JP7390721B2 - Meat plating device and meat plating method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a meat serving device for serving cut meat in a serving container, and a meat serving method using the meat serving device.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, as a device for serving meat in a serving container, a food storage device shown in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. In Patent Document 1, the sliced meat is scooped up and taken out from the meat conveyor by moving the scooping means to the forward side in the conveyance direction of the sliced meat and moving the slider of the scooping means toward the sliced meat side. After the hanging portion of the taken out sliced meat is folded by the folding means, it is arranged on a tray, thereby saving manpower in the arrangement work.

Patent No. 6618956

Conventionally, meat was sliced from a block of meat using a slicer, and each sliced meat was manually placed in a serving container. However, recent slicers cut one or a plurality of sliced meats each time they are placed in a serving container so that they can be transported as one group of meat, and then supply the sliced meat to a transport mechanism. Therefore, it has been desired to transfer a group of meat transported from a transport mechanism to a serving container as is.

In the plating method and plating device of Patent Document 1, the food is scooped up by a slider, folded, and then dropped into the plating container, thereby serving the food in the plating container. This method not only increases the size of the device, but also makes it impossible to arrange the food neatly. That is, due to the operation of scooping up the transported meat with a slider, folding it, and dropping it into the serving container, the sliced meat will be in a state different from the state in which it was transported.

Therefore, there has been a demand for a meat serving device that can transfer and serve the meat group being conveyed as it is in a serving container.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the meat platter device of the present invention transports a group of meat consisting of one or more pieces of cut meat to a gripping position by a meat transport mechanism, and transfers the group of meat to be gripped at the gripping position to the gripping position. A gripping mechanism that grips an end of the group of meat in the plating direction at the gripping position to form a cantilevered shape. a guide portion that is continuous from the top surface of the meat transport mechanism between the meat transport mechanism and the serving container ; It is characterized by having a moving mechanism for moving the opposite end in the serving direction while sliding on the guide part .

In addition, the moving mechanism for moving the gripping mechanism is configured such that, in a state where the meat group is held in a cantilevered manner by the gripping mechanism, an opposite end opposite to an end in the serving direction of the meat group is a meat conveying mechanism. It is preferable to have a rising moving part that rises while maintaining a state in contact with the upper surface, and a sliding moving part that slides the gripping mechanism raised by the rising moving part in the plating direction.

The gripping mechanism includes a rod of a predetermined length, a pressing member that presses the meat group from above, and a meat conveying mechanism that moves the rod from the side in the serving direction of the meat group to the lower side of the meat group. It is preferable to include a slide moving part inserted between the upper surface of the holder and the upper surface of the holder.

The rod extends from the base end in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction in plan view, and has a flat bottom surface, a curved surface on the side of the plating direction, and an inclined surface connecting the curved surface and the bottom surface. It is preferable that the intersection point where the curved surface and the inclined surface touch the bottom surface in a vertical direction from the top side thereof is located on the side in the serving direction with respect to the center point of the bottom surface in the curve direction. .

Further, the pressing body includes an inclined part that slopes downward from the side edge in the serving direction, and a pressing part disposed on the lower surface of the inclined part, and the inclined part can be moved around the position where it presses the meat group as a fulcrum. is preferred.

Further, it is preferable to include a push-down body that is movably positioned above the serving container and pushes down the meat group gripped by the gripping mechanism into the serving container.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the meat serving method of the present invention transports a group of meat consisting of one or more pieces of cut meat to a gripping position by a meat conveying mechanism, and transfers the group of meat to be gripped at the gripping position to the gripping position. A method of plating meat in a plating container located in a plating direction on the side of the conveyance direction from the position, the meat group being cantilevered by gripping an end of the group in the plating direction by a gripping mechanism at the gripping position. While holding the meat in a cantilever shape, the opposite end opposite to the end in the plating direction of the meat group slides on the guide part continuous from the top surface of the meat transport mechanism. , the meat group is moved in the serving direction by a moving mechanism and is served in the serving container.

In addition, the lifting portion of the moving mechanism allows the meat group to be held in a cantilevered manner by the gripping mechanism, and the opposite end of the meat group, which is opposite to the end in the serving direction, is moved to the meat conveying mechanism. It is preferable that the holding mechanism is raised while maintaining the state in contact with the upper surface, and that the gripping mechanism, which has been raised by the lifting movement part, is slid in the plating direction by a slide movement part of the movement mechanism.

According to the invention as set forth in claim 1, it becomes possible to transfer the transported meat group to the serving container as it is. In other words, by holding the conveyed meat group in a cantilevered manner by the side end in the plating direction and moving it in the plating direction, the conveyed meat group can be plated in the plating direction without losing its shape. It becomes possible to serve it in a container.
In addition, by having a guide section between the meat transport mechanism and the serving container, it is possible to slide the meat group while it is in contact with the ground, and the transported meat group can be transferred to the serving container as it is. It becomes possible to transfer.

