JP7281335B2 - Automatic weighing and binding device for long vegetables - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic weighing and binding device for long vegetables. More specifically, the present invention measures long vegetables, conveys them when they reach a predetermined weight, efficiently conveys them to a tying machine by providing storage during transportation, and ties them at a predetermined position continuously. It relates to an automatic weighing and binding device for long vegetables. In the present invention, "green onions" is not limited to white onions, Kujo green onions, etc., but is used in the sense of "long vegetables represented by green onions", including burdock, leek, spring onion, and asparagus. I am using it in a sense. In addition, spinach, Japanese mustard spinach and the like are also included in the term "elongated vegetables" as used in the present invention.

Long vegetables such as green onions are shipped and sold in bundles of fixed amounts. Since it takes a lot of labor to manually perform the weighing and bundling operations, devices for automating them have been proposed.

The applicant also has a conveying conveyor for green onions composed of a plurality of narrow belts or ropes hung in parallel with a predetermined gap, and a conveying conveyor provided above the most downstream part of the conveying conveyor, and on the conveying conveyor A binding machine that binds a bundle of green onions and a structure that discharges green onions that have reached a predetermined weight with an opening at the bottom. a weighing scale, a plurality of receivers for placing green onions from the weighing scale onto a conveying conveyor by raising and lowering, and a plurality of storing receivers for raising and lowering a range from below to above the conveying conveyor, (Patent Document 1).

As a device for cutting the roots of long onions conveyed by a conveyor, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a conveyor having a large number of long onion supports that support and convey the long onions at intervals, and a long onion carried on the conveyor. An abutting body for abutting the roots of the green onions, a posture adjusting body for adjusting the posture of the green onions on the conveyor and being pushed up and rotated by the green onions, and supporting the green onions on the conveyor from above. and a cutter that is rotatably provided on the same side as the abutting body in the conveying direction of the green onion and cuts the unnecessary portion of the root of the green onion supported by the green onion support. and a long green onion cutting device provided with.

Japanese Patent No. 3853147 JP-A-9-313151

With the device described in Patent Document 1, it has become possible to efficiently perform the binding work of green onions. However, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 cannot meet the needs of increasing the number of weighing units according to the production volume. Although it is possible to respond to an increase in production volume by adding two or three units of the same equipment, there was a demand for responding to an increase in production volume that was not necessary until multiple units were installed.

In addition, there has been a demand for rapid recovery in the event of a failure of consumables or parts. As green onions are perishable foods, delays in restoration may hinder shipping, and in the worst case, it may be necessary to dispose of deteriorated products.

In addition, in the device for cutting the root portion by pressing green onions against a cutter, such as the device described in Patent Document 2, there is a problem that the pressing force causes crushing during cutting, and frequent blade spills make it difficult to polish and replace the blade. The problem is that it is necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic weighing and binding device for long vegetables that can solve the above problems.

The automatic weighing and tying apparatus for long vegetables of the present invention comprises a conveyer for conveying long vegetables composed of a plurality of narrow conveying members hung in parallel with a predetermined gap, and a long vegetable conveying member having a predetermined weight. a scale for discharging the lengthy vegetables, a receiver provided opposite to the scale for placing the long vegetables from the scale on the conveyor by moving up and down in the gap of the conveyer, and adjacent to the receiver. an automatic weighing and tying device for long vegetables that adjusts the transfer interval of the long vegetables by the storage receiver for moving up and down the gap of the conveying conveyor, comprising: a first frame; A first weighing unit comprising a scale, said receiver, said reservoir, and a first distributed control device; and a second frame detachably connected to said first frame, said scale, said receiver, and said reservoir. , and a second dispersion control device; a third frame detachably connected to the first frame; and a binding unit comprising a binding machine for binding long vegetable bundles; a central controller communicatively connected to a controller and a second distributed controller, separating the first weighing unit, detachably connecting the second frame and the third frame, and Even if the second distributed control device and the central control device are communicably connected, the long vegetables can be weighed and tied , and the first weighing unit is a weighing device provided in the first weighing unit. one or more counters for measuring the number of operations of the , receiving, and/or receiving receiving for storage, wherein the first distributed controller transmits the measured values of the counters to the central controller; , one or more counters for measuring the number of operations of the scale, receiver, and/or storage receiver included in the second weighing unit, and the second distributed controller transmits the measured value of the counter to the central controller. It is characterized by transmitting .

