JP7069282B1 - Food alignment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a food arranging device capable of arranging foods more evenly.
SOLUTION: A conveyor 20 including a conveyor unit 21 including a mounting surface 21a, a conveyor driving device 28 for driving the conveyor unit 21 so that the mounting surface 21a moves along a predetermined transport direction, and a guide surface. A chute portion 30 for dropping the food 100 onto the mounting surface 21a along the 31a and a contact portion 45 capable of contacting the food 100 on the mounting surface 21a from the upstream side in the transport direction are provided, and the food 100 is contacted with the food 100. The thickness d of the food 100 in contact with the contact portion 45 is specified based on the relationship between the position of the contact portion 45 at the time of contact and the position of the lower end portion of the guide surface 31a, and the thickness d or more of the specified food 100 is specified. The conveyor unit 21 is moved.
[Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to a food aligning device for aligning a large number of foods, for example, rice balls.

In recent years, foods, for example, rice balls, have been sold in a state of being wrapped in a packaging member, and these are brought into a store or the like in a state of being arranged in an array on a tray. Regarding such foods, for example, Patent Document 1 describes an automatic food wrapping method and an apparatus thereof, which can wrap foods in a sealed state and can safely and surely perform automatic wrapping of foods. It has been disclosed.

By the way, although foods are automatically manufactured and packaged as in Patent Document 1, workers manually arrange the finished foods on trays. Therefore, a worker who performs this arrangement work is required, and moreover, it takes a long time to arrange them in an array.

On the other hand, the applicant of the present application has developed an apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, in which a plurality of foods are arranged on a conveyor and then collectively transferred to a tray. Specifically, in this device, a plurality of partition walls are provided on the conveyor belt of the conveyor, and the plurality of foods are aligned by introducing the foods one by one into the space between the partition walls. Then, a plurality of foods on the transport belts arranged in a row are collectively transferred to the tray.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-29175 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-172185

In the apparatus of Patent Document 2, since the position of the food is defined by the partition wall, if the thickness of the food varies, the gap size between the foods after alignment will vary. If the gap size between foods varies, there is a risk that wasteful space will be created in the tray when the food is transferred to the tray, or the food will not be stable in the tray, and the device of Patent Document 2 has room for improvement in this respect. be.

An object of the present invention is to provide a food aligning device capable of aligning foods more evenly.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention drives a conveyor unit including a mounting surface on which a plurality of foods can be placed, and the conveyor unit so that the mounting surface moves along a predetermined transport direction. A conveyor including a conveyor driving device, a chute portion provided with a guide surface facing upstream in the transport direction, and a chute portion for dropping food onto the above-mentioned mounting surface along the guide surface, and food on the above-mentioned mounting surface. The contact portion that can be contacted from the upstream side in the transport direction, the food that is reciprocated along the transport direction and stopped on the above-mentioned mounting surface, and the contact portion are in contact with each other. A contact portion drive device that stops the movement of the contact portion when in contact with the contact portion, and a control device that controls the conveyor drive device and the contact portion drive device, and the control device is provided when the contact portion comes into contact with food. Based on the relationship between the position of the contact portion and the position of the lower end portion of the guide surface, the thickness of the food that has come into contact with the contact portion is specified, and the conveyor is the same distance as the specified food thickness. It is characterized by moving the part.

In this device, food falls on the mounting surface of the conveyor along the guide surface of the chute portion. Therefore, the food can always be dropped to a reference position that coincides with the position of the lower end of the guide surface in the transport direction, and this reference position and the contact portion when the contact portion comes into contact with the food and the movement is stopped. The thickness of food (dimensions in the transport direction) can be specified based on the position of the contact portion. Then, in this device, the conveyor portion moves by the same distance as the thickness of the specified food. Therefore, the conveyor unit can be moved by the same distance as the thickness of the food that has fallen on the mounting surface, and the conveyor unit can be moved by the amount corresponding to the thickness of the food that has fallen on the mounting surface. can. Therefore, according to this device, a plurality of foods can be aligned on the mounting surface without overlapping, and the gap dimensions between the plurality of foods can be made evenly close to each other and these can be appropriately aligned.

In the above configuration, preferably, the contact portion driving device has a reference position where the position in the transport direction is the same as the lower end portion of the guide surface and an upstream reference position on the upstream side in the transport direction from the reference position. The contact portion is reciprocated between the contact portion and the contact portion, and when the conveyor portion is moving after the contact portion is brought into contact with the food, the contact portion is moved at the same speed as the conveyor portion.

According to this configuration, while the food is being transferred by the conveyor unit, the contact portion moves integrally with the food to the downstream side in the transport direction. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the food from falling to the downstream side in the transport direction during its movement by the contact portion.

