JP5946211B2 - Egg direction aligning apparatus and egg direction aligning method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a direction aligning apparatus and a direction aligning method for aligning the direction of an egg, and in particular, aligns the direction of an egg so that the long axis of the egg is directed from the left-right direction to the up-down direction. The present invention relates to a direction alignment device and a direction alignment method.

  Eggs typified by chicken eggs and the like include edible eggs used for cooking and seed eggs for producing chicks. These eggs are laid by a chicken and then filled in a tray to be transported and managed. For example, in the egg production process, a large number of eggs born from a large number of chickens are transported from a poultry house, stored in a dedicated container called a setter tray, and filled in a setter tray in an environment of 38 degrees. Enter the incubation process.

  By the way, a chicken egg has a sharp end having a relatively small curvature and a blunt end having a relatively large curvature, and a virtual axis connecting the sharp end and the blunt end is called a long axis. The In general, an air chamber is located on the blunt end side of the egg. In order to facilitate the gas exchange of the embryo in the seed egg through the air chamber, the seed egg is filled in the setter tray with the blunt end facing up, that is, the long axis facing up and down. In addition to eggs, eggs are filled in trays with their blunt ends facing upward to facilitate gas exchange and maintain freshness of eggs in edible eggs.

  However, until the eggs are filled in the tray, the eggs are conveyed by a conveyor or the like with the long axis set in the horizontal direction in order to facilitate the conveyance. Therefore, in order to fill the tray with eggs with the long axis oriented in the vertical direction, it is necessary to change the posture of the eggs and align them.

  As such an apparatus for aligning egg directions by aligning the blunt ends of eggs upward, there is an egg direction aligning apparatus described in Patent Document 1, for example. The direction alignment device includes a first conveyance line that conveys an egg, and a second conveyance line that receives the egg falling at the end of the first conveyance line and further conveys the egg.

  The first transport line is composed of a roller bar conveyor, and a pair of rollers adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction sandwiches the egg so that the long axis is directed in the left-right direction and transports the egg from the rear to the front. In the vicinity of the end of the first transport line, the first transport line lifts a substantially center in the left-right direction with respect to the transported egg from between a pair of rollers, and the sharp end side of the egg lifted at the center in the transport direction. That is, a pressing member that presses forward is provided. The lifting member lifts the substantially center of the egg to be conveyed and tilts the egg so that the sharp end side faces downward.

  The pressing member presses the sharp end of the egg tilted by the lifting member toward the front faster than the egg conveying speed. As the pressing member, a plate-like member that rotates to press the sharp end of the egg forward and a drive mechanism that rotates the plate-like member are provided near the end of the conveyor.

  According to said structure, the egg conveyed to the vicinity of the terminal end of the 1st conveyance line is lifted in the center, and an attitude | position is inclined so that a sharp end may face below by a lifting member. In this posture, the egg is pressed by the pressing member with the sharp end side facing forward, reaches the end of the first transport line with the sharp end facing forward, and falls. Accordingly, the egg falls with its sharp end facing downward and is received by the second transport line. Thereby, the egg is transported by the second transport line with the sharp end facing downward, transferred to the tray from the second transport line, and filled with the upper end facing upward.

JP-A-5-8851 International Publication No. 2007/004440 JP 2003-200906 A

  However, in the egg direction aligning device of the cited document 1, since the pressing member provided with the driving mechanism is provided in the first transport line, the structure of the device becomes extremely complicated, and the first transport line in which the pressing member is provided. It was difficult to clean the vicinity of the terminal.

An egg direction alignment apparatus according to the present invention includes at least one conveyance line that sequentially conveys a plurality of eggs placed in a state in which a sharp end is directed to either the left direction or the right direction in the front-rear direction, and the conveyance line. A roller bar conveyor that rotates in a predetermined rotational direction to convey the egg toward the end of the roller and transmits an endless body that transmits power to each of the transfer lines, and drops the egg at the end of the transfer line including a roller bar conveyors.

  Each conveying line is a plurality of rollers that extend in the left-right direction and are connected to the endless body in parallel in the front-rear direction, and each of the eggs is sandwiched between a pair of adjacent rollers and sequentially conveyed. A roller, and a push-up mechanism for pushing up the egg substantially upward from between the pair of rollers in the vicinity of the end of the transport line.

  Each roller is a drum-shaped egg mounting member having a taper from the center toward both the left and right sides, an egg mounting member that rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction in the vicinity of the terminal end, and the egg mounting member And a pair of disk-like members arranged so as to face each other on both the left and right sides of the egg placing member.

  The push-up mechanism tilts the posture of the egg so that the sharp end faces downward by pushing up the egg at a position corresponding to the center in the left-right direction of the egg placing member, and the disc-shaped member tilts the posture. And an outer periphery contacting the sharp end of the egg.

Moreover, the egg direction alignment apparatus according to the present invention includes at least one conveyance line that sequentially conveys a plurality of eggs placed in a state in which the sharp end is directed to either the left direction or the right direction in the front-rear direction, A roller bar conveyor that is rotated in a predetermined rotational direction to convey the egg toward the end of the transfer line and transmits an endless body that transmits power to each transfer line, and the egg at the end of the transfer line. including roller bar conveyors to drop.

  Each conveyance line is a plurality of rollers that extend in the left-right direction and are connected to the endless body in parallel in the front-rear direction, and each of the rollers sandwiches each egg between a pair of adjacent rollers and sequentially conveys the eggs And a push-up mechanism for pushing up the egg substantially upward from between the pair of rollers in the vicinity of the terminal end.