The automatic weighing and binding apparatus for long vegetables may be characterized in that at least one weighing unit having the same configuration as the first weighing unit can be added.
The automatic weighing and binding apparatus for long vegetables may be characterized in that a plurality of weighing units having the same configuration as the first weighing unit can be added.

In the automatic weighing and tying apparatus for long vegetables, the first distributed control device controls the operation of the scale, receiver, and storage receiver provided in the first weighing unit, and the second distributed control device controls the operation of the It may be characterized by controlling the operation of the scale, the receptacle and the reservoir receptacle of the second metering unit.

In the automatic weighing and tying apparatus for long vegetables, the central control device may have a function of periodically transmitting the measured values of the counters of the weighing units to the management server via a network.
In the automatic weighing and binding apparatus for long vegetables, the binding unit includes a work stopper for temporarily stopping the long vegetables conveyed by the conveyer, and a shaping member provided on the work stopper, wherein the shaping member It has a contact surface with which the long vegetables conveyed by the conveyer come into contact and a top surface parallel to the conveying direction, and when the contact surface is pressed by the long vegetables, the top surface descends and the long vegetables are transported. may be characterized by shaping a bundle of

The automatic weighing and binding apparatus for long vegetables further comprises a binding machine for binding bundles of long vegetables and a root cutting unit for cutting the root portion of the bound long vegetables, which are provided downstream of the conveyer. , the root cutting unit may comprise an ultrasonic cutter.
In the automatic weighing and tying apparatus for long vegetables, the root cutting unit includes a holding mechanism that moves up and down in conjunction with an ultrasonic cutter, and the holding mechanism is movably supported to weigh the long vegetables by its own weight. It may be characterized by comprising a pressing member for pressing.

In the automatic weighing and binding apparatus for long vegetables, the root cutting unit includes a counter for measuring the number of operations of the ultrasonic cutter, and the central control device measures the counter included in the root cutting unit via a network. It may be characterized by having a function of periodically transmitting the value to the management server.
In the automatic weighing and tying apparatus for long vegetables, the weighing scale has a pair of double-sided bottom plates, and the end surfaces of the pair of bottom plates corresponding to the roots of the long vegetables are closed compared to the leaf-side end surfaces. The gap between the bottom plates may be narrow, and the end surfaces of the pair of bottom plates on the side of the leaves of the long vegetables may be formed with convex portions and concave portions that mesh with each other.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the automatic weighing-tying apparatus of long vegetables which can add a weighing unit according to the increase in a production amount.
Further, according to the automatic weighing and binding apparatus for long vegetables having a root cutting function, it is possible to cut the root portion of the long vegetables without crushing them during cutting.

According to the automatic weighing and binding device for long vegetables equipped with a counter for measuring the number of operations of receiving, storing and receiving, etc., it is possible to replace consumables before each device such as a cylinder fails.

It is a front view of the green onion weighing and binding device having a root cutting function according to the embodiment. 1 is a plan view of a green onion weighing and binding device having a root cutting function according to an embodiment; FIG. It is a principal part front view explaining the receiver and storage receiver which concern on embodiment. It is a principal part front view explaining the scale which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view explaining the weighing tank concerning an embodiment, and (A) shows the state where a bottom plate was opened, and (B) shows the state where a bottom plate was closed. It is a figure explaining the support plate of the load cell which concerns on embodiment, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is a side view. It is a figure explaining the work stopper at the time of bundling which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure explaining the binding unit of a preferable aspect, (A) is a perspective view which shows the position at the time of operation, (B) is a perspective view which shows the pulled-out position at the time of maintenance. It is a figure explaining the root cutting unit which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure explaining the bypass mechanism which concerns on embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a green onion weighing and binding device 1 having a root cutting function according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of a green onion weighing and binding device 1 having a root cutting function according to an embodiment.

