JPH04218315A - Container-carrying device in mushroom culture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the subject container-carrying device readily carrying culture bottles inverted and supported together with containers to the next station. CONSTITUTION:In a container-carrying device in which culture bottles and containers are inverted and carried over a carrying-in-station, one or more working stations and a carrying-out-station on the culture of mushrooms, the device is characterized in that plural rails 35 in contact with both the shoulders of each inverted culture bottle 13 and supporting the bottles are installed over the respective adjacent stations and further in that a carrying device in which the culture bottles 13 or the containers 12 are pressed to slide the culture bottles 13 on the rails for carrying the bottles into the next station is installed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a container conveying device for mushroom cultivation.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In the artificial cultivation of mushrooms using cultivation bottles, the cultivation bottles are housed in containers for transportation and various operations. In this case, there is a process of transporting and working with the cultivation bottle in an inverted state along with the container. For example, in the culture medium scraping device shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-167935, there is a carry-in station where cultivation bottles are carried in upside down while housed in a container, a drilling station where holes are drilled with a drill, and a scraping station where the cultivation bottles are scraped out with a scraping blade. , a brush station for scrubbing with a brush, and an unloading station are arranged in this order, and containers and cultivation bottles are conveyed between the stations by an endless flat conveyor that is circulated in a vertical plane to perform the necessary work. .

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, if the conveyance mechanism for containers and cultivation bottles is configured with a flat conveyor as described above, an empty conveyor section that returns from the unloading station to the loading station is required, making the device large and large. There are problems in that it becomes complicated and costs increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a container transport device for mushroom cultivation that can be downsized and simplified.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has the following configuration to achieve the above object. That is, in a container transport device for mushroom cultivation in which a cultivation bottle is moved upside down together with a container between a carry-in station, one or more work stations, and a carry-out station,
A plurality of rails are provided in parallel between adjacent stations to support the cultivation bottle by contacting both shoulders of the cultivation bottle, and the cultivation bottle is pushed onto the rails by pressing the cultivation bottle or container. It is characterized by being equipped with a feeding device that allows it to slide and be carried to the next station.

[0006]

[Operation] By pushing the cultivation bottle or container by the feeding device, the cultivation bottle can be slid on the rail and easily sent to the next station.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, a culture medium scraping device will be explained as an example. 1 to 3, reference numeral 10 denotes a frame, which is formed to have a width approximately equal to one container 12 and a length approximately equal to five containers 12. From one end of the frame 10 to the other, there are a loading station A, a perforating station B, a scraping station C, a brushing station D, and an unloading station E. Drilling station B, scraping station C,
Brush station D becomes the actual working station in this case. At the bottom of the drilling station B, for example, 16 drills 14 are arranged so as to rotate upward and around an axis in accordance with the arrangement of the cultivation bottles 13 which are supported upside down while being accommodated in the container 12 by a mechanism to be described later. It is arranged. It is preferable that the drill 14 has a large diameter and an outer diameter that is approximately the same as the diameter of the cultivation bottle 13.

At the bottom of the scraping station C, for example, 16 scraping blades 15 are arranged to rotate upward and around an axis in accordance with the arrangement of the cultivation bottles 13 also housed in the container 12. has been done. Scraping blade 15
Although a known one (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-9323) may be used, in this embodiment, each scraping blade 15 is composed of two blades, as clearly shown in FIG. 4. Each of the blades 15a, 15b is formed in an L-shape, with a cutting edge formed at the front end of one bent part, and opened to the outside by a spring 15d on a rotating base 15c at the base of the other bent part (shaft). It is supported by being biased in the direction. Note that each blade 15a, 15
The tip of b comes into contact with the inner wall of a guide cylinder provided on a lifting platform, which will be described later.