As a configuration for calculating the thickness of the food, the measured portion, which is movably connected to the abutting portion, is provided at a position facing the measured portion along the transport direction. The control device includes a measuring unit for measuring the separation distance from the measured unit, and the control device measures the separation distance measured by the measuring unit when the movement of the contact portion stops due to contact with food. The value obtained by subtracting the value obtained by subtracting the value obtained from the distance between the measured portion and the measuring portion when the contact portion is at the reference position is calculated as the thickness of the food.

In the above configuration, preferably, the chute portion has an facing surface facing the guide surface and partitioning a drop port on which food falls together with the guide surface, and the contact portion integrally has the transport direction. The shutter portion is provided with a shutter portion that can be reciprocally connected along the line and can close the drop port, and the shutter portion fully opens the drop port with the contact portion at the upstream reference position. , The contact portion is connected to the contact portion so as to fully close the drop port while the contact portion is in the reference position.

According to this configuration, until the contact portion moves from the upstream reference position to the reference position, that is, after the food falls from the chute portion to the mounting surface, the conveyor portion moves and the food moves accordingly. The drop opening is gradually closed until the completion of. Therefore, it is possible to prevent new foods from falling on the mounting surface until the movement of the foods that have fallen on the mounting surface is completed, and the foods can be appropriately moved individually and placed on the mounting surface. Can be aligned.
To.

In the above configuration, the control device includes a food passage detection unit that detects that the food has passed through the shoot unit, and when the food passage detection unit detects that the food has passed through the shoot unit, the control device said. The contact portion may be moved from the reference position to the upstream reference position by the contact portion drive device.

In the above configuration, preferably, the conveyor portion includes a partition plate that protrudes upward from the above-mentioned mounting surface and is arranged on the downstream side of the plurality of foods in the transport direction, and the contact portion is provided in the transport direction. When viewed along the line, the partition plate is arranged so as to reciprocate in a region different from the region in which the partition plate moves.

According to this configuration, a partition plate can be provided on the conveyor portion without hindering the reciprocating movement of the contact portion, and the partition plate can prevent food on the mounting surface from falling to the downstream side in the transport direction. ..

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of foods can be arranged more evenly.

It is a schematic perspective view which showed a part of the food alignment apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic side view of the food alignment apparatus of FIG. It is the figure which showed the part of FIG. 2 enlarged. It is a schematic side view which showed the positional relationship between a partition plate and a contact part. It is a schematic side view of the food aligning apparatus which showed the state when the food is introduced into the shoot part. It is a schematic side view of the food aligning apparatus which showed the state when the food falls from the chute part to the mounting surface. It is a schematic side view of the food aligning apparatus which showed the state when a contact part and a food come into contact with each other. It is a figure for demonstrating the procedure of calculating the thickness of a food, and is an enlarged view corresponding to FIG. It is a schematic side view of the food aligning apparatus which showed the state when the 2nd conveyor part moves. It is a schematic side view of the food alignment apparatus which showed the state at the time of starting the alignment of food. It is a flowchart which showed the control procedure of a control device.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a food aligning device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the food aligning device 1 of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the positional relationship between the partition plate 23 and the contact portion 45, which will be described later.

The food aligning device 1 is a device for aligning a plurality of foods 100 before transporting them to a tray or the like. In the present embodiment, the food 100 is a bag of one rice ball and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape.

The food aligning device 1 includes a first conveyor 10, an extrusion device 18, a second conveyor 20, a chute section 30, a slide mechanism 40, a first sensor SN1, a second sensor SN2, and a third sensor SN3. To prepare for. Further, the food aligning device 1 includes a control device 90 that controls each part such as the second conveyor 20.

(1st conveyor and extrusion device)
The first conveyor 10 is a belt conveyor and includes a belt-shaped first conveyor belt 11 on which food 100 is placed and conveyed, and a first conveyor main body 12 that movably holds the first conveyor belt 11.

The first conveyor belt 11 is an endless belt, and the food 100 is placed on the upper surface thereof and conveyed. The first conveyor main body 12 rotates and drives a pair of pulleys 13 on which the first conveyor belt 11 is hung, a plurality of legs 14 that support the pulleys 13 and the first conveyor belt 11, and one of the pulleys 13. A first conveyor motor 16 and a pair of conveyor covers 15 arranged at both ends of the first conveyor belt 11 in the width direction are provided. Each of the conveyor covers 15 covers both ends of the first conveyor belt 11 in the width direction from the outside in the width direction over the entire length thereof. The leg portion 14 supports the first conveyor belt 11 so that the upper surface thereof follows a horizontal plane.

When the pulley 13 is rotationally driven by the first conveyor motor, the upper surface of the first conveyor belt 11 moves in the direction shown by the arrow Y1 in FIG. Hereinafter, the moving direction of the upper surface of the first conveyor belt 11 (direction of arrow Y1) is appropriately referred to as the first transport direction. Further, the left-right direction when the upstream side to the downstream side of the first conveyor belt 11 is viewed along the first transport direction in the width direction of the first conveyor belt 11 is referred to as a left-right direction.