  Each roller is an egg placing member having a columnar shape, and rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction in the vicinity of the end, and opposite to the left and right sides of the egg placing member. A pair of disk-shaped members arranged.

  The push-up mechanism tilts the posture of the egg so that the sharp end faces downward by pushing up the egg at a position corresponding to the center in the left-right direction of the egg placing member, and the disc-shaped member tilts the posture. And an outer periphery contacting the sharp end of the egg.

Furthermore, the egg direction alignment method according to the present invention includes a plurality of rollers that are arranged in the front-rear direction and are capable of rotating, and a plurality of rollers that sandwich and convey the egg forward with a pair of rollers adjacent in the front-rear direction When, using the direction alignment device of the egg including a roller bar conveyor and a lifting mechanism for sharp end of the egg pushes up the eggs upward facing downward.

A first step of conveying the egg with its sharp end facing either in the left-right direction toward the end of the roller bar conveyor in a state of being sandwiched by the pair of rollers, and the egg at the end of the roller bar conveyor and a second step of dropping.

  The first step includes rotating the roller in a predetermined direction at least in the vicinity of the end, and the second step causes the push-up mechanism to move the egg immediately before dropping and its sharp end downward. Inclining in a state of facing, by abutting a sharp end of the tilted egg against a part of the roller, by rotating the roller, directing the sharp end of the egg in the conveying direction of the egg, Dropping the egg from its sharp end.

  According to the egg direction alignment device according to the present invention, in each transport line of the roller bar conveyor, each egg is sandwiched between a pair of rollers adjacent in the front-rear direction with its sharp end directed in either the left-right direction. Then, the plurality of rollers transmit power from the endless body and move toward the end of the transport line, whereby the plurality of eggs are transported in a line toward the front. At this time, since the egg placing member is formed in a drum shape, the egg is transported in a state where the substantial center is located at the center of the egg placing member. The egg that has reached the end of the transport line is received by an egg receiving unit that holds the posture of the dropped egg.

  Immediately before this fall, that is, near the end of each conveyance line, the egg is tilted so that the position corresponding to the center of the egg placement member, that is, the substantial center of the egg is pushed up substantially upward and the sharp end side is directed downward. . The sharp end of the egg facing downward comes into contact with the outer periphery of the disk-shaped member located immediately below it. Since the disk-shaped member of the roller rotates, the sharp end of the egg is directed in the tangential direction of the rotation of the disk-shaped member, that is, the egg transport direction, by the frictional force generated by contacting the outer periphery of the disk-shaped member.

  Thereafter, since the egg moves to a drop movement, it is received and held by the egg receiving portion with the sharp end side down. As a result, the eggs are aligned in the direction from the state in which the sharp end is directed in either the left-right direction to the state in which the sharp end is directed downward, that is, the eggs are further aligned and transported by the transport line.

  Furthermore, according to the direction alignment method according to the present invention, each egg is sandwiched between a pair of rollers with its sharp end directed in either the left-right direction, and conveyed toward the end of the roller bar conveyor. The egg that has reached the vicinity of the end of the roller bar conveyor is tilted by the push-up mechanism so that the sharp end faces downward immediately before dropping. An egg whose posture is tilted is directed in the conveying direction by bringing the sharp end into contact with a part of the rotating roller. The egg whose sharp end is directed in the transport direction falls from the sharp end at the end of the roller bar conveyor, and is received and held by the egg receiving portion with the sharp end facing downward.

  According to such a direction aligning device and direction aligning method, the roller for transporting the egg also has the action of directing the sharp end of the egg forward, so that it acts like a pressing member that drives the sharp end of the egg to the front. There is no need to provide a special mechanism at the end of the transport line. Therefore, the structure of the apparatus is simplified, and cleaning of the transfer line is facilitated.

It is the schematic which shows the flow of the egg in the egg filling system incorporating the egg direction alignment apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. 1 is a perspective view showing an egg direction alignment apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows the direction alignment apparatus of the egg which concerns on a present Example. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing the vicinity of the end of a conveyance line in FIG. 3. It is side sectional drawing which expands and shows the vicinity of the terminal end of a conveyance line which shows operation | movement of the egg direction alignment apparatus which concerns on a present Example. It is a top view which expands and shows the vicinity of the terminal end of a conveyance line which shows operation | movement of the egg direction alignment apparatus which concerns on a present Example. It is a front view which shows the egg conveyed by the conveyance line of the direction alignment apparatus of the egg which concerns on a present Example. It is a front view which shows the egg in which the attitude | position was inclined by the raising mechanism in the conveyance line of the direction alignment apparatus of the egg which concerns on a present Example. It is a top view for demonstrating the roller of the direction alignment apparatus of the egg which concerns on a present Example. It is a top view for demonstrating the disk-shaped member which concerns on another Example. It is a top view for demonstrating the roller which concerns on another Example. It is a perspective view which shows the direction alignment apparatus of the egg which concerns on the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a sectional side view for demonstrating the filling of the egg using the direction alignment apparatus of the egg which concerns on a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows the direction alignment method of the egg which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows in detail the 2nd step of the direction alignment method of the egg which concerns on 1st Example of this invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an egg direction alignment apparatus 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is incorporated in an egg filling system S. The filling system S is used, for example, for filling an egg E laid in a poultry house into a tray 12 such as a setter tray. The setter tray is used for storage during so-called hatching of eggs. The tray 12 may be a tray such as an edible egg such as an American tray or a pulp mold tray for storing and transporting eggs. The tray is provided with egg storage seats of n columns × m rows (n and m are the order numbers).

