JPH0511127Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (a) Industrial application field This invention relates to an alignment device for a fruit boxing device that aligns fruits in correspondence with the boxing side when packing fruits.

(B) Prior Art In order to mechanically pack fruits into boxes, it is preferable to arrange the fruits in advance in storage rows within a box, move the arranged fruits to a boxing position, and box them.

Fruits, such as Kiyuwei, have an elliptical cross section rather than a perfect circle even though they are the same size, so when adjacent fruits are lined up so that they are in contact with each other, the spacing between each fruit is not constant and mechanically It is difficult to lift and transfer.

Therefore, it is necessary to form gaps between each fruit and arrange them at equal intervals.

(c) Problem to be solved by the invention The object of this invention is to provide an alignment device for a fruit packing machine that aligns fruits at equal intervals, making it easier to pack the fruits mechanically.

(d) Means for solving the problem This invention forms a plurality of gutter-like passages in the width direction of the alignment plate with respect to the passage direction, and the gutter-like passages have grooves arranged at intervals where adjacent fruits in the passage do not touch each other. A balance mechanism that performs a balance operation is provided, and one end of the balance mechanism that performs a balance operation is located on the downstream side of the passage to serve as an operating piece, and the other end is located on the upstream side of the passage to serve as a stopper, and is normally used as a stopper. is positioned at least below the upper surface of the passage, and the actuating piece and the stopper are positioned so that when the actuating piece is pushed down by the rolling of the fruit, the stopper is positioned above the passage and prevents further rolling of the fruit. The present invention is characterized in that it is an alignment device for a fruit boxing device.

(e) Effects of the invention According to this invention, the fruits can be arranged at predetermined alignment intervals by a balance mechanism that performs a balance operation, which is provided at intervals in the trough-like passageway so that adjacent fruits do not touch each other. This makes it easy to mechanically pack boxes, improving work efficiency.

(F) Embodiment of the invention An embodiment of the invention will be described below in detail based on the drawings.

The drawings show fruit boxing equipment, Figures 1 and 2.
In the figure, this fruit packaging equipment includes a feeding device 1 that feeds fruit and also controls the feeding position.
0. Arranging device 11 for arranging fruits in a boxed state;
Packing devices 12 are sequentially arranged to pick up the arranged fruits and pack them into boxes.

(a) Feeding device In FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the above-mentioned feeding device 10 is a device for placing fruits 14 to be packed in boxes and feeding them to a subsequent stage, and has a wide conveyor belt 15. This conveyor belt 15 is stretched around pulleys 16 to 20, and is driven in the supply direction by inputting the power of the first motor 21 to the input pulley 20 via the belt 22.

Upper transport side (upstream side) of the above-mentioned transport belt 15
Guide members 23 having suitable elastic members attached to their surfaces are provided on the left and right positions of the conveyance surface, and the fruits 14 to be packed in boxes are placed on the upper surface of the conveyance belt 15 between the guide members 23. Ru.

Supply control plates 24, 24 are provided at the rear end sides of the guide members 23, 23 mentioned above.

The supply control plates 24, 24 have their front ends fixed to rotation shafts 25, 25, and their rear ends fixed to the conveyor belt 1.
5 is supported so as to be movable in the width direction,
The feeding position of the fruit 14 fed to the latter stage can be changed in the width direction.

(b) Aligning device In FIGS. 1 and 2, the aforementioned aligning device 11
is a device for arranging the fruits 14 supplied from the front stage so that they can be packed in boxes, and includes an arranging plate 30 for arranging the fruits 14, with the rear edge side starting from the front edge side;
By means to be described later, it is movable between an inclined position and a horizontal position, and vibrations are applied.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the above-mentioned alignment plate 30 has a plurality of protrusions 31 formed in the width direction with respect to the passage direction, and a gutter-like passage 32 formed between the protrusions 31 and 31. A receiving hole 33 for the fruit 14 is provided at the bottom.

Each passage 32, 32 interval and each receiving hole 3 mentioned above
The interval between 3 and 33 is made larger than the outer diameter of the fruit 14 so that it does not come into contact with the adjacent fruit 14.

