JP6279417B2 - Alignment feeder - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an aligning and supplying apparatus that supplies agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables in a line to a sorting apparatus.

  Since the agricultural product sorting apparatus inspects the agricultural products one by one, the agricultural products are arranged in a line by the alignment supply device and supplied to the sorting device. In addition, a plurality of sorting devices are provided in an automated line with high processing capacity, and the alignment supply device is required to distribute agricultural products to each sorting device almost evenly. Conventionally, the arrangement disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is known as such an alignment supply apparatus.

  The apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of alignment conveyors, and detects the intervals of agricultural products conveyed in a line in each alignment conveyor, and aligns according to the intervals of agricultural products. A speed variable conveyor provided on the upstream side of the conveyor is configured to adjust the speed. The apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 distributes a large number of agricultural products to a plurality of alignment conveyors by a distribution conveyor, detects the amount of agricultural products conveyed by each alignment conveyor, and distributes the agricultural products according to the detected amount. It is comprised so that the conveyance speed and rocking | fluctuation speed may be adjusted.

JP 2007-091395 A JP 2009-184751 A

  In the devices of Patent Documents 1 and 2, the interval between the produce on the alignment conveyor is detected by a photoelectric tube sensor. For example, in the device of Patent Document 1, an ON signal is output when the interval between the produce products exceeds a predetermined value. When the speed variable conveyor is increased to a predetermined speed and the interval between the agricultural products reaches a predetermined value, an OFF signal is output and the speed variable conveyor returns to the original speed. In such control, when the interval between agricultural products is relatively large, the speed variable conveyor is appropriately increased to narrow the interval between agricultural products, but when relatively small intervals occur intermittently Because the variable speed conveyor is not instantaneously increased, the spacing between produce cannot be adjusted properly. In other words, due to the responsiveness of the variable speed conveyor, the variation in the supply amount (ie, interval) of agricultural products by the alignment conveyor cannot be sufficiently eliminated.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an aligning and supplying apparatus capable of making the intervals between the produce on the aligning conveyor for supplying the produce to the sorting apparatus as uniform as possible.

  An alignment supply apparatus according to the present invention is an alignment supply apparatus that distributes agricultural products supplied from a supply conveyor to a plurality of alignment conveyors, and aligns and conveys the agricultural products in a line in each alignment conveyor. A distribution means connected to the downstream side of the conveyor and swingable on the upstream side as a fulcrum, a swinging means for swinging the distribution means, and connected to the downstream side of the distribution means to feed the produce at a predetermined speed A dispersion conveyor that conveys the product, a variable-speed conveyor that is provided between the dispersion conveyor and the alignment conveyor and can change the conveyance speed of the produce, and a first measurement that measures the bias of the set of produce in a predetermined area on the dispersion conveyor Means, second measuring means for measuring the transport amount of the produce in a predetermined area on the alignment conveyor, the swing speed of the swing means and the transport speed of the variable speed conveyor. Control means for controlling each other independently. The control means changes the rocking speed of the rocking means according to the bias of the set of agricultural products measured by the first measuring means, and is measured by the second measuring means. The conveyance speed of the variable speed conveyor is controlled according to the conveyance amount.

  A plurality of distribution means may be provided, and each distribution means may swing independently of each other. On the other hand, the control means may be capable of controlling the conveying speed of the distributing means independently of the rocking speed of the rocking means and the conveying speed of the variable speed conveyor. In this case, the agricultural product measured by the first measuring means The conveying speed of the distributing means is controlled in accordance with the bias of the set.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the space | interval between the agricultural products on the alignment conveyor which supplies agricultural products to a sorting apparatus can be made equal as much as possible.

It is a top view which shows the alignment supply apparatus which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of the alignment supply apparatus shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments.
1 and 2 show an alignment supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The supply conveyor 11 is a wide roller conveyor, and conveys many fruits (agricultural products) P in the direction of arrow A. The supply conveyor 11 is provided between a pair of chains 12 provided along the conveying direction, has a number of rollers 13 extending in the width direction, and is wound around a pulley 14.

  The distribution conveyor (distribution means) 21 is a belt conveyor and is connected to the downstream side of the supply conveyor 11. The conveying surface of the distribution conveyor 21 is located below the conveying surface of the supply conveyor 11. A guide plate 15 for guiding the fruit to the distribution conveyor 21 is provided at the downstream end of the supply conveyor 11, that is, at a position close to the pulley 14. The guide plate 15 is an inclined plate, and the fruit conveyed by the supply conveyor 11 rolls on the guide plate 15 and is supplied to the conveyance surface of the distribution conveyor 21.

