JPH0524009B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically attaching fruit caps for wrapping and protecting fruits such as pears, apples, peaches, and melons one by one. .

[Conventional technology] In general, fruits and vegetables retain their freshness for a certain period of time even after being harvested (harvested) by being absorbed into the living state. It is susceptible to scratches such as bruises, abrasions, pressure scratches, etc., and when such scratches are received, the product value itself decreases, and the product value also decreases due to a rapid decrease in freshness.

In addition, fruits are harvested at a slightly immature state to prevent spoilage, and are put out early so that they change color after about a week after passing through a collection/shipment area, fruit sorting area, and market before being displayed at retail stores. However, since the fruit is not ripened on the tree, it lacks the original ripe flavor of the fruit, and consumers are demanding that ripe fruit be shipped in a way that does not damage the package.

For this reason, in some cases, high-quality fruits have traditionally been carefully wrapped and shipped one by one using packaging materials that have a cushioning effect.

Conventionally, packaging materials with a cushioning effect for such packaging include double-folded mesh-like cylindrical cushioning material (cylindrical net made of synthetic resin foam material) as shown in Figure 1. , single-layered ones, or similar ones are used, and are called fruit caps and are used as packaging materials to protect fruits and improve their appearance.

It has also been proposed to automatically package fruits using the above-mentioned packaging materials; for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-17472 is known.

In the conventionally known publication mentioned above, when one stopped fruit is wrapped on a conveyor belt that is driven intermittently, the belt is activated to send out the next one and then stop and wrap the fruit intermittently. It can be used for packaging in places where relatively small quantities of fruits are handled.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, at collection and shipping centers and fruit sorting plants in various regions that handle large quantities of fruits, manually wrapping each fruit one by one is not only extremely inefficient, but also requires a lot of labor. This method has not been implemented because it requires too much labor due to the lack of labor, and the above-mentioned known method of automatically packaging has the problem of slow packaging speed and poor packaging efficiency because the packaging is done intermittently, making it difficult to adopt. The situation suited me.

Based on the above, in collection and shipping areas or fruit sorting plants that handle large quantities of fruits, we have developed and realized a method and device for automatically packaging fruits one by one at high speed and with high efficiency using the above-mentioned packaging materials. The reality is that there is a strong demand for this.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method and device for automatically attaching fruit caps that can automatically package fruits one by one at high speed and with high efficiency. be.

Preferably, the present invention is such that when fruits are sorted by a sorting machine, the fruits transferred on the sorting machine can be automatically packaged at an appropriate position of the sorting machine, and the fruits are transferred to the sorting machine. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and device for automatically attaching fruit caps, which can be used to feed fruits and fruits, and which can omit feeding operations for packaging fruits. The sorting and discharging of fruits to the sorting section is
Since this can be carried out with the fruit cap attached to the fruits, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of scratches due to rolling, collision, and pressing that are likely to occur on the fruits during sorting and discharging.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following technical means.

That is, in the automatic device method for fruit caps of the present invention, a large number of fingers that are arranged at regular intervals and continuously run and rotate are sequentially placed inside a cylindrical fruit cap that is automatically fed one by one. The inserted finger forms a fruit cap into a bowl shape and transfers the fruit cap, and during the transfer,
The above-mentioned bowl-shaped fruit caps are placed in correspondence with the fruits that are continuously transferred one by one at regular intervals on the transfer means, and are sequentially pressed against the fruits while being synchronously transferred in the same direction. That is.

In a preferred embodiment of the automatic fruit cap attachment method of the present invention, the transfer means may be used as a fruit sorting machine so that the fruit caps are attached to the fruits on the sorting machine. .

The automatic fruit cap mounting device of the present invention includes a supply means for automatically sequentially supplying cylindrical fruit caps one by one, and a transport means for continuously transporting fruits one by one at regular intervals; It has a large number of fingers arranged at regular intervals and continuously runs and rotates, each of the fingers is sequentially inserted into the inside of the automatically supplied fruit cap to form the fruit cap into a bowl shape, and the fruit cap is transferred. In the middle, mounting means is provided for attaching each of the bowl-shaped fruit caps to the fruits to be transferred by sequentially pressing them against the fruits while synchronously transporting them in the same direction. This is what I did.

In a preferred embodiment of the automatic fruit cap loading device of the present invention, the transfer means may be a fruit sorting machine.

In this way, in the present invention, each of the many fingers that continuously travel and rotate (in the present invention, continuous travel rotation refers to travel and rotation by continuous drive rather than intermittent drive) sequentially rotates into a bowl shape. Each fruit cap that is formed and transported is transported synchronously in the same direction as the fruits, and during this transport, the fruit caps are sequentially attached to the corresponding fruits, thereby enabling automatic packaging at high speed and high efficiency. It is.