Inside the protrusion 31 adjacent to each of the above-mentioned receiving holes 33, the center of a seesaw-shaped take-up rod 34 is pivotally supported, and one end operating piece 35 that performs the take-up action (see-saw action) of this take-up rod 34 is attached below the above-mentioned receiving hole 33. In addition, the other end stopper 36 is made to face below a guide hole 37 provided on the upstream side (rear edge side) in the passage direction of the receiving hole 33.

When the fruit 14 is positioned in the receiving hole 33, the fruit 14 moves the actuating piece 35 downward, and the stopper 36 on the upstream side of the passage is made to protrude upward from the guide hole 37. This prevents the fruit 14 from being fed.

Under normal conditions, the balance rod 34 is in such a state that the stopper 36 projects below the guide hole 37 and the operating piece 35 projects upward from below the receiving hole 33 due to its own weight.

The above-mentioned fruits 14 are supplied from the inclined upper edge side (upstream side) of the alignment plate 30, and when the alignment plate 30 is in an inclined state and vibration is applied, the fruits 14 are transferred to the inclined lower edge side (downstream side). let

Therefore, after the fruit 14 fits into the receiving hole 33 on the inclined upper edge side, it rolls again due to the tilting movement and vibration of the alignment plate 30, fits into the receiving hole 33 on the downstream side, and moves sequentially to the downstream side. Then, it rolls to a position where it comes into contact with a regulating plate 40 erected in the width direction on the downstream side of the alignment plate 30 and fits into the receiving hole 33 on the most downstream side.

Then, the stopper 36, which protrudes from the guide hole 37 due to the fruit 14 fitted into the receiving hole 33 on the most downstream side, performs the subsequent function of the regulating plate 40, that is, a stop action, so that the fruits come into contact with each other. is being prevented.

The above-mentioned alignment plate 30 is a regulation plate 40 provided at the lower edge.
and regulating plates 41, 41 provided on both side edges in a U-shape.

Furthermore, four sensors S1 constituted by photoelectric sensors are installed in the left and right directions above the supply section of the above-mentioned alignment plate 30, and these sensors S1 are used to align the fruits 14 necessary for packaging. The area is positioned so as to detect each of the fruits 14 in the uppermost row within the range, and is configured to detect the deviation of the fruits 14 supplied to the alignment plate 30 and to collect the necessary number of fruits 14 for packaging. Detect completion of alignment.

In addition, the completion of the arrangement is detected when all fruits 14 of the arrangement are completed...
It is not necessary to detect ..., but only the fruits 14 in the uppermost horizontal row need to be detected.

The alignment plate 30 described above is attached at its lower surface to the support plates 44, 44 of a vibration generator 43, and vibrations generated by the vibration generator 43 apply vibrations to the alignment plate 30.

The above-mentioned vibration generator 43 is attached to a frame 45 via springs 45a so that it can be buffered, and the frame 45 has a shape in which the center of the upper surface is open in the front-rear direction. The above-mentioned alignment plate 30 and vibration generator 43 are located in the section.

Pivot shafts 46, 46 extending to both sides are projectingly provided on both sides of the upper front part of the frame 45, and these shafts 46, 46 are supported by the main frame 47. , the first hydraulic cylinder 48 is connected, and this hydraulic cylinder 4
By operating the frame 45 up and down at 8, the alignment plate 30 is operated to a horizontal position and an inclined position.

Furthermore, when the necessary number of fruits 14 for packaging have been arranged (this state is detected by sensor S1), the vibration generator 43 stops vibrating,
The first hydraulic cylinder 48 is operated to bring the alignment plate 30 into a horizontal state, and the fruits 14 arranged on the alignment plate 30 are delivered to the next packaging device 12.

(c) Boxing device In FIG. 1, the above-mentioned boxing device 12 is a device that takes out the fruits 14 arranged in a staggered manner from the arrangement board 30 and stores them in a box. It has a suction unit 55 for taking out and packing in boxes, and this suction unit 55 has a rectangular frame 56, a plurality of horizontal bars 57 attached to this frame 56, and these horizontal bars 57...
It is formed by a plurality of suction elements 58 fixed to.

The above-mentioned suction elements 58... are attached to the horizontal bars 57 in accordance with the number of boxes to be packed, the number of which corresponds to the number of horizontal rows to be packed, and the number of horizontal bars 57... to be attached to the number of vertical columns to be packed. Compatible.