  In the egg filling system S, the egg E laid in the poultry house is transported in the direction of arrow a by a transport device 13 such as a bar conveyor with its long axis oriented in the horizontal direction. A distribution and alignment device 14 such as an accumulator is provided downstream of the transport device 13. The plurality of eggs E transported in an unordered arrangement from the transport apparatus 3 are arranged in a plurality of rows, for example, 6 rows in the horizontal direction and sequentially transported by the distribution and alignment device 14 (for example, Patent Document 2). reference).

  An egg direction alignment device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is provided downstream of the distribution alignment device 14. The eggs E are transported to the distributing and aligning device 14 with the long axis oriented in the horizontal direction, but are aligned in a state where the long axis is directed vertically by the egg direction aligning device 10. The egg E with the long axis oriented in the vertical direction is transferred from the egg direction aligning device 10 by the transfer device 15 and filled in the tray 12 with the long axis directed in the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the egg direction alignment apparatus 10 receives the egg E carried from the distribution alignment apparatus 14, and is conveyed by the roller bar conveyor 20 that conveys the egg E and the roller bar conveyor 20. An egg receiving portion for receiving the egg E, that is, a cup conveyor 24 having a cup 22 is provided. The roller bar conveyor 20 receives the egg E from the distribution / alignment device 14 at the base end, and drops the egg E at the terminal end. The cup conveyor 24 is connected to the roller bar conveyor 20 so that the cup 22 can receive the egg E falling from the end of the roller bar conveyor 20. The cup conveyor 24 transfers the cup 22 that has received the egg E toward the transfer device 15. The egg direction aligning device 10 changes the direction of the eggs E when the eggs E fall from the roller bar conveyor 20 to the cup 22, that is, aligns the directions of the eggs.

  The roller bar conveyor 20 includes a pair of endless bodies 28 that rotate in a predetermined direction, and at least one transport line 30 that transports the egg E in conjunction with the rotation of the endless body 28. Each transport line 30 includes a plurality of rollers 32 that extend in the left-right direction (the direction of arrow C in FIG. 3) and are arranged in the front-rear direction. The plurality of rollers 32 sandwich the egg E received from the distribution and alignment device 14 by a pair of rollers 32 adjacent in the front-rear direction.

  In the illustrated example, the roller bar conveyor 20 includes six transport lines 30 arranged in six rows in the left-right direction. As a result, the egg direction aligning device 10 can receive the eggs E arranged in six rows in the left-right direction from the distribution aligning device 14. The width of the plurality of transfer lines 30 is, for example, 75 to 90 mm corresponding to the size of the egg. The roller bar conveyor 20 is in a state where the sharp end of the egg E is oriented in any of the left and right directions, that is, the egg E whose sharp end is directed to the left and the egg E whose sharp end is directed to the right. The egg E is received from the dispensing alignment device 14 in a state.

  In each transport line 30, the egg E is transferred from the distribution and alignment device 14 to a pair of adjacent rollers in the vicinity of the proximal end 30 a, and the egg E is transported by the pair of rollers 32 sandwiching the egg E moving forward. Is done. The endless body 28 is rotated by a predetermined rotation so that the rollers 32 sandwiching the eggs E convey the eggs E from the proximal end of each conveying line 30 to the end, that is, from the rear to the front (in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 3). Rotate in the direction.

  The pair of endless bodies 28 are arranged at intervals in the left-right direction, and a plurality of transport lines 30 are located between the pair of endless bodies 28. The endless body 28 is rotated by receiving power from a drive mechanism (not shown) such as a motor. The endless body 28 is linked to each transport line 30 and transmits the power from the drive mechanism to each transport line 30 so that each transport line 30 transports the egg E by rotation of the endless body 28. In this embodiment, in the roller bar conveyor 20, power is provided to the transport line 30 by a pair of endless bodies 28, but power may be provided by one endless body 28.

  The roller bar conveyor 20 is further connected to a conveyor main body 34 to which the endless body 28 is attached, and a bar-shaped coupling that penetrates and couples a plurality of rollers 32 aligned in the left-right direction in a transfer line 30 aligned in the left-right direction. A member 36 and a guide 38 formed on the conveyor body and supporting the connecting member 36 are provided. The connecting member 36 is connected to the endless body 28, and by rotation of the endless body 28, the connecting member 36, and in turn, the roller 32 coupled to the connecting member 36 moves while revolving in the conveyor main body 34, thereby forming the transport line 30. Is done.

  The connecting member 36 is supported on the guide 38 so as to be placed on the upper side of the revolution, and rotates on the guide 38 by the movement accompanying the revolution (see FIG. 4). As a result, the roller 32 coupled to the connecting member 36 also rotates. Since the connecting member 36 moves while being supported by the guide 38, the guide 38 provides a movement path of the connecting member 36.

  The cup conveyor 24 connected to the roller bar conveyor 20 includes the same number of cup transfer lines 40 that transfer the cups 22 as the conveying lines 30 of the roller bar conveyor 20. In each cup transfer line 40, the cup 22 moves in a predetermined direction (the direction of arrow b in FIG. 3) and is transferred to the transfer device 15. The cup conveyor is a well-known endless conveyor in which cups are transferred by rotation of an endless body (not shown).