According to the invention set forth in claim 2, it becomes possible to further transfer the transported meat group to the serving container as it is. That is, by holding the end of the meat group in a cantilevered manner in the serving direction and sliding the meat group with the opposite end in contact with the ground, the transported meat group can be transferred as is. In the conventional technology, a method is used in which the sliced meat is completely lifted and transferred to a tray, and due to the lifting and falling, the transported meat group loses its shape. By sliding the opposite end of the meat group while it is in contact with the ground, it becomes possible to transfer the meat group as it is.

According to the invention described in claim 3 , by gripping the ends of the meat group in the serving direction from above and below so as to sandwich the meat group from above and below, it is possible to grip the meat group without losing its shape when moving the meat group in the conveying direction. become. In addition, by gripping the meat by upper and lower pinching using the gripping mechanism, it is possible to handle meat groups having different shapes and thicknesses, and it is possible to provide a versatile device.

According to the invention described in claim 4, it is possible to easily insert the stick between the group of meat and the meat conveyance mechanism, and when the stick is removed from the group of meat after being plated in the serving container, the portion other than the part that is gripped is removed. By making corrections using the curved surface and the inclined surface, it becomes possible to transfer the transported meat group as it is to the serving container.

According to the invention set forth in claim 5, the inclined surface of the pressing body prevents the meat group from moving violently when moving in the plating direction, and furthermore, it is possible to transfer the transported meat group as it is to the plating container. can. Furthermore, by making the pressing part freely movable, it is possible to handle meat groups according to the thickness, and it is possible to provide a versatile device.

According to the invention described in claim 6, by pressing down from above the serving container with the pushing body, the meat group that has been gripped and moved can be arranged in an orderly manner in the serving container, and furthermore, the meat group that has been conveyed can be arranged as it is. It can be transferred to a serving container in its current state.

According to the invention set forth in claim 7, it becomes possible to transfer the transported meat group as it is to the serving container. In other words, by holding the conveyed meat group in a cantilevered manner by the side end in the plating direction and moving it in the plating direction, the conveyed meat group can be plated in the plating direction without losing its shape. It becomes possible to serve it in a container. In addition, by having a guide section between the meat transport mechanism and the serving container, it is possible to slide the meat group while it is in contact with the ground, and the transported meat group can be transferred to the serving container as it is. It becomes possible to transfer.

According to the invention as set forth in claim 8, it becomes possible to further transfer the transported meat group to the serving container in that state. That is, by holding the end of the meat group in a cantilevered manner in the serving direction and sliding the meat group with the opposite end in contact with the ground, the transported meat group can be transferred as is. In the conventional technology, a method is used in which the sliced meat is completely lifted and transferred to a tray, and due to the lifting and falling, the transported meat group loses its shape. By sliding the opposite end of the meat group while it is in contact with the ground, it becomes possible to transfer the meat group as it is.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the entire meat serving device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a group of meat as an example of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of the gripping position and serving position in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a gripping mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an end view of the gripping mechanism of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the gripping operation by the gripping mechanism, in which (a) is an end view showing the state before inserting the rod, (b) is an end view showing the state after insertion has started from the state in (a), and (c) (d) is an end view showing a state in which the pressing body is lowered, and (d) is an end view in a state in which the gripping mechanism is lifted by the lifting mechanism. 2 is a partially enlarged view for explaining the moving mechanism of FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the plating operation, in which (a) is an end view showing the state before reaching the plating position, (b) is an end view after reaching the plating position, and (c) is the lowering of the pressing body. (d) is an end view with the rod body pulled out.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the meat serving device 1 of this embodiment includes a meat conveying mechanism 10 that supplies the conveyed meat group 2S to a gripping position 15, and a gripping mechanism 30 that grips the conveyed meat group 2S. , and a moving mechanism 50 that moves the gripped meat group 2S to the serving position 72.

In this embodiment, a meat slice is sliced by a meat slicer (not shown) upstream of the meat transport mechanism 10, and a predetermined number of slices are transported in a partially overlapped state (meat group 2S). That is, as shown in FIG. 2, recent slicers slice and convey each group to be served in a serving container. The meat group 2S to be served in a serving container is generally made up of a plurality of thinly sliced meats stacked one on top of the other in a row at regular intervals in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the meat. Recent slicers transport the sliced meat group 2S in the scale row state from the meat transport mechanism 10. Therefore, the meat serving device 1 is required to serve the meat group 2S transported by the meat transport mechanism 10 in the serving container 71 in the same state.

The meat group 2S consists of one or more pieces of cut meat. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the explanation will be based on a meat group 2S consisting of a plurality of thinly sliced meat arranged in scales. It may be. In this embodiment, the meat to be served in the serving container is intended for one meat group 2S to be transported, but by applying this embodiment, one meat group 2S consisting of one or more pieces can be served. In addition, it is also possible to control so that a plurality of meat groups 2S are served in one serving container.

