JP5487248B2 - Crop sorting mechanism and crop sorting device using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a crop alignment mechanism that selects spherical crops such as tomatoes and cherry tomatoes among agricultural crops according to the size, and a crop sorting apparatus using the same.

Generally, crops having a spherical shape such as tomatoes and cherry tomatoes are sorted according to their sizes and shipped to the market. The operation of selecting a large amount of delicate and vulnerable crops is laborious and labor-intensive, both physically and mentally. Therefore, there is a device that makes it possible to perform such a crop selection operation mechanically. Proposed.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a horizontal transportation of a base part for supporting a semi-circular or spherical raw vegetable sorting object and a base part chain band in which many of the base parts are chained. Measures the diameter and seat height of the objects to be sorted that are mounted on the transport unit consisting of the platform chain that is supposed to move continuously on the path and the location related to the transport path and supported by each platform. And a class discriminating unit for discriminating whether the classified object belongs to any of a plurality of predetermined classes that have been measured based on the shape information obtained by the measurement, and the measured classified object A semi-circular or spherical raw vegetable sorting device, characterized in that it comprises a grade-specific collection unit that collects in a collection location of the class to which it belongs based on the discrimination information of the discrimination unit And a combination device of the sorting device and the packaging machine has been proposed.
Patent Document 2 discloses a supply unit of cherry tomatoes, a selection unit that supplies the cherry tomatoes from the supply unit and sorts the tomatoes from upstream to downstream, and sorts them by size, and drops from the selection unit There has been proposed a cherry tomato sorting apparatus including a collecting unit that collects cherry tomatoes according to size.

JP 2002-336996 A Utility Model Registration No. 3132630

  However, in the above-mentioned proposal, when a large amount of crops is supplied to the sorting device, it is difficult to accurately select the crops because the supplied crops are overlapped with each other. There was a trouble of not becoming. In addition, when the crop is supplied to the sorting device from above, there is a risk of damaging the crop.

  The object of the present invention is to perform accurate sorting according to the size mechanically without damaging the crop even if a large amount of delicate crops such as tomatoes and cherry tomatoes are supplied in large quantities at a time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a crop alignment mechanism and a crop sorting apparatus using the same.

The numbers in parentheses below are reference numerals in the drawings described later, and are attached for reference.
In order to achieve the above object, a crop alignment mechanism for aligning each of the plurality of crops in a line perpendicular to the transport direction while carrying a plurality of spherical crops and transporting them in the transport direction, A plurality of support shafts (32) that are arranged at equal intervals along the transport direction inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction and are driven to move upward and extend in directions perpendicular to the transport direction; a plurality of support shafts (32) are supported around the respective rotating freely and cylindrical roller extending over substantially the entire length of the support shaft (32) (31), mounting said plurality of crop Accordingly, the table is rotatably supported by each of the plurality of support shafts (32), and is disposed on the upstream side in the transport direction from the roller (31) and has a width substantially equal to the length of the roller (31). and (35), distribution along the conveying direction Includes a pair of friction tube (13) to produce a pressed friction resistance an upper surface of both ends of each respective said rollers made from a rubber material that covers the pair of core bars (13a) (31) that is, the when a plurality of support shafts (32) is moved increases, the roller (31) is opposite to the rotation allowed is the conveying direction by the frictional resistance at a contact point between said friction tube (13), the crop of the spherical Is rotated in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the roller (31) by contacting the side surface of the roller (31) .

  The crop sorting mechanism according to the present invention is a crop sorting device having the crop sorting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the crop sorting mechanism is arranged upstream of the crop sorting mechanism and supplies the plurality of crops to the crop sorting mechanism. Supply means (60), a sorting means arranged on the downstream side of the crop alignment mechanism and sorting the plurality of crops according to size, and a crop of each size sorted by the sorting means is recovered. A recovery means.

  Since the crop sorting device according to the present invention has a crop alignment mechanism, a plurality of spherical crops are mounted and transported in the transport direction, so that the plurality of crops are aligned in a line perpendicular to the transport direction. The crops to be sorted can be transported in a certain amount up to the place having the sorting means, and can be sorted mechanically and accurately without damaging delicate crops.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view illustrating an example of a configuration of a crop alignment mechanism and a crop sorting device using the same according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic which shows an example of a structure of a motive power drive part. It is a partially broken top view which shows an example of a structure of a selection stand part. FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional arrow view of FIG. 1 showing an example of the configuration of the first frame. It is D section arrow directional view of FIG. It is a principal part expanded sectional view of FIG. It is a partially broken G arrow line view of FIG. It is the schematic explaining the principle of the alignment of the crop in a crop alignment mechanism. It is the schematic which shows an example of the alignment state of the crop by a crop alignment mechanism. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional arrow view of FIG. 1 showing an example of a configuration of a second frame. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional arrow view of FIG. It is the schematic explaining the principle of the selection of the crop in a selection means.

