only the sorting unit 5A will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4D, and the remaining description will be omitted. 4A to 4D, lines that should be originally displayed as hidden lines are also expressed as solid lines from the viewpoint of easy viewing.

  4A to 4D, the sorting unit 5A has a pair of two sorting shafts 21 and 22 parallel to each other, one end of which is supported by bearings 23 and 24, and the other end. Are supported by bearings 25 and 26. The bearings 23 to 26 are originally represented by hidden lines.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the selection shaft 21 (22) has a hexagonal rotary shaft 21A (22A) and a hexagonal hole 30A formed in the boss 30B as a passage hole for the rotary shaft 21A (22A). A plurality of sorting disks 30 (for example, 11 pieces in this case) made of a rubber-like elastic body integrally formed with the boss 30B, and compression coil springs as elastic members respectively disposed between the plurality of sorting disks 30 34 (10 pieces in this case).

  The sorting disk 30 has a circular shape as a whole, and the rotating shaft 21A having a hexagonal cross section on the sorting shaft 21 passes through the hexagonal hole 30A of the boss 30B of the sorting disk 30. The rotary shaft 21A can be slid in the axial direction.

  In other words, the sorting disk 30 and the rotating shaft 21A only have to have a polygonal cross section at the fitting portion, thereby preventing the sorting disk 30 from rotating in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft 21A and rotating. The shaft 21A and the sorting disk 30 can be assured to rotate together.

  Further, the compression coil springs 34 arranged between two adjacent sorting disks 30 are all the same length, all have the same spring constant, and all the intervals between the adjacent sorting disks 30 are equal. . Incidentally, the spring constant of the compression coil spring 34 can be determined as appropriate.

  The material, shape, and structure of the sorting disk 30 are not limited to this, and sorting disks 31, 32, and 33 as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C are conceivable.

  Although the sorting disk 31 (FIG. 6A) is not provided with the boss 30B like the sorting disk 30, it has a configuration in which the overall thickness is increased by that amount. A hexagonal hole 31 </ b> A through which a rotary shaft 21 </ b> A having a hexagonal cross section in 21 passes is formed.

  The sorting disk 32 (FIG. 6 (B)) is not provided with the boss 30B like the sorting disk 30, and has a configuration that gradually becomes thinner from the circular center part toward the outer peripheral part, A hexagonal hole 32 </ b> A through which the rotary shaft 21 </ b> A having a hexagonal cross section in the sorting shaft 21 passes is formed in the central portion.

  The sorting disk 33 (FIG. 6C) has a hexagonal shape as a whole, and a boss 33B similar to the boss 30B of the sorting disk 30 is provided at the center, and with respect to the boss 33B. Thus, a hexagonal hole 33A through which the rotary shaft 21A having a hexagonal cross section in the sorting shaft 21 passes is formed.

  Thus, as the shape and structure of the sorting disk 30 (FIG. 4), various shapes and structures such as the above-described sorting disks 31, 32, and 33 are conceivable. The shape and structure may be used.

  Further, the sorting unit 5A (FIG. 4) includes a slide guide 35 integrated with bearings 27 and 28 (originally indicated by hidden lines) fitted in between the cores of the two sorting shafts 21 and 22. Have.

  The sorting shafts 21 and 22 have hollow members 21B and 22B made of hexagonal pipes with the rotating shafts 21A and 22A inserted therein at one tip portion, whereby the hollow members 21B and 22B are turned into the rotating shaft 21A, 22A can slide in the axial direction.

  The hollow members 21B and 22B are processed at their tips, so that the hollow members 21B and 22B are rotatably supported by bearings 27 and 28 of the slide guide 35.

  Both ends of the slide screw shaft 29 are rotatably supported by bearings with respect to the plates 61 and 62, and a handle 36 for rotating the user is attached to the tip of the slide screw shaft 29.

  On the other hand, the slide guide 35 is provided with a female screw at a central portion between the two sorting shafts 21 and 22, and a male screw of the slide screw shaft 29 is engaged therewith.

  Therefore, when the slide screw shaft 29 is rotated via the handle 36, the slide guide 35 moves as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and the hollow members 21B and 22B covering the rotation shafts 21A and 22A are It slides on the rotary shafts 21A and 22A together with the slide guide 35.

Incidentally, in the sorting unit 5A, as shown in FIG. 9, two adjacent sorting disks 30 that are attached to the sorting shaft 21 in the sorting unit 5A and a plurality that are attached to the sorting shaft 22 in the sorting unit 5A are adjacent to each other. The potato 100 (FIG. 3) is sorted through a sorting space SS having a width MW formed by the two sorting disks 30.

In this case, the sorting unit 5A, if sorting width MW that is determined by the width of two sorting disc 30 is greater than the thickness PT of the potato 100 (sorting width MW> thickness PT), than its thickness PT Also, only the small potato 100 is dropped and discharged from the sorting space SS, and only the potato 100 larger than the thickness PT is sorted.