In the meat group 2S described in this embodiment, the longitudinal direction of each piece of meat is perpendicular to the transport direction of the meat transport mechanism 10 (direction of arrow A1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), and a plurality of meat In the case of a piece of cut meat, the next cut meat is shifted at a certain interval on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of one cut meat so that it partially overlaps, forming a scale array. In FIG. 2, the meat group 2S has a serving direction side end 2Sa, which is a position where the gripping mechanism 30 grips the end part on the serving direction side, which is one side in the conveyance direction, shown by a virtual line. An opposite end 2Sb opposite to the side end 2Sa and a central portion 2Sc are also shown with imaginary lines. When the gripping mechanism 30 grips the meat group 2S arranged in scales in this manner at the side end portion 2Sa in the serving direction, it is possible to grip all of the meat group 2S consisting of a plurality of overlapping pieces.

In this embodiment, the direction of arrow A2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is the serving direction. The plating direction is one side of the conveyance direction in plan view, and is not limited to a direction strictly orthogonal to the conveyance direction. Although it is desirable that the plating direction be perpendicular to the transport direction, the plating direction may not be exactly perpendicular to the transport direction (for example, the front-rear direction) depending on the arrangement position of the plating container and the gripping position 15 of the meat group 2S. This includes not only the direction (for example, the right direction in the left-right direction), but also the range before and after the direction.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, there is a gripping position 15 at the downstream side of the meat conveying mechanism 10 having a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction, where the gripping mechanism 30 grips the meat group 2S. The serving containers 71 are fed in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction when viewed from 15. The gripping mechanism 30 is moved by the moving mechanism 50 to serve the meat group 2S in the serving container 71.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, the serving container 71 is supplied by the serving container supply mechanism 70 to a serving position 72 where the meat group 2S is served. The serving position 72 is located on one side of the conveying direction from the gripping position 15, and is preferably located in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. The serving container 71 at the serving position 72 is preferably at the same height as the upper surface of the conveying section 11 or the guide section 5, or may be located at a slightly lower position as in this embodiment. This slightly lower position refers to a height difference of 10 mm or less that is allowed when feeding a group of meat with a length of 30 mm or more in the longitudinal direction. As will be described later, the height position of the flange 73 of the serving container 71 is approximately the same as the height of the conveyance section 11 or the guide section 5, in order to serve the meat group 2S that has been slid and moved in the same state as the conveyance state. Preferably, they are of the same height.

In this embodiment, the supply direction by the serving container supply mechanism 70 is parallel to the conveyance direction of the meat conveyance mechanism 10. In other words, the meat conveyance mechanism 10 and the serving container supply mechanism 70 are in a parallel state. Note that both the meat conveyance mechanism 10 and the serving container supply mechanism 70 are well-known conveyance means such as a belt conveyor.

The serving container 71 is a rectangular box with a bottom, and in this embodiment, a tray made of resin is used. The serving container 71 has a bottom portion large enough to place the meat group 2S without folding it, and has a rectangular frame-shaped flange 73 extending around the entire circumference of the upper edge of the box wall and protruding toward the outer circumferential side. . For example, the dimensions in the front-back direction are 120 to 280 mm, the dimensions in the left-right direction are 196 to 220 mm, the depth is 20 to 35 mm, and the shape is rectangular or square. Note that the serving container 71 may have any other box shape, such as a polygonal shape or a disk shape, as long as it has the flange 73.

First, the meat conveyance mechanism 10 will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the meat transport mechanism 10 has a transport section 11 that is wider than the longitudinal dimension of the meat group 2S and is an endless conveyor (band belt). The meat group 2S is placed on the transport surface) and transported from the upstream side to the downstream side along the transport direction. In the meat transport mechanism 10 shown in FIG. 3, the upstream side is on the left side in the drawing, and the downstream side is on the right side in the drawing. There is a gripping position 15 that is gripped by the gripping mechanism 30 downstream of the vicinity of the center in the longitudinal direction of the meat conveyance mechanism 10, and the meat group 2S conveyed upstream of this gripping position 15 is captured by the first imaging unit 20. It has a photographing position 17 for photographing.

The first photographing unit 20 is a camera disposed above the photographing position 17, and photographs the meat group 2S being transported by the meat transporting mechanism 10 from above. The photographing unit 20 is arranged so as to protrude from a side wall 23 that stands up on the side (in the serving direction) of the meat conveyance mechanism 10. The information on the photographed meat group 2S includes the shape of the meat, position information on the conveyor 11, etc., and specific information for specifying the position of the side end 2Sa (see FIG. 2) of the meat group 2S in the serving direction is also acquired, It is used to control the gripping operation by the gripping mechanism 30.