Food 100 manufactured by a separate machine is carried into the upstream end of the upper surface of the first conveyor belt 11 in the first transport direction. When the first conveyor belt 11 moves, the food 100 is conveyed from the upstream end to the downstream end of the first conveyor belt 11 in the first conveying direction.

The extrusion device 18 is a device for extruding the food 100 from the first conveyor belt 11 to the chute portion 30. The extrusion device 18 is arranged near the downstream end of the first conveyor belt 11 in the first transport direction. The extrusion device 18 includes a first standing plate 18a extending in the left-right direction near the downstream end of the first conveyor belt 11 in the first conveying direction, and a first standing plate 18a extending upstream from the right edge of the first standing plate 18a in the first conveying direction. 2 Standing plate 18b is provided.

The extrusion device 18 reciprocates in the left-right direction as shown by the arrow Y2 in FIG. 1 between the position where the second standing plate 18b is along the right edge of the first conveyor belt 11 and the position to the left of the position. It is configured to be possible. FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a food aligning device showing a state when the food 100 is introduced into the chute portion 30. As shown by the chain line in FIG. 5, the extrusion device 18 receives the food 100 by the first standing plate 18a in a state where the second standing plate 18b is located along the right edge of the first conveyor belt 11, and then the food 100 is received by the first standing plate 18a. As shown by the broken line of the above, the food 100 is pushed out to the left by the second standing plate 18b by being driven to the left.

(2nd conveyor)
The second conveyor 20 includes a second conveyor section 21 including a mounting surface 21a on which a plurality of foods 100 can be placed, and a second conveyor body 25 that movably holds the second conveyor section 21. The second conveyor 20 corresponds to the "conveyor" of the claim, and the second conveyor section 21 corresponds to the "conveyor section" of the claim. Further, the second conveyor motor 28, which will be described later, corresponds to the "conveyor drive device" of the claim.

In this embodiment, the second conveyor 20 is a slat conveyor. That is, the second conveyor 20 has an endless chain belt 26 to which a plurality of slats 22 are fixed, and conveys the food 100 placed on the slats 22 by the circulation drive of the chain belt 26. The second conveyor 20 is arranged so that the chain belt 26 rotates around an axis extending in the horizontal direction, and the surface 22a of the slats 22 located above the chain belt 26 among the plurality of slats 22 is a food product. It functions as a mounting surface 21a on which 100 can be mounted. Hereinafter, the direction along the rotation axis of the chain belt 26 is appropriately referred to as a second width direction.

Specifically, the second conveyor main body 25 has a pair of sprocket wheels 27 arranged at positions separated from each other in the directions orthogonal to the second width direction and the vertical direction, and a pair hung on the sprocket wheels 27, respectively. The chain belt 26 and a second conveyor motor 28 for rotationally driving one sprocket wheel 27 around an axis extending in the second width direction are provided. The slats 22 have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape, and the surface 22a thereof is a substantially rectangular plane. The slats 22 are connected to the chain belt 26 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction thereof. In this embodiment, the second conveyor 20 includes 36 slats 22.

When the sprocket wheel 27 is rotationally driven by the second conveyor motor 28, the upper surface of the second conveyor portion 21, that is, the mounting surface 21a moves in the direction shown by the arrow Y20 in FIG. Hereinafter, the moving direction (direction of the arrow Y20) of the mounting surface 21a of the second conveyor portion 21 is appropriately referred to as a second transport direction. It should be noted that this second transport direction corresponds to the "transport direction" of the claim.

The second conveyor 20 is arranged so that the first transport direction and the second transport direction are substantially orthogonal to each other, and the second conveyor portion 21 extends from the left side of the first conveyor belt 11 to the right side through below the first conveyor belt portion 11. Has been done. Further, in the second conveyor 20, the mounting surface 21a moves to the right, and the left end portion thereof and the upstream end in the second transport direction is the right end portion and the second conveyor 20 is second-conveyed. It is arranged so as to be higher than the downstream end in the direction.

Some slats 22 are provided with a partition plate 23 extending from the surface 22a in a direction orthogonal to the surface 22a. The partition plate 23 has a plate shape extending upward from the surface 22a of the slats 22, that is, a plate shape extending upward from the mounting surface 21a in a state of being above the chain belt 26. In the present embodiment, the partition plate 23 is provided on each of the three slats 22. The three partition plates 23 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the chain belt 26. That is, the number of slats 22 having no partition plate 23 is the same (11 in this embodiment) between the slats 22 having the partition plate 23. Each partition plate 23 is composed of a pair of partition sections 23a arranged in the second width direction with a gap thereof. The pair of section pieces 23a are fixed to the slats 22 so as to sandwich the central portion of the slats 22 in the second width direction.

(Shoot part)
The chute unit 30 is a device for dropping the food 100 from the first conveyor belt 11 to the mounting surface 21a of the second conveyor 20. The chute portion 30 is arranged at a position on the left side of the downstream end of the first conveyor belt 11 in the first transport direction and facing the extrusion device 18. Further, the chute portion 30 is arranged so that the drop port 30B, which will be described later, is located above the left end portion of the mounting surface 21a of the second conveyor 20.

