JP6965193B2 - Foreign matter removal device and foreign matter removal method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a foreign matter removing device and a foreign matter removing method for dropping and removing foreign matter adhering to the surface of leafy vegetables.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for cut vegetables that are cut into easy-to-eat sizes in advance and then packed in bags for sale. Cut vegetables are preliminarily washed to remove foreign substances such as insects and mud so that consumers can eat them without washing.

In this cleaning treatment, for example, vegetables are immersed in a cleaning liquid in a whole state (globally spherical) or cut into half or four equal parts, and further exposed to air or the like to float and separate foreign substances. A method (Patent Document 1) and a method of spraying a bactericide on the surface of vegetables in a shower shape to clean them (Patent Document 2) are disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-24051 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-235945

Here, it is known that a worker manually vibrates a leafy vegetable to shake off foreign substances such as insects before the vegetable washing treatment shown in the above-mentioned prior art document. However, the work of shaking off the foreign matter manually by the worker tends to cause unevenness depending on the worker, and there is a possibility that the foreign matter cannot be reliably removed.

In addition, the work of vibrating the leafy vegetables for a long period of time may impose a heavy physical burden on the worker, which requires a large number of workers. Further, when the leafy vegetables are vibrated sideways, the leafy vegetables may be damaged such as leaf breakage.

An object of the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to remove foreign substances adhering to leafy vegetables in a stable and reliable manner while suppressing damage to the leafy vegetables. The purpose is to provide an apparatus and a method for removing foreign matter.

The foreign matter removing device according to the present invention is a foreign matter removing device for dropping and removing foreign matter adhering to the surface of leafy vegetables, and includes a transporting portion that moves opposite to each other, and the transporting portion is the leafy vegetable. A pair of endless belts that sandwich the root of the leafy vegetables and carry the leafy vegetables upside down, a pair of guide rails that guide the movement of the transport portion in the pair of endless belts, and a pair of guide rails. The endless belt is formed by swinging the slide mechanism that movably holds the leafy vegetables in the slide direction orthogonal to the transport direction and the pair of guide rails in the slide direction via the slide mechanism. It is characterized by having a swing mechanism for swinging the transport portion in the slide direction.

Further, the swing mechanism of the present invention is a cam mechanism that swings the guide rail in the slide direction via the slide mechanism by rotating in contact with the guide rail. ..

Further, the swing mechanism of the present invention is a cylinder device that swings the guide rail in the slide direction via the slide mechanism by reciprocating a piston connected to the guide rail. And.

Further, the endless belt of the present invention is made of an elastic material.

Further, the distance between the pair of guide rails of the present invention is characterized in that it can be changed by a position adjusting mechanism that brings one guide rail closer to or further from the other guide rail.

Further, the slide mechanism of the present invention is characterized by including an urging member that returns the pair of swinging guide rails to the central position of the swinging motion.

Further, the transport portions facing each other in the pair of endless belts of the present invention are configured to start sandwiching the leafy vegetables at the most upstream end position.

Further, the transporting portions of the pair of endless belts of the present invention facing each other are configured to separate and drop the leafy vegetables at the most downstream end positions.

Further, the foreign matter removing method according to the present invention is a foreign matter removing method for dropping and removing foreign matter adhering to the surface of leafy vegetables, and the leaf is provided by a transport portion that moves opposite to each other in a pair of endless belts. While the root portion of the leafy vegetable is sandwiched and the leafy vegetable is hung upside down and transported, the transporting portion is swung in a direction orthogonal to the transporting direction of the leafy vegetable, and the leafy vegetable is transported. It is characterized by vibrating.

According to the present invention, while the transport portions of the pair of endless belts that move opposite to each other sandwich the root portion of the leafy vegetables and hang the leafy vegetables upside down and transport the leafy vegetables, the transport portions of the endless belts. The swing mechanism swings the guide rail that guides the movement of the leafy vegetables in the slide direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the leafy vegetables via the slide mechanism, so that the transport portion of the endless belt swings in the slide direction. .. As a result, the leafy vegetables are vibrated during transportation by the transporting portion of the endless belt to shake off the foreign matter adhering to the leafy vegetables, so that the foreign matters can be removed evenly, stably and reliably from the leafy vegetables. As a result, the workability of the work of removing foreign substances from leafy vegetables can be improved.

