JPH0539120A - Feeder for sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To supply fruits to easily bruise or the like completely without damaging them by feeding an object to be sorted to a pan one by one through a conveyer device and a timing device when the pan of a sorting device reaches under an outlet part of the conveyer device. CONSTITUTION:An object A (such as strawberry) to be sorted is supplied on the pan 64 of a timing device 60 in a horizontal condition at the outlet of a conveyer device 40. At that time, the pan 64 of the timing device 60 is synchronized with the pan 9 of a sorting device. The timing device which has received the object A to be sorted on the pan 64 rotates around a rotational shaft 61, and when the pan 64 has reached over the pan 9 of the sorting device, the pan 64 rotates and discharges the object A to be sorted to the pan 9 which has reached under the pan 64. It is thus possible to place the object A to be sorted on the pan 9 of the sorting device one by one completely. Since the object to be sorted is discharged in a condition where a vertical height between the timing device 60 and the pan 9 is very small, impact generated at the time of loading is minor, preventing the object from being damaged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a feeder for a sorting device. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying an object to be selected to an apparatus for selecting, particularly by weight, an apparatus such as a strawberry or the like that is relatively soft and easily damaged by a force and is easily damaged by force.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, comparatively soft fruits such as strawberries and agricultural products have been selected by the naked eye according to their shapes, particularly the size of their appearance. However, recently, further improvement in sorting accuracy is desired, and there is a tendency to shift from conventional shape sorting to weight sorting.

The inventor of the present invention has previously proposed, as a weight selecting device, a precision balance type weight selecting device (Actual Kaihei 1-1).
24278). With this device, it is possible to accurately, efficiently, and quickly perform weight sorting of sorting objects. In this device, the objects to be sorted are manually supplied to the pan of the scale.

However, soft fruits such as strawberries and agricultural products are easily damaged when touched with human hands, and it is necessary to reduce contact with human hands as much as possible. Also, since the number of sorting objects to be processed is large, when supplying them manually. There is a problem that the supply amount is small and the processing efficiency of the sorting apparatus is much lower than that of the sorting apparatus, and the sorting efficiency is significantly reduced.

As an apparatus for automatically supplying the objects to be sorted to the sorting apparatus, there are those disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 63-26220 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-18223. Each of these devices supplies agricultural products to a shape-selection type sorting device, and a fixed transfer plate is installed on the exit side of the conveyor of the supply device, and one by one from the supply conveyor on this transfer plate. A picking rod (scooping material) that feeds agricultural products, while the sorting body (holding body) of the sorting device is circulating in the vertical plane, and is attached to the sorting body when the sorting body rises.
Is to pick up the agricultural products supplied on the fixed delivery board and put them into the sorting body.

Further, in the feeder disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-26220, the conveyor section has rollers arranged side by side at a constant pitch in an endless belt, and between these rollers, the rollers are placed between the rollers. Is a fruit sorter characterized by arranging narrow rods, and when the objects to be sorted (agricultural products) are transferred from the feeder to the sorting device, the objects to be sorted are sandwiched between the rollers of the feeder. To prevent that.

The feeding device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-18223 comprises an endless conveyor having a plurality of agricultural product supports arranged side by side, and a delivery member with a stopper is fixedly installed in front of the endless conveyor. There is.

[0008]

However, the feeding device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-26220 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-18223 cannot be applied to the weight sorting device of Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-124278. Can not. That is, the weight selection device of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-124278 is not provided with a receiving rod (scooping member). what if,
Even if the receiving rod is attached, if the object to be sorted is a small agricultural product, it cannot be scooped up well, and furthermore, it is not applicable to a sorting device of the type circulating in the horizontal plane.

If it is attempted to drop and feed the agricultural products directly into the sorting body of the weight sorting device from the conveyer of the feeding device without using a fixed delivery member, the timing between the tray of the weight sorting device and the feeding device is changed. It has to be adjusted very finely and in practice the problem arises that the produce supplied by the feeder does not fit well on the pan of the sorter. In particular, when the tray is moved in the horizontal plane in the weight sorting device of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-124278, sorting is performed from the supply device that continuously moves toward the horizontally moving tray. Since the target is put in, it is very difficult to match the timing of both. Furthermore, the distance between the conveyer of the supply device and the tray of the sorting device becomes large, and when a soft product such as strawberry is supplied, the strawberry is damaged when dropped.