A green onion weighing and binding device 1 includes a conveying conveyor 2, a conveying conveyor driving device 3, a first weighing unit 10, a second weighing unit 20, a bundling unit 30, and a root cutting unit 40. there is

The conveying conveyor 2 is composed of a plurality of conveying members 4 that are hung in parallel on rotating rollers (27, 28, 35, 36) with a predetermined gap. The conveying member 4 is made of a narrow belt, chain, or rope. As will be described later, when the first weighing unit 10 is added, the conveying member 4 is replaced with a belt, chain, or rope longer by the length of the added weighing unit. . The conveying conveyor 2 uses the upper surface of the conveying member 4 as a conveying surface for the green onions A, and is forcibly rotated by the conveying conveyor driving device 3 arranged in the binding unit 30 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the first weighing unit 10 includes a rectangular parallelepiped first frame 11, a first distributed control device 12, a weighing scale 13, a weighing tank 14, a receiver 15, and a storage receiver. 16a and 16b.

The first frame 11 is a frame that is detachably connected to a second frame 21 of the second weighing unit 20 and a third frame 31 of the bundling unit 30 to be described later. The first frame 11 has casters 111 and a stand 112 at four corners, and can be freely moved by disconnecting from the second frame 21 and the third frame 31 and contracting the stand 112. . A weighing scale 13 is arranged on the top of the first frame 11 , a weighing tank 14 is arranged in front of the weighing scale 13 , and a receiver 15 is arranged directly below the weighing tank 14 .

FIG. 3 is a front view of the essential parts with the panel provided in front of the first weighing unit 10 and the second weighing unit 20 removed. As shown in FIG. 3, a storage receiver 16a is arranged upstream of the receiver 15 (right side in FIGS. 1 to 3), and a storage receiver 16a is arranged downstream of the receiver 15 (left side in FIGS. 1 to 3). 16b are arranged.

The first distributed control device 12 controls the lifting operation of the receiver 15 and the storage receivers 16a and 16b. The first distributed control device 12 has information as to whether the receptacle 15 is at the raised position or the lowered position, and it is not shown that the green onions A were conveyed from upstream when the receptacle 15 was at the raised position. When detected by the sensor, the green onions A are scooped up by the storage receiver 16a and stored. The first distributed control device 12 monitors the retention of the green onions A in the bundling unit 30 with a sensor (not shown), and when the green onions are retained in the bundling unit 30, the storage receiver 16b scoops up the green onions A and stores them. to keep the transfer interval constant or adjust it to a suitable interval for bundling. When the storage receptacles 16a and 16b storing the green onions A move from the raised position to the lowered position, the stored green onions A are transferred to the conveying surface of the conveyer 2. As shown in FIG. The first distributed controller 12 is connected to the central controller 32 and the second distributed controller 22 by signal cables.

The weigher 13 measures the weight of the green onions A put into the weighing tank 14 . As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the weighing tank 14 includes a load cell 141 and a pair of opening/closing cylinders 143a and 143b for opening and closing bottom plates 142a and 142b. The receiver 15 rises, the bottom plates 142a and 142b are opened by the opening/closing cylinders 143a and 143b, and the spring onions A are transferred to the receiver 15. When the receptacle 15 holding the green onions A moves from the raised position to the lowered position, the held green onions A are transferred to the conveying surface of the conveyer 2 . The opening/closing cylinders 143a and 143b are provided with opening/closing counters (not shown), and the number of opening/closing operations of the bottom plates 142a and 142b is transmitted to the first distributed control device 12.

5A and 5B are plan views of the weighing tank 14, in which (A) shows a state in which the bottom plates 142a and 142b are open, and (B) shows a state in which the bottom plates 142a and 142b are closed. Bottom plates 142a and 142b constituting weighing tank 14 are movably disposed on tank frame 144 via hinges 145a and 145b. The bottom plates 142a and 142b are metal plates whose surfaces have been subjected to uneven processing (for example, WPC processing or embossing), and have end faces that mesh with each other. Straight root guards 146a and 146b are provided. The reason why the surfaces of the bottom plates 142a and 142b are roughened is to reduce the contact area so that the green onions can drop into the receiver 15 without problems even when they are wet. A plurality of engaging recesses 1421a, 1421b and protrusions 1422a, 1422b are provided on the end surfaces of the portions (leaf side) of the bottom plates 142a and 142b where the root guards 146a and 146b are not provided. The end faces of the portions (leaf side) where the root guards 146a and 146b of the bottom plates 142a and 142b are not provided have an appropriate gap so that the leaves of fallen onions are not caught when closing. It's becoming On the other hand, the gap between the root guards 146a and 146b is configured to be narrower than the end face where the root guards 146a and 146b are not provided so that the onions do not fall.