The chute portion 30 has a plate-like shape and has a first chute wall 31 and a second chute wall 32 that face each other in the second transport direction. The first chute wall 31 extends diagonally downward to the left from the left edge of the conveyor cover 15 on the left side of the first conveyor 10, and has a guide surface 31a facing upstream in the second transport direction. The guide surface 31a extends diagonally downward to the left from a position substantially the same height as the upper surface of the first conveyor belt 11 and the upper surface of the conveyor cover 15. In the present embodiment, the first chute wall 31 is integrally formed with a fixed wall 31b extending straight downward from the upper end thereof, and the fixed wall 31b is fixed to the conveyor cover 15 on the left side to be supported by the conveyor cover 15. Has been done.

The second chute wall 32 extends substantially in parallel with the first chute wall 31 at a position on the downstream side in the second transport direction, and has a facing surface 32a facing the guide surface 31a. In the present embodiment, the first chute wall 31 and its guide surface 31a and the second chute wall 32 and its facing surface 32a are each curved so as to bulge upward.

A chute passage 30A extending vertically and passing the food 100 inside is partitioned between the guide surface 31a and the facing surface 32a, and the upper end of the chute passage 30A is the introduction port into which the food 100 is introduced, and the lower end is. The drop port 30B is such that the food 100 falls toward the mounting surface 21a. In the present embodiment, the chute portion 30 has a pair of plate-shaped chute side walls 33 that cover both edges of the first chute wall 31 and the second chute wall 32 in the second width direction from the outside, and chute. The passage 30A is also partitioned by these chute side walls 33. In the drawing, only one chute side wall 33 is shown so that the main part of the food aligning device 1 is clarified.

The food 100 extruded to the left of the first conveyor belt 11 by the extrusion device 18 as shown by the broken line in FIG. 5 falls along the guide surface 31a as shown by the solid line in FIG. By falling along the guide surface 31a, the food 100 always has the position of the downstream end in the second transport direction at the same position on the mounting surface 21a and the position along the second transport direction is the guide surface. It falls to the first position X1 (FIGS. 3 and 8) which is the same as the lower end of 31a.

(Slide mechanism)
The slide mechanism 40 includes a slide device 41 including a piston 43 and a cylinder 42 that reciprocally holds the piston 43, and a contact portion capable of contacting the food 100 on the mounting surface 21a from the upstream side in the second transport direction. A 45, a measuring plate 46, and a shutter portion 47 capable of opening and closing the drop port 30B are provided.

The slide device 41 is arranged above the second conveyor 20 in a posture in which the piston 43 reciprocates along the second transport direction. A slide block 44 having an L-shape when viewed from the side is connected to the tip of the piston 43, and the slide block 44 also reciprocates as the piston 43 reciprocates. The slide device 41 corresponds to the "contact portion driving device" of the claim.

The contact portion 45 has a plate shape extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the mounting surface 21a. The contact portion 45 is connected to the piston 43 so as to reciprocate slightly above the mounting surface 21a and below the drop port 30B along the reciprocating movement of the piston 43 along the second transport direction. Specifically, the contact portion 45 is integrally formed with the first fixing plate 45a extending downstream from the upper end in the second transport direction, and the first fixing plate 45a is connected to the slide block 44. It is connected to the piston 43 so as to be able to reciprocate integrally with the piston 43.

The slide device 41 reciprocates the contact portion 45 between the first position X1 and the second position X2 on the upstream side in the second transport direction along the second transport direction. As shown by the broken line in FIG. 3, the first position X1 is a position where the position in the second transport direction coincides with the lower end portion of the guide surface 31a. As shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the second position X2 is a position where the position in the second transport direction coincides with the lower end portion of the facing surface 32a. Specifically, the slide device 41 reciprocates the contact portion 45 so that the upstream end thereof in the second transport direction moves between the first position X1 and the second position X2. .. The first position X1 corresponds to the "reference position" of the claim, and the second position X2 corresponds to the "upstream reference position" of the claim.

As described above, the food 100 that has fallen from the chute portion 30 onto the mounting surface 21a is in a state where the position of the downstream end in the second transport direction coincides with the first position X1. From this, the contact portion 45 is located on the upstream side of the food 100 in the second transport direction in the state of being in the second position X2, and falls on the mounting surface 21a during the movement from the second position to the first position. The food 100 is brought into contact with the food 100 from the upstream side in the second transport direction.

Here, the driving force of the contact portion 45 by the slide device 41 is applied from the food 100 to the contact portion 45 when the food 100 stopped on the mounting surface 21a and the contact portion 45 come into contact with each other. It is set smaller than the drag force. From this, as described above, the slide device 41 reciprocates the contact portion 45 between the second position X2 and the first position X1, but is placed on the way from the second position X2 to the first position X1. When the contact portion 45 comes into contact with the food 100 stopped on the surface 21a, the movement of the contact portion 45 stops once, and when the drag force from the food 100 to the contact portion 45 disappears, the contact portion 45 moves to the first position again. Will move.

