JPH05310220A - Device for taking out preset number of agricultural product - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To take out agricultural product continuously and efficiently from conveyors to produce individual packs thereof. CONSTITUTION:The agricultural products sorted according to their classification by a sorting conveyor 2 provided with a plurality of discharge devices 52 for the same class of the agricultural products are successively discharged into hoppers 6. When a specified number of the hoppers 6 are filled with the agricultural products, the operation of the discharge devices 52 is stopped and, when the discharge part of a hopper 6 matches in position with an empty bucket 71 of a transfer conveyor 7, the agricultural products are unloaded thereinto. Upon completion of the discharge into the bucket 71, the operation of the discharge devices 52 is restarted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used in a facility for sorting and packing agricultural products, and collects the agricultural products sorted by rank into a predetermined number for each class, and separately stores the predetermined number of agricultural products for each class into a packaging device. The present invention relates to a device for extracting a set number of agricultural products for transferring and packaging each class.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the packing work of a sorting and packing facility for agricultural products, agricultural products sorted into a predetermined class from a sorting conveyor are sent to a predetermined boxing section by a carrying-out device such as a discharge conveyor, and manual work is performed in this boxing section. Alternatively, it is carried out in a cardboard box prepared in advance by a boxing robot or the like.

Depending on the type of agricultural product, the agricultural product may be packaged in small lot units, so-called small sachet units. In this case, the selected agricultural products are manually assembled into a predetermined number. Pouch or
In the case of large-scale processing, a predetermined number of pieces are manually supplied to a bag filling machine for bag packaging.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional packaging work of small bags in the agricultural product sorting and packaging facility,
There is a high rate of dependence on human work, and automation and labor saving are desired.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the set number extracting device for agricultural products of the present invention has a plurality of discharging devices for the same class along the transfer path of the sorting conveyor. A sorting device that discharges the objects to be sorted by the operation of the discharging device by a sorting signal based on the measurement result of a measuring device provided in the middle of the transfer path, and a sorting device provided corresponding to each of the discharging devices and sorting by the discharging device A hopper device that accommodates a predetermined number of objects to be sorted discharged from the conveyor and discharges them according to a discharge signal, and a predetermined number of objects to be sorted that are provided below or laterally at predetermined positions of each hopper device and that are discharged from each hopper device. And a transfer conveyer for separately storing the same in the storage section and when the preset number of objects to be sorted are stored in the hopper apparatus, the operation of the corresponding discharge apparatus is stopped, and the discharge section of the hopper apparatus is stopped. A control device that outputs a discharge signal when the empty storage portion of the transfer conveyor corresponds to the discharge conveyor, and restarts the operation of the discharge device when the discharge signal is completely discharged to the storage portion. Is.

[0006]

The objects to be sorted, which are transported by the sorting conveyor having a plurality of discharge devices along the transport path for the same class, are classified according to the sorting signal of the class based on the measurement result measured by the measuring device. And the operable discharge device is activated and discharged from the sorting conveyor and stored in the hopper device. When the respective discharging devices are in an operable state, the discharging of the objects to be sorted works so that the discharging device at the most upstream side of the transfer path of the sorting conveyor is operated to discharge to the position.

When the number of objects to be sorted stored in the hopper device reaches a preset number, the control device stops the operation of the discharging device, and the discharging part of the hopper device and the lower part of the hopper device. A discharge signal is output to the hopper device when the accommodation part of the transfer conveyor provided at a predetermined position is in correspondence, and when the discharge to the transfer conveyor is completed by this discharge signal, the operation of the discharge device that has been stopped is restarted and the inside of the hopper device is restarted. Repeated accommodating operation to. The objects to be sorted, which are stored in a predetermined number in each storage section of the transfer conveyor, are transferred to a predetermined position by the transfer conveyor.

On the other hand, when the discharging device of the class to be discharged is stopped, the discharging device of the same class on the downstream side of the discharging device operates to discharge the objects to be sorted.

That is, in the operation of the discharge device of the sorting conveyor, the discharge device on the upstream side always operates with priority.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a sorting and packaging facility for, for example, bell peppers as agricultural products, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof. FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the hopper device. FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a control device for reducing the number of pieces.

In the figure, 1 is a sorting device, which is roughly composed of a sorting conveyor 2, a measuring device 3, and a computing device 4. The sorting conveyor 2 is provided in a 1-row type and conveys the objects to be sorted in a line. The measuring device 3 is provided with a measuring device such as a camera device (not shown) at a predetermined position on the upstream side of the sorting conveyor 2 to measure the shape and size of the objects to be sorted transferred on the sorting conveyor and send the measurement signal to the arithmetic unit 4. It has become.