As described above, the foreign matter removing device can remove the foreign matter adhering to the leafy vegetables evenly and reliably, so that the worker does not need to remove the foreign matter on the leafy vegetables, which is a physical burden on the worker. Can be avoided and the number of workers involved in the work can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, the leafy vegetables are guided while being transported in a state where the thick root portion of the stem is sandwiched and hung upside down by the transporting portions that move opposite to each other in the pair of endless belts. Since it is vibrated by the swing mechanism via the rail and slide mechanism, damage such as leaf breakage can be suppressed.

Further, according to the present invention, the distance between the pair of guide rails can be changed by the position adjusting mechanism. Therefore, by adjusting the distance between the pair of guide rails according to the thickness of the root of the leafy vegetables, the roots of various leafy vegetables can be adjusted by the transporting part of the endless belt guided by the guide rails. It can be pinched.

Further, according to the present invention, since the endless belt is made of an elastic material, it occurs in the endless belt when the transport portion of the endless belt is swung by the swing mechanism via the guide rail and the slide mechanism. The elastic force serves as a return force, and the transport portion can be easily returned to the central position of the swing motion by a simple mechanism. At this time, if the slide mechanism is provided with an urging member such as a return spring, the urging force of the return spring can also reliably return the transport portion of the endless belt to the central position of the swing motion. ..

It is a front view which shows one Embodiment of the foreign matter removing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a bottom view which visually shows the uppermost part of the foreign matter removing apparatus of FIG. 1 from the inside lower side to the upper part. It is sectional drawing which follows the line III-III of FIG. It is an enlarged view which shows one of the slide mechanism of FIG. 2 enlarged. It is a right side view which shows the slide mechanism of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the foreign matter removing device of the present invention, the transporting portions of the pair of endless belts that move opposite to each other sandwich the root portion of the leafy vegetables and hang the leafy vegetables upside down while transporting the leafy vegetables. The swing mechanism swings the guide rail that guides the movement of the transport portion of the belt in the slide direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the leafy vegetables via the slide mechanism, so that the transport portion of the endless belt is swung in the slide direction. Swing to. As a result, the leafy vegetables are vibrated during transportation by the transporting part of the endless belt, and the foreign matter adhering to the leafy vegetables is shaken off, so that the foreign matter can be removed evenly and reliably from the leafy vegetables. As a result, the workability of the work of removing foreign substances from leafy vegetables is improved.

[Configuration of foreign matter removal device]
The configuration of the embodiment of the foreign matter removing device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a foreign matter removing device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing the uppermost portion of the foreign matter removing device of FIG. 1 visually from the lower inside to the upper side. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing one of the slide mechanisms of FIG. 2 in an enlarged manner. FIG. 5 is a right side view showing the slide mechanism of FIG.

The foreign matter removing device 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 drops and removes foreign matter adhering to the surface of the leafy vegetable W, and includes an apparatus frame 11, a pair of belt conveyors 12a and 12b, and a pair of guide rails 13a. And 13b, a plurality of (for example, three) slide mechanisms 14, 15 and 16, and a cam mechanism 17 as a swing mechanism are included.

The leafy vegetable W is, for example, leaf lettuce, mizuna, spinach, or the like. Further, the foreign matter adhering to the leafy vegetable W is insects, dust, mud and the like.

The device frame 11 is configured by, for example, a rod-shaped steel material having an L-shaped cross section assembled in a rectangular shape. A rectangular base 18 is fixedly attached to the uppermost portion of the device frame 11. Belt conveyors 12a and 12b, slide mechanisms 14, 15 and 16, and cam 45 of the cam mechanism 17 are provided on the lower surface side of the base 18, as will be described later.

A foreign matter storage unit 19 for storing foreign matter that has fallen from the leafy vegetable W is installed at the lower part of the apparatus frame 11 along the transport direction P of the leafy vegetable W by the belt conveyors 12a and 12b.

Further, in the lower part of the apparatus frame 11, a vegetable storage unit 20 for storing leafy vegetables W that have fallen away from the carry-out outlets B of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b and is substantially directly below the carry-out outlets B of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b. Is installed.

In addition, instead of the vegetable storage unit 20, a conveyor device (not shown) in which a flat plate-shaped belt moves is installed, and the leafy vegetables W that have fallen from the carry-out outlets B of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b are subjected to a post-process, for example. It may be transported to a cleaning process or a packing process.