As shown in FIG. 4, the contact portion 45 is arranged in a region different from the region through which the partition plate 23 passes when viewed along the second transport direction. Specifically, the contact portion 45 is arranged so as to move between the regions through which the pair of section pieces 23a pass. From this, in the present embodiment, as described above, the contact portion 45 is configured to reciprocate slightly above the mounting surface 21a, and the mounting surface 21a is provided with a partition 23a protruding from above the mounting surface 21a. However, it is possible to avoid these interferences.

The measuring plate 46 is a plate-shaped member extending in parallel with the abutting portion 45 at a position downstream of the abutting portion 45 in the second transport direction. The measuring plate 46 is integrally connected to the contact portion 45 so as to reciprocate along the second transport direction. Specifically, the measuring plate 46 is integrally formed with a second fixing plate 46a extending downstream from the upper end in the second transport direction, and the second fixing plate 46a is connected to the slide block 44. It is integrally connected to the abutting portion 45 so as to be reciprocating.

In the present embodiment, the measuring plate 46 is configured to move between the pair of partitioning sections 23a as well as the contact portion 45, and the interference between the partitioning section 23a and the partition plate 23 and the measuring plate 46 is avoided. It has become so.

The shutter portion 47 is a plate-shaped member extending substantially parallel to the mounting surface 21a of the second conveyor portion 21. The shutter portion 47 is fixed to the upper surface of the first fixing plate 45a, and reciprocates integrally with the first fixing plate 45a, that is, the abutting portion 45 along the second transport direction.

The shutter portion 47 has a size capable of closing the entire drop opening 30B. Further, the shutter portion 47 extends downstream from substantially the same position as the upstream end of the contact portion 45 in the second transport direction. From this, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 3, when the contact portion 45 is in the first position X1, the shutter portion 47 closes the entire drop port 30B and closes it completely. On the other hand, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, when the contact portion 45 is at the second position X2, the shutter portion 47 is located on the upstream side of the drop port 30B in the second transport direction. , The entire fall port 30B is opened, that is, fully opened.

(Sensor)
The first sensor SN1 and the third sensor SN3 are sensors configured to output a predetermined signal when an object exists within a predetermined range in front of the first sensor SN1 and the third sensor SN3, respectively. The first sensor SN1 is arranged below the guide surface 31a and on the side of the second conveyor portion 21, and outputs a predetermined signal when the partition plate 23 or the food 100 is present below the guide surface 31a. do. The third sensor SN3 is arranged at a position facing the lower end of the chute passage 30A, and outputs a predetermined signal when the food 100 is present at the lower end of the chute passage 30A. The third sensor SN3 corresponds to the "food passage detection unit" of the claim.

The second sensor SN2 is a sensor that measures the separation distance between the object existing in front of the sensor and the sensor itself. The second sensor SN2 faces the measuring plate 46 and measures the separation distance Lx (FIG. 3) between the measuring plate 46 and the sensor itself. The second sensor SN2 corresponds to the "measurement unit" of the claim, and the measurement plate 46 corresponds to the "measured unit" of the claim.

As the first sensor SN1, the second sensor SN2, and the third sensor SN3, for example, an optical sensor can be used.

(Control device and control procedure)
The control device 90 is a device that controls the second conveyor motor 28 and the slide device 41. The control procedure of the control device 90 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 11. 6 to 7, 9 and 10 are schematic side views of the food aligning device 1. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for calculating the thickness d of food, and is an enlarged view corresponding to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the control device 90.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the food 100 is introduced into the chute portion 30 (chute passage 30A) with the contact portion 45 in the first position and the shutter portion 47 fully closing the drop port 30B. The food 100 temporarily stays on the upper surface of the shutter portion 47. At this time, the third sensor SN3 detects that the food 100 has reached the lower end of the chute passage 30A, and a predetermined signal is input from the third sensor SN3 to the control device 90.

When the control device 90 receives a predetermined signal from the third sensor SN3 (when the determination in step S1 becomes YES), the control device 90 issues a command to the slide device 41 and conveys the piston 43 to the second carrier as shown by the arrow Y41 in FIG. The contact portion 45 is moved from the first position X1 to the second position X2 by moving it to the upstream side in the direction (step S2). Along with this, the shutter portion 47 also moves to the upstream side in the second transport direction, and as shown in FIG. 6, the entire drop port 30B is opened. When the drop port 30B is opened, the food 100 falls from the chute portion 30 to the mounting surface 21a as shown by the arrow Y100 in FIG. As described above, the food 100 temporarily stays on the shutter portion 47, and the food 100 stably falls to the mounting surface 21a along the guide surface 31a. Further, as described above, by falling along the guide surface 31a, the position of the downstream end of the food 100 in the second transport direction on the mounting surface 21a becomes the first position X1.