Next, the gripping mechanism 30 will be explained. In addition to FIGS. 1 to 3, as shown in FIG. 4, the gripping mechanism 30 includes a rod 32 and a pressing body 40. The gripping mechanism 30 of this embodiment inserts a rod 32 whose longitudinal direction is opposite to the conveying direction from the side in the serving direction of the meat group 2S between the upper surface of the conveying section 11 and the meat group 2S, and It is stopped at the position of the end 2Sa on the side in the plating direction, which is about 20 to 35 mm toward the center from the end on the side in the plating direction of the group 2S. A rod 32 is inserted below the side end portion 2Sa of the meat group 2S in the serving direction, and is pressed from above with a pressing member 40 to grip the meat group 2S.

The rod body 32 is in the shape of an elongated rod having a predetermined length, a base end 33 is connected to a moving mechanism 50 described later, and a distal end 34 is an open end. Although the length of the rod 32 in the longitudinal direction needs to be longer than the length in the transport direction of the meat groups 2S stacked one on top of the other with a certain width shift, the length is not particularly limited.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rod 32 has a horizontal bottom surface 35, a curved surface 36 that curves up from the side end of the bottom surface 35 in the serving direction, and a curved surface 36 that extends from the upper end of the curved surface 36 to the bottom surface 35. It has an inclined surface 37 that slopes downward to the end (lower edge 37a) opposite to the side end in the serving direction. The inclined surface 37 is inclined downward in the insertion direction of the rod 32, so that it can be easily inserted between the meat group 2S and the upper surface of the conveying section 11 from its lower edge 37a. The rod 32 in this embodiment preferably has a substantially triangular cross section as described above, but may have an elliptical or circular cross section, or may have another shape.

An imaginary straight line 36a drawn vertically downward from the upper side, which is tangent to the curved surface 36 and the inclined surface 37 of the rod 32, and an intersection 36b between this imaginary straight line 36a and the bottom surface 35 are arranged in the direction of the arrangement of the bottom surface 35. It is located on the serving direction side with respect to the center point 35a of the length, and the inclination angle θ1 of the inclined surface 37 is a relatively small angle (acute angle). Note that the virtual straight line 36a, the intersection 36b, and the center point 35a are all virtual and do not appear in the embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pressing body 40 has a lower surface (pressing portion 44) that contacts the upper surface of the meat group 2S, and is elongated in the direction opposite to the serving direction. The pressing body 40 is movable up and down in the vertical direction so as to approach and move away from the rod 32 by means of an elevating section 41, and is attached to the moving mechanism 50 via the elevating section 41. In other words, the pressing body 40 can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction independently from the rod 32 by the lifting section 41.

The pressing body 40 is shaped like a plate and has a lower surface (pressing portion 44) that slopes downward in a direction opposite to the serving direction. The pressing body 40 includes a base 42 movably fixed to the elevating part 41, a comb-shaped inclined part 43 protruding from the lower edge of the base 42 in a direction opposite to the serving direction, and fixed to the lower surface of the inclined part 43. It consists of a pressing part 44.

The inclined portion 43 has a plurality of teeth spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in a direction opposite to the mounting direction, and the plurality of teeth are inclined downward. The inclined portion 43 is configured such that a connecting edge 43a connected to the base portion 42 is located closer to the serving direction than the rod 32.

The pressing portion 44 exists above the rod 32 and is provided along the entire length of the rod 32 in the longitudinal direction. The pressing portion 44 serves as a contact plate that is inclined downward (θ2) toward the side opposite to the serving direction so as to follow the inclination of the inclined portion 43 . As shown in FIG. 5, the inclined surface of the pressing part 44 is not inclined at the same angle as the inclined surface 37 of the rod 32, and the distance from the inclined surface 37 in the vertical direction is on the opposite side to the serving direction. It is sloped gently to make it wider. Since the base portion 42 is movably fixed and is located closer to the serving direction than the rod 32, the pressing portion 44 is elastically supported via the inclined portion 43, and the thickness of the meat group 2S is According to this, the pressing portion 44 moves freely based on the position where it contacts the meat group 2S, thereby making it possible to change the inclination.

The initial position of the pressing body 40 is at a distance sufficiently longer than the thickness of the meat group 2S and upwardly away from the rod 32. The pressing body 40 uses an elevating part 41 to perform a gripping operation in which it approaches the rod 32 and pinches the meat group 2S together with the rod 32 from above and below, and a release operation in which it moves away from the rod 32 and releases the grip (pressing from above). I do.

This gripping operation will be explained. As shown in FIG. 6(a), the shape of the meat group 2S and the position on the conveyance section 11 are grasped by the first photographing section 20 described above, and the side end 2Sa of the meat group 2S in the serving direction (see FIG. 2) is ) to detect and confirm. The rod 32 is moved in the direction of serving the meat group 2S that has been conveyed to the gripping position 15. In this embodiment, it is sufficient that the rod 32 is located on the side of the meat group 2S in the plating direction at the gripping position 15, and after the rod 32 is moved to the gripping position 15, the meat group 2S is conveyed to the gripping position 15. The movement may be performed at the same time as the transportation.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the rod 32 is inserted from the lower end 37a of the inclined surface 37 between the lower surface of the meat group 2S and the upper surface of the transport section 11. Then, the rod 32 is inserted to the position of the side end 2Sa in the serving direction and the insertion is stopped. Further, as shown in FIG. 6(c), the pressing body 40 is lowered by the lifting portion 41 (see FIG. 5), and the gently inclined pressing portion 44 is pressed against and gripped the meat group 2S from above.

