JP7464919B2 - Harvesting Machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a harvester, in particular a harvester for harvesting crops including fruit.

There are devices that harvest fruits such as tomatoes along with their stems and leaves, and separate the fruit from the stems and leaves. Patent Document 1 is one example, and relates to a device that vibrates the rods while the fruit is placed on a separation shelf that has multiple rods spaced apart from each other, shaking the fruit off from the stems and leaves. The fruit falls through a drop hole formed between the rods. Meanwhile, the stems and leaves from which the fruit has been separated are sent to the rear end of the device and released backwards.

JP 2015-202080 A

The inventors have found that in devices for shaking off fruit from crops, such as the device in Patent Document 1, it may be difficult to adequately separate the fruit from the stems and leaves. If the fruit is not separated from the stems and leaves, the stems and leaves will be released from the device with the fruit remaining on them.

The object of the present invention is to provide a harvester that is able to separate fruit from the stems and leaves without leaving any fruit behind.

The present inventors noticed the following problems with the device of Patent Document 1. In the device of Patent Document 1, fruit may be difficult to separate from the stems and leaves because there are differences in the ease with which fruits are separated from the stems and leaves due to factors such as variations in the growth stage of the fruit. In the case of fruit that is difficult to separate from the stems and leaves, the device of Patent Document 1 causes the crop on the separation shelf to move quickly to the rear of the separation shelf before the fruit has time to separate from the stems and leaves, and the crop is released with the fruit still attached to the stems and leaves. Therefore, the present inventors arrived at the following invention in order to solve the above problems.

The harvester of the present invention comprises a crop conveying mechanism for conveying a crop including fruit and stems and leaves, and a fruit separating mechanism for receiving the crop from the crop conveying mechanism , separating the fruit from the stems and leaves of the crop, and discharging the crop from which the fruit has been separated in one direction. The fruit separating mechanism comprises a fruit receiving tray on whose upper surface a drop opening for the fruit falls and on which the crop received from the crop conveying mechanism is placed, a vibration mechanism for vibrating the fruit receiving tray and causing the fruit that has been separated from the stems and leaves of the crop on the fruit receiving tray to fall through the drop opening, and a separation promotion mechanism having a plurality of protrusions that protrude from above the fruit receiving tray toward the fruit receiving tray and come into contact with the crop on the fruit receiving tray, and which makes it easier to separate the fruit from the crop by vibrating the protrusions in the vertical direction while moving them in one direction.

According to the harvester of the present invention, the separation promotion mechanism provided above the fruit receiving table makes it easier to separate the fruit on the fruit receiving table from the stems and leaves, as follows. That is, the protrusions provided on the separation promotion mechanism contact the crop on the fruit receiving table and press the crop downward. This ensures time for the crop to remain on the fruit receiving table. Therefore, time is ensured for the fruit to be separated from the stems and leaves by the vibration of the fruit receiving table. In addition, the protrusions vibrate in the vertical direction, so that the crop is struck from above by the protrusions. As a result, the entire crop spreads along the upper surface of the fruit receiving table and is shaken by the vibration of the fruit receiving table. Therefore, each fruit becomes more susceptible to the vibration of the fruit receiving table and is more likely to be separated from the stems and leaves. As described above, the separation promotion mechanism makes it easier to separate the fruit from the stems and leaves. Therefore, fruit is less likely to remain on the stems and leaves released from the fruit separation mechanism.

In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that the multiple protrusions come into contact with the upper surface of the fruit receiving table, and the vibration of the fruit receiving table is transmitted to the multiple protrusions, causing the multiple protrusions to vibrate in the vertical direction. This eliminates the need to provide a means for vibrating the protrusions separately from the vibration mechanism of the fruit receiving table. This simplifies the device configuration.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the separation promotion mechanism has a plate member to which the multiple protrusions are fixed and a movement mechanism that moves the plate member in the one direction. This allows the movement mechanism for the protrusions to be realized with a simple configuration.