  Hereinafter, a crop sorting mechanism and a crop sorting apparatus using the same according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The crop sorting device of the present invention is suitable for sorting delicate crops that are spherical and easily damaged. In this specification, a cherry tomato is exemplified as an example of a crop to be sorted.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a crop alignment mechanism and a crop sorting apparatus using the same according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, since the crop sorting mechanism is incorporated in the crop sorting device, it will be described along with the description of the crop sorting device using the crop sorting mechanism.
As shown in FIG. 1, a crop sorting apparatus using a crop alignment mechanism has a hopper 60 that is a supply unit that supplies cherry tomatoes 70 to be sorted, and a sorting that carries and transports cherry tomatoes 70 supplied from the hopper 60. The platform 30, the frame-shaped frames 10 and 20 that support the sorting table 30, and the power drive unit 40 that continuously moves the sorting tables 30 along the frames 10 and 20 in a plurality of chains in the transport direction. It consists of and.
The frames 10 and 20 are composed of a first frame 10 and a second frame. The first frame 10 has a crop alignment mechanism and is arranged so as to be inclined upward with respect to the conveyance direction of the crop. The first frame 10 aligns the cherry tomatoes 70 mounted on the sorting table 30 in a line in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction by the crop alignment mechanism. In addition, the second frame 20 is disposed horizontally on the downstream side of the first frame 10 with respect to the transport direction. The second frame includes a sorting unit that sorts the crops mounted on the sorting table unit 30 and a collection unit that collects the crops sorted by the sorting unit.
The hopper 60 is a passage having a shape in which an upper surface is opened and a side surface is opened upward. The first hopper 60 rolls or slides a plurality of cherry tomatoes 70 on the upstream side of the first frame 10. It arrange | positions so that it may descent | fall downward with respect to the flame | frame 10. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the power drive unit 40. The power drive unit 40 includes a drive motor 40a disposed on the downstream side of the second frame 20, drive sprockets 43a, 43b, 43c that transmit the drive force of the drive motor 40a, and idle sprockets 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d. And chains 42a, 42b, 42c wound endlessly between the sprockets. The drive sprockets 43a, 43b, 43c and the idle sprockets 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d are chain 42a, They are linked by 42b and 42c.
The drive sprocket 43a is fixed to the end of the output shaft of the drive motor 40a, and is linked to the drive sprocket 43b fixed to the end of the drive shaft 41 positioned below the drive sprocket 43a by a chain 42a. Furthermore, the drive sprocket 43c fixed to both ends of the drive shaft 41 and the inner side of the drive sprocket 43b and the idle sprockets 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d are interlocked by the chains 42b, 42c.

FIG. 3 is a partially broken plan view showing an example of the configuration of the sorting table unit 30, and FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 3. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sorting table 30 is a bar-like shape on which a table 35 on which a plurality of cherry tomatoes 70 supplied from a hopper 60 are mounted and a roller 31 disposed in front of the table 35 are supported. And a support shaft 32 extending in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction.
The roller 31 includes a cylindrical roller 31 a that extends over substantially the entire length of the support shaft 32, and bearings 31 a that extend from both left and right ends of the roller 31 a, and can rotate around the support shaft 32. It is supported by. The roller 31a is preferably covered with an elastic body such as a sponge. By covering the roller 31a with an elastic body, damage caused by the cherry tomato 70 mounted on the table 35 coming into contact with the roller 31a can be prevented.
The table 35 has a width substantially the same as the length of the roller 31, a panel 36 that is a substantially rectangular and plate-shaped bottom plate, a side plate 38 erected on the left and right sides of the upper surface of the panel 36, and both ends of the roller 31. The bearing 31a is rotatably supported around the support shaft 32. The table 35 is rotatably supported on the support shaft 32 by fixing the front end of the side plate 38 to the side surface of the support shaft 31a. Further, the table 35 includes an opening adjustment roller 39 rotatably supported on the side surface of the side plate 38, and a spill prevention plate erected in parallel with the side plate 38 on the upper surface of the panel 36 and on the inner side of the side plate 38. 37. The spill prevention plate 37 prevents the cherry tomatoes 70 mounted on the table 35 from spilling left and right.
Further, the support shaft 32 has bearing rollers 34 fixed to both left and right ends of the support shaft 32, and the outside thereof is connected to the chains 42b and 42c. As the support shaft 32 is connected to the chains 42b and 42c, the driving force of the power drive unit 40 is transmitted to the sorting table 30. The sorting table 30 has the first frame as shown in FIGS. 10 and the second frame 20 can be moved continuously.