Load cells 141a and 141b provided below weighing tank 14 measure the weight of green onions introduced into weighing tank 14 via support plate 147 and fulcrum extension bar 149, as shown in FIG. The support plate 147 is supported by a fulcrum extension bar 149 via fulcrum members 148a and 148b. One end of the support plate 147 is supported by at least two fulcrum members 148a and 148b, and the fulcrum member provided at the other end is supported by a total of three or more points to suppress rattling. The other end of the support plate 147 may also be supported at two points, and may be supported at a total of four points or more.

As shown in FIG. 3, the receiver 15 is configured to be movable up and down by a lifting cylinder 151, and is lifted and lowered by the first distributed control device 12 at a predetermined timing. The lift cylinder 151 has a lift counter (not shown), and the number of lifts of the receiver 15 is transmitted to the first distributed control device 12 . The receiver 15 in the lowered position is positioned below the transport conveyor 2 . The elevating cylinder 151 is configured to be longer than other elevating cylinders and can be lifted up to the vicinity of the measuring tank 14, so that the impact when falling from the measuring tank 14 can be reduced.
In addition, in the time period when the green onions A are not delivered from the weighing tank 14 to the receiver 15, the receiver 1
5 may be made to act as a storage receiver. The amount of increase in this case may be set to be smaller than the amount of increase when receiving green onions A from the weighing tank 14 .

The storage receivers 16a and 16b are configured to be vertically movable by lifting cylinders 161a and 161b, and are lifted and lowered by the first distributed control device 12 at predetermined timings. The lift cylinders 161 a and 161 b are provided with lift counters (not shown), and the number of lifts of the storage receivers 16 a and 16 b is transmitted to the first distributed controller 12 . The storage receivers 16a and 16b in the lowered position are located below the transport conveyor 2. As shown in FIG.
Each lifting cylinder and each opening/closing cylinder described above can be configured by an air cylinder or an airless (electric cylinder). Each lifting cylinder may be configured by an electric cylinder whose lifting speed is adjustable, and by adjusting the lifting speed according to the stroke length, the tact time may be shortened or the lifting timing may be adjusted.

The second weighing unit 20 includes a rectangular parallelepiped second frame 21, a second distributed control device 22, a weighing scale 23, a weighing tank 24, a receiver 25, a storage receiver 26, an upper rotating roller 27 and a lower rotating A roller 28 is provided.

The second frame 21 is a frame body detachably connected to the first frame 11 of the first weighing unit 10 . The second frame 21 has casters 211 and stands 212 at four corners, and can be freely moved by disconnecting from the first frame 11 and contracting the stands 212 . As will be described later, the second frame 21 can also be detachably connected to the third frame 31 of the binding unit 30 . A weighing scale 23 is arranged on the top of the second frame 21 , a weighing tank 24 is arranged in front of the weighing scale 23 , and a receiver 25 is arranged directly below the weighing tank 24 . A storage receiver 26 is arranged downstream of the receiver 25 (left side in FIGS. 1 to 3).

The second distributed control device 22 controls the lifting operation of the receiver 25 and the storage receiver 26 . The second distributed controller 22 has information whether the receptacle 15 and the storage receptacle 16a of the first weighing unit 10 are in the raised or lowered position, and when the receptacle 15 or the storage receptacle 16a is in the raised position When a sensor (not shown) detects that the green onions A have been conveyed from upstream, the green onions A are scooped up by the storage receiver 26 and stored. The second distributed controller 22 is connected to the first distributed controller 12 by a signal cable, and can communicate with the central controller 32 via the first distributed controller 12 .

The weighing scale 23 is the same as the weighing scale 13, so the description thereof is omitted.
Since the weighing tank 24 is the same as the weighing tank 14, the description thereof is omitted.

The receiver 25 is configured to be vertically movable by a lifting cylinder 251, and is vertically moved by the second distributed control device 22 at a predetermined timing. The lift cylinder 251 has a lift counter (not shown), and the number of lifts of the receiver 25 is transmitted to the second distributed control device 22 . The receiver 25 in the lowered position is located below the transport conveyor 2 .