In this gripping, the rod 32 lifts the meat group 2S at the upper end of the inclined surface 37, and the pressing part 40 presses and grips it at the contact position of the pressing part 44, but this pressing is carried out along the longitudinal direction (conveying direction). It is in contact only linearly (as seen from the end surface), and together with the rod 32, it is gripped only by the end 2Sa of the meat group 2S on the side in the serving direction, and the end 2Sa of the meat group 2S on the side opposite to the side end 2Sa of the meat group 2S in the serving direction is held. The portion is opened, and the meat group 2S itself is held in a cantilevered state. When pressing (grasping) from above using the pressing body 40, the force is set to such an extent that the meat group 2S does not slip due to the frictional resistance of the pressing part 44, and the tissue of the meat group 2S is not crushed and destroyed.

Next, the moving mechanism 50 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 7, the moving mechanism 50 has degrees of freedom in three axial directions: upward movement in the vertical direction, sliding movement in the plating direction, and back and forth movement in the conveyance direction, and moves the rod body 32 and the pressing body 40. The gripping mechanisms 30 consisting of the following are collectively moved. By moving the gripping mechanism 30, the moving mechanism 50 slides the rod 32 to insert it between the meat group 2S and the conveyance unit 11, and raises and scoops up the gripped meat group 2S while gripping it. An upward movement, a sliding movement in the serving direction to transfer the meat group 2S from the gripping position 15 to the serving position 72, and a sliding movement in the conveying direction when moving the rod 32 to the gripping position or extracting it from the meat group 2S. Move back and forth.

As shown in FIG. 7, the moving mechanism 50 includes an ascending moving section 51 that moves the grasping mechanism 30 in the vertical direction, a slide moving section 52 that slides the grasping mechanism 30 in parallel to the serving direction, and the grasping mechanism 30. It consists of a back-and-forth moving section 53 that moves in the conveyance direction (back and forth direction). The movement mechanism 50 is driven and controlled by a control unit (not shown) such as a computer, and the control unit also serves as an information processing unit that processes information specified by the first imaging unit 20 and a second imaging unit 25 (described later). There is.

The ascending moving section 51 includes an ascending rail 51b provided along the vertical direction, an ascending traveling section 51c that moves while being guided by the ascending rail 51b, and an ascending drive source 51a that moves the ascending traveling section 51c. The ascending moving section 51 fixes the gripping mechanism 30 (the lifting section 41 of the rod 32 and the pressing body 40) to the ascending traveling section 51c, and as the ascending traveling section 51c moves, the gripping mechanism 30 (the rod 32 and the pressing body 40) can be moved reciprocally along the vertical direction.

The slide moving section 52 includes a slide rail 52b provided along the plating direction, a slide traveling section 52c that moves while being guided by the slide rail 52b, and a slide drive source 52a that moves the slide traveling section 52c. The slide moving section 52 fixes the rising moving section 51 to the slide running section 52c, and moves the rising moving section 51 reciprocally along the plating direction as the slide running section 52c moves.

The longitudinal moving section 53 includes a longitudinal rail 53b provided along the conveyance direction, a longitudinal running section 53c that moves while being guided by the longitudinal rail 53b, and a longitudinal drive source 53a that moves the longitudinal running section 53c. The back-and-forth moving section 53 fixes the slide moving section 52 to the back-and-forth running section 53c, and reciprocates the slide moving section 52 in the front-back direction as the back-and-forth running section 53c moves.

The gripping mechanism 30 can move in three axial directions: up and down, left and right (plating direction/sliding), and front and rear (conveying direction) by combining the movements of the movement mechanism 50 consisting of an upward movement section 51, a slide movement section 52, and a front and back movement section 53. It is possible to move to.

The operation of plating the meat group 2S gripped by the gripping mechanism 30 onto the serving container 71 by the moving mechanism 50 and the opening operation of the gripping mechanism 30 will be described. As described above, as shown in FIG. 6(d), the rod 32 and the pressing body 40 of the gripping mechanism 30 grip the meat group 2S at the side end 2Sa in the serving direction, and the meat group 2S is cantilevered. be grasped. In this state, the meat group 2S gripped by the gripping mechanism 30 is raised and lifted by the lifting portion 51.