Next, the first frame 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. The first frame comprises a crop alignment mechanism according to the present invention. 5 shows an example of the configuration of the first frame 10, and is a cross-sectional arrow view of FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional arrow view of FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 is a partially broken G arrow view of FIG. 6, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of crop alignment in the crop alignment mechanism, and FIG. 10 is a crop alignment state by the alignment means. The schematic which shows an example of each is shown.
As shown in FIG. 5, the first frame 10 is inclined upward at an angle θ toward the second frame 20 on the upstream side of the second frame 20 in the transport direction and on the downstream side of the hopper 60. Is arranged. Here, it is considered that the angle θ is preferably 35 to 45 degrees. An idle sprocket 44c is rotatably supported on the upstream side of the first frame 10, and an idle sprocket 44d is rotatably supported on the downstream side, and a sorting table is provided on the chains 42b and 42c in which the idle sprocket 44c and the idle sprocket 44d are interlocked. A plurality of units 30 are connected at a predetermined interval, and the first frame 10 is moved in a state where a plurality of sorting units 30 are chained.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the first frame 10 is a member having a U-shaped cross section and is disposed so that the open sides face each other. Further, the first frame 10 has a sorting table opening for adjusting the angle of the rail-shaped guide plate 16 laid along the first frame 10 on the inner lower surface and the table 35 of the sorting table 30. The adjustment unit 15 and the roller pressing unit 14 are configured, and the outer side of the first frame 10 is covered with a cover 11.

The sorter opening adjustment unit 15 is attached to the upper surface of the first frame 10 and is attached to the upper end of the vertical adjustment rod 15b and a rod-like vertical adjustment rod 15b that is attached so as to be vertically movable from the upper surface to the lower surface. Further, it is composed of a substantially disk-shaped last 15a and a plate-like support plate 12a attached to the lower end of the vertical adjustment rod 15b. The support plate 12 a includes a rail-shaped roller receiving plate 12 laid along the first frame 10. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the support plate 12 a is a rod-like support plate guide 12 b that is firmly fixed to the lower portion of the first frame 10 so as not to rotate.
The roller pressing portion 14 includes a plate-like support plate 14a projecting inwardly on the upper surface of the first frame 10, an adjustment bolt 14b screwed to a side end of the support plate 14a, and an adjustment bolt 14b. And a rail-shaped core bar 13 a laid along the first frame 10, and the core bar 13 a is covered with a friction tube 13. As will be described in detail later, the friction tube 13 is preferably made of a material such as rubber that generates frictional resistance when the lower surface of the friction tube 13 abuts against the upper surface of the bearing 31a that is extended to the left and right ends of the roller 31a. is there.

The sorting table 30 places the bearing roller 34 on the guide plate 16, and further places the opening adjustment roller 39 on the roller receiving plate 12 of the sorting table opening adjustment unit 15. The upper surface of the extended bearing 31 a and the lower surface of the friction tube 13 of the roller pressing portion 14 are in contact with each other in a state of friction resistance and are supported by the first frame 10. In this way, the lower surface of the friction tube 13 abuts on the upper surface of the bearing 31a of the roller 31, so that the roller 31 can be rotated in the direction opposite to the conveying direction.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when the operator operates the limit 15a of the sorting table opening adjustment unit 15, the support plate 12a attached to the vertical adjustment rod 15b moves up and down. Accordingly, the inclination of the table 35 having the opening adjustment roller 39 placed on the roller receiving plate 12 moves up and down with respect to the support shaft 32. In this way, by adjusting the tilt of the table 35 up and down, the distance between the rear end portion of the table 35 of the sorting table 30 and the side surface of the roller 31 of the sorting table 30 located behind the table 35 is adjusted. It becomes possible to adjust. Specifically, the interval to be adjusted is the distance of the gap L shown in FIG. 9, and the interval is adjusted in a range where the cherry tomato 70b does not fall.