Although not shown in the figure, the arithmetic unit 4 comprises a class judgment unit and a sorting control unit, and the class judgment unit compares the standard value of the class preset based on the measurement signal sent from the measuring device 3 to judge the class. Then, the sorting control unit sorts the sorting-determined products at a predetermined position by synchronizing the sorting signal for discharge with the transport of the sorting target transported on the sorting conveyor 2. Plural discharge devices (5a ... c)
Or 5d ... f).

Denoted at 5a ... f are discharge devices provided at predetermined intervals along the transfer path of the sorting conveyor 2. Of the plurality of discharge devices 5, the upstream three (5a ... c) are set so as to discharge the L class, and the subsequent three downstream (5d ... f) are the M class. Set to discharge things. A sensor S for counting the number of objects to be discharged from the discharging devices 5a ... f is provided near each discharging device 5a. The signal output from the sensor S is input to the control device 9 described later.

Denoted at 51 is a pull-out conveyor, which is provided in a direction orthogonal to the sorting conveyor 2 corresponding to each of the discharging devices 5 and receives the objects to be sorted discharged from the sorting conveyor 2 and carries them out of the machine. It is becoming like this.

Reference numeral 52 denotes a discharging device for discharging a small amount or a maximum amount that is not packed, and the discharging device 5a ...
The same as f can be used. This ejector 5
Items to be sorted discharged in 2 are stored in the receiving box 53.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a hopper device, which is provided below the end portion of the draw-out conveyor 51 and is provided with a draw-out conveyor 51.
A predetermined number of articles to be sorted are carried out. In the drawings of the embodiments, the L class has four pieces and the M class has five pieces. This hopper device 6
The bottom portion is opened and closed by a shutter 61. The shutter 61 is combined with an actuator such as a cylinder (not shown), and is configured to open and close by a signal.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a transfer conveyor, which is provided below each of the hopper devices 6 in a direction parallel to the selection conveyor 2. The transfer conveyor 7 is provided with a large number of storage portions, that is, buckets 71 capable of storing a predetermined number of objects to be sorted, in a conveyor chain 72 that rotates and travels.
A predetermined number of objects to be sorted according to the class discharged from each of the buckets 71 are stored in each bucket 71 and transferred, and are automatically supplied to the bag packing and packaging device 8 arranged at the end of the transfer path.

As the bag filling and packaging apparatus 8, for example, a publicly known bag making and filling machine which is made of a plastic film can be used.

The bag-filling and packaging apparatus 5 may be constructed by integrally incorporating the transfer conveyor 7.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a control device provided for each hopper device 6, which counts the input signal from the sensor S which detects the object to be sorted each time it is discharged from the sorting conveyor 2, and the count number is preset. When the number reaches the limit, the operation of the discharge device 5 is stopped. Then, when the discharge part of the hopper device 6 in which the objects to be sorted are accommodated and the empty bucket 71 of the transfer conveyor 7 being transferred correspond to each other, a discharge signal for operating the actuator of the shutter 61 is output. The control circuit is configured to restart the operation of the discharge device which has been stopped when the discharge to the transfer conveyor 7 is completed.

In the control for confirming the empty bucket 71, the position sensor A for detecting the position of the bucket 71 is located at a position slightly upstream of the discharge timing of the hopper device 6, as well shown in FIG. Bucket 7 transferred
When 1 is confirmed, the sensor K detects whether or not there is an object at the bottom of the bucket 71.

The control device 9 is arranged individually for each hopper device 6 in the figure, but it is also possible to collectively control the hopper devices 6 in one place.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.

The objects to be sorted transferred on the sorting conveyor 2 are measured by the measuring device 3 for the shape and dimension as a class sorting element, and a measurement signal is input to the computing device 4. Arithmetic unit 4
On the basis of this measurement signal, the class is compared with the preset standard value of the class, and the sorting signal for discharging is synchronized with the transfer of the objects to be sorted to each of the three discharging devices 5 of the corresponding class. Output. Due to this sorting signal, the objects to be sorted transferred on the sorting conveyor 2 are discharged onto the drawing conveyor 51 by the operation of the discharging apparatus 5 on the most upstream side of the discharging apparatuses 5 capable of discharging, and the drawing conveyor 51. Are accommodated in the hopper device 6. At the time of this discharge, the sensor S detects the discharge of the objects to be sorted and inputs the signal to the controller 9.