In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that the movement mechanism includes an endless chain to which the plate member is fixed, and a number of sprockets around which the chain is wound. In this way, the protrusion is supported by the chain. Therefore, when the protrusion comes into contact with the upper surface of the fruit receiving table and is flipped up, the chain is pushed up by the protrusion and shook in the vertical direction. This configuration makes it easier for the protrusion to vibrate.

In the present invention, it is also preferable that each of the multiple protrusions is made of a rod-shaped member that is curved so as to protrude toward the fruit receiving tray and has both ends fixed to the plate member. This makes it less likely that the protrusions will get caught on the stems and leaves of the crops, compared to when one end of a rod-shaped member is fixed to the plate member and the other end protrudes toward the fruit receiving tray.

In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that the separation promotion mechanism is rotatable about its rear end, and that the movement of the separation promotion mechanism is restricted so that the separation promotion mechanism can move above a predetermined position but cannot move below the predetermined position. In this way, when the vibration of the protrusion becomes large to a certain extent, the entire separation promotion mechanism swings. This prevents the vibration of the protrusion from becoming too large and causing an excessive load to be placed on the protrusion itself or on the member supporting the protrusion.

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a tomato harvester according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the conveying device of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the separation device of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fruit receiving platform forming the lower part of the separating device of FIG. 3; 4 is a plan view of the protrusions and plates in the separation promotion section constituting the upper portion of the object separation device of FIG. 3, and the mechanism for moving these.

A tomato harvester 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5. In the following specification, the directions of front, rear, left and right are those as seen from a person facing the forward direction of the tomato harvester 1. The tomato harvester 1 is a machine that harvests tomatoes while traveling in a field. As shown in Fig. 1, the tomato harvester 1 is equipped with a main frame 2, a driver's seat 3, an intake conveying section 100 (crop conveying mechanism in the present invention) that takes in tomatoes from the field together with their stems and leaves and conveys them rearward, a separation device 200 (fruit separating mechanism in the present invention) that separates the tomatoes from the stems and leaves, a rear conveying section 300 that conveys the separated tomatoes to a storage section (not shown), and a crawler-type running section 400. Of the components of the tomato harvester 1, the intake conveying section 100 and the separation device 200 are generally located on the left side of the machine body, and the driver's seat 3 and the storage section are generally located on the right side of the machine body.

The main frame 2 is a frame body made up of multiple rod-shaped members, etc., and forms the housing of the rear half of the tomato harvester 1. The main frame 2 is supported by the running section 400. The main frame 2 supports the intake conveying section 100, the separating device 200, and the rear conveying section 300.

The intake conveying section 100 is provided in the front half of the tomato harvester 1, and as shown in FIG. 2, has an intake section 110 and a front conveying section 120 arranged below it. Both the intake section 110 and the front conveying section 120 extend obliquely upward toward the rear from the front and lower end positions of the tomato harvester 1. The intake section 110 includes an endless belt 111, a driving sprocket 112 around which the belt 111 is wound, a driven sprocket 113, and guide sprockets 114 and 115. The belt 111 has a conveyor chain 111a and a plate 111b fixed to the conveyor chain 111a. A plurality of protrusions 116 and a partition plate 117 are fixed to the plate 111b. The protrusions 116 and the partition plate 117 protrude outward from the outer circumferential surface of the belt 111. The protrusions 116 are rod-shaped members arranged in the left-right direction and in the running direction of the belt 111. The partition plate 117 extends from the left end to the right end of the belt 111. The drive sprocket 112 is disposed at the rear end of the take-in section 110 and is driven by a motor (not shown). The driven sprocket 113 is disposed at the front end of the take-in section 110 and is driven by the movement of the belt 111. The guide sprockets 114 and 115 guide the belt 111 so that it runs along a conveying path near the front conveying section 120. The front conveying section 120 has an endless belt 121 and a drive sprocket 122 and a driven sprocket 123 around which the belt 121 is wound. The drive sprocket 122 is driven by a motor (not shown).