Further, in the feeding device of Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-26220, when a soft material such as strawberry is processed, the object to be sorted (strawberry) is damaged by the roller and cannot be put to practical use.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is capable of reliably supplying the objects to be sorted, which are supplied to the feeder, one by one onto the tray of the sorter without manual labor. Moreover, the present invention provides a feeder for a sorting device that does not damage sortable objects such as strawberries and other soft and perishable fruits and agricultural products.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided a device for supplying an object to be sorted to a sorting device having a large number of trays attached to an endless chain, which has the above-mentioned object.
The supply device is composed of a conveyor device for sending an object to be sorted to a tray of the sorting device, and a timing device provided between the outlet of the conveyor device and the sorting device, the timing device being an endless device of the sorting device. A saucer that moves along a circulation path located substantially in a horizontal plane in conjunction with the linear chain,
A sorting device comprising: a tray attitude control means for bringing the tray into the sorting object receiving state below the outlet of the conveyor device and above the sorting device into the sorting object releasing state. Achieved by the feeding device.

[0013]

In the present invention having the above-described structure, the sorting object A is supplied to the tray (not shown) on the inlet side of the conveyor device or is appropriately placed in the concave portion formed in the conveyor device by hand. Are placed one by one, and in this state, they are moved toward the exit by the conveyor device. In this case, the distance between the adjacent recesses of the conveyor device is much narrower than the distance between the pans of the sorting device, so that the moving speed of the conveyor device is considerably slower than the moving speed of the pan of the sorting device. Therefore, since the installation location of the adjacent recesses of the conveyor device is close and the moving speed of the conveyor is sufficiently slow,
The worker can easily place the objects to be sorted (strawberry) in the concave portion of the conveyor device.

As described above, the objects to be sorted are supplied one by one to the tray of the timing device which is in the receiving state (almost horizontal state) at the outlet of the conveyor device.

The tray of the timing device and the tray of the sorting device are synchronized with each other. The timing device receives the objects to be sorted in the tray, and the tray of the timing device rotates around the rotation axis to receive the tray of the sorting device. When it is located in the vicinity of, the receiving tray of the timing device is in a discharging state (inclined state), and the sorting target is discharged to the receiving tray of the sorting device that has reached below. This ensures that the objects to be sorted are placed one by one on the pan of the sorting device. Further, since the sorting target is discharged with the vertical height of the timing device and the receiving tray being extremely small, the impact when the tray is mounted on the receiving tray is small and the sorting target is not damaged.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments of the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the chain 2A of the sorter drive system is adapted to move in a generally horizontal plane as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the conveyor device 40 of this embodiment is relatively soft and easily damaged such as strawberries in a direction substantially parallel to the moving direction of the chain 2A moving in the horizontal plane of the sorting device. Sorting target A such as fruits and agricultural products
When the tray 9 of the sorting device reaches below the outlet of the conveyor device 40, the sorting target objects A are fed to the tray one by one from the conveyor device through a timing device 60 described later. It has become.

That is, in FIG. 2, a chain 2A with an attachment is connected endlessly, and a pair of horizontal sprockets 3 rotatably supported at the left and right end positions in FIG.
The moving means has an oval shape by engaging with 0. One of the two horizontal linear portions (FIG. 2) located parallel to each other in the moving means constitutes the sorting path L. One of the pair of horizontal sprockets 30 is connected to a drive motor (not shown) to move the moving means in the arrow direction of FIG.

A plurality of upper balance weighing levers 1 (balances) are attached to the chain 2A with an attachment, and a tray 9 is attached to each lever 1. A plurality of weight selection points are provided along one linear portion of the moving means. The conveyor device 4 of the present invention is provided at the upstream position of the weight selection point.
0 and the timing device 60 supply the sorting target A onto the tray 9.

At each weight selection point, an entrance guide rail 5 is provided at the entrance side, a rail 3 is provided at each weight selection point, and an exit guide rail 6 and a braking means 8 are provided at the exit side. ing. It should be noted that the transfer guide rails 6 provided at the upstream weight selection points of the pair of adjacent weight selection points may be integrally continuous with the downstream transfer guide rails 5. Furthermore, a weight imparting means 4 is provided inside each weight selection portion.

Corresponding to the braking means 8 on the outlet side of each weight sorting place, a chute 22 for receiving the sorting object A from the lever 1 swinging in the discharge inclination posture is provided outside the moving means. Since the sorting target A is soft and easily damaged such as strawberries, the surface of the chute 22 is scratched by using a foam member, artificial grass or the like on the surface of the chute 22 as a flexible member. Is preferably prevented.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a large number of brackets 12 are attached to the attachment of the chain 2A with the attachment of the moving means, and the lever 1 swings on the upper portion of the bracket 12 as shown in FIG. It is swingably supported about the axis R. The saucer support vertical bar 1a is pivotally attached to the tip of the lever 1 by a pin 1c, and the lower end of the saucer support vertical bar 1a and the bracket 12 are connected by a lever 1b and pins 1d, 1e to form a parallel crank mechanism. The support vertical bar 1a always maintains a vertical state. On the saucer support vertical bar 1a,
The object A to be sorted is pivotally attached to the bottom of the placing tray 9, and when the lever 1 is rotated (chain line in FIG. 5), the tray 9 is largely inclined and the object A to be sorted is discharged to the chute 22.