Next, the control device 90 issues a command to the slide device 41 to move the piston 43 to the downstream side in the second transport direction as shown by the arrow Y42 in FIG. 7, and the contact portion 45 is moved from the second position X2. It is moved toward the first position X1 (step S3). Along with this, the shutter portion 47 also moves to the downstream side in the second transport direction and gradually closes the drop port 30B.

During the movement from the second position X2 to the first position X1, the contact portion 45 abuts on the food 100 from the upstream side in the second transport direction. As described above, when the food 100 comes into contact with the food 100, the movement of the contact portion 45 is temporarily stopped. Further, the movement of the measuring plate 46 connected to the contact portion 45 is also stopped.

Here, the second sensor SN2 constantly measures the separation distance between the measuring plate 46 and the sensor itself, and sends this to the control device 90. From this, if the movement of the measuring plate 46 is stopped while the contact portion 45 is moving from the second position X2 to the first position X1, the separation distance sent from the second sensor SN2 to the control device 90 is increased. It does not change for a certain period of time when the value exceeds a predetermined value. In this way, the control device 90 stops the movement of the contact portion 45 and the measuring plate 46, the moving speed becomes zero, and the separation distance does not change for a certain period of time at a value equal to or more than a predetermined value (determination in step S4). (YES), the thickness (dimension in the second transport direction) of the food 100 is calculated based on the detection result of the second sensor SN2 (step S5).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the thickness d of the food 100 is the position of the contact portion 45 when it comes into contact with the food 100 and the amount of separation from the first position X1 in the second transport direction. The amount of separation is the same as the position of the measuring plate 46 when the food 100 and the abutting portion 45 are in contact with each other and the position of the measuring plate 46 when the abutting portion 45 is in the first position X1. 2 Corresponds to the separation amount e in the transport direction. Further, this separation amount e is measured when the food 100 and the contact portion 45 come into contact with each other from the separation distance L1 between the measuring plate 46 and the second sensor SN2 when the contact portion 45 is at the first position X1. It corresponds to the amount obtained by subtracting the separation distance L2 between the plate 46 and the second sensor SN2. The separation distance L1 between the measuring plate 46 and the second sensor SN2 when in the first position is predetermined, and the separation distance L1 is stored as the reference distance L1 in the control device 90. From this, the control device 90 calculates the value e obtained by subtracting the detection value of the second sensor SN2 when the food 100 and the contact portion 45 abut from the reference distance L1 as the thickness d of the food 100.

When the calculation of the thickness d of the food 100 is completed, the control device 90 moves the second conveyor portion 21 to the downstream side in the second transport direction by the same amount as the thickness d of the food 100 as shown by the arrow Y21 in FIG. (Step S5). That is, the control device 90 drives the second conveyor motor 28 so that the second conveyor portion 21 and the mounting surface 21a move to the downstream side in the second transport direction by the same amount as the thickness d of the food 100 (step). S6).

In this way, the second conveyor portion 21 and the mounting surface 21a move to the downstream side in the second transport direction by the thickness d of the food 100, and the food 100 also moves to the downstream side in the second transport direction by the thickness d. Moving. From this, the position of the downstream end of the moved food 100 in the transport direction is on the upstream side of the second transport direction by the thickness d of the first position X1, and the upstream end of the moved food 100 in the second transport direction. The position of is the first position X1.

When the food 100 moves to the downstream side in the second transport direction, the drag force from the food 100 to the contact portion 45 disappears. As the drag force from the food 100 to the contact portion 45 disappears, the contact portion 45 can move, and the contact portion 45 is located on the downstream side in the second transport direction as shown by the arrow Y43 in FIG. Move to. As described above, the food 100 moves until the upstream end in the second transport direction reaches the first position X1. As a result, the contact portion 45 can move to the first position X1 and moves to the first position X1.

Here, in the present embodiment, when the contact portion 45 and the food 100 are in contact with each other, the slide device 41 moves the contact portion 45 at the same speed as the food 100. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the moving speed of the piston 43 and the contact portion 45 is set faster than the moving speed of the second conveyor portion 21. Therefore, when the food 100 moves with the movement of the second conveyor portion 21, the contact portion 45 moves while maintaining the contact with the food 100, and the moving speed is the same as the moving speed of the food 100. Become.

When the abutting portion 45 moves to the downstream side in the second transport direction, the shutter portion 47 also moves to the downstream side in the second transport direction and gradually closes the drop port 30B. Then, when the contact portion 45 reaches the first position X1, the shutter portion 47 fully closes the drop port 30B.

The control device 90 basically stops driving the slide device 41 when the contact portion 45 moves to the first position X1. Then, when it is detected by the third sensor SN3 that the food 100 has been dropped on the chute portion 30 as described above, the slide device 41 is driven again to move the piston 43 to the upstream side in the second transport direction. By repeating the above control in this way, the foods 100 are sequentially arranged on the mounting surface 21a. Further, every time the food 100 falls on the mounting surface 21a, the second conveyor portion 21 is moved by the thickness of the food 100, and the food 100 has almost no gap with other adjacent foods 100. They are arranged on the mounting surface 21a in such a state.