  In the sorting unit 5A having such a configuration, the sorting disk 30 is pushed by the hollow members 21B and 22B, and the ten compression coil springs 34 are each uniformly contracted against the urging force, so that the plurality of sorting disks 30 are separated. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the gap between the eleven sorting discs 30, that is, the width MW1 of the sorting space SS is uniformly narrowed to the width MW2. At this time, in the sorting unit 5A, the gap between the 11 sorting disks 30 can be arbitrarily adjusted and changed according to the amount of rotation of the handle 36 by the user.

  In this sorting unit 5A, the maximum value of the width MW1 of the sorting space SS is 50 mm, the minimum value of the width MW2 is 35 mm, the length of the compression coil spring 34 is 24 mm to 39 mm, and the maximum moving distance of the slide guide 35 is 150 mm. However, these values can be appropriately changed according to the size of the sorting unit 5A and the type of agricultural product to be targeted.

The slide guide 35 is provided with slide rollers 37 and 38 on both the left and right sides, and a slide roller 39 is provided below the slide guide 35. Further, side rail guides 41 and 42 and a lower rail guide 43 are provided at corresponding portions of the housing 40 facing the slide rollers 37, 38 and 39.

  Accordingly, when the handle 36 is rotated, the slide guide 35 rotates the slide rollers 37, 38 and 39 on the side rail guides 41 and 42 and the lower rail guide 43, and the slide guide 35 moves between the plates 61 and 62. It is designed to move smoothly.

  Further, the sorting unit 5A is provided with a plurality of scrapers 45 (10 in this case) with respect to the scraper pipe shaft 44 provided below the sorting shaft 21 (22). The plurality of scrapers 45 are arranged alternately with the plurality of sorting disks 30 between the plurality of sorting disks 30 of the sorting shaft 21.

  The scraper pipe shaft 44 has a configuration in which a scraper shaft 44A whose end is pivotally supported by the plate 62 is inserted into the scraper pipe shaft 44 so that the scraper pipe shaft 44 can slide on the scraper shaft 44A in the axial direction. Has been made.

  Further, a scraper spring 46 is attached to each of the scraper pipe shaft 44 between a plurality of scrapers 45. All of the plurality of scraper springs 46 have the same length and all have the same spring constant, and the distance between adjacent scrapers 45 and the distance between adjacent discs 30 are substantially the same. Yes.

  The plurality of scrapers 45 are arranged at the time of sorting because the scraper pipe shaft 44 does not rotate, and the plurality of scrapers 45 and the compression coil springs 34 of the sorting shaft 21 are separated by a predetermined distance. Mud etc. adhering to the compression coil spring 34 can be removed by a scraper 45.

  In the plurality of scrapers 45, the hollow members 21 </ b> B and 22 </ b> B slide on the rotary shafts 21 </ b> A and 22 </ b> A together with the slide guide 35 when the plurality of sorting disks 30 move as a whole with the movement of the slide guide 35. At the same time, the scraper pipe shaft 44 slides on the scraper shaft 44A.

  Therefore, in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, the sorting unit 5A is compressed evenly against the urging force of the plurality of scraper springs 46 as a result of the scraper pipe shaft 44 pushing the left end scraper 45. The plurality of sorting disks 30 and the plurality of scrapers 45 are moved in the same direction in an interlocked state.

  By the way, the sorting unit 5A has a sorting guide plate 53 attached to the upper frame 51 via a bow bolt 52, and the sorting target potato 100 rolls toward the hollow members 21B and 22B from the sorting guide plate 53. It is made to prevent that.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, in the sorting unit 5A, when the plurality of sorting disks 30 are moved as a whole, the bow bolts 52 are loosened and the sorting guide plate 53 is moved to the sorting disk 30 side. After the movement, the wing bolt 52 is tightened.

  The sorting shafts 21 and 22 (FIG. 4) are attached to the sorting shaft driving gears 47 and 48 at the other end, and the sorting shafts 21 and 22 are placed in the same direction between the sorting shaft driving gears 47 and 48. An intermediate gear 49 for rotating the intermediate gear 49 is attached so as to engage with the selection shaft drive gears 47 and 48.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the drive mechanism 11 disposed inside the central supply guide portion 12 (FIG. 1) in the shape sorting device 5 is connected via a drive sprocket 54 and a roller chain 57 of the sorting shaft drive motor 10. By rotating the drive transmission shaft 56 of the transmission gear 55, the intermediate gear 49, the sorting shaft driving gear 47, the intermediate gear 49, the sorting shaft driving gear 48,...

  In the drive mechanism 11 in this case, the sprocket ratio of the drive sprocket 54 and the gear ratio of the transmission gear 55 in the sorting shaft drive motor 10 are set to be 1: 1. As a result, the drive mechanism 11 uses the motor with an inverter that can change the rotation speed because the output rotation speed of the selection shaft drive motor 10 becomes the rotation speed of the selection shaft drive gears 47, 48,. . However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this.