Stopper 7 attached to bracket 12
(FIG. 5) holds the lever 1 swinging in the discharge tilted posture in that posture. A roller 13 having a circumferential groove is rotatably supported on the rear side surface of the bracket 12, a guide rail 2B is provided along the sorting path L, and the groove of the roller 13 is engaged with the guide rail 2B (FIG. 5). ). On the other end of the lever 1, the blade member 10 urged by the spring 10b is attached to the pin 10
It is pivotally attached by a.

The blade-shaped member 10 is provided on the entrance guide rail 5 at the weight selection point, and on the rail 3 at the weight selection point.
In addition, on the exit side, the slide guide rail 6 or the braking means 8 is slidably contacted depending on the selection result. The blade-shaped member 10 (power point a) by the weight imparting means 4 in a state of sliding contact with the rail 3.
The preset balance weight acts on.

The rail 3 engages with the force point a (the blade-shaped member 10) of the lever 1 that has moved to the weight selection point on the way of the selection path L, and the weight set in the counterweight imparting device 4 and the selection target. The swing of the lever 1 is regulated according to the weight of the object A, and the following two positions are taken.

(1) When the loading weight of the tray 9 is less than the set value, the first position shown in FIG. 6 is reached, and the lever 1 is held in a horizontal posture so that the sorting target A is placed and held on the tray 9. ..

(2) When the weight placed on the tray 9 is equal to or greater than the set value, the second position shown in FIG. 7 is reached, and the lever 1 is held in an inclined posture that is gentler than the discharge inclined posture.

The weight imparting device 4 is fixedly installed inside the moving means as shown in FIG. 2, and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lever 15 is a fixed bracket which is swingable around the axis X1. 23, the vertical frame 18 is pivotally attached to the lever 15 by the axis X2, and the lower end of the vertical frame 18 is the link 1
9, a parallel crank mechanism is configured by being connected to the fixed bracket 23 by the pins 19a and 19b.
Is always held in a vertical position. The vertical frame 18 is provided with a pan 17 for the weight 16 at the upper end thereof, and the rail 3 is attached to the middle portion thereof so as to be orthogonal to the vertical frame 18.

At the weight selection point, when the weight of the selection object A placed on the tray 9 of the lever 1 that has been transferred into the weight selection section is less than the set value of the weight imparting device 4, the rail 3 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
As described above, the lever 1 remains in the lowered position (first position), and the lever 1 maintains a horizontal posture. On the other hand, when the weight of the sorting object A is equal to or greater than the set value of the weight imparting device 4, the rail 3 is lifted as shown in FIG. 7 (second position) and the lever 1 is tilted. Therefore,
The sorting object A can be sorted by weight using the set value of the weight imparting device 4 as a threshold.

A plurality of weight selection points provided with the rails 3 and the weight application device 4 are formed in the middle of the selection path L, and the weight application is performed from the upstream side to the downstream side when viewed in the moving direction of the chain. The set weight of the device 4 is gradually reduced.

The conveyor device 40 of the present embodiment comprises a conveyor device using a timing belt. As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyor device 40 is installed horizontally in parallel with the transfer direction of the sorting device and is endless. The timing belt is hung around a pair of rotatable horizontal shafts (not shown) provided at the front and rear.

A large number of strip-shaped plates 42 made of a flexible material are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the timing belt 41, and extend in the width direction of the timing belt 41 and have recesses 42a or holes (not shown) for receiving objects to be sorted (strawberry). Adjacent to each other (see FIGS. 1 and 3). When a foamed sponge with recesses or holes is attached to the outer periphery of the timing belt 41 as a flexible material, a continuous strip-shaped foamed sponge may be used instead of the multiple plates 42.

Here, since the strip-shaped plate 42 receives the sorting target A softly, it is preferable that the strip-shaped plate 42 is made of a flexible member such as foam sponge. The plate 42 only needs to have a width capable of forming the recesses 42a, and can be sufficiently narrowed so that the interval between the adjacent recesses 42a can be much narrower than the interval between the adjacent trays 9 of the sorting device. The strip-shaped plate 42 may be replaced by a continuous sheet, but in order to eliminate the peeling due to the horizontal state of the timing belt between the timing pulleys and the arcuate state of being wrapped around the timing pulley. It is preferable to make a strip shape as in the embodiment.