Then, the suction element 5 attached to the horizontal support 57...
8... are positioned in the array of fruits 14 arranged on the arrangement board 30.

A portal frame 72 is fixed to the upper surface side of the frame 56 of the suction unit 55, and a hydraulic cylinder 73 is erected on the upper surface of this portal frame 72, and this hydraulic cylinder 73 is located above. It is attached to a movable plate 74, and by operating this hydraulic cylinder 73,
The suction unit 55 is operated to move up and down.

The above-mentioned movable plate 74 is supported by two sliding rods 77 , 77 installed in the front-rear direction of the main frame 47 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction, and is also supported by a fourth hydraulic pressure installed at the rear of the main frame 47 . A cylinder 79 is connected to a movable plate 74, and by operating this hydraulic cylinder 79, the movable plate 74 moves back and forth, and the suction unit 55 is moved between a position for sucking fruits 14 and a position for packing fruits 14.

(d) General operation description The fruit 14 packaging equipment configured as described above operates as follows.

The fruit 14 is fed to the feeding device 10 manually; for example, if the fruit 14 is a kiwi fruit, it is placed on the conveyor belt 15.

Then, by driving the above-mentioned conveyor belt 15 in the conveyance direction, the fruit 14 is moved to the alignment device 11.
is supplied to

The alignment plate 30 of the alignment device 11 is configured so that the distance between the position regulating plates 41, 41 on both sides corresponds to the number of boxes of fruit 14, and when the first hydraulic cylinder 48 is operated and the first hydraulic cylinder 48 is in an inclined state, the vibration generator 43 is causing vibration.

Therefore, when the fruit 14 is supplied from the previous stage,
Vibrations cause the fruits 14 to move toward the lower edge, and the fruits 14 that have reached the position regulating plate 40 at the lower edge are aligned in a horizontal line, and the fruits 14 are aligned above the lower edge.
The fruit 14 is arranged in a position controlled manner by the stopper 36, and subsequent fruits 14 are arranged in the same manner.

In this alignment operation, if the supply of fruits 14 is biased to one side, the sensor S1... detects this and moves the supply control plate 24 on the biased side toward the center, so that more fruits are supplied to the side with less supply. The feeding direction is changed so that the fruits 14 of uniform size are fed.
We aim to supply the following.

When each of the above-mentioned sensors S1... detects the alignment of fruits 14 that can be boxed, the vibration generator 43 stops vibrating, and the first hydraulic cylinder 48 is operated to change the attitude of the alignment plate 30 to a horizontal state. Ru.

The suction unit 55 of the boxing device 12 is connected to the alignment plate 3.
When the alignment plate 30 becomes horizontal, the third hydraulic cylinder 73 is operated and the suction unit 55 moves downward to the suction position.

When the above-mentioned suction elements 58 reach the suction position and come into contact with the fruit 14, the contact pressure is applied to each suction element 5.
Since the fruit 14 is buffered by the bellows 8 and the absorber 58 is under negative pressure, the fruit 14 is absorbed.

Next, the third hydraulic cylinder 73 is operated,
The suction unit 55 is moved upward.

Note that after the suction unit 55 moves upward, the first hydraulic cylinder 48 is operated to return the alignment plate 30 to the tilted state, and the vibration generator 43 generates vibration again to perform the next alignment operation. It is done.

Adsorption unit 55 moved upward as described above
is moved to a position above the boxing position by operating the fourth hydraulic cylinder 79, and then lowered to the boxing position by operating the third hydraulic cylinder 73.

At the above-mentioned boxing position, a box 80 is placed by a well-known automatic box feeding device (not shown), and as the suction unit 55 moves downward, the fruits 14... adsorbed by the suction elements 58... are packed into boxes. It is stored inside the 80.

Furthermore, when the fruit 14 is stored inside the box 80, the negative pressure state of the absorber 58 is released and the pressure becomes atmospheric, so that the adsorption of the fruit 14 is released.
By operating the third hydraulic cylinder 73 and moving the suction unit 55 upward, the fruit 14 is left in the box 80, and the packing of the fruit 14 in the array is completed.

The above-mentioned suction unit 55 is then moved above the alignment plate 30 and placed on standby by operating the fourth hydraulic cylinder 79.