When the drive sprockets 112 and 122 are driven, the belt 111 runs counterclockwise and the belt 121 runs clockwise in FIG. 2. The belt 111 runs between the guide sprocket 114 and the guide sprocket 115 such that the protrusion 116 and the tip (lower end) of the partition plate 117 move in the vicinity of the belt 121 along the belt 121 in the direction A. The belt 121 moves along the direction B. As the belts 111 and 121 run, tomatoes on the field G are taken in as follows and transported backward. First, at the front end of the take-in section 110, the protrusion 111a takes in the tomatoes on the field G together with their stems and leaves toward the rear. The taken-in tomatoes and stems and leaves are placed on the belt 121 at the front end of the front transport section 120. The tomatoes and stems and leaves on the belt 121 are picked up by the protrusions 116 and partition plate 117 of the belt 111 that runs between the guide sprockets 114 and 115, and are transported to the rear end of the front conveying section 120 as the belt 121 runs. At this time, tomatoes may attempt to roll forward on the belt 121, but the partition plate 117 prevents the tomatoes from falling. The tomatoes and stems and leaves transported to the rear end of the front conveying section 120 are handed over to the separation device 200.

As shown in FIG. 3, the separation device 200 has a fruit receiving platform 210 and a separation promotion section 250 (separation promotion mechanism in the present invention). As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the fruit receiving platform 210 has a frame body 211, a plurality of rod-shaped members 212 fixed to the upper part of the frame body 211, a swinging member 220 provided on the side of the frame body 211, and a crank mechanism 230 (vibration mechanism in the present invention) provided in the front part of the frame body 211. The frame body 211 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction in a plan view, and is composed of a front side plate 211a, a rear side plate 211b, a right side plate 211c, and a left side plate 211d corresponding to the four sides of the rectangle. The rod-shaped member 212 extends linearly along the front-rear direction, and its front part is fixed to the side of the front side plate 211a and its rear part is fixed to the upper surface of the rear side plate 211b. An opening 215 (the drop hole in this invention) is formed between the rod-shaped members 212.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the swinging member 220 has an upper rotating body 221, a lower rotating body 222, and an arm portion 223 connecting the upper rotating body 221 and the lower rotating body 222. The upper rotating body 221 is a member having a rough rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is supported by a fixed plate 226 fixed to the left side plate 211d so as to be rotatable about a central axis C1 (see Fig. 4) perpendicular to the left side plate 211d. The arm portion 223 extends downward and diagonally backward from the upper rotating body 221 to the lower rotating body 222. The lower rotating body 222 is a member having a rough rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is supported by a fixed plate 227 fixed to the main frame 2 so as to be rotatable about a central axis C2 (see Fig. 4) perpendicular to the left side plate 211d. This allows the swinging member 220 to swing in the D direction around the central axis C2. The D direction is a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the arm portion 223. The swinging members 220 are provided at the front and rear of the left side plate 211d. They are also provided at the front and rear of the right side plate 211c. In other words, a total of four swinging members 220 are provided on the side of the frame body 211. In this way, the frame body 211 is supported by the four swinging members 220 so that it can slide (move parallel) in the swinging direction, that is, direction D.