At the bottom of the brush station D, for example, 16 brushes are arranged to rotate upward and around an axis in accordance with the arrangement of the cultivation bottles 13 also housed in the container 12. . A known rotation mechanism for the drill 14, scraping blade 15, and brush 16 can be used. For example, a chain (not shown) is strung around a sprocket (not shown) provided at the bottom of the drill 14, etc., and a motor ( (not shown) can be configured to be driven simultaneously.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a lifting platform, on which each drill 1 of the drilling station B, scraping station C, and brushing station D is mounted.
4. It is located above the scraping blade 15 and the brush 16, and is guided by a guide 21 to move up and down. This elevating table 20 is moved up and down by a drive device such as a crank device 22. Each drill 14 and scraping blade 15 are provided on the lifting table 20.
A through hole 23 into which the brush 16 can enter and which has the same diameter as the inner diameter of the opening of the cultivation bottle 13 is formed, and surrounding each through hole 23, a receiving tube 24 into which the opening of the cultivation bottle 13 can be inserted. is provided. The upper inner wall of the receiving tube 24 is tapered outwardly to guide the bottle opening. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, on both sides of the receiving tube 24, rubber etc. are used to stop the cultivation bottle 13 from rotating by coming into contact with the shoulder of the cultivation bottle 13 when the bottle opening enters the receiving tube 24. Spacer 2 consisting of
5 is fixed. The spacer 25 located between the two receiving tubes 24 has contact portions formed in circular arcs so as to simultaneously contact the shoulders of the two cultivation bottles 13 whose bottle openings have entered both receiving tubes 24. Also, on the other side of the spacer 25, there is a metal support piece 2 that also serves as a support for the spacer 25.
6 is integrally fixed to the spacer 25 by insert molding or the like so that the end surface does not reach the circular arc portion. On the lower surface of the lifting platform 20 corresponding to the scraping station C,
The guide tube 27 described above is fixed surrounding the through hole 23. The length of the guide tube 27 is set so that the scraping blade 15 does not come off from the guide tube 27 even if the elevator platform 20 rises.

[0010] Next, reference numeral 30 denotes a transport rail frame arranged above the lifting table 20. The transport rail frame 30 has four cylinders 31a, 31b, 31 provided between it and the lifting platform 20.
c and 31d, and can move towards and away from the lifting table 20 within a predetermined range by extending and contracting the cylinder. Although not shown, the transport rail frame 30 is guided by guide pins and moves up and down. Transport rail frame 3
As specifically shown in FIG. 6, two U-shaped rail supports 32 that open upward are located at the boundaries of each of the stations, and extend in the longitudinal direction of the frame 10. The plurality of rail supports 32 are arranged perpendicularly and connected on both sides by connecting rods 33, 33 to form a basic frame body. Five rails 35 extending in the longitudinal direction of the transport rail frame 30 are fixed between the rail supports 32 and supported by support rods 34 erected from the lower bar of the rail supports 32. The intervals between the respective rails 35 are such that the neck of the inverted cultivation bottle 13 can enter and the rails 35 can come into contact with both shoulders of the cultivation bottle to support the cultivation bottle 13. Further, the height of the support rod 34 is such that when the cultivation bottle 35 supported upside down between the rails 35 is transported by sliding on the rails 35, the edge of the cultivation bottle 13 is placed on the rail support 35.
The height shall be such that there is enough space to avoid hitting the lower bar. Correspondingly above the drilling station, two pressure plates 37, 37 are fixed between the rail supports 32a, 32b. A predetermined gap X is formed between the two pressing plates 37, 37 at the center in the width direction of the transport rail frame 30. Also above each of the scraping station C and the brush station D, each rail support 32c, 32d,
Similarly, two pressing plates 37, 37 and two pressing plates 37, 37 are fixed between the rail supports 32e, 32f.

[0011] 40a, 40b, 40c, and 40d are pressing rods, which are arranged to the left of each carrying station A, perforating station B, scraping station C, and brushing station D (top of Fig. 2), and are arranged at the left side of each L-shaped It is connected to a slide bar 42 by a connecting rod 41 having a shape. The slide bar 42 is slidably supported within the guide member 43, connected to a rod of a cylinder 44, and reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the frame 10. As a result, the cultivation bottle 13 supported upside down on the rail 35 is pressed by the pressing rod 40 and moved to the next station. In this case, the connecting rod 41 passes through the gap X between the pressing plates 37, 37. A crank device may be used as the reciprocating mechanism for the slide bar 42. The pushing rod 40, cylinder 44, etc. constitute a feeding device.

[0012] The cultivation bottles 13 housed in the container 10 are turned upside down along with the container from the side of the loading station A, and the cultivation bottles 13 housed in the container 10 are placed in the loading station A.
A reversing carrying-in device 50 is provided for carrying in the work. The reversing loading device 50 will be explained with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 51 denotes a reversing table, which is provided on the frame frame 10 so as to be reversible about a shaft 52 above and to the sides of the loading station A. A sprocket (not shown) is fixed to the shaft 52, a chain (not shown) is hooked to the sprocket, and the reversing table 51 is driven to reverse by a forward/reverse motor (not shown). Further, 53 is a pressure plate that comes into contact with the neck of the cultivation bottle 13 and presses the cultivation bottle 13 from both sides of the container 12.
It is fixed to the upper part of a support rod 54 that is pivotally supported by an inversion table 51 on which the container 12 is placed. The lower end of the support rod 54 extends slightly downward from the reversing table 51, and the tip of a drive rod 56 of an air cylinder 55 is pivotally attached to the extended end. A semicircular recess is formed in a portion of the pressure plate 53 that comes into contact with the neck of the cultivation bottle 13 to match the outer shape of the neck. The air cylinder 55 operates to project drive rods 56 extending from both sides into and out in opposite directions.
By protruding the drive rod 56, the pressure plate 53 comes into contact with the neck of the cultivation bottle 13 by the lever mechanism, and by pressing the neck, the cultivation bottle 13 housed in the container 12 is pressed and held in the container 12.・In this way, the container 12 and the cultivation bottle 13
By holding and inverting the inversion table 51, the container 12 and the cultivation bottle 13 are loaded from the side to the station A.
It can be supported upside down on the rails 35 of. The carry-out station D is also provided with a carry-out device having a configuration similar to that described above.