  The transfer device 15 is provided at the end of the cup conveyor 24. The transfer device 15 includes a suction mechanism 42 that vacuum-sucks the egg E received by the cup 22 at the end of the cup conveyor 24, a moving mechanism 44 that moves the suction mechanism 42 above the tray 12, and vacuum-sucks the egg. And a decompression mechanism 46. The suction mechanism 42 includes a plurality of suction cups 48 and a base 50 to which the plurality of suction cups 48 are attached. Each suction cup 48 corresponds to each egg E in a one-to-one relationship, and the plurality of suction cups 48 are attached to the base 50 in an arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of the egg storage seat (not shown) of the tray 12. It is connected to the decompression mechanism 46 to adsorb E.

  In the present embodiment, the plurality of suction cups 48 are attached to the base 50 at an equal pitch of 6 rows × 6 rows because the setter trays have egg storage seats at an equal pitch of 6 rows × 6 rows. In this case, the transfer device 15 uses the suction cups 48 attached to the 6 rows × 6 rows to transfer the eggs for 6 rows in the front-rear direction among the eggs E that are sequentially conveyed forward in 6 rows in the left-right direction. Adsorb. In the transfer device 15, after the suction cup 48 of the suction mechanism 42 sucks the egg E from the cup 22 by the decompression mechanism 46, the moving mechanism 44 moves the suction mechanism 42 upward of the tray 12, and the decompression mechanism 46 moves to the suction cup 48. By releasing the vacuum suction, the eggs E are filled in the tray 12.

  The tray 12 is conveyed by a tray conveyor (not shown) provided in the vicinity of the egg direction aligning device 10. The tray 12 waits in a part of the conveyance path of the tray conveyor and is filled with the eggs E from the transfer device 15.

  The pitch of the plurality of cup transfer lines 40 is provided at the base end of the cup conveyor 24 at the same pitch as the pitch between the plurality of transport lines 30 of the roller bar conveyor 20. The pitch of the plurality of transfer lines 30 is larger than the pitch of the row of egg accommodating seats (not shown) of the tray 12 and the pitch of the suction cups 48 of the transfer device 15. Accordingly, the cups 22 arranged in a plurality of rows are adapted to match the pitch of the suction cups 48 of the transfer device 15 and, consequently, the row pitch of the tray 12 in the process of being transferred from the base end to the end of the cup conveyor 24. The pitch can be reduced.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the plurality of rollers 32 of each transport line 30 are arranged on the transport line 30 to transport the egg E from the rear toward the front (in the direction of arrow b in FIGS. 4 and 5). It moves from the rear to the front on the upper side. Further, the plurality of rollers 32 of each conveyance line 30 are folded back from the upper side to the lower side in the vicinity 30 b of the conveyance line 30 and move from the front to the rear on the lower side of the conveyance line 30. Although not shown, the plurality of rollers 32 of each transport line 30 are folded back from the lower side to the upper side at the base end of the transport line 30. In this way, the plurality of rollers 32 of each conveyance line 30 revolves in the same rotational direction as the rotational direction of the endless body 28. The plurality of rollers 32 are connected to the endless body 28, and the revolution of the rollers 32 is performed by transmitting power by the rotation of the endless body 28.

  Each roller 32 has a drum-shaped egg mounting member 52 having a taper from the center toward both the left and right sides (in the direction of arrow e in FIG. 5), and opposite to both sides of the egg mounting member 52. And a pair of disc-shaped members 54 arranged. The egg mounting member 52 is coupled to the connecting member 36 via a disk-shaped member 54. In the present embodiment, the disk-shaped member 54 has an outer circumference having a diameter larger than the diameters of the outer circumferences of both ends of the egg placing member 52. The egg mounting member 52 and the disk-shaped member 54 are coupled to each other so as not to rotate. In each roller 32, when the connecting member 36 rotates as the connecting member 36 moves on the guide 38, the egg placement member 52 coupled thereto rotates. Furthermore, the disk-shaped member 54 rotates together with the egg placing member 52.

  In the illustrated example, each disk-shaped member 54 is disposed on the outer side in the left-right direction of the first disk-shaped part 56 having the same diameter as the outer periphery of both ends of the egg mounting member 52 and the first disk-shaped part 56. A second disk-shaped part 58 formed continuously and having a diameter larger than that of the first disk-shaped part 56. Thereby, the disk-shaped member 54 has an outer periphery with a diameter larger than the outer periphery of the egg mounting member 52.

  Each roller 32 rotates and revolves in the same direction as the rotation direction of the endless body 28 with the egg E sandwiched therebetween. The egg E sandwiched between the rollers 32 is rubbed with the egg placement member 52 resulting from the rotation of the rollers 32, and is opposite to the rotation direction of the rollers 32 (the direction of the arrow f in FIG. 4) (the direction of the arrow g in FIG. 4). ). As is well known in the art, the rotating egg E generates a force in the sharp end direction, but is placed on the egg placing member 52 formed in a drum shape and is sandwiched between a pair of rollers 32 adjacent in the front-rear direction. By rotating in this state, it is stably conveyed with the long axis aligned in the left-right direction.

  Each transport line 30 further includes a push-up mechanism 60 for pushing up the transported egg E in the vicinity of the end 30b. The push-up mechanism 60 pushes up the egg E sandwiched between the pair of rollers 32 by protruding from between a pair of adjacent rollers 32. In the present embodiment, the push-up mechanism 60 includes a push-up plate 62 formed in a gear shape having four peak portions 62a and four valley portions 62b. According to the push-up mechanism 60, when the push-up plate 62 rotates in the revolving direction of the roller 32 (the direction of the arrow h in FIG. 4), the mountain portion 62a protrudes from between the pair of rollers 32 and pushes up the egg.