Next, the effect of the crop alignment mechanism in the first frame 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. First, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when the cherry tomatoes 70 piled up from the hopper 60 are supplied to the sorting table unit 30, the cherry tomatoes 70 supplied to the table 35 of the sorting table unit 30 are mounted. The plurality of sorter units 30 connected to the chain 42b of the power drive unit 40 (not shown, but connected to the chain 42c on the opposite side) are angled θ at equal intervals along the transport direction. To move up the first frame. When the sorting table 30 moves up the first frame at an angle θ, the cherry tomato 70 mounted on the table 35 of the sorting table 30 rolls or slides upstream. Of the cherry tomatoes 70 that have been rolled or slid to the upstream side, the cherry tomatoes 70b that come into contact with the side surfaces of the rollers 31 of the subsequent sorting table 30 are rotated by the frictional resistance between the cherry tomatoes 70b and the rollers 31. And rotated to the opposite side. Furthermore, the mini tomato 70a located above or downstream of the mini tomato 70b and in contact with the mini tomato 70b is opposite to the rotation direction of the mini tomato 70b by the frictional resistance between the mini tomato 70a and the mini tomato 70b, that is, a roller. It is rotated to the same side as the rotation direction of 31.
Thus, the rotation direction of the cherry tomato 70a and the cherry tomato 70b which contact | abut is different, and the cherry tomato 70a is moved to the subsequent selection stand part 30, rolling over the cherry tomato 70b. Then, only the cherry tomato 70b is mounted on the table 31 of the sorting table 30 and conveyed while rotating to the opposite side of the roller 31 in a state of being in contact with the side surface of the roller 31 of the sorting table 30 that follows. .
As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the plurality of cherry tomatoes 70 mounted on the table 35 of the sorting table 30 can be arranged in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction on the table 35 without being twisted by a human hand. It becomes possible to align in a line.

Next, the second frame 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 is an A cross-sectional arrow view of FIG. 1 showing an example of the configuration of the second frame 20, FIG. 12 is an E cross-sectional arrow view of FIG. 11, and FIG. It is the schematic explaining the principle of selection.
As shown in FIG. 11, the second frame 20 is disposed downstream of the first frame 10 in the transport direction so as to be horizontal with respect to the transport direction. Then, a chain 42b (not shown, but not shown) in which a sprocket 43c located on the downstream side in the transport direction of the second frame 20 and an idle sprocket 44d rotatably supported on the upstream side in the transport direction is linked. The second frame 20 is connected to the second frame 20 in a state in which a plurality of sorting table units 30 are connected to each other at a predetermined interval. To move.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 12, the second frame 20 is a member having a U-shaped cross section like the first frame 10 described above, and is arranged so that the open sides face each other. Further, the second frame 20 has a sorting table opening for adjusting the angle of the rail-shaped guide plate 16 laid along the second frame 20 on the inner lower surface and the table 35 of the sorting table 30. The adjustment unit 15 and the roller pressing unit 14 are configured, and the outer side of the second frame 20 is covered with the cover 11. Further, the second frame 20 includes a collection unit 50 that collects the cherry tomatoes 70 sorted by the sorting unit below. The configurations of the sorting table opening adjustment unit 15 and the roller pressing unit 14 are the same as those of the sorting table opening adjustment unit 15 and the roller pressing unit 14 of the first frame 10 described above. The detailed description of is omitted.

  The collection unit 50 is disposed below the second frame 20 and has a box-shaped sorting chute 51 whose upper surface is opened, a discharge port 52 provided at an end of the sorting chute 51, and a wall that partitions the sorting chute 51 inside. It is comprised from the partition plate 53 which is. The sorting chute 51 rolls or slides each of the cherry tomatoes 70 sorted by the sorting means from the collection start end side to the collection end side in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, It leads to the discharge port 52 provided in the. Accordingly, the sorting chute 51 is installed below the second frame 20 so as to be inclined downward from the collection start end side to the collection end side.

Similar to the first frame 10, the sorting table 30 places the bearing roller 34 on the guide plate 16, and further places the opening adjustment roller 39 on the roller receiving plate 12 of the sorting table opening adjustment unit 15. Thus, the upper surface of the bearing 31 a extending at both the left and right ends of the roller 31 and the lower surface of the friction tube 13 of the roller pressing portion 14 are in contact with each other with friction resistance and are supported by the second frame 20. In this way, the lower surface of the friction tube 13 abuts on the upper surface of the bearing 31a of the roller 31, so that the roller 31 can be rotated in the direction opposite to the conveying direction.
Then, as shown in FIG. 11, when the operator operates the limit 15a of the sorting table opening adjustment unit 15, the support plate 12a attached to the vertical adjustment rod 15b moves up and down. Accordingly, the inclination of the table 35 having the opening adjustment roller 39 placed on the roller receiving plate 12 moves up and down with respect to the support shaft 32. In this way, by adjusting the tilt of the table 35 up and down, the distance between the rear end portion of the table 35 of the sorting table 30 and the side surface of the roller 31 of the sorting table 30 located behind the table 35 is adjusted. It becomes possible to adjust. Specifically, the adjusted interval is the distance of the gap L1 shown in FIG. The gap L1 is adjusted so that the cherry tomato 70 having a size to be selected falls from the gap L1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, it is preferable that the sorting base opening degree adjustment unit 15 is installed in the second frame 20 by the number of types (sizes) with which the cherry tomatoes 70 are sorted. It is.