The storage receiver 26 is configured to be movable up and down by a lifting cylinder 261, and is lifted and lowered by the second distributed control device 22 at a predetermined timing. The lift cylinder 261 has a lift counter (not shown), and the number of lifts of the storage receiver 26 is transmitted to the second distributed control device 22 . The storage receiver 26 in the lowered position is located below the conveyer 2 .

The central controller 32 is communicably connected to the first distributed controller 12 and the second distributed controller 22 . The first distributed controller 12 is serially connected to the central controller 32 by a signal cable, and the second distributed controller 22 is serially connected to the first distributed controller 12 by a signal cable. That is, the central controller 32 can perform two-way communication with the first distributed controller 12 and the second distributed controller 22 via the signal cable connecting the first distributed controller 12 and the second distributed controller 22 . can.

The central controller 32 is serially connected to the first distributed controller 12 and the second distributed controller 22 so that the weighing units can be added flexibly. If the central controller 32 collectively controls the operation of the devices that make up each weighing unit, it is necessary to rewrite the control program of the central controller 32 when the number of weighing units increases or decreases. Therefore, in the embodiment, the operation control of the devices constituting each weighing unit is distributedly controlled by the distributed control device provided in each weighing unit, so that the number of weighing units can be increased or decreased without rewriting the control program of the central controller 32. made possible.

More specifically, the green onion weighing and binding device 1 of the embodiment can additionally include a third weighing unit having the same configuration as the first weighing unit 10 . The third weighing unit can be added upstream or downstream of the first weighing unit 10 .

For example, when installed on the upstream side of the first weighing unit 10, the third frame of the third weighing unit is detachably connected to the first frame 11 and the second frame 21, and the third distributed control of the third weighing unit is performed. The device is serially connected to the first distributed controller 12 and the second distributed controller 22 by signal cables respectively.

For example, when installed downstream of the first weighing unit 10, the third frame of the third weighing unit is detachably connected to the first frame 11 and the third frame 31, and the third distributed control of the third weighing unit The device is serially connected to the first distributed controller 12 and the central controller 32 by signal cables respectively.

A plurality of weighing units may be added. For example, it is disclosed that the number of weighing units is adjusted within a range of 4 to 10 units. That is, the welsh onion weighing and tying device 1 of the embodiment can additionally include a fourth weighing unit to an n-th weighing unit having the same configuration as the first weighing unit 10 .

The green onion weighing and binding device 1 of the embodiment separates the first weighing unit 10, connects the second frame 21 and the third frame 31, and serially connects the second distributed controller 22 and the central controller 32 with a signal cable. It can also be used by connecting and reupholstering the conveying member 4. - 特許庁That is, the second weighing unit 20, the binding unit 30, and the root cutting unit 40 constitute the green onion weighing and binding device 1, and the green onions A can be weighed, bound, and root cut.

Each distributed control device provided in each weighing unit has a function of receiving counter collection information from one neighboring distributed control device and transmitting the counter collection information to another neighboring distributed control device or the central control device 32. there is

The central controller 32 periodically transmits various counter collection information collected from the first distributed controller 12 and the second distributed controller 22 to a management server connected via the Internet network. When the number of operations of each device such as a cylinder exceeds a predetermined number of times, the management server outputs a message prompting the administrator to replace the device. This allows the manager to dispatch an engineer to the site to replace consumables before each device, such as a cylinder, fails. In addition, the central control unit 32 can control the operation status (energization, operation start, operation stop, abnormality), the number of weighing times and weighing values in each weighing unit, the number of receiving operations by each receiver and each storage receiver, the driving time of each conveyor, and bundling. The number of bundling by the machine 34, the number of payouts, etc. may be transmitted to the management server.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the binding unit 30 includes a rectangular parallelepiped third frame 31, a central control device 32, an operation unit 33, a binding machine 34, an upper rotating roller 35, and a lower rotating roller 36. and

The operation unit 33 includes a touch panel for displaying the operation status of the first weighing unit 10, the second weighing unit 20, the bundling unit 30 and the root cutting unit 40. can be input to the central controller 32 . Note that the central control device 32 and the operation section 33 do not need to be provided in the binding unit 30, and can be installed in any one of the first weighing unit 10, the second weighing unit 20 and the root cutting unit 40, or in a place away from each unit. may be provided. When the central control device 32 and the operation section 33 are not provided in the binding unit 30, it is also possible to omit the binding unit 30 and combine other units.