  The push-up plate 62 is located at the center in the extending direction of the roller 32 (see FIG. 5). The egg E placed on the egg placement member 52 of the roller 32 is transported with its substantially center located at the center of the drum-shaped placement member 52, whereby the push-up plate 62 is The position in the approximate center can be pushed up.

  In this embodiment, the push-up mechanism 60 synchronizes the rotation of the push-up plate 62 with the movement of the plurality of rollers 32 due to the revolution, so that the peak portion 62 a of the push-up plate 62 is engaged between a pair of adjacent rollers 32. Rotate. In this case, the rotation of the push-up plate 62 may be synchronized with the rotation of the endless body 28.

  In this embodiment, the lifting mechanism 60 includes a drive mechanism (not shown) that rotates the lifting plate 62. However, even if the push-up mechanism 60 is not provided with an independent drive mechanism, the push-up plate 62 may be rotated by the drive mechanism that rotates the endless body 28. By making the drive mechanism for rotating the push-up plate 62 and the drive mechanism for rotating the endless body 28 in common, the rotation of the push-up plate 62 and the rotation of the endless body 28 and thus the revolution of the roller 32 can be easily synchronized. Can be made. In order to make the drive mechanism of the endless body 28 and the drive mechanism of the push-up mechanism 60 common, for example, a drive mechanism for rotating the rotary shaft d of the push-up plate 62 and the endless body 28 is provided by a power transmission member such as a belt, chain, or gear. What is necessary is just to connect.

  In this embodiment, the push-up mechanism 60 is configured to push up the egg E by rotational movement. However, for example, a bar-like member extending in the vertical direction may be a mechanism that pushes up the egg by protruding up and down from a pair of adjacent rollers. In this case, the vertical movement of the rod-shaped member and the movement of the plurality of rollers may be synchronized. The push-up mechanism 60 may be another mechanism that pushes up the egg E so that the posture of the egg E is tilted so that the sharp end faces downward.

  The guide 38 extends to a position corresponding to the folding position of the endless body 28 in the vicinity 30b of the end of the conveyance line 30. Accordingly, the roller 32 rotates to the position corresponding to the folding position of the endless body 28 in the vicinity of the end 30b of the transport line 30.

  In the illustrated example, the endless body 28 is folded back so as to draw a semicircle, and the guide 38 extends so as to form an arc having a circumferential angle of 90 ° with respect to the center d of the semicircle. (See FIG. 4). As a result, the connecting member 36 and the roller 32 rotate to the position supported by the guide 38, that is, the position corresponding to the folding position of the endless body 28. The circumferential angle of the arc in which the guide 38 extends can be set to 0 ° to 90 °. The greater the circumferential angle, the longer the distance that the roller 32 rotates. As will be described later, since the direction of the egg is changed by the roller 32 that rotates, the direction of the egg is reliably changed by extending the rotation distance of the roller 32. The circumferential angle is preferably 15 ° or more.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the egg E transported by the transport line 30 faces the long axis in the left-right direction (the paper back direction in FIG. 6) until it reaches the vicinity 30 b of the end of the transport line 30. The shell is conveyed along the taper of the drum-shaped egg mounting member 52 (see FIG. 8). The egg E that has reached the vicinity 30b of the end is pushed up by the push-up mechanism 60 at the center thereof, the outer shell on the blunt end side is separated from the egg placing member 52, and the posture is inclined so that the sharp end side is directed downward. (See FIG. 9). The egg E tilted in posture is brought into contact with the outer periphery of the disk-shaped member 54 of the pair of rollers 32 holding the egg E, and the sharp end is caused by friction with the outer periphery of the rotating disk-shaped member 54. Receives force to turn forward. The egg E with the sharp end directed forward reaches the end of the transport line 30, leaves the transport line 30, and starts dropping with the sharp end facing downward. The dropped egg E is received by the cups 22 of the cup conveyor 24 in the state at the time of dropping, that is, with the sharp end facing downward.

  The egg E whose posture is tilted by the push-up mechanism 60 depends on the shape and the like, and the roller 32 located in the front, the roller 32 located in the rear, or both of the pair of adjacent rollers 32. The roller 32 is brought into contact with the outer periphery of the disk-shaped member 54. Since any of the disk-shaped members 54 of the pair of rollers 32 can apply a force in a direction in which the sharp end of the egg E is directed forward by rotation, the sharp end of the egg E is directed forward.

  Next, an egg filling method using an egg filling apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16.

  First, each conveying line 30 of the egg direction aligning device 10 receives the egg E from the corresponding row of the upstream distributing and aligning device 14 with its sharp end directed leftward or rightward. In each transport line 30 of the egg direction alignment apparatus 10, each egg E is sandwiched between a pair of adjacent rollers 32, and the egg E is transported toward the end of the transport line 30 by the movement of the roller 32 (S1). .

  At this time, the plurality of rollers 32 are supported by guides 38 provided on the conveyor main body 34, and rotate to the position where the guides 38 are provided, that is, the turn-back position of the rollers 32 at the end of the conveying line 30.

  Next, the egg E transported to the end of the transport line 30 falls toward the cup conveyor 24 provided below the end of the transport line 30 so as to be connected to the end of the transport line 30 (S2).