  Note that the drive mechanism 11 often has a rotational speed of the sorting shafts 21 and 22 of around 50 rpm, depending on the diameter of the sorting disk 30, the processing amount, the type of agricultural products, and the like.

(3) Operation and Effect In the configuration described above, the sorting unit 5A of the shape sorting device 1 can move the plurality of sorting disks 30 while sliding in the axial direction of the rotation shafts 21A and 22A by rotating the handle 36. Therefore, the gap MW1 between the sorting disks 30, that is, the width MW1 of the sorting space SS can be changed to the width MW2 (FIG. 7).

  At this time, in the sorting unit 5A, the gap between the 11 sorting disks 30 can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the amount of rotation of the handle 36 by the user, and the compression coil springs 34 that are all relatively easily available and have the same spring constant. Is provided between the sorting discs 30, and the positioning can be performed in a state where all the gaps between the sorting discs 30 are equalized by the urging force of the compression coil spring 34.

  Further, the sorting unit 5A has a polygonal shape (in this case, a hexagonal shape) in the cross-section of the fitting portion between the plurality of sorting disks 30 and the rotating shafts 21A, 22A. In response to the rotational drive, the rotary shafts 21A and 22A of the sorting shafts 21 and 22 and the sorting disk 30 rotate together to reliably deliver the agricultural products from the supply side to the transport / discharge side.

  Further, in the sorting unit 5A, a scraper 45 is arranged between each of the plurality of sorting disks 30, and the scraper 45 can be moved in the same direction in conjunction with the movement of the sorting disk 30. Therefore, the foreign matter adhering to the compression coil spring 34 can be reliably removed by the scraper 45.

  In the shape sorting apparatus 1, a plurality of such sorting units 5A to 5F can be combined as a minimum unit. Therefore, the desired efficiency can be obtained by appropriately combining the sorting units 5A to 5F according to the efficiency, amount, type of agricultural products, and the like. Can be easily dealt with.

  According to the above configuration, the shape selection device 1 can adjust the selection width of the selection space SS quickly and easily while having a simple configuration.

(4) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, potato has been described as an example of an agricultural product to be selected. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be selected by shape (size). Other kinds of agricultural products such as onions, apples, mandarin oranges and oranges may be selected according to their shapes.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the compression coil spring 34 is used as the elastic member has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other elastic members such as a sponge-like member and a rubber-like member may be used. It may be used.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the agricultural products to be sorted are transported by the transport conveyor 3 and the items other than the sorting targets are discharged by the discharge conveyor 4 is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, Agricultural products to be sorted may be discharged by the discharge conveyor 4, and items other than the sorting target may be transported by the transport conveyor 3.

  2 ... Supply conveyor, 3 ... Transport conveyor, 4 ... Discharge conveyor, 5 ... Shape sorter, 10 ... Select shaft drive motor, 21, 22 ... Select shaft, 29 ... Slide screw shaft, 30, 31, 32, 33... Selection disc, 34... Compression coil spring, 35... Slide guide, 36... Handle, 45 ... Scraper, 53 ... Selection guide plate, 55 ... Transmission gear, 47, 48. ... selection shaft drive gear, 49 ... intermediate gear, 100 ... potato.

Claims (7)

A plurality of sorting discs arranged in the axial direction of a plurality of rotating shafts arranged in parallel, and an agricultural product sorting device using a gap between the sorting discs in two adjacent rotating shafts as a sorting space,
The sorting disk is slidably mounted in the axial direction;
An elastic member is disposed between the sorting disks,
The gap between the sorting disks is configured to be variable ,
At least one end of the rotating shaft is fitted with a hollow member slidably with respect to the rotating shaft,
An agricultural product sorting apparatus, wherein the sorting disk is configured to slide in the axial direction as the hollow member slides . The agricultural product sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is a compression coil spring. The agricultural product sorting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a cross section of a fitting portion between the sorting disk and the rotating shaft is polygonal in the rotating shaft. The agricultural product sorting apparatus comprises:
Provided with a slide guide portion that slides in the direction of the rotation axis by rotation of the slide screw shaft,
The agricultural product sorting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the hollow member is configured to slide in accordance with the operation of the slide guide portion. Wherein the lower side of the rotary shaft, produce sorting according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that scraper to move in the same direction in conjunction with the sliding of the screened disc is arranged apparatus. A plurality of sorting disks are arranged in the axial direction of two parallel rotation axes,
The gap between adjacent sorting disks is used as a sorting space,
The sorting disk is slidably attached in the axial direction,
A compression coil spring is arranged between the sorting disks,
The gap between the selected disks is configured to be variable by the compression coil spring ,
At least one end of the rotating shaft is fitted with a hollow member slidably with respect to the rotating shaft,
A sorting unit for an agricultural product sorting device, wherein the sorting disk is configured to slide in the axial direction as the hollow member slides . The sorting unit for the produce sorting device is:
The scraping unit for an agricultural product sorting apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein a scraper is arranged below the rotating shaft so as to move in the same direction in conjunction with the sliding of the sorting disk.

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