The binding machine 34 bundles and binds the green onions A conveyed in weighing units one by one. The binding machine 34 can be configured with a known positioning device disclosed in US Pat. This positioning device is composed of an endless chain provided parallel to the conveyor 2 and a positioning arm fixed to the endless chain for moving the screws A on the conveyor 2 to the positioning arm positioned downstream. By the operation of the positioning arm, a plurality of spring onions A are molded into a substantially cylindrical shape in side view.

The tying machine 34 can be constituted by a known tying device with a packer, a tying needle, a knot holder and a knot maker consisting of a knotter bill, and a release (door) (see FIG. 5 of US Pat. ), and in the embodiment, a bundling work stopper 61 provided with a shaping member 62 is employed (see FIG. 7). The shaping member 62 is biased by an elastic member 63, and when the green onions A come into contact with the surface positioned in the conveying direction, the shaping member 62 rotates in the conveying direction about the fulcrum 64, and the upper surface of the shaping member 62 is positioned so that the green onions A are placed on the top surface of the shaping member 62. It acts to hold down the upper end. By this action, the green onions A before binding are arranged in a substantially circular shape when viewed from the root side. Note that the shape of the shaping member 62 does not have to be L-shaped when viewed from the side, and a member having a contact surface 62a positioned in the conveying direction and a top surface 62b substantially parallel to the conveying direction is sufficient. The contact surfaces 62a and 62b are preferably continuous via a curved surface. In the binding machine 34, when the green onions A of a predetermined weight are arranged at the binding position of the transport conveyor 2, the needle and the knot forming part are actuated to bind them with a rubber string or the like. When the green onions A are bundled, the positioning arm is lifted to open the downstream passage, and the onions are sent out onto the unloading conveyor 42 of the root cutting unit 40 .

The preferred embodiment binder 34 is positioned on slide rails 38a and 38b via sliders 37a and 37b, as shown in FIG. According to the aspect provided with the slider mechanisms (37a, 37b, 38a, 38b), the binding machine 34 can be positioned at a place protruding from the side of the binding unit 30 during maintenance, which facilitates maintenance work ( See FIG. 8(B)).

The root cutting unit 40 includes a fourth frame 41, an unloading conveyor 42, a blade lifting device 43, an ultrasonic cutter 44, a sensor 45, an ultrasonic generator 46, and an unloading conveyor driving device 47. .
The fourth frame 41 is a frame that supports each device of the root cutting unit 40 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the unloading conveyor 42 is provided so that the most upstream part enters the most downstream part of the transport conveyor 2, and is composed of a motor arranged on the fourth frame 41. It is driven by the driving device 47 and supplies the root-cut green onions A to the next process such as packing.

The blade elevating device 43 is a motor that elevates the ultrasonic cutter 44 . When the sensor 45 consisting of a photoelectric sensor or the like detects the passage of the bundled green onions A, the work stopper 55 descends during root cutting, which will be described later, and the blade lifting device 43 moves the root portion of the green onions A whose transportation has been stopped. The ultrasonic cutter 44 is lowered to cut. The blade lifting device 43 includes a lifting motor (or cylinder) and a lifting counter (not shown). When the ultrasonic cutter 44 is used more than a certain number of times, the blade may become damaged. Therefore, the central control unit 32 periodically transmits the number of times of lifting and lowering to the management server. Goods can be replaced in a timely manner.

The ultrasonic cutter 44 cuts the welsh onions A with a pressing force substantially equivalent to its own weight (for example, about 1 kgf) by applying ultrasonic vibrations of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of times per second to the cutting edge in the cutting direction. be able to. Since the ultrasonic cutter 44 does not generate an excessive pressing force on the green onions A, it is possible to solve the problem of crushing of the cut surface of the green onions that has conventionally occurred during cutting. The ultrasonic vibration applied to the cutting edge of the ultrasonic cutter 44 can be varied within a predetermined frequency range by the ultrasonic generator 46 . In the embodiment, an ultrasonic wave generator having an oscillator with an oscillation frequency of 28.5 kHz and a nominal output of 350 W (continuous output of 170 W) was used, and the output was in the range of 30% to 100%.