In order to lift the meat group 2S by the upward movement section 51, it is necessary to keep the opposite end 2Sb, which is the open end, of the meat group 2S in contact with the upper surface of the conveyance section 11. If it is completely lifted, the meat group 2S will become unruly when moved in the direction of presentation, and it will not be possible to arrange the meat neatly in the conveyed state. The applicant has conducted research and development on transferring the transported meat group 2S to the serving container 71 as it is, and has grounded the cantilevered meat group 2S with the end 2Sb opposite the open end thereof. It has been found that sliding the meat group 2S in this state prevents the meat group 2S from losing its shape and allows it to be plated neatly while being transported. Therefore, the opposite end 2Sb of the meat group 2S is brought into contact with the upper surface 11a of the conveying section 11, and specifically, it is preferable that the opposite end 2Sb be raised by about 5 to 15 mm. This contact state excludes a state in which the open end side of the meat group 2S does not completely touch the ground, and it is sufficient that a part of the opposite end 2Sb of the meat group 2S is in contact. In the case of thinly sliced meat, most of the portion up to the center portion 2Sc of the meat group 2S is in contact with the ground, but thickly sliced meat such as steak meat has low elasticity and has a small portion in contact with the ground.

Next, the meat group 2S lifted by the ascending moving part 51 is moved by the slide moving part 52 in the direction in which the serving container 71 is placed, while being held by the gripping mechanism 30, as shown in FIG. 8(a). . The serving container 71 has already been supplied to the serving position 72 by the serving container supply mechanism 70 (see FIG. 1), and the meat group 2S is moved above the serving container 71 at the serving position 72.

Next, the operation of releasing the meat group 2S from the gripping mechanism 30 above the serving container 71 and serving the meat group 2S in the serving container 71 will be described. The serving position 72 has a push-down body 74 that presses the vicinity of the central portion 2Sc of the meat group 2S from above. The pressing body 74 is located above the serving container 71 placed at the serving position 72, and is placed so as to press down on the surface near the center portion 2Sc. Before operation (initial position), the pressing body 74 is located above the pressing body 40 that has moved to the serving position 72.

The pressing body 74 is capable of moving up and down in the up and down direction to approach and move away from the meat group 2S by means of an elevating portion 74a, and contacts the surface of the meat group 2S within a predetermined range in the serving direction and the conveyance direction. It has a lower surface. The lower surface of the pressing body 74 is a plate-shaped body having a downwardly convex semicircular curved surface shape. Due to this curved surface, the pushing body 74 can maintain a contact state in accordance with the state of the falling meat group 2S while making smooth contact with the meat group 2S.

The meat group 2S moved above the serving container 71 by the slide moving unit 52 is in a state as shown in FIG. 8(b). From this state, as shown in FIG. 8(c), the pressing body 74 is lowered by the elevating part 74a, and the pressing by the pressing body 40 is released while pressing the vicinity of the central part 2Sc of the meat group 2s. Then, as shown in FIG. 8(d), the bar 32 is pulled out by the slide moving unit 52 while being held down by the pressing member 74, and placed in the serving container 71. When the meat group 2S is placed on the serving container 71, the pressing body 74 rises and releases the pressing.

According to this plating method, the end portion 2Sa of the meat group 2S in the serving direction is gripped by the gripping mechanism 30, and the gripping mechanism 30 is raised while the opposite end portion 2Sb is kept in contact with the ground. is cantilevered, and the open end (opposite end 2Sb) is grounded. By moving the meat group 2S in the serving direction in this state, it is possible to move the meat group 2S in a sliding manner, and the meat group 2S does not move wildly or lose its shape. It becomes possible to arrange the items neatly.

Furthermore, the guide portion 5 for preventing the meat group 2S from losing its shape during transportation will be explained. Generally, when a meat conveyance mechanism and a serving container supply mechanism are arranged in parallel, a large gap is created between them. In the prior art, this gap is supplied to the tray using a hand or the like. As in this embodiment, when the meat conveyance mechanism 10 and the serving container supply mechanism 70 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 are arranged in parallel, there is a step between them (between the gripping position 15 and the serving position 72). It is preferable to eliminate gaps so that no gaps occur, and a guide portion that is continuous from the top surface of the meat conveying mechanism 10 is arranged. In particular, in the presentation of this embodiment, in order to move the opposite end 2Sb of the cantilevered meat group 2S while touching the ground, the same height is continuously maintained in the conveying direction without creating a large gap. A guide portion 5 is placed on a flat surface.

It is preferable that the guide part 5 continuous from the top surface of the meat transport mechanism has no gap between the top surface of the meat transport mechanism and the guide part 5, and that there is no step (height difference), but a small gap or a small step is allowed. Specifically, the gap in this embodiment is set to be 10 mm or less when the meat is about 30 mm long in the longitudinal direction, and the step difference is also set to 10 mm or less. It is preferable that this gap and step difference be the same between the guide portion 5 and the tray of the serving container supply mechanism 70.