The front plate 211a of the frame body 211 is provided with a connection part 213 with the crank mechanism 230. The crank mechanism 230 has a motor 231, a rotating plate 232 that rotates in the E direction by the motor, and a crank arm 233 connected near the end of the rotating plate 232. The front end of the crank arm 233 is supported by the rotating plate 232 so as to be rotatable about the central axis C3. The rear end of the crank arm 233 is supported by the connection part 213 so as to be rotatable about the central axis C4. When the motor 231 rotates the rotating plate 232, the rotational motion of the rotating plate 232 is transmitted to the frame body 211 through the crank arm 233. As described above, the frame body 211 is supported by the four swinging members 220 so as to be slidable in the D direction. Therefore, the rotational motion of the rotating plate 232 is converted into a reciprocating motion that slides along the D direction by the crank arm 233. In other words, the frame body 211 vibrates so as to slide along the D direction.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the separation promotion part 250 has an endless chain 251, a driving sprocket 252 and a driven sprocket 253 around which the chain 251 is wound, a pair of sub-frames 254 provided on the left and right, a plate 255 (a plate member in the present invention) fixed to the chain 251, and a protrusion 256 fixed to the plate 255. There are four chains 251, four driving sprockets 252, and four driven sprockets 253, which are arranged at equal intervals in the left-right direction. The chain 251 extends along the front-rear direction. The driving sprocket 252 is fixed to a rotating shaft 257 extending along the left-right direction and is disposed at the rear of the separation promotion part 250. The rotating shaft 257 is rotatably supported at the rear end of the sub-frame 254 and is driven by a motor (not shown). When the rotating shaft 257 is driven, the driving sprocket 252 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3 around the rotating shaft 257. As a result, the chain 251 moves in the G1 and G2 directions in FIG. 3. The driven sprocket 253 is fixed to a rotating shaft 258 extending in the left-right direction and is disposed in the front of the separation promotion unit 250. The rotating shaft 258 is rotatably supported at the rear end of the sub-frame 254. The driven sprocket 253 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3 following the chain 251. The chain 251, the driving sprocket 252, and the driven sprocket 253 correspond to the moving mechanism in the present invention.

The rotating shaft 257 is supported by a pair of support frames 21 on the left and right sides so that it can rotate from the outside in the left-right direction of the sub-frame 254. The support frames 21 have a rough shape of an inverted L in the up-down direction. The lower end of the support frames 21 is fixed to the main frame 2. This allows the entire separation promotion section 250 to swing (rotate) in the F direction in Figure 3 around the rotating shaft 257.

The plates 255 are flat members extending in the left-right direction and are arranged at equal intervals along the chain 251. The protrusions 256 are rod-shaped members curved in a U-shape. One end of the protrusions 256 is fixed to one of the two adjacent plates 255. The other end of the protrusions 256 is fixed to the other of the two plates 255. As shown in FIG. 5, three protrusions 256 are fixed to each plate 255 at equal intervals in the left-right direction. These three protrusions 256 constitute protrusion rows 256X and 256Y along the left-right direction. In the plan view of FIG. 5, each protrusion 256 in the protrusion row 256X extends diagonally from the front end to the rear end toward the right. On the other hand, each protrusion 256 in the protrusion row 256Y extends diagonally from the front end to the rear end toward the left. Each protrusion 256 in protrusion row 246X is positioned slightly to the right of each protrusion 256 in protrusion row 246Y. Such protrusion rows 246X and 256Y are alternately arranged in the front-to-rear direction. As a result, all of the protrusions 256 are arranged in a staggered pattern in a plan view. When the drive sprocket 252 is driven by a motor and the chain 251 moves along the G1 and G2 directions in FIG. 3, the protrusions 256 fixed to the plate 255 also move along the G1 and G2 directions in conjunction with the chain 251.

An L-shaped stay 259 is fixed to a portion of the sub-frame 254 slightly forward of the center in the front-rear direction. The L-shaped stay 259 protrudes outward from each of the pair of left and right sub-frames 254. A bolt 261 is fixed to the L-shaped stay 259. The bolt 261 penetrates the L-shaped stay 259 in the vertical direction. The lower end of the bolt 261 is placed on the upper end of the support frame 22. The support frame 22 is a rectangular column-shaped member extending along the vertical direction, and its lower end is fixed to the main frame 2. The lower end of the bolt 261 is not fixed to the support frame 22. This allows the separation promotion part 250 to move upward from the position shown in FIG. 3 (the predetermined position in the present invention). On the other hand, the bolt 261 comes into contact with the upper surface of the support frame 22, thereby restricting the movement of the separation promotion part 250 so that it does not fall below the position shown in FIG. 3. The position of the separation promotion part 250 shown in FIG. 3 is a position where the lower end of the protrusion 256 can come into contact with the upper surface of the fruit receiving tray 210 (the surface of the rod-shaped member 212) when the frame 211 of the fruit receiving tray 210 vibrates as described above.