Here, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the food 100s that first fall on the mounting surface 21a are arranged so as to be in contact with the partition plate 23. Specifically, the control device 90 stops driving the second conveyor portion 21 in a state where the upstream end surface of the partition plate 23 in the second transport direction is at the first position X1, and the food 100 falls in this state. Wait for Therefore, when the food 100 falls on the mounting surface 21a in a state where the position of the downstream end in the second transport direction is the first position X1, the food 100 comes into contact with the partition plate 23, and FIG. As shown in the above, the food 100s are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the partition plate 23 in the second transport direction. In the present embodiment, when the food 100 and the partition plate 23 are not detected by the first sensor SN1 and the partition plate 23 is detected, the control device 90 stops driving the second conveyor unit 21. Therefore, the position of the upstream end surface of the partition plate 23 in the second transport direction is set to the first position X1.

The foods 100 arranged on the mounting surface 21a are transferred to the tray by a robot or the like provided separately. For example, when the movement amount of the second conveyor unit 21 becomes equal to or more than a predetermined amount after the food 100 starts to fall on the mounting surface, the control device 90 stops driving the second conveyor unit 21 and separately. A command is issued to a provided robot or the like to collectively transfer the plurality of foods 100 arranged on the mounting surface 21a to the tray.

(Action, etc.)
As described above, in the food aligning device 1 according to the above embodiment, the food 100 is configured to fall along the guide surface 31a onto the mounting surface 21a of the second conveyor section 21, whereby the food 100 is always kept. It is mounted on the first position X1 facing the lower end of the guide surface 31a on the mounting surface 21a. Then, the contact portion 45 comes into contact with the food 100 from the upstream side in the second transport direction, and the relationship between the position of the contact portion 45 at the time of this contact and the position of the first position X1, that is, the position of the lower end portion of the guide surface 31a. The thickness d of the food 100 is specified from the above, and the second conveyor portion 21 and the mounting surface 21a are moved by the thickness d. Therefore, a plurality of foods 100 that sequentially fall on the mounting surface 21a can be aligned on the mounting surface 21a with the gap between the adjacent foods 100 being zero. In particular, even if the thickness of the food 100 falling on the mounting surface 21a changes, the mounting surface 21a moves by the thickness of each food 100, so that the gap between the foods 100 is not limited to the thickness of the food 100. Can be zero. Therefore, a plurality of foods 100 can be reliably and evenly arranged on the mounting surface 21a. If a plurality of foods 100 can be evenly arranged in this way, the foods 100 can be stably arranged on the tray when the foods are transferred to the tray, and it is possible to prevent unnecessary gaps from being generated in the tray and improve the transportation efficiency. Can be done.

Further, in the above embodiment, the contact portion 45 is reciprocated between the first position X1 and the second position X2. That is, the contact portion 45 is moved to the first position X1. When the contact portion 45 and the food are in contact with each other, the contact portion 45 is configured to move at the same speed as the food 100, and when the second conveyor portion 21 moves, the contact portion 45 moves. It moves while maintaining contact with the food 100. Therefore, the contact portion 45 can prevent the food 100 from falling to the upstream side in the second transport direction when the second conveyor portion 21 moves, and the food 100 can be stably transported.

Further, in the above embodiment, the abutting portion 45 is provided with a shutter portion 47 that is integrally reciprocally connected to the abutting portion 45 and is capable of closing the drop port 30B. The drop port 30B is fully opened while in the second position X2, and the drop port 30B is fully closed while the contact portion 45 is in the first position X1. Therefore, the drop port 30B is gradually closed by the shutter portion 47 between the time when the food 100 falls from the chute portion 30 to the mounting surface 21a and the time when the movement of the food 100 on the mounting surface 21a is completed. It is possible to prevent the new food 100 from falling on the mounting surface 21a until the movement of the food 100 that has fallen on the mounting surface 21a is completed. Therefore, the food 100 can be appropriately moved individually and aligned. Further, as described above, since the food 100 can be retained on the upper surface of the shutter portion 47, the food 100 can be stably dropped on the mounting surface 21a.

Further, in the above embodiment, the second conveyor portion 21 is provided with a partition plate 23 protruding from the mounting surface 21a so that the food 100s are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the partition plate 23 in the second transport direction. It has become. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the food 100 from falling to the downstream side in the second transport direction, and it is possible to stably transport the food 100.

Here, the second conveyor portion 21 is rotated about an axis extending in the horizontal direction, and after the three partition plates 23 arrive at the upstream end in the second transport direction, the contact portion 45 is provided from this upstream end. Moves to the downstream side in the second transport direction through the region where the partition plate 23 is arranged, but in the above embodiment, the partition plate 23 and the contact portion 45 are different regions when viewed along the second transport direction. Is arranged to move. Therefore, it is possible to avoid interference between the partition plate 23 and the contact portion 45 while providing the partition plate 23 to realize stable transportation of the food 100 as described above.