  At this time, the egg E immediately before dropping is pushed up substantially at the center of the egg E by the push-up mechanism 60 provided in the transport line 30 and tilted so that the sharp end faces downward (S2-1). Thereafter, the egg E whose posture is inclined is brought into contact with a part of the roller 32, that is, the outer periphery of the disk-like member 54 forming the outer peripheral part of the roller 32 (S2-2). Due to the rotation of the roller 32, the disk-shaped member 54 with which the sharp end of the egg E abuts rotates, so that the egg E receives a force that directs the sharp end forward, and the posture is changed so that the sharp end is directed forward. . Since the egg begins to fall at the end of the conveyance line 30 with the sharp end facing forward, the egg falls downward from the sharp end (S2-3).

  Next, the dropped egg E is received by the cup 22 of the cup conveyor 24 (S3). At this time, the cup 22 holds the egg E in a fallen state, that is, in a state where the sharp end faces downward.

  Subsequently, the egg E received by the cup 22 is conveyed by the cup conveyor 24 (S4). At this time, before the egg E reaches the end of the cup conveyor 24, the pitch in the left-right direction is adapted to the pitch of the suction cup 48 of the transfer device 15, that is, the row pitch of the egg storage seats (not shown) of the tray 12. The pitch is changed. Further, the row pitch in the front-rear direction of the cup 22 transferred at the end of the cup conveyor 24 is also adapted to the row pitch of the egg storage seat of the tray 12.

  Next, the egg E that has reached the end is adsorbed to the corresponding suction cup 48 of the adsorption mechanism 42 of the transfer device 15 with the sharp end facing downward, and the adsorption mechanism 42 is moved up to the upper side of the tray 12 by the moving mechanism 44. After the movement, the decompression mechanism 46 releases the adsorption of the egg E, so that it is discharged to the egg storage seat of the tray 12 and filled in the tray 12 (S5).

  As described above, the eggs E transported from the distribution / alignment device 14 with the long axis in the left-right direction are aligned with the sharp end directed downward by the egg direction alignment device 10 and filled in the tray 12. The

  According to the egg direction alignment apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the disc 32 having the sharp end of the egg E facing forward is provided on the roller 32, so that the vicinity 30b of the end of the conveying line 30 is near. It is not necessary to provide a special mechanism including a pressing member that drives the sharp end of the egg E to the front. Therefore, in the egg direction alignment apparatus 10 according to the present invention, the structure of the apparatus is simplified, and the cleaning of the transport line is facilitated.

  In the present embodiment, as the disk-shaped member 54 having an outer periphery that comes into contact with the sharp end of the egg E, a first disk-shaped portion having a diameter comparable to the outer periphery of both ends of the egg mounting member 52 as shown in FIG. 56 and the disk-shaped member 54 having the second disk-shaped part 58 formed continuously outside the first disk-shaped part 56 and having a larger diameter than the first disk-shaped part 56 has been described.

  In the second disk-shaped portion 58, the outer periphery of the second disk-shaped portion 58 abuts on the egg E. The outer periphery of the second disk-shaped portion 58 is located on a virtual extension line i of the taper of the drum-shaped egg placing member 52. In addition, as a disk-shaped member having an outer periphery that comes into contact with the sharp end of the egg E, a disk-shaped member 54A formed in a truncated cone shape as shown in FIG. 11 may be used. The disk-shaped member may have another shape that comes into contact with the sharp end of the egg E whose posture is inclined by the push-up mechanism 60.

  Moreover, an egg mounting member and a disk-shaped member may be separately created with different materials, and may be integrally formed with the same material.

  The disk-shaped member is desirably formed of a material having a high frictional force such as rubber, and at least the outer periphery contacting the sharp end of the egg E is desirably formed of a material having a high friction. By doing so, the frictional force with the egg E due to the abutting of the sharp end increases, and thereby the force for directing the sharp end of the egg E forward increases, so that the sharp end of the egg E can be reliably moved forward. Can be directed to. In this embodiment, the egg mounting member is a material such as a plastic having a relatively low friction with respect to the egg.

  In the present embodiment, the drum-shaped roller 32 having the drum-shaped egg placing member 52 and the disk-shaped member 54 has been described as a plurality of rollers that sandwich and convey the egg E. In place of the drum-shaped roller 32, a columnar egg mounting member 152 as shown in FIG. 12 and a pair of disk-shaped members 154 disposed on both sides of the egg mounting member 152 are used. A roller 132 may be used.

  The cylindrical roller 132 is connected to the endless body 28 of the roller bar conveyor 20, similarly to the drum-shaped roller 32. Thereby, the cylindrical roller 132 sandwiches one egg E by a pair of rollers 132 adjacent in the front-rear direction, and conveys the egg E by the rotation of the endless body 28. In addition, the cylindrical roller 132 rotates when the egg E is conveyed, like the drum-shaped roller 32. Thereby, the egg E rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the roller 132. As is well known, the egg E receives a force in the sharp end direction due to rotation. At this time, the egg E is transported stably in a state where its sharp end rides on the disc-shaped member 154 on the sharp end side and its long axis is along the left-right direction.

  The egg E transported by the columnar roller 132 is pushed up by the push-up mechanism 60 in the vicinity of the end of the transport line 30 in the same manner as the drum-shaped roller 32. As a result, the disk-shaped member 154 that tilts toward the sharp end and rotates is subjected to a force that directs the sharp end forward.

  The cylindrical roller 132 is simpler in shape of the egg mounting member than the drum-shaped roller 32, and can be produced at a lower cost than the drum-shaped roller 32. However, since the drum-shaped roller 32 has the taper along the shape of the egg E and holds the egg E, the egg E can be conveyed more stably than the cylindrical roller 132.