The separating device 200 having the above configuration separates tomatoes from the stems and leaves with tomatoes received from the intake conveying section 100 as follows. First, the frame 211 of the fruit receiving tray 210 is vibrated by the crank mechanism 230, while the protrusion 256 moves along the G1 and G2 directions in FIG. 3. Meanwhile, the frame 211 of the fruit receiving tray 210 is vibrated by the crank mechanism 230 as described above so as to slide along the D direction. Due to this vibration, the protrusion 256 moving in the G2 direction comes into contact with the upper surface (surface of the rod-shaped member 212) of the fruit receiving tray 210, and thus the protrusion 256 is bounced up. The protrusion 256 is fixed to the chain 251 via the plate 255. Therefore, when the protrusion 256 is bounced up, the chain 251 is pushed up by the protrusion 256 and shook up and down. As a result, the protrusion 256 moves in the G2 direction while vibrating up and down. In addition, when the vibration of the protrusion 256 becomes large enough, the entire separation promotion part 250 swings around the rotation shaft 257 in the F direction in FIG. 3. This prevents the vibration of the protrusion 256 from becoming too large and causing an excessive load to be placed on the protrusion 256 and the chain 251.

The tomatoes and stems and leaves on the fruit receiving tray 210 move backwards due to the movement of the protrusions 256 along the G2 direction and the vibration of the frame 211. At the same time, the tomatoes and stems and leaves are struck from above by the protrusions 256, spreading out along the top surface of the fruit receiving tray 210, while being swayed back and forth and up and down by the vibration of the frame 211. This causes the tomatoes to separate from the stems and leaves as shown in FIG. 3, and they fall below the fruit receiving tray 210 through the opening 215. After the tomatoes are separated from the stems and leaves, the crop is released to the rear of the fruit receiving tray 210 (one direction in the present invention) as shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, a rear conveying section 300 is provided below the fruit receiving platform 210 to convey tomatoes to a storage section (not shown). The rear conveying section 300 has conveying mechanisms 310 and 320 that use a belt conveying system, similar to the front conveying section 120. In addition to the conveying mechanisms 310 and 320, the rear conveying section 300 also has a conveying mechanism (not shown) located on the right side of the tomato harvester 1's body. The conveying mechanism 310 conveys tomatoes that have fallen from the fruit receiving platform 210 forward. The conveying mechanism 320 receives tomatoes that have fallen from the fruit receiving platform 210 and tomatoes conveyed forward by the conveying mechanism 310, and conveys them to the conveying mechanism on the right side of the body. This conveying mechanism receives tomatoes from the conveying mechanism 320 and conveys them to the rear storage section.

According to the present embodiment described above, the separation promotion part 250 provided above the fruit receiving tray 210 makes it easier to separate the tomatoes on the fruit receiving tray 210 from the stems and leaves, as follows. That is, the protrusions 256 provided on the separation promotion part 250 contact the crops on the fruit receiving tray 210 and press the crops downward. This ensures the time for the crops to stay on the fruit receiving tray 210. Therefore, the time for the fruits to be separated from the stems and leaves by the vibration of the fruit receiving tray 210 is ensured. In addition, the protrusions 256 vibrate in the vertical direction, so that the crops are hit from above by the protrusions 256. As a result, the entire crop spreads along the upper surface of the fruit receiving tray 210 and is shaken by the vibration of the fruit receiving tray 210. Therefore, each tomato becomes more susceptible to the vibration of the fruit receiving tray and is more easily separated from the stems and leaves. Tomatoes are less likely to remain on the stems and leaves released from the fruit receiving tray 210.

In addition, in this embodiment, the protrusion 256 comes into contact with the upper surface of the fruit receiving tray 210 and vibrates as it bounces up. Therefore, there is no need to provide a separate means for vibrating the protrusion 256. This simplifies the configuration of the tomato harvester 1.