Further, on both front side and back side portions (front side and back side of the paper surface in FIG. 1) of the device frame 11, foreign matter receiving chute 26 is provided in a region above the center position in the height direction, and the belt conveyor 12a and the belt conveyor 12a. It is installed along the transport direction P of 12b. Since the lower portion of the foreign matter receiving chute 26 is bent inside the device, the foreign matter that has fallen from the leafy vegetables W is guided so that the foreign matter that has fallen from the leafy vegetables W does not scatter out of the device and is stored in the foreign matter storage unit 19.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b has a drive pulley 21 and a tension pulley 22 separately installed at both ends in the longitudinal direction on the lower surface side of the rectangular base 18, and these. The endless belt 24 is wound around a plurality of guide pulleys 23 installed on the lower surface of the base 18 between the drive pulley 21 and the tension pulley 22 of the above.

Further, the endless belt 24 of the belt conveyor 12a is guided by the guide bar 25 of the guide rail 13a. Further, the endless belt 24 of the belt conveyor 12b is guided by the guide bar 25 of the guide rail 13b. The linear portion guided by the guide bar 25 in each of the endless belts 24 of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b is a transport portion 24k that moves while sandwiching the root portion of the leafy vegetable W so as to face each other.

The drive pulley 21 of the belt conveyor 12a is directly rotationally driven in the direction of arrow O by the conveyor motor 27 installed on the upper surface of the base 18. Further, in the drive pulley 21 of the belt conveyor 12b, the driving force of the conveyor motor 27 is transmitted through an even number, for example, four drive gears 28, so that the arrow Q in the direction opposite to the drive pulley 21 of the belt conveyor 12a. It is driven to rotate in the direction.

As a result, the transport portion 24k of the endless belt 24 on the belt conveyors 12a and 12b has the most upstream end position where the tension pulley 22 is arranged becomes the carry-in port A of the leafy vegetables W, and the most downstream side where the drive pulley 21 is arranged. The position is the carry-out port B of the leafy vegetables W, and the leafy vegetables move in the transport direction of the arrow P.

The transport portion 24k of the endless belt 24 on the belt conveyors 12a and 12b begins to pinch the root portion of the leafy vegetable W at the carry-in inlet A, and separates and drops the leafy vegetable W at the carry-out outlet B.

The transport portion 24k of the endless belt 24 on the belt conveyors 12a and 12b moves so as to face each other to sandwich the root portion of the leafy vegetable W, and the leafy vegetable W is hung upside down at the carry-in entrance A. To the carry-out port B.

Here, the endless belt 24 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and is formed in a circular cross section or a quadrangular cross section (circular cross section in the present embodiment). Further, the surface of the endless belt 24 is set to a friction coefficient that does not slip against the leafy vegetables W.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the guide rails 13a and 13b is made of a metal material (for example, a steel material) having an L-shaped cross section, and is in the transport direction P of the leafy vegetables W by the belt conveyors 12a and 12b. It is provided extending along the line. For example, a resin guide bar 25 is fixed to the guide rails 13a and 13b at positions facing each other over the entire length of the guide rails 13a and 13b.

The guide bar 25 of the guide rail 13a comes into contact with the transport portion 24k of the endless belt 24 of the belt conveyor 12a to guide the movement of the transport portion 24k. Further, the guide bar 25 of the guide rail 13b comes into contact with the transport portion 24k of the endless belt 24 of the belt conveyor 12b to guide the movement of the transport portion 24k.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the slide mechanisms 14, 15 and 16 slide the pair of guide rails 13a and 13b in a slide direction orthogonal to the transport direction P of the leafy vegetables W by the belt conveyors 12a and 12b. It is movablely held by S, and is configured to have a slide rail 31, a slider 32, a support plate 33, a first holding unit 34, and a second holding unit 35, and slide mechanisms 14 and 16 are position adjusting mechanisms. Has 36. The position adjusting mechanism 36 may be provided in the slide mechanism 15 together with the slide mechanisms 14 and 16.