Next, the operation will be explained. The explanation will start from a state in which the cultivation bottles 13 that have been worked at each station are supported on the rails 35 above each of the carry-in station A, perforation station B, scraping station C, brush station D, and carry-out station E. The cultivation bottle 13 is housed in the container 12 and supported on the rail 35 in an inverted state. Here, the cylinder 44 is driven, and the slide bar 42 moves to the right in FIG. 2. As a result, the cultivation bottles 13 in the last row of each station are pressed by each pressing rod 40, and the cultivation bottles in the container are pressed all at once and slide on the rails 35,
Together with the containers 12, they are aligned and moved onto each station of the next stage. Each pressing rod 40 has moved to a position located within the gap Y between the pressing plates 37 and the pressing plates 37 between the previous and next stations. Next, the cylinder 31a,
31b, 31c, and 31d are driven to retract, and as a result, the transport rail frame 30 places the cultivation bottle 1 on the rail 35.
Descend with 3 on board. The neck of the cultivation bottle 13 is the receiving tube 2.
4 and continue descending to reach cultivation bottle 1.
The shoulder portion of the spacer 25 is supported by being in contact with the upper end surface of the spacer 25. When the transport rail frame 30 continues to descend, the rail 35 descends with the cultivation bottle 13 left on the spacer 25, and at the perforation station B, scraping station C, and brush station D, the pressing plates 37, 37 are pressed against the container. The cultivation bottle 13 is clamped and fixed between the spacer 25 and the upper end surface of the spacer 25 via the spacer 12. At this time, the transport rail frame 30 is moved by a buffer member 6 made of rubber or the like provided on the top surface of the elevator platform 20.
0 (FIG. 3) is pressed against the upper surface, and the transport rail frame 30 and the elevator platform 20 are integrated.

Next, the crank device 22 is driven to lower the elevator platform 20 together with the transport rail frame 30, and at the same time,
The drill 14, scraping blade 15, and brush 16 are rotated all at once. As a result, at drilling station B, the drill 14
enters the culture medium of the cultivation bottle 13, pierces the medium, and the corresponding medium falls downward and is discharged. At the scraping station C, two blades 15a and 15b rotate and enter into the culture medium that has been previously drilled and has a large hole in the center. The two blades 15a and 15b are urged outward by a spring, and due to centrifugal force, their tips contact the inner wall of the bottle while rotating and rising inside the bottle, cutting the culture medium with the blades. This is done by cutting and scraping it off. The cut culture base falls downward from the bottle mouth and is discharged. At the brush station D, the brush 16 enters into the cultivation bottle 13 while rotating, scrapes off some of the culture medium adhering to the inner wall of the bottle, and cleans the inside of the bottle.

On the other hand, as the lifting platform 20 descends,
The pressing rod 40 comes out upward from the gap Y between the pressing plates 37 between the stations and is positioned above the pressing plates 37. Here, the cylinder 44 is driven and the slide bar 4
2 is driven to the left in FIG. 2, and the pressing rod 40 returns to the standby position. Next, the lifting table 20 is raised, and the cylinders 31a, 31b, 31c, and 31d are extended, and the transport frame 30 is raised and returned to the standby position. As described above, at the carry-in station A, the container 12 and the cultivation bottles 13 are carried onto the rails 35 by inverting the inverting table 51 while holding the container 12 placed on the inverting table 51. Note that a carry-in conveyor can be connected to the inversion table 51 to automatically feed containers onto the inversion table 51. In addition, from the carry-out station E, the cultivation bottle 13 from which the culture medium has been scraped is placed together with the container 12 on a pressure plate 53.
After holding it on the reversing table 51, the reversing table 51 is reversed and taken out to the side of the unloading station E. An unloading conveyor is connected to this reversing table 51, and the reversing table 51
The container 12 can be transferred from above to an outgoing conveyor for removal. At the drilling station B and scraping station C, as the drill 14 and scraping blade 15 rotate, the cultivation bottle 13 tries to rotate in the same direction due to resistance from the culture medium, but as shown in FIG. When the cultivation bottle 13 tries to rotate, the spacer 25 made of rubber or the like tries to bite into the gap between the cultivation bottle 13 and the support piece 26, and the reaction force causes the cultivation bottle 1 to rotate.
3 is prevented from rotating.