In addition, in this embodiment, the protrusion 256 is supported by the chain 251 via the plate 255. When the protrusion 256 comes into contact with the upper surface of the fruit receiving tray 210 and is flipped up, the chain 251 is pushed up by the protrusion 256 and sways in the vertical direction. This configuration makes the protrusion 256 more likely to vibrate.

In addition, the protrusion 256 in this embodiment is configured by bending a rod-shaped member into a U-shape with the curved portion protruding toward the fruit receiving tray 210. Therefore, compared to a case in which one end of a rod-shaped member is fixed to the plate 255 and the other end protrudes toward the fruit receiving tray 210, the protrusion 256 is less likely to get caught on the stems and leaves of the crops on the fruit receiving tray 210.

Below, we will explain some variations of the above-mentioned embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the crank mechanism 230 provided in front of the frame body 211 vibrates the frame body 211. However, any configuration may be used to vibrate the frame body 211. For example, the crank mechanism may be provided on the side or below the frame body 211.

In the above embodiment, the protrusion 256 comes into contact with the upper surface of the fruit receiving tray 210 and vibrates as it bounces up. Therefore, no separate means for vibrating the protrusion 256 is provided. However, separate means for vibrating the protrusion 256 may be provided. For example, a means for vibrating the entire separation promotion portion 250 or a portion including the protrusion 256 up and down may be provided.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the separation promotion section 250 is provided with one moving mechanism that moves the protrusion 256 along the G2 direction. However, multiple moving mechanisms that move the protrusion 256 along the G2 direction may be arranged in the front-rear direction.

In the above embodiment, the separation promotion unit 250 is configured as a part of the tomato harvester 1. However, the separation promotion unit 250 may be implemented as a device independent of the tomato harvester 1. The separation promotion unit 250 may also be provided in equipment other than the harvester, such as a stationary tomato processing device.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Tomato harvester 100 Intake conveying section 200 Separation device 210 Fruit receiving tray 215 Opening 230 Crank mechanism 250 Separation promotion section 251 Chain 252 Driving sprocket 253 Driven sprocket 255 Plate 256 Projection section

Claims (6)

A crop conveying mechanism for conveying crops including fruits and stems and leaves;
a fruit separating mechanism that receives the crop from the crop conveying mechanism , separates fruits from stems and leaves of the crop, and releases the crop from which the fruits have been separated in one direction,
The fruit separation mechanism comprises:
a fruit receiving tray having an upper surface formed with a drop port through which the fruit falls, and on which the crop received from the crop conveying mechanism is placed;
a vibration mechanism for vibrating the fruit receiving tray and dropping the fruit separated from the stem and leaf mechanism of the crop on the fruit receiving tray through the drop opening;
A harvester characterized in that it is equipped with a separation promotion mechanism having a plurality of protrusions that protrude from above the fruit receiving tray toward the fruit receiving tray and contact the crop on the fruit receiving tray, and that makes it easier to separate the fruit from the crop by vibrating the protrusions in the vertical direction while moving them in the same direction.
The harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that the multiple protrusions come into contact with the upper surface of the fruit receiving tray, transmitting vibrations of the fruit receiving tray to the multiple protrusions, causing the multiple protrusions to vibrate in the vertical direction. The harvester according to claim 2, characterized in that the separation promotion mechanism has a plate member to which the multiple protrusions are fixed and a movement mechanism that moves the plate member in the one direction. The harvester according to claim 3, characterized in that the moving mechanism includes an endless chain to which the plate member is fixed and a plurality of sprockets around which the chain is wound. The harvester according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that each of the multiple protrusions is a rod-shaped member curved so as to protrude toward the fruit receiving tray and both ends are fixed to the plate member. The separation promotion mechanism is rotatable about its rear end,
A harvester as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that movement of the separation promotion mechanism is regulated so that the separation promotion mechanism can move above a predetermined position and cannot move below the predetermined position.

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