  An egg direction alignment apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The egg direction aligning device 110 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is incorporated in a filling system for filling the tray 112 with eggs produced in a poultry house. In the egg direction aligning device 110, as in the egg direction aligning device 10, the long axis of the egg is changed from a state facing the left-right direction to a state facing the up-down direction. The egg E with the long axis of the egg oriented in the vertical direction falls to a pitch conversion mechanism 170 that changes the pitch between the eggs, called a filling machine, and is filled in the tray 112 via the pitch conversion mechanism 170 ( (See FIG. 13).

  As shown in FIG. 13, the egg direction aligning device 110 includes a roller bar conveyor 120 that receives the eggs E carried from the distribution aligning device 14, similarly to the egg direction aligning device 10 according to the first embodiment. . The roller bar conveyor 120 receives the egg E from the distribution and alignment device 14 at the base end thereof, and drops the egg E at the terminal end.

  Further, the egg direction aligning device 110 includes a pitch conversion mechanism 170 having an egg receiving portion that receives the egg E falling at the end of the roller bar conveyor 120, that is, a holder 122. The pitch conversion mechanism 170 includes a bucket 172 composed of a plurality of holders 122. When the egg E falls from the roller bar conveyor 120 to the holder 122, the egg direction aligning device 110 changes the eggs E so that they are aligned, that is, aligns the eggs.

  The roller bar conveyor 120 has the same configuration as the roller bar conveyor 20 of the direction aligning device according to the first embodiment. Accordingly, the roller bar conveyor 120 includes at least one transport line 30 that transports the eggs E. Each transport line 30 includes a plurality of rollers 32 that transport the egg E from the rear to the front. A pair of rollers 32 adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction sandwiches and conveys the egg E toward the end of the conveyance line 30. Each roller 32 rotates at least near the end of the conveyance line 30.

  Each transport line 30 further includes a push-up mechanism 60 for pushing up the transported egg E near its end. The push-up mechanism 60 pushes up the egg E sandwiched between the pair of rollers 32 by protruding from between a pair of adjacent rollers 32.

  The pitch conversion mechanism 170 that receives an egg from the conveyance line 30 of the roller bar conveyor 120 includes a bucket that includes a plurality of holders 122 that receive the egg. The bucket 172 includes the same number of holders 122 as the number of rows of the conveyance line 30. The holders 122 are arranged in a line in the left-right direction. In the illustrated example, a bucket 172 is constituted by six holders 122 corresponding to the six conveyance lines 30.

  As shown in FIG. 14, in the egg direction aligning device 110, the tray 112 is disposed immediately below the pitch conversion mechanism 170. The tray 112 includes egg storage seats 112a to 112e arranged in 6 columns × 5 rows. The pitch conversion mechanism 170 can move the bucket 172 in the vertical direction between the upper first position A and the lower second position B. In the first position A, the bucket 172 has a plurality of holders 122 arranged in the left-right direction (paperback direction in FIG. 14) at the same pitch as the pitch between the transport lines 30, and in the second position B, the eggs in the tray 112 are accommodated. The holder is moved up and down while changing the row pitch of the holders so as to be arranged in the left-right direction at the same pitch as that of the row of seats. In such pitch conversion, for example, the pitch of the holder is changed by an interval changing unit that changes the interval between the holders 122 (see Patent Document 3). In the bucket 172, the lower portion of the holder 122 is opened (in the direction of the arrow j in FIG. 14) at the second position B, and the egg E is released downward.

  The bucket 172 of the pitch conversion mechanism 170 receives the egg E falling from the transport line 30 by the holder 122 provided at the same position A as the pitch between the transport lines 30 at the first position A. Further, the bucket 172 has a plurality of holders 122 positioned at the same pitch as the row pitch of the tray at the second position B, and when the bucket 172 is opened, the eggs E are filled into the row of egg holding seats 112a of the tray 112. Is done. The pitch changing mechanism 170 that has released the egg moves the bucket to the first position A again. The bucket 172 that has returned to the first position A receives the egg E with its sharp end facing downward from the transport line 30 again. Thereafter, the bucket releases egg E again at the second discharge position B. By the time the bucket releases the egg E at the second discharge position B, the tray 112 is moved so that the next row of egg storage seats 112b is directly under the bucket.

  As described above, the eggs E are sequentially filled in the egg receiving seats 112a to 112e of the tray 112 with their sharp ends facing downward, so that all the egg receiving seats 112a to 112e of the tray 112 are filled with eggs. The The tray 112 in which all 112a to 112e are filled with eggs is transported to the next step, and another tray 112 is prepared immediately below the pitch conversion mechanism 170.

  According to the egg direction aligning device 110 according to the second embodiment, the egg E transported by the transport line 30 is in a state in which the long axis is directed in the left-right direction until it reaches the vicinity of the end of the transport line 30. Be transported. The egg E that has reached the vicinity of the end is pushed up by the push-up mechanism 60 at the center and tilted in a state where the sharp end is directed downward. The egg E, whose posture is tilted, has its sharp end abutted against a part of the pair of rollers 32 that sandwiched the egg E, and has a force to turn the sharp end forward by friction with a part of the rotating roller. Receive.

  The egg E with the sharp end directed forward reaches the end of the transport line 30, leaves the transport line 30, and begins to fall with the sharp end facing down. The dropped egg E is received by the holder 122 of the pitch conversion mechanism 170 in the state at the time of dropping, that is, with the sharp end facing downward. Further, the plurality of eggs E received by the holder 122 are adjusted in pitch by the pitch conversion mechanism 170 and filled in the tray 112.