It should be noted that, in place of the timing belt, two chains with attachments on the left and right are used, and a plurality of attachments (not shown) are provided between the chains with attachments on the left and right to form a pair of small chains. The attachment consists of a flat plate part and an edge part that is bent upward at the rear end of the plate part in the direction of travel, and a flexible sheet is attached to the surface of this L-shaped part. Alternatively, a recess for receiving the object to be sorted may be provided, and the recess may restrict movement of the object to be sorted according to the present invention in the width direction such as relatively soft fruits such as strawberries and agricultural products.

Chain 2 of the moving means of the above-mentioned sorting apparatus
A sprocket 30 or 31 engaging with A is connected by a known method so that power is transmitted to one of the horizontal shafts via a chain and a sprocket (not shown),
One pitch of the pan 9 of the sorting device and one of the conveyor device 40
It is designed to move in the same time as the pitch.

The timing device 60 of the present invention is provided below the exit of the conveyor device 40 and at an intermediate position between the exit of the conveyor device 40 and the above-mentioned sorting device. As shown in FIG. 1, the timing device 60 includes a body 68 fixedly installed and a body 68.
A vertical rotary shaft 61 provided on the central axis of the, and the rotary shaft 61 arranged equidistantly in the circumferential direction and extending in the radial direction.
It is composed of a book arm 62, and the lengths of the arms 62 in the radial direction are equal. The number of arms 62 may be increased or decreased as appropriate. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a pan 64 is provided at the tip of each arm 62 with a pin 63 in the circumferential direction.
A cam follower plate 65 hangs from the tray 64 so as to be slidable around an axis line orthogonal to 2.

A bracket 67 is attached to the main body 68 with a screw 66, and an annular cam 69 is provided on the bracket 67. As shown in FIG. 8, the cam 69 tilts sharply downward near the sorting device. Then, a concave portion 69a is formed which gradually rises.

The cam follower plate 65 of the receiving tray 64 is a cam 69.
As the arm 62 moves as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 8, the saucer 64 is directed toward the saucer 9 of the sorting apparatus and the pin 63 is slid.
The saucer 64 is rotated around and tilted downward as shown in FIG.

As described above, the rotary shaft 61 of the timing device 60 is connected to the moving means 2A of the above-mentioned sorting device by a known method by means of a sprocket and a chain (not shown). As shown, the rotating shaft 61 rotates in synchronization with the pan 9 of the sorting device, and the arm 62 and the pan 64 synchronize with the pan 9.

The rotating shaft 61 of the timing device 60 is rotated by the arm 62 so that the object to be sorted A moves in substantially the same direction as the moving direction of the tray 9 of the sorting device (see FIG. 2).

Another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. .. The present embodiment is different from the above-described embodiment in the structure of the timing device, but the other structures are substantially the same, and therefore the different points will be described.

The timing device 160 of this embodiment has a main body 168 made of a fixedly mounted disc and a main body 168.
It is composed of a vertical rotation shaft 161 that rotates at the center position and a cross-shaped arm 162 protruding from the rotation shaft 161.

A long hole 162a having a circular cross section is bored from each tip of the arm 162 in the longitudinal direction of the arm 162 (see FIG. 11). Rotating shaft 16 having a circular cross section from saucer 164.
4a is projected, and the rotation shaft 164a is rotatably fitted in the elongated hole 162a of the arm 162. Rotating shaft 164a
An annular recess 164b is formed in the vicinity of the tip of the arm 162, and the tip of a machine screw 164c screwed into the arm 162 is engaged with the annular recess 164b to allow the pan 164 to rotate about the axis of the arm 162. At the same time, the rotation shaft 164a is prevented from being pulled out from the arm 162.

A cam follower 165 is hung from the rotating shaft 164a, and the cam follower 165 also functions as a weight so that the weighing object receiving surface of the tray 164 is substantially horizontal in a steady state.

As shown in FIG. 10, a cam 163 is attached to the main body 168 at a position corresponding to the sorting device by means of a machine screw 163b (FIG. 12). The cam 163 has an L shape as shown in FIG. 12, and the cam follower 165 is provided on the edge portion 163a protruding upward as the rotation shaft 161 rotates.
The tray 164 rotates around the axis of the arm 162 together with the rotating shaft 164a by the contact with the tray 164, whereby the weighing object A on the tray 164 is gently transferred to the tray 9 of the sorting apparatus.