In the above embodiment, the drilling station B
, brush station E may not necessarily be provided. Further, in the above embodiment, the lifting platform 2 on which the cultivation bottle 13 is fixed is
Although the 0 side was raised and lowered, the drill 14 and scraping blade 1
5. The brush 16 side may be raised and lowered, or both may be relatively moved toward and away from each other. In this case, when the pressing rod 40 does not come out above the pressing plate 37, a mechanism is added to further move the pressing rod up and down, and the pressing rod is reciprocated in a downward U-shape in a vertical plane. It is preferable to avoid spatial obstruction from the pressing plate 37 and the like when the pressing rod returns to the standby position. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the conveyor rail frame 30 (including the press plate) is formed into a U-shape that opens laterally, and the press rod 40 is inserted into the conveyor rail frame 30 from this U-shaped opening. It may be allowed to enter. In this case, if a plurality of pressing rods 40 are connected to an endless chain at regular intervals and rotated in a vertical plane, a reciprocating mechanism for the pressing rods 40 is not required. Such a circulation drive mechanism using only the pressing rod can avoid making the device larger and more complicated than the conventional circulation drive of the flat conveyor itself. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the loading station A, the drilling station B,
Although the scraping station C, the brush station D, and the carry-out station E are arranged in a straight line, it is needless to say that the arrangement is not limited thereto. FIG. 9 shows an example in which a loading station A, a scraping station C, and a loading station E are arranged in an L-shape. In this embodiment as well, the cultivation bottles at carry-in station A are moved together with the containers to scraping station C by sliding on the rails, and the cultivation bottles on scraping station C are moved together with the containers to carrying-out station E. To this end, in this embodiment, the scraping station C, together with the machine frame, can be rotated back and forth within an angle range of 90° around the axis, so that the directions of the rails at the source and destination can be aligned. do it like this. In the figure, the rail directions of carry-in station A and scraping station C are the same, but in order to send cultivation bottles and containers from scraping station C to carry-out station E, scraping station C is rotated 90° in the direction of the arrow. It is rotated so that its direction coincides with the rail of the unloading station E. Note that it is preferable that the carry-in station A and the carry-out station E be movable in the direction of the arrow in the figure so as not to create a spatial obstacle when turning. In this embodiment, since the container transfer stroke can be shortened, a simple air cylinder device 60 as shown in the figure can be used as the container feeding device.

[0017]Although the above explanation has been given using a culture medium scraping device as an example, the present invention can be suitably applied to a device such as a bacteria scraping device that performs work by inverting cultivation bottles together with their containers. Bacterial scraping is a process in which the old inoculum is scraped out after the cultivation is completed to expose the highly active bacterial bed surface and promote good germination. The scraped out starter bacteria are automatically dropped and discharged. Although the present invention has been variously explained above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. .

[0018]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the container transport device for mushroom cultivation according to the present invention, the cultivation bottles are supported upside down on the rails and are pushed by the feeding device to be transported by sliding on the rails. Compared to a conveyance mechanism using an endless flat conveyor or the like, the apparatus can be made smaller and simpler, and costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a culture medium scraping device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a culture medium scraping device.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a culture medium scraping device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of a scraping blade.

FIG. 5 shows the receiver and the spacer, (a) is a plan view, (a) is a plan view;
b) is a sectional view.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing a transport rail frame.

FIG. 7 shows a reversing and loading device for containers, with (a) being a front view and (b) being a plan view.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing another embodiment of the transport rail frame.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing another arrangement example of a carry-in station, a work station, and a carry-out station.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Frame frame 12 Container 13 Cultivation bottle 20 Lifting platform 30 Transport rail frame 35 Rail 50　Reversing loading device A Loading station B Drilling station C Scraping station D Brush station E Unloading station

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A container transport device for mushroom cultivation in which a cultivation bottle is moved in an inverted state with a container between a carry-in station, one or more work stations, and a carry-out station; A feeding device that has a plurality of parallel rails that support the cultivation bottle by contacting both shoulders of the cultivation bottle, presses the cultivation bottle or container, and slides the cultivation bottle on the rails to carry it to the next station. A container conveyance device for mushroom cultivation, characterized by being provided with.