  Therefore, according to the direction aligning device 110 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, when the egg E is filled in the tray 112, the sharp end of the egg E is moved forward by bringing the sharp end into contact with a part of the roller. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a special mechanism including a pressing member that drives the sharp end of the egg E toward the front in the vicinity of the end of the conveying line. Therefore, in the direction alignment device 110 according to the present invention, the structure of the device is simplified and the cleaning of the transfer line is facilitated.

  In the above-described embodiment, the egg E dropped from the transport line 30 is received by the cup 22 of the cup conveyor 24 or the holder 122 of the pitch conversion mechanism 170 and then placed on the tray via the cup conveyor 24 and the pitch conversion mechanism 170. Filled. However, the egg storage seat of the tray may be used as the egg receiving portion, and the egg E may be filled from the transport line 30 to the egg storage seat of the tray.

  The eggs include other eggs such as ducks and turkeys in addition to the above-described chicken eggs.

  The embodiment disclosed this time is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the scope described above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The present invention is used, for example, in a filling system that fills a tray with eggs. Examples of such a system include an egg filling system for filling a predetermined tray and an egg filling system for filling a hatching tray with eggs in order to ship eggs to a sorting and packaging facility.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Egg direction alignment apparatus, 12 trays, 13 conveyance apparatus, 14 distribution alignment apparatus, 15 transfer apparatus, 20 roller bar conveyor, 22 cup, 24 cup conveyor, 28 endless body, 30 conveyance line, 32 rollers, 34 conveyor main body , 36 connecting member, 38 guide, 40 cup transfer line, 42 suction mechanism, 44 moving mechanism, 46 pressure reducing mechanism, 48 sucker, 50 base, 52 egg mounting member, 54 disk-shaped member, 56 first disk portion, 58 Second disk part, 60 push-up mechanism, 62 push-up plate, 110 egg direction aligning device, 112 tray, 122 holder, 170 pitch conversion mechanism, 172 bucket.

Claims (3)

At least one transport line that sequentially transports a plurality of eggs placed in a state where the sharp end is directed to either the left direction or the right direction in the front-rear direction;
A roller bar conveyor that includes an endless body that rotates in a predetermined rotation direction to convey the egg toward the end of the transfer line and transmits power to each transfer line, and the egg at the end of the transfer line It includes a roller bar conveyors dropping the,
Each conveying line is a plurality of rollers that extend in the left-right direction and are connected to the endless body in parallel in the front-rear direction, and each of the eggs is sandwiched between a pair of adjacent rollers and sequentially conveyed. A roller and a push-up mechanism for pushing up the egg substantially upward from between the pair of rollers in the vicinity of the terminal end;
Each roller is a drum-shaped egg mounting member having a taper from the center toward both the left and right sides, an egg mounting member that rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction in the vicinity of the terminal end, and the egg mounting member And a pair of disk-shaped members arranged so as to face each other on both the left and right sides of the egg mounting member,
The push-up mechanism tilts the posture of the egg so that the sharp end faces downward by pushing up the egg at a position corresponding to the center in the left-right direction of the egg placing member,
The disk-shaped member is an egg direction aligning device, wherein the disk-shaped member has an outer periphery that comes into contact with a sharp end of the egg whose posture is inclined. At least one transport line that sequentially transports a plurality of eggs placed in a state where the sharp end is directed to either the left direction or the right direction in the front-rear direction;
A roller bar conveyor that includes an endless body that rotates in a predetermined rotation direction to convey the egg toward the end of the transfer line and transmits power to each transfer line, and the egg at the end of the transfer line It includes a roller bar conveyors dropping the,
Each conveyance line is a plurality of rollers that extend in the left-right direction and are connected to the endless body in parallel in the front-rear direction, and each of the rollers sandwiches each egg between a pair of adjacent rollers and sequentially conveys the eggs And a push-up mechanism for pushing up the egg substantially upward from between the pair of rollers in the vicinity of the terminal end,
Each roller is an egg placing member having a columnar shape, and rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction in the vicinity of the end, and opposite to the left and right sides of the egg placing member. A pair of disk-shaped members arranged,
The push-up mechanism tilts the posture of the egg so that the sharp end faces downward by pushing up the egg at a position corresponding to the center in the left-right direction of the egg placing member,
The disk-shaped member is an egg direction aligning device, wherein the disk-shaped member has an outer periphery that comes into contact with a sharp end of the egg whose posture is inclined. A plurality of rollers that are arranged in the front-rear direction and are capable of rotating, a plurality of rollers that sandwich and convey the egg forward by a pair of rollers adjacent in the front-rear direction, and the sharp end of the egg is directed downward in the direction alignment device of the egg including a roller bar conveyor and a lifting mechanism for pushing up the eggs upwards,
A first step of conveying the egg with a sharp end facing either in the left-right direction toward the end of the roller bar conveyor in a state of being sandwiched by the pair of rollers;
And a second step of dropping the eggs at the end of the roller bar conveyor,
The first step includes rotating the roller in a predetermined direction at least near the end,
The second step includes
By the push-up mechanism, the egg is tilted immediately before dropping so that its sharp end faces downward;
Directing the sharp end of the egg in the conveying direction of the egg by causing the sharp end of the tilted egg to abut against a part of the roller,
Dropping the egg from its sharp end.

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