In the above embodiments, the rotary shafts 61, 1
Although the arms 62 and 162 that extend in the radial direction in the circumferential direction are arranged equidistantly around the circumference 61, the saucers 64 and 164 are provided at the tips of the arms 62 and 162 so as to be swingable. It is only necessary that the saucer can be moved along the circulation path.For example, the saucers are provided at equal intervals on the endless chain, and the saucer of the timing device is in a substantially horizontal receiving state at the receiving position located below the exit of the conveyor device. At the discharge position where the tray of the timing device is located above the tray of the sorting device, the discharge state may be inclined.

As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the structure is simple in that the cam follower is engaged with the fixedly installed cam by the movement of the receiving tray of the timing device to take one or both of the receiving state and the releasing state. There is no breakdown and it is preferable. However, the tray of the timing device may be appropriately swung by an electromagnetic solenoid, a pneumatic cylinder, or the like.

[0048]

According to the present invention, the objects A to be sorted are supplied to the tray (not shown) on the inlet side of the conveyor device 40, or appropriately placed on the conveyor device 40 by hand and held in the concave portion. One by one is held while the movement in the width direction is regulated, and in this state, it is moved toward the exit by the conveyor device 40.

At the exit of the conveyor device 40, the objects to be sorted (strawberry, etc.) A are supplied onto the pans 64, 164 of the timing device 60 in a horizontal state.

The receiving trays 64, 164 of the timing device 60 and the receiving tray 9 of the sorting device are synchronized, the timing device 60 receives the sorting object A in the receiving trays 64, 164, and the timing device 60 causes the rotating shaft 61 to rotate. When the pans 64, 164 rotate around and reach the upper part of the pan 9 of the sorting device, the pans 64, 164 roll to release the sorting target A from the pans 64, 164 and reach the lower part thereof. The sorting target A is discharged to the receiving tray 9 of. This ensures that the objects to be sorted are placed one by one on the tray 9 of the sorting device. In addition, since the sorting target A is discharged in a state where the height of the timing device 60 and the tray 9 in the vertical direction is very small, the impact when the tray 9 is mounted on the tray 9 is small and the sorting target is damaged. Nor.

That is, according to the present invention, the objects to be sorted supplied to the feeding device can be reliably fed one by one onto the pan of the sorting device without manual labor, and moreover, they are soft and easily damaged such as strawberries. Provided is a supply device of a selection device which does not damage a selection target such as fruits and agricultural products.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an essential part of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a main part of the conveyor device.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of an IV portion of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a view on arrow V in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view on arrow VI in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a second position corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a view on arrow VIII in FIG.

9 is a view taken in the direction of arrow IX in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a side view of an essential part of the second embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a view on arrow XI of FIG.

12 is a view on arrow XII of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2A Endless chain 9 Sauce 40 Conveyor device 60 Timing device 61 Rotating shaft 62 Arm A Sorting target (strawberry)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location // B65G 15/58 Z 7030-3F 47/80 C 8010-3F 47/84 E 8010-3F

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A device for feeding an object to be sorted to a sorting device having a large number of trays attached to an endless chain, the feeding device feeding the object to be sorted to the tray of the sorting device. And a timing device provided between the exit portion of the conveyor device and the sorting device, the timing device being linked to the endless chain of the sorting device in a circulation path substantially located in a horizontal plane. And a saucer attitude control means for causing the saucer to move along the saucer in a state where the saucer is to be sorted below the outlet of the conveyor device and to release the sortable object above the sorter. A feeder for a sorting device. 2. A device for supplying an object to be sorted to a selecting device having a large number of trays attached to an endless chain, the supplying device feeding the object to be sorted to the tray of the selecting device. And a timing device provided between the outlet of the conveyor device and the sorting device, the timing device rotating substantially in parallel with the endless chain of the sorting device. A shaft, a plurality of arms arranged equidistantly around the rotating shaft and extending in a radial direction, and a saucer attached to a radial tip end of the arm,
A feeder for a sorting apparatus, comprising: a saucer attitude control means for bringing the tray into the sorting object receiving state at the exit of the conveyor device and placing the sorting object in a discharging state in the vicinity of the sorting device. 3. The feeder for a sorting device according to claim 2, wherein the tray of the timing device is rotatable about an axis orthogonal to the radially extending arm. 4. The feeding device for a sorting device according to claim 2, wherein the tray of the timing device is rotatable about an axis parallel to the arm extending in the radial direction. 5. The sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the saucer attitude control means includes a cam arranged in a circulation path of the saucer and a cam follower provided on the moving saucer side. Supply device.