According to a preferred embodiment of the method and apparatus for automatically attaching fruit caps of the present invention, by attaching fruit caps to fruits on a fruit sorting machine, the work of feeding fruits to the sorting machine can be utilized. As a result, the feeding work for packaging fruits can be omitted, and labor saving can be further improved.

[Example] Hereinafter, drawings showing an example of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 is a developed explanatory diagram of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention, and the apparatus is shown in FIGS. 3 and below.

Reference numeral 1 designates a cylindrical fruit cap as a packaging material, and it is preferable to use the same material as the double-folded one shown in FIG. 1, but it may be a single-folded one. Reference numeral 2 denotes a feeding device that automatically feeds fruit caps 1 one by one at a rapid rate, and 3 a posture alignment and transfer device that receives the fruit caps 1 and aligns them in a predetermined orientation. Although it is preferable that the supplying means is constituted by these, the posture alignment device 3 may be omitted, and if this is omitted, it is sufficient to rapidly feed it toward the fingers 45, which will be described later. Reference numeral 4 denotes a mounting device as a mounting means for expanding the fruit cap 1 and covering the fruit 6 as fruits. 5
is a transfer device that serves as a transfer means for continuously transferring fruits 6 one by one at predetermined intervals.

As shown in FIG. 4, the feeding device 2 for the fruit caps 1 consists of a case 21 for stacking and pooling a large number of fruit caps 1, an extrusion device 22, and a pair of upper and lower feed rollers 23. The fruits are stacked and pooled in the case 21 with the folded part 11 facing the exit side, that is, the feed roller 23 side, and the cut end 12 facing the extrusion device 22 side. Load it in the opposite direction of cap 1. Also,
The lower end of the case 21 is opened on the outlet side and on the extrusion device 22 side, each having a size (height) suitable for extruding one fruit cap 1. Extrusion device 22
has a flat pusher 24 at its tip, which is slightly thinner than the thickness of the bottom fruit cap 1 stacked inside the case 21, and is normally placed on standby outside the case, and is attached to the guide holder 33 of the posture alignment and transfer device 3. The fruit cap 1 is extruded at a rapid speed to be caught in the feed roller 23 in synchronization with the timing. The feed roller 23 rotates at a high speed, narrows the fruit cap 1 vertically, and feeds the fruit cap 1 into the guide holder 33 of the attitude alignment and transfer device 3 at a rapid speed. A plurality of feeding devices 2 for the fruit caps 1 may be provided depending on the speed of the posture alignment transfer device 3.

The posture alignment transfer device 3 is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.
As shown in FIG. 6, a large number of guide holder units 32 are attached at regular intervals to a conveyor chain 31 that continuously rotates endlessly, and the guide holder units 32 continuously rotate endlessly. Guide holder unit 32
The guide holder 33 is mounted on a mounting base 34 so as to be held by a spring 35 in two positions: horizontally horizontally to the side and upwardly vertically.

The guide holder 33 is oriented horizontally in the process corresponding to the feeding device 2 of the fruit cap 1, and has its tip 33a facing the feeding roller 23, and has a timing device attached to a part of the posture alignment transfer device 3. (not shown) operates the extrusion device 22, and the fruit caps 1 are rapidly ejected from the feed roller 23 and are supplied over the guide holder 33.

When the guide holder 33 to which the fruit cap 1 is attached passes the feeding device 2, it is raised vertically upward by the raising cam 36, and is in a position for delivery to the mounting device 4. When a plurality of supply devices 2 are provided, it is sufficient to wake up after passing through all the supply devices 2.

The upright guide holder 33 is supported on the catch seat 33b with the folded part 11 of the fruit cap 1 facing down to align the height of the fruit cap 1, while the cut part 12 at the top is shaped into a circular shape by the body of the guide holder 33. It is opened to the top and runs synchronously above the part. The fruit cap 1 is placed in a position to be delivered to the finger 45 of the chuck device 42 of the mounting device 4. After delivering the fruit cap 1 to the finger 45 of the chuck device 42, the guide holder 33 travels a suitable distance and returns, and is turned sideways by the tilting cam 37 provided at a suitable position and transferred to the feeding device 2 of the fruit cap 1.
Return to the side.