The ultrasonic cutter 44, as shown in FIG. When the ultrasonic cutter 44 is moved up and down by the blade lifting device 43 , the spring onion holding mechanisms ( 51 , 52 ) are also moved up and down together with the ultrasonic cutter 44 .

The spring onion pressing mechanism is composed of a pressing member 51 and a pressing member support portion 52 . The pressing member 51 is a block-shaped member that presses the green onions A from above, and has a surface made of resin or the like. The pressing member 51 is detachably connected to a rod 53 inserted through the pressing member support portion 52 . The rod 53 inserted through the pressing member support portion 52 is not fixed, and the spring onions A are pressed by the weight of the pressing member 51 and the rod 53 . Therefore, even if each welsh onion has individual differences and the height of each bundle of welsh onions A is different, the same pressing action can be achieved without being affected by the difference in height. The rod 53 may be configured such that one or a plurality of adjustment weights 54 can be inserted therethrough. By providing the pressing mechanisms (51, 52), it is possible to stably perform cutting with the ultrasonic cutter 44. FIG.

A work stopper 55 for root cutting is arranged on the side of the spring onion pressing mechanism. The root cutting work stopper 55 is a member for holding the green onions A transported from the unloading conveyor 42 at the root cutting position, and is moved up and down by the stopper drive section 56 .

As shown in FIG. 10, bypass conveyors 71a to 71c are arranged at the end of the unloading conveyor 42. As shown in FIG. The bypass conveyors 71a to 71c are normally accommodated in the carry-out conveyor 42 (see 71a in FIG. 10), but when it is necessary to bypass the green onions A before packaging (for example, it is provided in the post-process). When the packaging material (film) of the packaging machine needs to be replaced), the end of the unloading conveyor 42 is moved to the extended position (see 71b and 71c in FIG. 10) to form a bypass.

According to the green onion weighing and tying device 1 of the embodiment described above, the number of weighing units can be increased from one to a plurality of units, so it is possible to flexibly expand the device according to an increase in production volume. be. In addition, when adding a weighing unit, it is sufficient to connect the additional distributed control unit to the adjacent distributed control unit and/or the central control unit with a signal cable, so expansion work can be done easily without rewriting the program. It is possible to
Moreover, by adopting the ultrasonic cutter 44, it is possible to reduce the adhesion of chips to the blade, so that cleaning work can be reduced.

Furthermore, by periodically sending the number of operations of each device such as cylinders to the management server connected via the Internet network, it is possible to grasp the replacement timing of consumables before each device such as cylinders breaks down. , the replacement timing of the blade of the ultrasonic cutter 44 can be grasped.

A Green onions 1 Green onions weighing and binding device 2 Conveyor conveyor 3 Conveyor drive device 4 Conveying member 10 First weighing unit 11 First frame 12 First distributed control device 13 Weighing scale 14 Weighing tank
15 Receivers 16a, 16b Storage receiver 20 Second weighing unit 21 Second frame 22 Second distributed control device 23 Weighing scale 24 Measuring tank 25 Receiver 26 Storage receiver 27 Upper rotating roller 28 Lower rotating roller 30 Binding unit 31 Third frame 32 Center Control device 33 Operation unit 34 Binding machine 35 Upper rotating roller 36 Lower rotating rollers 37a, 37b Sliders 38a, 38b Slide rail 40 Root cutting unit 41 Fourth frame 42 Unloading conveyor 43 Blade lifting device 44 Ultrasonic cutter 45 Sensor 46 Ultrasonic wave generation Device 47 Unloading conveyor driving device 48 Connecting device 51 Pressing member 52 Pressing member support portion 53 Rod 54 Weight for adjustment 55 Work stopper 56 for root cutting Stopper driving portion 61 Work stopper 62 for bundling Shaping member 62a Shaping member contact surface 62b Shaping Member top surface 63 Elastic member 64 Fulcrum 71a to 71c Bypass conveyor 111 Caster 112 Stands 141a, 141b Load cells 142a, 142b Bottom plates 143a, 143b Opening and closing cylinders 144a, 144b Weighing tank frames 145a, 145b Hinge 146a, 146b Root guard 147 Support plate 148a, 148b fulcrum member 149 fulcrum extension bar 151 lift cylinder 161a, 161b lift cylinder 211 caster 212 stand 251, 261 lift cylinder 1421a, 1421b concave portion 1422a, 1422b convex portion