The slide rail 31 is fixedly attached to the lower surface of the base 18 shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 in the longitudinal direction along the slide direction S. Of these, the slide rails 31 of the slide mechanisms 14 and 16 are located near both ends of the guide rails 13a and 13b in the longitudinal direction, and the slide rails 31 of the slide mechanism 15 are located at the center positions of the guide rails 13a and 13b in the longitudinal direction. Each is positioned.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the slider 32 is arranged on the slide rail 31 and is provided so as to be reciprocally movable in the slide direction S.

The support plate 33 is a rectangular flat plate provided with substantially the same length as the slide rail 31, and is fixed to the slider 32.

The first holding unit 34 is fixed to one end side of the support plate 33 by using bolts or the like, and the guide rail 13a is pressed against the support plate 33 by the connecting bar 34a extending from the first holding unit 34 in a fixed state. Hold.

The second holding unit 35 is arranged on the other end side portion of the support plate 33, and presses and holds the guide rail 13b against the support plate 33 by the connecting bar 35a extending from the second holding unit 35.

As described above, the guide rail 13a is held by the first holding unit 34, the guide rail 13b is held by the second holding unit 35, and the support plate 33 is slid with respect to the slide rail 31 by the slider 32. The pair of guide rails 13a and 13b are provided so as to be movable in the slide direction S by being configured to be movable in the longitudinal direction (slide direction S) of the rail 31.

Further, on the second holding unit 35 and the support plate 33, for example, an dovetail groove 38 is formed on one of them, and an dovetail 39 that meshes with the dovetail groove 38 is formed on the other side.

As a result, the second holding unit 35, together with the guide rail 13b, is provided so as to be able to move slightly on the support plate 33 in the direction of approaching or separating from the guide rail 13a along the slide direction S.

In the position adjusting mechanism 36 of the slide mechanisms 14 and 16, a screw 42 having a knob 41 fixed to one end thereof is screwed into an upright portion 43 of the support plate 33, and the other end of the screw 42 is a second holding unit. It is configured by being engaged with 35.

By rotating the knob 41, the screw 42 rotates and moves in the axial direction with respect to the upright portion 43, and the second holding unit 35 and the guide rail 13b are moved by the action of the dovetail groove 38 and the dovetail 39. Move in the direction of approaching or separating from 13a.

As a result, the distance L between the guide bar 25 of the guide rail 13a and the guide bar 25 of the guide rail 13b is changed and adjusted. This distance L is adjusted according to the thickness of the root portion of the leafy vegetable W sandwiched by the transport portion 24k of each of the endless belts 24 of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b guided by the guide bar 25, and various leaves. It can be used for vegetable W.

The cam mechanism 17 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 includes a cam 45 and a cam drive motor 46 that rotationally drives the cam 45. The cam drive motor 46 is installed on the upper surface of the base 18, and the rotating shaft 47 penetrates the base 18.

The cam 45 is rotationally and integrally coupled to the rotating shaft 47 of the cam drive motor 46, is positioned on the lower surface side of the base 18, and comes into contact with either one of the guide rails 13a and 13b (guide rail 13a in this embodiment). do.

The cam 45 rotates by the driving force of the cam drive motor 46 in contact with the guide rail 13a, so that the pair of guide rails 13a and 13b swing in the slide direction S via the slide mechanisms 14, 15 and 16. Let me.

As a result, the transport portion 24k of each of the endless belts 24 of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b guided by the guide bars 25 of the guide rails 13a and 13b is moved in the slide direction S, that is, the transport direction of the leafy vegetables W by the transport portion 24k. Swing in the direction orthogonal to P.

As a result, while the leafy vegetable W is hung upside down and transported in the transport direction P, it vibrates in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction P (slide direction S), and the insects attached to the surface of the leafy vegetable W. Foreign matter such as is shaken off.

Here, in the swinging of the guide rails 13a and 13b described above, the push pressure F (FIG. 2) is applied to the guide rail 13a by the cam 45 of the cam mechanism 17, and the push pressure F gives the guide rails 13a and 13b. The elastic force generated in the endless belt 24 deformed via the above is realized by becoming a return force R (FIG. 2) that returns the guide rails 13a and 13b to the central position N of the swing motion along the slide direction S. NS.

In order to reinforce the return force R described above, a return spring (not shown) as an urging member is arranged between the slide rail 31 and the slider 32 in the slide mechanisms 14, 15 and 16, and the return spring is provided. As a result, an urging force may be generated to return the guide rails 13a and 13b to the central position N of the swinging motion along the slide direction S.