The mounting device 4 as a mounting means is shown in FIGS. 3 and 7.
As shown in FIG. 8, the posture alignment transfer device 3
A large number of chuck devices 42 are attached at regular intervals to a chain 41 that continuously runs and rotates horizontally above a transfer device 5 as a transfer means to be described later.
Each chuck device 42 is provided with a finger 45 so that it can run and rotate endlessly. The chuck device 42 includes a finger arm 44 that slides up and down with respect to the mounting base 43.
The chuck device 42 has a radially expandable finger 45 at the lower end of the finger arm 44.
5 performs an action equivalent to a robot's hand. 46 is a cam follower (roller) for vertical movement attached to the finger arm 44, and 47 is a finger 45.
It is a cam follower (roller) for opening and closing the
It is operated by a rail 48 and a cam 49 provided along the travel path of the chain 41, respectively. That is, the rail 48 receives the cam follower 46, raises the height of the finger arm 44, and guides it while lowering it, and the cam 49 acts on the cam follower 47 to open and close the finger 45. There is. The finger 45 is always closed by a spring (not shown) in a portion where the cam 49 does not act, and when the finger 45 is in the closed state, the tip 45a has a 3-degree angle that allows the tip 33a of the guide holder 33 to enter. There is a gap. The finger 45 of the chuck device 42 runs and rotates synchronously and vertically coaxially with the upright guide holder 33 of the posture alignment transfer device 3, and also runs and rotates synchronously with the receiving plate 51 of the transfer device 5, which will be described later. It's becoming like that.

In the chuck device 42 configured as described above, when the guide holder 33 stands upright and reaches the part where the cut end 12 of the fruit cap 1 is opened with its body to take the delivery position, the finger arm 44 is lowered. After the tip 45a of the finger 45 is inserted into the inside of the fruit cap 1 between the 4-guide holder 33 and the fruit cap 1 as shown in FIG. 6A, the finger 45 is opened radially by operating the cam 49a. , as shown in FIG.
The fruit cap 1 is received from the fruit cap 1, and the finger arm 44 rises while holding the fruit cap 1 and transfers it onto the transfer device 5. In this way, a large number of fingers 45 arranged at regular intervals and continuously running and rotating are each successively inserted into the inside of the fruit cap, and the fruit cap 45 is formed into a bowl shape and held by the inserted fingers 45, while the transfer device 5
It is designed to be transported upwards.

In the fruit transfer device 5 as a transfer means, trays 51 for placing fruits 6 one by one are attached to a conveyor chain (not shown) at regular intervals. It is designed to run and rotate endlessly in synchronization with the holder unit 32 and the chuck device 42 of the mounting device 4 as a mounting means. The transfer device 5
For this purpose, it is preferable to use a known sorting machine, that is, to combine the device of the present invention in a suitable position of the sorting machine. Further, the saucer 51 is preferably a dish-shaped one with a shallow bottom. Furthermore, the saucer 51
In some cases, a structure in which the central bottom portion 51a is lifted upward (FIG. 9) is used.

The transfer device 5 configured as described above continuously transfers the fruits 6 one by one at regular intervals on the tray 51 with the fruit supply section 5a facing downward. When the finger 45 of the chuck device 42, which travels synchronously in the same direction as the tray 51, comes above the tray 51 on which the fruit 6 is placed during a part of the transfer process, the finger arm of the chuck device 42 moves synchronously with the tray 51. 44
is formed into a bowl shape by the fingers 45 and held as it is, and descends so as to press the folded part 11 of the fruit cap 1 against the fruit 6. As the fruit cap 1 descends to a certain extent, the fruit cap 1, which was held in an upward bowl shape, wraps approximately half of the fruit 6, as shown in FIG. 10B, and then, as shown in FIG. Due to the elasticity of the finger 45 itself, the cut end 12 side is inverted around the tip 45a of the finger 45 as a fulcrum to wrap the fruit 6. Then, the finger 45 is closed by the cam 49, grasps the fruit 6 wrapped in the fruit cap 1 from the outside, and lifts it slightly from the saucer 51 by raising the finger arm 44 by the rail 48. , so that the cut end 11 wraps around the fruit 6 to the lower side. Instead of the finger arm 44 going up in this slightly lifting action, the center bottom 51a of the saucer 51 may push up the fruit 6 from below to make it rise slightly above the saucer 51.

After wrapping the fruit 6 in the fruit cap 1 in this manner, the finger 45 lowers the wrapped fruit 6 onto the saucer 51 by lowering the finger arm 44, and then moves the finger 45 onto the cam 4.
9, the packaged fruit 6 is released and raised by the rail 48, and while leaving the top of the transfer device 5, the finger 45 is closed by the cam 49, and the fruit 6 is returned to the transfer device 3 side (start side) with its posture aligned.

In this way, during the transfer in which each finger 45 forms the fruit cap 1 into a bowl shape and transfers the fruit cap 1, each of the fruit caps 1 formed into the bowl shape are placed one by one on the tray 51 of the transfer device 5 and placed in a fixed position. The fruit cap 1 is attached to the fruit 6 by sequentially pressing against the fruit 6 while being synchronously transported in the same direction in correspondence with the fruits 6 that are continuously transported at intervals and wrapping the fruit 6.