Further, since the guide part 5 is a plate member having a horizontal upper surface, inclined surfaces 5a, 5a which are inclined from the upper surface to the lower surface are formed on the side edge of the guide part 5 on the grip position side and the side edge on the serving position side. be done.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the guide portion 5 can slide the opposite end portion 2Sb of the meat group 2S hanging down between the conveyance portion 11 and the serving position 72 due to its flat upper surface. Even if a gap or level difference of 10 mm or less occurs between the guide part 5 and the gripping position 15, and between the guide part 5 and the serving position 72, the sloped surfaces 5a, 5a which slope downwardly toward the outside, The gripped meat group 2S is moved to the serving position 72 while sliding on the guide part 5 without the ground contact part of the meat jumping and moving wildly.

Furthermore, although not shown, the serving container 71 may be partially inclined. Although the serving container 71 in FIG. 8(a) and the like has a planar shape, it may be inclined so as to rise from the front side (the guide portion 5 side) to the back side in the serving direction. By slanting in this manner, the fall height when the stick 32 is pulled out when serving the meat group 2S can be lowered, thereby further preventing the meat from losing its shape.

Next, control by the photographing units 20 and 25 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 1, in addition to the first photographing section 20 described above, there is a second imaging section extending from the side wall 23 of the meat conveying mechanism 10 and located on the conveying side wall 24 located on the side of the conveying position 72. A photographing section 25 is arranged. The second photographing unit 25 is a camera disposed above the serving position 72, and photographs the meat group 2S and the serving container 71, which are served in the serving container 71, from above. Information such as the meat group 2S photographed by the second photographing unit 25 consists of positional information on the shape and condition of the meat served in the serving container 71. Based on this position information, for example, the presence or absence of positional deviation from the center of the serving container 71 of the meat group 2S or the presence or absence of deviation on the serving container 71 of the meat group 2S is detected, and the next serving operation is corrected. do.

A control method using photographic information by the first photographing section 20 and the second photographing section 25 will be described. In the initial state, the meat group 2S is sliced by a slicer (not shown), and is transported on the transport section 11 toward the gripping position 15 by the meat transport mechanism 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, when the meat group 2S is transported to the photographing position 17, the first photographing section 20 photographs the shape of the meat group 2S. The photographing information is sent to the control unit, and if it is determined that the product is defective, the product is processed as defective without moving to a gripping operation. To dispose of defective products, for example, they are discharged from the transport section 11 into a container 80 exclusively for defective products.

Next, when it is determined that the product is not defective, the side end portion 2Sa in the serving direction is specified for each group of meat 2S to be transported, based on the photographic information from the first photographing unit 20. In this state, the rod 32 is placed on standby above the transport section 11. The first photographing unit 20 determines whether the meat group 2S is a defective product, and if it is determined that the meat group 2S is not a defective product, the gripping mechanism 30 moves to a gripping operation.

When the meat group 2S reaches the grasping position 15, it is positioned by the upward movement section 51, the slide movement section 52, and the forward and backward movement section 53 so that the bottom surface 35 of the rod 32 is along the upper surface 11a of the conveyance section 11 based on the photographic information. , placed on the side of the meat group 2S in the presentation direction. Then, the rod 32 is slid from the serving direction side of the meat group 2S to the side opposite to the serving direction by the slide moving unit 52, inserted between the meat group 2S and the upper surface 11a of the conveying unit 11, and detected. It is stopped at the position of the side end 2Sa in the serving direction.

After inserting the rod 32, the pressing body 40 is lowered and brought into contact with the meat group 2S, and the inclination of the pressing part 44 is elastically changed to grip the meat group 2S in a cantilevered manner with the rod 32. do. In this gripped state, the lifting portion 51 lifts up the serving direction side end 2Sa of the meat group 2S together with the gripping mechanism 30. This upward movement by the upward moving unit 51 is to lift the opposite end 2Sb of the meat group 2S to the ground, and may be uniformly set to a height of about 10 mm. The rising height may be changed according to the length information of the meat group 2S.

The gripping mechanism 30 is moved by the slide moving portion 52 in the plating direction from the gripping position 15 to the plating position 72 . With this movement, the gripped meat group 2S is transferred, and the opposite end portion 2Sb and central portion 2Sc of the meat group 2S that are in contact with the ground are moved so as to slide on the upper surface of the conveying section 11 and the upper surface of the guide section 5.

The meat group 2S is moved above the serving container 71 supplied to the serving position 72, and the opposite end portion 2Sb and center portion 2Sc of the meat group 2S hanging down are placed on the serving container 71. In this state, the pushing body 74 descends, elastically contacts the upper surface of the meat group 2S, and arranges the meat in the serving container 71 in an orderly manner. The pressing of the pressing body 40 is released at the same time as the pressing body 74 is lowered.

Further, while pressing down the meat group 2S from above with the pressing body 74, the rod 32 is pulled out from the meat group 2S by the slide moving section 52 and further moved from the serving position 72 in the serving direction. As a result, the grip by the gripping mechanism 30 is completely released, and the entire meat group 2S is served in the serving container 71. After serving, the pressing body 74 rises and returns to the initial position.