The control device 9 controls each device according to the flowchart of FIG.
The signal input from is counted every time it is input, and when this value reaches a preset number (L4 pieces, M5 pieces in the embodiment), the operation of the discharging device 5 that has performed the discharging operation is stopped. The hopper device 6 containing a predetermined number of objects to be sorted,
When it is confirmed by the sensor K that the bucket 71 of the transfer conveyor 7 is in a receivable position and the sensor K is empty, the discharge signal output from the control device 9 opens the shutter 61 to store the objects to be sorted into the empty bucket 71. Release into. When the discharging is completed, the operation of the discharging device 5 which has been stopped is restarted, and the same operation as described above is repeated. On the other hand, the objects to be sorted, which are to be discharged at the position where the discharge device 5 is stopped, are operated by the discharge device 5 of the same class on the downstream side to which the same sorting signal as that of the stopped discharge device 5 is sent. Thus, it is discharged from the sorting conveyor 2 and stored in the hopper device 6 and discharged to the transfer conveyor 7 in the same manner as described above. When the operation stoppage of the discharge device 5 on the upstream side is released during this period, the discharge is immediately performed from that position.

Further, while the hopper device 6 is in a fixed quantity and is waiting for the empty bucket 71 of the transfer conveyor 7, the discharging position is moved to the downstream side and the discharging operation is performed at this position.

That is, the discharge operation of the control device 9 is configured such that the discharge device on the upstream side always gives priority to the discharge operation.

The objects to be sorted, which have been discharged in this manner and are individually transferred by a predetermined number by the transfer conveyor 7 according to the classes, are supplied to the bagging and packaging device 8 arranged at the end portion thereof and classified by the classes. It will be packed in a bag.

When the ejected number is different from the set value, it can be manually corrected by displaying the abnormal number.

The objects to be sorted in the form of pouches, which have been pouched into four or five pouches by the pouch packing and packaging device 8, can be manually sorted, but for each bucket 71 to be transferred,
If the classified information of the contained objects to be sorted is synchronously sent to the bag packing and packaging apparatus 8, it is possible to perform automatic sorting after packing the small bags.

In the embodiment, the class for selection is set to the second class (L, M), but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the objects to be sorted discharged from the sorting conveyor provided with a plurality of discharging devices for the same class are sequentially stored in the hopper device,
When a preset number of objects to be sorted are stored in this hopper device, the operation of the corresponding discharge device is stopped, and a discharge signal is output when the discharge part of the hopper device corresponds to the empty storage part of the transfer conveyor. However, since the operation of the discharging device which has been stopped is restarted when the discharge to the accommodation section by the discharge signal is completed, the sorted objects are continuously selected without requiring human labor. It can be transferred to a packaging device and can be packaged in a predetermined number according to class, and the packaging work of the sorted objects can be automated.

Further, the transfer conveyors are arranged at predetermined positions below or laterally of the respective hopper devices, and the discharges from the respective hopper devices to the transfer conveyors are configured to be discharged when the empty accommodating section corresponds. It is possible to increase the filling rate of the housing portion. Therefore, it is possible to improve the operation efficiency of the bag filling packaging device connected to the transfer conveyor,
It has extremely high industrial utility value.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a bell pepper sorting and packaging facility.

FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a detailed front view of a hopper device.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for controlling the number of pieces in a control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Sorting device 2: Sorting conveyor 3: Measuring device 4: Computing device 5: Ejecting device 51: Drawer conveyor 52: Ejecting device 53: Inbox 6: Hopper device 61: Shutter 7: Transfer conveyor 71: Bucket 72: Conveyor chain 8: Bagging and packaging device 9: Control device S: Sensor A: Position sensor K: Sensor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location // B65G 47/68 Z 8010-3F

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A measurement result of a measuring device which has a plurality of discharging devices for the same class along a transfer path of a sorting conveyor, and discharges the objects to be sorted by the operation of the discharging device in the middle of the transferring path. Sorting device based on the sorting signal based on the above, a hopper device provided corresponding to each of the discharging devices, which stores a predetermined number of objects to be sorted discharged from the sorting conveyor by the discharging device, and discharges by a discharge signal, each hopper A transfer conveyor that is provided at a predetermined position on the lower side or side of the device and separately stores and transfers a predetermined number of objects to be sorted discharged from each hopper device, and a preset number of objects to be transferred to the hopper device. When the sorted material is stored, the operation of the corresponding discharging device is stopped, and when the discharging portion of the hopper device and the empty storing portion of the transfer conveyor correspond to each other, a discharging signal is output, and the discharging signal is output. And a control device for restarting the operation of the discharging device when the discharge to the storage unit is completed.