When using the fruit 6 sorting machine as described above as the transfer device 5, the fruit 6 wrapped in the fruit cap 1 is further transferred to the sorting section 5 of the sorting machine.
At step 3, the packaged fruits 6 are sorted and discharged from the tray 51.

When a weight sorter is used as the transfer device 5, a known measuring device 52 is installed at the lower part of the passage of the tray 51 in the process after the above-mentioned packaging is completed, as shown in FIG.
The weight of the packaged fruit 6 is measured for each tray 51, compared with a predetermined class classification value, and a sorting section 53 sorts and discharges the fruit into the corresponding class.
In this case, it goes without saying that the weight of the fruit cap 1 is also included in the measurement, and the weight may be subtracted from the tare weight in advance. Further, in either case of a weight sorter or a shape sorter, the measuring device 52 can be provided at an appropriate location in front of the mounting device 4 and along the path of the saucer 51.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention allows each fruit cap, which is sequentially formed into a bowl shape and is transferred by each of the fingers arranged at regular intervals and continuously running and rotating, to be transferred during the transfer. Since the device is attached to fruits by sequentially pressing them against the fruits while being synchronously transferred in the same direction in correspondence with the fruits that are continuously transferred one by one at regular intervals on the means, it is possible to handle a large number of fruits and a large number of fruit caps. Since the fruits are sequentially packaged and packaged continuously during transportation, it is possible to automatically package the fruits at high speed and with high efficiency.

Furthermore, in the present invention, if a fruit sorting machine is used as the transfer means, the work of feeding fruits to the sorting machine can be used, and the feeding work for packaging the fruits can be omitted, resulting in labor savings. It is possible to further improve the

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings all show an embodiment of the apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention, and FIGS.
B and C show packaging materials, FIG. 2 is an explanatory developed view of the device, FIG. 3 is an explanatory overall plan view, FIG. 4 is an explanatory side view of the supply device, and FIG. 5 is an explanation of the main parts of the posture alignment transfer device. Figures 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams of fruit cap delivery, Figure 7 is a cross-sectional diagram of the main parts, Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram of the chuck device, and Figures 9A, B, and C are other implementations of the saucer. An explanatory diagram showing an example, FIGS. 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams of the wrapping work. 1... Fruit cap, 2... Feeding device, 3
...Attitude alignment transfer device, 4...Mounting device as a mounting means, 5...Transfer device as a transfer means, 5
a...Fruit supply part, 6...Fruit, 11...Folded part, 12...Cut end part, 21...Case, 22...
...Extrusion device, 23...Feeding roller, 24...
Pushya, 31... Conveyor chain, 32...
Guide holder unit, 33... Guide holder, 33a... Tip, 33b... Seat, 34...
...Mounting base, 35...Spring, 36...Raising cam, 37...Lowering cam, 41...Chain, 42...
...Chuck device, 43...Mounting base, 44...Finger arm, 45...Finger, 45a...
Tip, 46, 47... Cam follower, 48...
Rail, 49, 49a...Cam, 51...Saucer,
52... Measuring device, 53... Sorting section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A large number of fingers arranged at regular intervals and continuously running and rotating are sequentially inserted into a cylindrical fruit cap that is automatically fed one by one, and the inserted fingers are used to feed fruit. A cap is formed into a bowl shape and transported, and during the transport, each of the fruit caps formed into the bowl shape is made to correspond to the fruits that are continuously transported one by one at regular intervals on the transport means. This automatic fruit cap mounting method is characterized in that fruit caps are sequentially pressed onto fruits while being synchronously transferred in different directions. 2. The method for automatically attaching fruit caps according to claim 1, wherein the transfer means is a fruit sorting machine, and the fruit caps are attached to the fruits on the sorting machine. 3. It has a supply means that automatically supplies cylindrical fruit caps one by one, a transfer means that continuously transfers fruits one by one at regular intervals, and a large number of fingers arranged at regular intervals that continuously travel and rotate. , each of the fingers is sequentially inserted into the inside of the automatically supplied fruit cap to form a bowl-shaped fruit cap and then transported, and during the transport, each of the fruit caps formed in the bowl shape is An automatic fruit cap mounting device characterized by comprising mounting means for sequentially pressing and mounting fruit caps on fruits while synchronously transporting them in the same direction in correspondence with the fruits to be transported. 4. The automatic fruit cap mounting device according to claim 3, wherein the transfer means is a fruit sorting machine.