Furthermore, although the alignment plate 30 of the embodiment is movable between an inclined position and a horizontal position, when this movable amount is set to the expansion/contraction range of the bellows of the suction element 58, the alignment plate 30
It is possible to adsorb the fruit 14 while keeping it in an inclined state.

Furthermore, although the alignment plate 30 in the embodiment is arranged obliquely, depending on the setting of the direction in which vibration is applied by the vibration generator 43, the fruits 14 can be aligned and transferred even if the alignment plate 30 is in a horizontal state. Therefore, the alignment plate 30 can also be provided in a horizontal state.

(g) Other embodiments In the embodiments described above, the balance mechanism includes a balance rod 34.
Although the case where a balance rod is used is shown as an example, a balance plate may be used instead of this balance rod.

5 to 7, the alignment plate 30 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 31 in the width direction with respect to the passage direction, and a gutter-like passage 32 is formed between each of the protrusions 31 and 31. ing.

Each of the above-mentioned passages 32 is formed by arranging a plurality of balance plates 34a in which a hole 33a for receiving the fruit 14 is formed.

Each of the above-mentioned passages 32, 32 interval and each balance pan 3
The interval between 4a and 34a is made larger than the outer diameter of the fruit 14 so as not to touch the adjacent fruit 14.

Shafts 38a provided on both sides of the above-mentioned balance plate 34a,
38a is pivotally supported on adjacent protrusions 31, 31, the upper surface of this balance pan 34a is an inclined surface, this inclined lower surface 35a is located on the regulation plate 40 side, and the stopper wall 36a at the other end is positioned on the alignment plate 30. It is provided on the front edge side (upstream side of the passage).

The above-mentioned balance pan 34a is normally constructed so that its own weight causes the stopper wall 36a to move downward.

When the fruit 14 rolls into position in the receiving hole 33a of the above-mentioned balance pan 34a, the weight of the fruit 14 causes the inclined lower surface 35a to move downward, and the stopper wall 36a on the opposite side to protrude upward. This prevents further feeding of the fruit 14.

The above-mentioned fruits 14 are supplied from the upper edge side of the arranging plate 30, and when the arranging plate 30 is in an inclined state and vibration is applied, the fruits 14 are moved to the lower edge side.

Therefore, after the fruit 14 fits into the receiving hole 33a of the balance pan 34a on the upper edge side, it rolls again due to the tilting movement and vibration of the alignment plate 30, and is transferred to the next balance pan 34a.
A regulating plate 40 is fitted into the receiving hole 33a, moves sequentially to the lower edge side, and is erected in the width direction on the lower edge of the alignment plate 30.
It rolls until it comes into contact with.

Then, the receiving hole 33 of the balance pan 34a on the lowest edge side
The stopper wall 36 is caused by the fruit 14 stuck in a.
a moves upward and performs the subsequent function of the regulating plate 40, that is, a stop action, to prevent the fruits from coming into contact with each other.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of this invention, in which Fig. 1 is a partially sectional side view of the boxing equipment, Fig. 2 is a partially sectional plan view of the boxing equipment, Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of the alignment plate, and Fig. 4 is a partially sectional side view of the boxing equipment. The figure is a partial perspective view of the alignment plate, FIGS. 5 to 7 show other embodiments, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal side view of the alignment plate, FIG. 6 is a longitudinal front view of the alignment plate, and FIG. is a perspective view of a balance pan. 14... Fruit, 30... Aligning plate, 32... Gutter-like passage, 34... Balance rod, 34a... Balance plate, 35
... Actuation piece, 35a... Inclined lower surface, 36... Stopper, 36a... Stopper wall.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A plurality of gutter-like passages are formed in the width direction of the alignment plate with respect to the passage direction, and the gutter-like passages include a balance that performs a balancing operation at intervals where adjacent fruits in the passage do not touch each other. A mechanism is provided, one end of the balance mechanism that performs the balance operation is located on the downstream side of the passage to serve as an actuating piece, and the other end is located on the upstream side of the passage to serve as a stopper, and the stopper is normally positioned at least on the upper surface of the passage. The actuating piece and the stopper are positioned further down, and the actuating piece and the stopper are positioned so that when the actuating piece is pushed down by the rolling of the fruit, the stopper is positioned on the passage and prevents the fruit from rolling further. Device.