  In the present embodiment, two distribution conveyors 21 are provided. Each distribution conveyor 21 can swing on the downstream side with a support shaft 22 provided on the upstream side as a fulcrum. The swing mechanism (swing means) 23 provided on the lower side of the distribution conveyor 21 has a known configuration, and the moving member 24 connected to the lower surface of the distribution conveyor 21 is orthogonal to the transport direction (arrow A direction). It is configured to be engaged with a guide member 25 that extends in the direction of movement. The moving member 24 is driven by a driving source (not shown), and the distribution conveyors 21 can swing independently of each other.

  A distribution conveyor 31 is connected to the downstream side of the distribution conveyor 21. The dispersion conveyor 31 is a roller conveyor wider than the supply conveyor 11 and has the same configuration as the supply conveyor 11. That is, the dispersion conveyor 31 has a large number of rollers 33 that circulate between the pair of pulleys 32 and 32, and conveys the fruit P at a predetermined speed. The conveying surface of the distribution conveyor 31 is positioned below the conveying surface of the distribution conveyor 21, and a guide plate 26 that is an inclined plate is provided between the distribution conveyor 21 and the distribution conveyor 31. The downstream end of the distribution conveyor 21 is swung so as to disperse the fruit over the entire width of the distribution conveyor 31, and the fruit P conveyed by the distribution conveyor 21 rolls on the guide plate 26 and is supplied to the distribution conveyor 31. The

  An imaging device (first measurement means) 34 such as a CCD camera is provided above the dispersion conveyor 31. The imaging device 34 measures the bias of the set of fruits P in the first measurement area K on the distribution conveyor 31, and the bias of the fruits P is obtained by performing image processing in the control unit 61 described later.

  A variable speed conveyor 41 is connected to the downstream side of the dispersion conveyor 31. The variable speed conveyor 41 is a belt conveyor and is provided with four strips. These variable speed conveyors 41 are connected to the downstream end of the dispersion conveyor 31 and are arranged at equal intervals along the transport direction. The conveyance surface of the variable speed conveyor 41 is located below the conveyance surface of the dispersion conveyor 31, and a guide plate 35 that is an inclined plate is provided between the distribution conveyor 31 and the variable speed conveyor 41. That is, the fruit P conveyed by the dispersion conveyor 31 rolls on the guide plate 35 and is supplied to the variable speed conveyor 41.

  A first alignment conveyor 51, a second alignment conveyor 52, and a sorting conveyor 53 are provided on the downstream side of each speed variable conveyor 41, respectively. The variable speed conveyor 41, the first alignment conveyor 51, the second alignment conveyor 52, and the sorting conveyor 53 have the same width and are linearly connected. Accordingly, the fruits P conveyed by the variable speed conveyor 41 are arranged and conveyed in one row in the order of the first alignment conveyor 51, the second alignment conveyor 52, and the sorting conveyor 53.

  The first alignment conveyor 51 is a belt conveyor like the variable speed conveyor 41, and an imaging device (second measurement means) 54 such as a CCD camera is provided above the four first alignment conveyors 51. The imaging device 54 measures the transport amount of the fruit P in the second measurement area L on the first alignment conveyor 51, and the transport amount of the fruit P is obtained by performing image processing in the control unit 61 described later. .

  The second alignment conveyor 52 is a roller conveyor, and is provided at a position lower than the first alignment conveyor 51. A guide plate 55 that is an inclined plate is provided between the first alignment conveyor 51 and the second alignment conveyor 52. The sorting conveyor 53 is provided at a position lower than the second alignment conveyor 52, and a guide plate 56, which is an inclined plate, is similarly provided between the second alignment conveyor 52 and the sorting conveyor 53.

  The sorting conveyor 53 is provided with a fruit selector 57 for inspecting external items such as the size, color, and shape of the fruit P, and internal items such as sugar content, acidity, and moisture content. That is, in the sorting conveyor 53, the fruits P conveyed in the state of being aligned in one row by the aligning conveyors 51 and 52 of the respective strips are inspected by the fruit sorting machine 57 and sent to the subsequent process.