In the foreign matter removing device 10 configured as described above, the transport portions 24k facing each other in the endless belts 24 of the pair of belt conveyors 12a and 12b begin to sandwich the root portion of the leafy vegetable W at the carry-in inlet A. , This leafy vegetable W is hung upside down and transported in the transport direction P.

During the transportation of the leafy vegetables W by the belt conveyors 12a and 12b, the cam 45 of the cam mechanism 17 rotates and presses the guide rail 13a, so that the guide rails 13a and 13b are passed through the slide mechanisms 14, 15 and 16. Swings in the slide direction S orthogonal to the transport direction P of the leafy vegetables W.

Due to the swing of the guide rails 13a and 13b, the transport portion 24k of each of the endless belts 24 of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b swings, and the leafy vegetables W transported by the transport portion 24k move in the slide direction S. Vibrate. When the leafy vegetable W vibrates in this way, foreign matter such as insects falls from the leafy vegetable W, and the foreign matter is guided by the foreign matter receiving chute 26 and accumulated in the foreign matter storage unit 19.

The leafy vegetable W is transported to the carry-out port B by the transport portion 24 of each of the endless belts 24 of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b while vibrating as described above, and is separated from the transport portion 24k of the endless belt 24 at this carry-out port B. It is dropped and stored in the vegetable storage unit 20, or is transported to a next process such as a cleaning process by a conveyor device (not shown).

Since it is configured as described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects (1) to (6) are obtained.
(1) According to the foreign matter removing device 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the transport portions 24k of the endless belts 24 of the pair of belt conveyors 12a and 12b, which move opposite to each other, sandwich the root portion of the leafy vegetable W. While the leafy vegetables W of the sushi are hung upside down and transported, the cam 45 of the cam mechanism 17 guides the movement of the transporting portion 24k of the endless belt 24 by the cam 45 of the cam mechanism 17 in the transporting direction of the leafy vegetables W. It swings in the slide direction S orthogonal to P via the slide mechanisms 14, 15 and 16. As a result, the transport portion 24k of the endless belt 24 swings in the slide direction S.

Therefore, the leafy vegetable W can be vibrated during transportation by the transport portion 24k of the endless belt 24 to shake off the foreign matter adhering to the leafy vegetable W, and therefore, compared with the case of manual work by an operator. Therefore, foreign substances such as insects can be removed evenly, stably and reliably from the leafy vegetables W. As a result, the workability of the leafy vegetable W for removing foreign substances can be improved.

(2) As described in (1) above, the foreign matter removing device 10 can stably and reliably remove foreign matter such as insects adhering to the leafy vegetable W, so that the leafy vegetable W by the operator can be removed. The foreign matter removing work is not required, the physical burden on the worker can be avoided, and the number of workers involved in the foreign matter removing work can be reduced.

(3) According to the foreign matter removing device 10, the leafy vegetable W is upside down with the thick root portion of the stem sandwiched by the transport portions 24k that move opposite to each other on the endless belts 24 of the pair of belt conveyors 12a and 12b. While being conveyed in the suspended state, it is vibrated in the suspended state by the cam 45 of the cam mechanism 17 via the guide rails 13a and 13b and the slide mechanisms 14, 15 and 16. Since the thick root of the stem is sandwiched and transported and swayed in a state of being hung upside down, damage such as leaf breakage can be suppressed.

(4) As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the distance L between the guide bars 25 of the pair of guide rails 13a and 13b is configured to be changeable by the position adjusting mechanism 36 of the slide mechanisms 14 and 16. Therefore, by adjusting the distance L between the guide bars 25 of the pair of guide rails 13a and 13b according to the thickness of the root portion of the leafy vegetable W, the guide bars 13a and 13b are guided to the guide bars 25. The root portion of various leafy vegetables W can be suitably sandwiched by the transport portion 24k of the endless belt 24.

(5) Since the endless belts 24 of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b are made of an elastic material, the transport portion 24k of the endless belt 24 is moved to the cam mechanism 17 via the guide rails 13a and 13b and the slide mechanisms 14, 15 and 16. The elastic force generated in the endless belts 24 of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b becomes the return force R when the conveyor belts 12a and 12b are swung by the cam 45, and the transport portion 24k is swung along the slide direction S by a simple mechanism. It can be returned to the center position N of.