Claims (10)

a conveyer for conveying long vegetables composed of a plurality of narrow conveying members hung in parallel with a predetermined gap;
a weighing device that discharges long vegetables that have reached a predetermined weight;
A receiver provided opposite to the weighing scale to move up and down the gap of the conveying conveyor to place the long vegetables from the weighing scale onto the conveying conveyor; An automatic weighing and binding device for long vegetables, comprising a storage receiver that moves up and down, wherein the storage receiver adjusts the transfer interval of the long vegetables,
a first weighing unit comprising a first frame, said weighing scale, said receiver, said reservoir receiver, and a first distributed controller;
a second weighing unit comprising a second frame detachably coupled to the first frame, said weighing scale, said receiver, said reservoir receiver, and a second distributed controller;
a binding unit comprising a third frame detachably connected to the first frame and a binding machine for binding a bundle of long vegetables;
a central controller communicatively connected to the first distributed controller and the second distributed controller;
Even if the first weighing unit is separated, the second frame and the third frame are detachably connected, and the second distributed control device and the central control device are communicably connected, the long vegetables can be produced. be able to carry out weighing and bundling operations ;
The first weighing unit comprises one or more counters for measuring the number of operations of the weighing scale, the receptacle, and/or the storage receptacle included in the first weighing unit, and the measured value of the counter is measured by the first distributed control device. transmitting to said central controller;
The second weighing unit comprises one or more counters for measuring the number of operations of the weighing scale, the receptacle, and/or the storage receptacle provided in the second weighing unit; is sent to the central control device . 2. The automatic weighing and tying apparatus for long vegetables according to claim 1, wherein at least one weighing unit having the same configuration as said first weighing unit can be added. 2. The automatic weighing and tying device for long vegetables according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of weighing units having the same configuration as the first weighing unit can be added. said first distributed controller controlling the operation of a weighing scale, receiver and reservoir included in said first weighing unit;
4. The automatic weighing of long vegetables according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second distributed control device controls the operation of the scale, receiver, and storage receiver provided in the second weighing unit. Weighing and binding device. 5. The long vegetables according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the central control unit has a function of periodically transmitting the measured values of the counters provided in each weighing unit to a management server via a network. Automatic weighing and binding device. The binding unit comprises a work stopper that temporarily stops the long vegetables conveyed by the conveyer, and a shaping member provided on the work stopper,
The shaping member has a contact surface with which the long vegetables conveyed by the conveyer come into contact and a top surface parallel to the conveying direction, and when the contact surface is pressed by the long vegetables, the top surface descends. 6. The automatic weighing and tying device for long vegetables according to claim 1 , wherein the bundle of long vegetables is shaped by pressing the bundle of vegetables. In addition, it is equipped with a root cutting unit that cuts off the root part of the tied long vegetables,
7. The automatic weighing and binding device for elongated vegetables according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the root cutting unit comprises an ultrasonic cutter. The root cutting unit has a holding mechanism that moves up and down in conjunction with the ultrasonic cutter,
8. The automatic weighing and tying device for long vegetables according to claim 7 , wherein the pressing mechanism is movably supported and has a pressing member that presses the long vegetables by its own weight. The root cutting unit includes a counter for measuring the number of operations of the ultrasonic cutter,
9. The automatic weighing and tying of long vegetables according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the central control device has a function of periodically transmitting the measured value of the counter provided in the root cutting unit to the management server via the network. Device. The scale comprises a pair of double-door bottom plates,
The end surfaces of the pair of bottom plates corresponding to the root portion of the elongated vegetable are configured to have a narrower gap when closed than the end surfaces on the leaf side,
10. The automatic weighing and binding of long vegetables according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , characterized in that the end surfaces of the pair of bottom plates on the leaf side of the long vegetables are formed with engaging projections and recesses. Device.

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