  In order to accurately execute the inspection in the fruit selection machine 57, it is necessary to make the flow rate of the fruit P (that is, the number per unit time) in the selection conveyor 53 constant. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the swing speed and the transport speed of the distribution conveyor 21 that controls the supply of the fruit P to the dispersion conveyor 31 are changed according to the deviation of the set of fruits P measured by the imaging device 34, and the dispersion conveyor 31 and the conveying speed of the fruit P by the variable speed conveyor 41 provided between the alignment conveyors 51 and 52 are controlled according to the conveying amount of the fruit P measured by the imaging device 54.

  Based on the image data obtained by the imaging device 34, the control unit (control means) 61 measures the amount (the degree of density) of the fruits P distributed in the first measurement area K, and the measurement result Accordingly, the swing mechanism 23 is driven and controlled, and the transport speed and swing speed of the two distribution conveyors 21 are controlled. For example, when the amount of fruit P in the left region in the first measurement area K in the transport direction is relatively small, the transport speed of the distribution conveyor 21 is increased so as to increase the amount of fruit P supplied to the left region. And control the rocking speed.

  Further, the control unit 61 measures the interval and the conveyance amount of the fruit P on the second measurement area L, that is, the first alignment conveyor 51, based on the image data obtained by the imaging device 54, and according to the measurement result, the speed is determined. The conveyance speed of the variable conveyor 41 is changed, and the interval and the conveyance amount of the fruit P are controlled to be predetermined values. For example, in the second measurement area L, when the interval between the fruits P on the leftmost alignment conveyor 51 is relatively wide in the conveyance direction, the conveyance speed of the leftmost variable speed conveyor 41 is accelerated.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the swing speed and the conveyance speed of the distribution conveyor 21 are controlled according to the distribution of the fruits P on the dispersion conveyor 31, and according to the interval of the fruits P on the first alignment conveyor 51. The conveyance speed of the variable speed conveyor 41 is controlled, and the swing speed and conveyance speed of the distribution conveyor 21 and the conveyance speed of the variable speed conveyor 41 are controlled independently of each other. Therefore, in the row of fruits P supplied to the sorting conveyor 53, the intervals between the fruits P are uniform, and the inspection by the fruit selector 57 can be performed accurately.

  In the above embodiment, the swing speed and the transport speed of the distribution conveyor 21 are controlled, and the transport speed of the distribution conveyor 21 is controlled independently of the swing speed of the distribution conveyor 21 and the transport speed of the variable speed conveyor 41. However, the conveyance speed of the distribution conveyor 21 may be constant and only the swing speed may be controlled. The number of distribution conveyors 21 may be plural or one.

  The imaging device 54 provided in the second measurement area L may be provided separately for each first alignment conveyor 51, or images the fruit P on the four first alignment conveyors 51 by one imaging device 54. May be.

  Moreover, the agricultural products conveyed are not limited to fruits.

11 Supply conveyor 21 Distribution conveyor (distribution means)
23 Oscillation mechanism (oscillation means)
31 Dispersion conveyor 34 Imaging device (first measuring means)
41 Variable speed conveyor 54 Imaging device (second measuring means)
61 Control unit (control means)
P Fruit (agricultural products)

Claims (3)

In an aligning and supplying apparatus that distributes agricultural products supplied from a supply conveyor to an alignment conveyor composed of a plurality of strips, and aligns and transports the agricultural products in one row on each of the alignment conveyors,
Distributing means connected to the downstream side of the supply conveyor and capable of swinging on the downstream side with the upstream side as a fulcrum,
Swing means for swinging the distribution means;
A dispersive conveyor connected to the downstream side of the distribution means and conveying agricultural products at a predetermined speed;
A variable speed conveyor provided between the dispersion conveyor and the alignment conveyor and capable of changing the transport speed of agricultural products;
First measuring means for measuring a bias of a set of agricultural products in a predetermined area on the dispersing conveyor;
Second measuring means for measuring the amount of agricultural products conveyed within a predetermined area on the alignment conveyor;
Control means for independently controlling the swing speed of the swing means and the transport speed of the speed variable conveyor,
The control means includes
Changing the rocking speed of the rocking means according to the bias of the set of agricultural products measured by the first measuring means,
The aligning and feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveying speed of the variable speed conveyor is controlled according to the conveying amount measured by the second measuring means.   2. The aligning and feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the distributing means are provided, and the distributing means can swing independently of each other.   The control means can control the conveying speed of the distributing means independently of the rocking speed of the rocking means and the conveying speed of the variable speed conveyor, and the set of agricultural products measured by the first measuring means. The alignment supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a conveying speed of the distribution unit is controlled in accordance with the bias.

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