At this time, if a return spring (not shown), which is an urging member, is provided between the slide rails 31 of the slide mechanisms 14, 15 and 16 and the slider 32, the urging force of the return spring also causes endlessness. The transport portion 24k of the belt 24 can be reliably returned to the center position N of the swing motion.

(6) When the leafy vegetables W that have fallen from the carry-out outlets B of the belt conveyors 12a and 12b in the foreign matter removing device 10 shown in FIG. 1 are transported to the cleaning step, the foreign matter removing device 10 and the cleaning step are cleaned. Therefore, foreign substances such as insects adhering to the leafy vegetable W can be removed almost completely.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention, and the replacements and changes thereof can be made. , It is included in the scope and gist of the invention, and is also included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

For example, the swing mechanism for swinging the guide rails 13a and 13b is not limited to the cam mechanism 17, and may be a cylinder device in which a piston is connected to the guide rail 13a via a piston rod and the piston is reciprocated. .. Further, the swing mechanism may be a solenoid device that reciprocates the plunger by using an electromagnet.

10 Foreign matter removal device 11 Device frame 12a, 12b Belt conveyor 13a, 13b Guide rails 14, 15, 16 Slide mechanism 17 Cam mechanism (swing mechanism)
18 Base 19 Foreign matter storage part 20 Vegetable storage part 21 Drive pulley 22 Tension pulley 23 Guide pulley 24 Endless belt 24k Transport part 25 Guide bar 26 Foreign matter receiving chute 27 Conveyor motor 28 Drive gear 31 Slide rail 32 Slider 33 Support plate 34 1st Holding unit 34a Coupling bar 35 Second holding unit 35a Coupling bar 36 Position adjustment mechanism 38 Dovetail groove 39 Dovetail 41 Knob 42 Screw 43 Standing part 45 Cam 46 Cam drive motor 47 Rotating shaft A Carry-in port B Carry-out outlet F Push pressure R Return Force L Distance between guide bars of guide rail N Center position of rocking motion P Transport direction S Slide direction W Leafy vegetables

Claims (9)

A foreign matter removing device that drops and removes foreign matter adhering to the surface of leafy vegetables.
A pair of endless belts having a transporting portion that moves opposite to each other, the transporting portion sandwiching the root portion of the leafy vegetable and suspending the leafy vegetable upside down.
A pair of guide rails that guide the movement of the transport portion on the pair of endless belts,
A slide mechanism that movably holds the pair of guide rails in a slide direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the leafy vegetables.
A swing mechanism that swings the transport portion of the endless belt in the slide direction by swinging the pair of guide rails in the slide direction via the slide mechanism.
A foreign matter removing device characterized by having. The first aspect of the present invention, wherein the swing mechanism is a cam mechanism that swings the guide rail in the slide direction via the slide mechanism by rotating in contact with the guide rail. Foreign matter remover. The swing mechanism is a cylinder device that swings the guide rail in the slide direction via the slide mechanism by reciprocating a piston connected to the guide rail. The foreign matter removing device described in 1. The foreign matter removing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the endless belt is made of an elastic material. Of claims 1 to 4, the distance between the pair of guide rails can be changed by a position adjusting mechanism that causes one guide rail to approach or separate from the other guide rail. , The foreign matter removing device according to any one of 1. The slide mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the slide mechanism includes an urging member for returning the pair of swinging guide rails to a central position of the swinging motion. Foreign matter removal device. One of claims 1 to 6, wherein the transport portions facing each other in the pair of endless belts are configured to start sandwiching the leafy vegetables at the most upstream end position. The foreign matter removing device described. Any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the transporting portions facing each other in the pair of endless belts are configured to separate and drop the leafy vegetables at the most downstream end position. The foreign matter removing device according to 1. It is a foreign matter removal method that drops and removes foreign matter adhering to the surface of leafy vegetables.
While the root portion of the leafy vegetable is sandwiched by the transporting portions of the pair of endless belts that move opposite to each other and the leafy vegetable is hung upside down and transported, the transporting portion of the leafy vegetable is transferred. A method for removing foreign matter, which comprises swinging the leafy vegetables in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction to vibrate the leafy vegetables.

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