  Next, the sorting means included in the second frame 20 will be described. Each of the cherry tomatoes 70 is mounted on the sorting table 30 in a state where the cherry tomatoes 70 are aligned in a line in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction in the first frame 10 by the crop alignment mechanism. To the next frame 20. Each cherry tomato 70 conveyed from the first frame 10 to the second frame 20 passes through the gap L1 when the gap L1 reaches a position where the gap L1 is adjusted to be larger than its own size. Fall down. Each fallen cherry tomato 70 rolls or slides along the descending slope of the sorting chute 51 and is guided to the discharge port 52 to be sorted for each size. Further, since the inside of the sorting chute 51 is partitioned by the partition plate 53, the cherry tomatoes 70 of other sizes that roll or slide on the sorting chute 51 are guided to the discharge port 52 without being mixed with each other. It is burned.

  As described above, in the crop sorting apparatus of the present invention, a large amount of cherry tomatoes 70 supplied from the hopper 60 in the first frame 10 are mounted on the table 35 of the sorting table 30 and the second frame having sorting means. In the process of sorting and sorting by size, the tomatoes 70 are aligned in a row on the table 35 of the sorting table 30 by the first frame 10 by the crop alignment mechanism provided in the first frame. It is conveyed to the second frame 20. Therefore, the amount of cherry tomato 70 conveyed to the second frame is a constant amount. Therefore, all the cherry tomatoes 70 that are transported can pass through the sorting means without passing through the sorting means due to the overlap of the cherry tomatoes 70 and the like, and it is possible to perform sorting with higher accuracy. Further, since the roller 31 of the sorting table 30 is covered with an elastic body, the delicate cherry tomato 70 can be transported to the sorting means without being damaged, and the cherry tomato 70 is further transported. In the process, the side surface of the cherry tomato 70 can be polished during conveyance because the cherry tomato 70 contacts the side surface of the roller 31.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 20 Frame 11 Cover 12 Roller receiving plate 12a Supporting plate 12b Supporting plate guide 13 Friction tube 13a Core rod 14 Roller pressing part 14a Supporting plate 14b Adjustment bolt 15 Sorting stand opening adjustment part 15a Needle 15b Vertical adjustment rod 16 Guide plate 30 Sorting table 31 Roller 31a 33 Bearing 32 Support shaft 34 Bearing roller 35 Table 36 Panel 37 Spill prevention plate 38 Side plate 39 Opening adjustment roller 40 Drive motor 41 Drive shaft 42a, 42b, 42c Chain 43a, 43b, 43c, 43d Drive sprocket 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d Floating sprocket 45 Support rod 50 Collection part 51 Sorting chute 52 Discharge port 53 Partition plate 60 Hopper 70, 70a, 70b Mini tomato

Claims (2)

A crop alignment mechanism for aligning each of the plurality of crops in a line perpendicular to the transport direction while carrying a plurality of spherical crops and transporting the crops in the transport direction,
A plurality of support shafts (32) that are arranged at equal intervals along the conveying direction inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction and are driven to move upward and extend in directions orthogonal to the conveying direction, respectively;
A cylindrical roller extending (31) over substantially the entire length of said plurality of support shafts (32) are supported around the respective rotating freely and the support shaft (32),
In order to mount the plurality of crops, each of the plurality of support shafts (32) is rotatably supported and arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction from the roller (31), and the length of the roller (31) A table (35) having substantially the same width;
A pair of friction tubes (13) made of a rubber material covering each of a pair of core rods (13a) arranged along the conveying direction and generating frictional resistance by pressing the upper surfaces of both ends of each roller (31) And comprising
When the plurality of support shafts (32) is moved increases, the roller (31) is opposite to the rotation allowed is the conveying direction by the frictional resistance at a contact point between said friction tube (13), said spherical The crop aligning mechanism, wherein the crop is rotated in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the roller (31) by contacting the side surface of the roller (31) . A crop sorting device having the crop alignment mechanism according to claim 1,
Supply means (60) disposed upstream of the crop alignment mechanism and for supplying the plurality of crops to the crop alignment mechanism;
A sorting unit arranged downstream of the crop alignment mechanism and sorting the plurality of crops according to size; a collecting unit for collecting crops of each size sorted by the sorting unit;
A crop sorting apparatus comprising:

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