(Modification example)
In the above embodiment, the contact portion 45 is configured to move to the first position X1, but the contact portion 45 may be driven to return to the second position X2 after contacting the food 100. .. However, as described above, if the contact portion 45 is moved to the first position X1 at the same speed as the movement speed of the food 100, the food 100 can be prevented from falling while the second conveyor portion 21 is moving.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which a measuring plate 46 that moves integrally with the contact portion 45 is provided and the distance from the measuring plate 46 is detected by the second sensor SN2 to detect the thickness of the food 100. However, the measuring plate 46 may be omitted, the distance between the measuring plate 46 and the contact portion 45 may be directly detected by the second sensor SN2, and the thickness of the food 100 may be detected using the detection result. Further, the specific configuration for obtaining the displacement amount of the contact portion 45 with respect to the first position in the transport direction when the moving speed decreases is not limited to the above.

In the above embodiment, the case where the second conveyor 20 is a slat conveyor has been described, but the second conveyor has a conveyor section having a mounting surface on which food can be placed and a conveyor section for driving the conveyor section. Any device may have a conveyor drive device for moving the surface along a predetermined transport direction, and the specific structure thereof is not limited to the above. For example, the second conveyor may be a belt conveyor.

In the above embodiment, the case where the food 100 in which the rice balls are packed is aligned by the food aligning device has been described, but the foods that can be aligned by the food aligning device are not limited to this.

1 Food alignment device 10 1st conveyor 20 2nd conveyor (conveyor)
21 2nd conveyor part 21a Mounting surface 23 Partition plate 28 2nd conveyor motor (conveyor drive device)
30 Shoot part 30B Drop port 31a Guide surface 41 Slide device (contact part drive device)
45 Contact part 46 Measuring plate (measured part)
SN2 2nd sensor (measurement unit)
X1 1st position (reference position)
X2 2nd position (upstream reference position)

Claims (6)

A conveyor including a conveyor unit including a mounting surface on which a plurality of foods can be placed, and a conveyor driving device for driving the conveyor unit so that the mounting surface moves along a predetermined transport direction.
A chute portion provided with a guide surface facing the upstream side in the transport direction, and the food is dropped onto the above-mentioned mounting surface along the guide surface.
A contact portion capable of contacting the food on the above-mentioned mounting surface from the upstream side in the transport direction, and a contact portion.
A contact portion driving device that reciprocates the contact portion along the transport direction and stops the movement of the contact portion when the food stopped on the above-mentioned mounting surface comes into contact with the contact portion. When,
A control device for controlling the conveyor drive device and the contact portion drive device is provided.
The control device specifies the thickness of the food that has come into contact with the abutting portion based on the relationship between the position of the abutting portion and the position of the lower end portion of the guide surface when the abutting portion abuts on the food. A food aligning device characterized in that the conveyor portion is moved by the same distance as the thickness of the specified food. In the food aligning apparatus according to claim 1,
The contact portion driving device makes the contact between a reference position where the position in the transport direction is the same as the lower end portion of the guide surface and an upstream reference position on the upstream side in the transport direction from the reference position. Food alignment is characterized in that the contact portion is reciprocated, and when the conveyor portion is moving after the contact portion and the food contact, the contact portion is moved at the same speed as the conveyor portion. Device. In the food aligning apparatus according to claim 2,
The measured portion, which is movably connected to the contact portion,
It is provided with a measuring unit provided at a position facing the measured unit along the transport direction and measuring a distance from the measured unit.
The control device measures the separation distance measured by the measuring unit when the movement of the contact portion stops due to contact with food, and the subject when the contact portion is in the reference position. A food alignment device characterized in that a value subtracted from a distance between a measuring unit and the measuring unit is calculated as a food thickness. In the food aligning apparatus according to claim 2 or 3.
The chute portion has a facing surface facing the guide surface and partitioning a drop port on which food falls together with the guide surface.
A shutter portion that is integrally connected to the contact portion so as to be reciprocally connected along the transport direction and is capable of closing the drop port is provided.
The shutter portion is such that the drop port is fully opened when the contact portion is in the upstream reference position, and the drop port is fully closed when the contact portion is in the reference position. A food alignment device characterized by being connected to a contact portion. In the food aligning apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
A food passage detection unit for detecting that food has passed through the shoot unit is provided.
When the control device detects that the food has passed through the chute portion by the food passage detection unit, the contact portion driving device moves the contact portion from the reference position to the upstream reference position. , A food alignment device characterized by that. In the food aligning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The conveyor portion includes a partition plate that protrudes upward from the above-mentioned mounting surface and is arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction of a plurality of foods.
The food alignment device is characterized in that the contact portion is arranged so as to reciprocate in a region different from the region in which the partition plate moves when viewed along the transport direction.

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