The meat group 2S arranged in the serving container 71 is further photographed by the second photographing section 25, and position information on the shape and condition of the meat arranged in the serving container 71 is sent to the control section. Based on the information provided by the second photographing unit 25, the presence or absence of positional deviation from the center of the serving container 71 of the meat group 2S, the presence or absence of deviation on the serving container 71 of the meat group 2S, etc. is detected, and the next movement mechanism 50 Correct the serving motion.

The serving container 71 in which the meat group 2S is served is discharged by the serving container discharge mechanism 75, and a new serving container 71 is supplied to the serving position 72 by the serving container supply mechanism 70.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Meat serving device, 5... Guide part, 5a... Inclined surface, 10... Meat conveyance mechanism, 11... Conveyance part, 15... Grasping position, 17... Photographing position, 20... First photographing part, 25... Second Photographing unit, 30... Gripping mechanism, 32... Rod, 33... Base end, 35... Bottom surface, 35a... Center point, 36... Curved surface, 36a... Virtual straight line, 36b... Intersection, 37... Inclined surface, 40... Pressing body, 44... Pressing part, 50... Moving mechanism, 51... Ascent moving part, 52... Slide moving part, 71... Placing container, 72... Placing position, 74... Pressing body, 2S... Meat group, 2Sa... Placing end in the attached direction, 2Sb...opposite end, 2Sc...center.

Claims (8)

A meat group consisting of one or more pieces of cut meat is conveyed to a gripping position by a meat conveying mechanism, and the meat group gripped at the gripping position is positioned in a plating direction on one side of the conveyance direction from the gripping position. The food is served in a serving container,
a gripping mechanism that grips an end portion of the meat group in the serving direction at the gripping position to form a cantilever shape;
a guide portion that is continuous from the top surface of the meat transport mechanism between the meat transport mechanism and the serving container;
It has a moving mechanism that moves the group of meat gripped by the gripping mechanism in the plating direction while the opposite end of the group of meat, which is opposite to the end in the plating direction, slides on the guide part. A meat serving device featuring: The moving mechanism for moving the gripping mechanism is arranged such that the gripping mechanism holds the meat group in a cantilevered manner, and the opposite end of the meat group, which is opposite to the end in the serving direction, is located on the upper surface of the meat conveying mechanism. 2. The meat platter according to claim 1, further comprising: a rising movement part that rises while maintaining a state in contact with the meat platter, and a slide movement part that slides the gripping mechanism raised by the rise movement part in the serving direction. attached device. The gripping mechanism includes a rod body of a predetermined length, a pressing body that presses the meat group from above, and a gripping mechanism that moves the rod body from the side in the serving direction of the meat group to the lower side of the meat group and the upper surface of the meat conveying mechanism. 3. The meat serving device according to claim 1, further comprising a slide moving section inserted between the meat plater and the slider . The rod extends from the base end in a direction opposite to the conveying direction in a plan view, and has a flat bottom surface, a curved surface facing in the plating direction, and an inclined surface connecting the curved surface and the bottom surface. death,
An intersection point where the curved surface and the inclined surface touch the bottom surface in a vertical direction from the top side thereof is located on the side in the serving direction with respect to the center point of the bottom surface in the curve direction. 3. The meat serving device according to 3 . The pressing body is comprised of a sloped part that slopes downward from the side edge in the serving direction, and a pressing part disposed on the lower surface of the sloped part, and the sloped part moves freely around the position where it presses the meat group as a fulcrum. The meat serving device according to claim 3 or 4 . Any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 , further comprising a push-down body that is movable up and down above the serving container and presses down the meat group gripped by the gripping mechanism into the serving container. The meat serving device according to item 1. A meat group consisting of one or more pieces of cut meat is transported to a gripping position by a meat transporting mechanism, and the meat group to be gripped at the gripping position is positioned in a plating direction that is to the side of the gripping position in the transporting direction. A plating method for serving in a plating container,
At the gripping position, the gripping mechanism grips the side end of the meat group in the serving direction to form a cantilever shape;
The meat is gripped in a cantilevered manner , and the opposite end opposite to the end in the plating direction of the meat group slides on the guide part continuous from the top surface of the meat transport mechanism, and the meat is moved by the moving mechanism. A meat plating method using a meat plating device, characterized in that the group is moved in a plating direction and plated on the plating container. The lifting portion of the moving mechanism causes the opposite end of the meat group, which is opposite to the end in the serving direction, to be placed on the upper surface of the meat conveying mechanism while the meat group is held in a cantilevered manner by the gripping mechanism. maintain the contact state and raise it,
8. The meat plating method using the meat plating apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the gripping mechanism raised by the upward moving part is slid in the plating direction by the sliding portion of the moving mechanism.

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