JPH06156687A - Crop sorting conveyor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a sorting conveyor device capable of delivering even conveyed crops of different length positively one by one as a single body. CONSTITUTION:Plural carrier bodies 21, formed in such a way that each upper side crop placing face of nearly the same width as a conveyed crop is inclined downward toward the conveying direction lower side of the conveyed crop, are disposed in parallel along the crop conveying direction in such a way that the action length becomes shorter toward the conveying direction lower side, and the mutually adjacent carrier bodies 21 are moved contrarily in the vertical direction to form a progressive placing conveyor device 3. A longitudinal guide belt 27 moving at the nearly same speed as the conveying speed of the progressive placing conveyor device 3 so as to come in contact with the conveyed crops is disposed along one lateral side of the progressive placing conveyor device 3. It is so formed that the guide action end position of this guide belt 27 can be changed and adjusted along the contact guide face and that the carrier body 21 positioned at the end part can be changed in position in the longitudinal direction of the placed crop.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention allows, for example, carrots, radishes and other vegetables to be transported such as long vegetables to be taken out from a storage section and sequentially transported to a measuring device in a subsequent step for automatic measurement and selection. In detail, the carrying-out device for sequentially carrying out the crops from the storage part and the sequential sending-out device for sending the crops sent out from the carrying-out device one by one in a predetermined posture to the weighing and sorting part in the next process. The present invention relates to a transportation device for sorting crops including a stationary transportation device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the above-mentioned crop sorting and conveying apparatus, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-235820, an upper crop placing surface having substantially the same width as that of the conveyed crop is provided. Conveying crops Conveying crops are arranged in parallel along the crop conveying direction so that the working length becomes shorter toward the lower side in the conveying direction. There is a forward-loading and placing transporting device in which a driving mechanism for moving up and down at a predetermined pitch is provided and a driving timing is set such that adjacent transporting bodies move up and down in a contradictory manner. The operating length of each of the carriers in the above was shorter toward the lower side of the carrier, and the carrier on the terminal side was set in advance to about the same length as the longitudinal direction of the crop.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The conventional structure described above is designed so that, for example, long vegetables such as carrots can be automatically sorted and transferred one by one in a reliable manner. However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, since the conveying action width on the terminal side of the progressive conveying device is a preset fixed one, when the crops to be sorted are of different types in the longitudinal direction. However, there is a possibility that two or more crops may be sent to the sorting process in a state where two or more crops are placed in the longitudinal direction on the carrier on the end side, and there is a possibility that an accurate sorting operation may not be performed, and there is still room for improvement. It was An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems by a rational structure improvement.

[0004]

According to the characteristic constitution of the present invention, in the transportation device for sorting crops described at the beginning, the upper crop mounting surface having substantially the same width as that of the transported crop has a transportation crop of the transported crop. A plurality of conveyors configured in an inclined position that is located on the lower side of the transportation side are arranged in parallel along the crop transportation direction so that the working length becomes shorter on the lower side of the transportation direction, and each transportation body is arranged at a predetermined pitch. A drive mechanism for moving up and down is provided, and the drive timing is set so that adjacent transport bodies move up and down in a contradictory manner to configure the progressive loading transport device. A guide member having a vertical surface portion that moves at substantially the same speed as the conveying speed and abuts on the conveyed crop is disposed, and the guide action end position of the guide member is arranged along the abutment guide surface. Changeable and configurable Both in that are positioned changed freely configure the transport body located in the end portion of the guide member placement 置作 product longitudinal direction.

[0005]

With respect to the crops conveyed by the carry-out device, the placed crops are sequentially transferred to the conveyance body on the lower side of conveyance along the inclination thereof by the vertical movement motion of the conveyance body. At this time, since adjacent ones of the transporters move up and down in a contradictory manner, only the crops placed on one transporter move to the transporter on the lower side. The width along the transport direction is almost the same as the crop width, and the transport width is configured to become narrower in sequence, so by repeating the transfer operation as described above multiple times, overlapping crops Only the one crop is placed on the carrier near the terminal end of the carrier. In addition, by providing a guide member that moves at almost the same transport speed along one lateral side, sliding resistance caused by the relative speed difference with the transported crop while preventing downward fall of the transported crop on the side part. It is possible to prevent the posture from being disturbed and to smoothly perform the above-described leveling action. Then, when the conveyed crops having different lengths are selected, the guide action end position of the guide member is changed and adjusted along the contact guide surface, and the conveyer located at the end part of the guide member is adjusted. By changing the position in the longitudinal direction of the mounted crop, the guide member keeps the contact guide action from one side, but the actual conveyance width due to the positional deviation between the conveyance side and the conveyance side. Can be changed.

[0006]

[Effects of the Invention] Therefore, even when a plurality of overlapping crops are carried out from the storage section, the crops can be reliably sent out one by one to the weighing and sorting section in the subsequent process, and the automatic sorting work is efficient. In addition to being able to perform well, it has become possible to provide a transporting device that can reliably deliver individual crops of different lengths while maintaining the single feed function of the conventional progressive transport structure.

[0007]

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1
Shows an automatic crop sorting device for picking up carrots, radish and other crops one by one from the storage section, weighing and sorting, sorting and collecting by sorting each weight rank. This sorting device includes a storage hopper 1 (an example of a storage unit) that stores a large number of crops, a carry-out conveyor 2 (an example of a carry-out device) that sequentially carries out the crops from the storage hopper 1, and a carried-out transported object. Sequential feed placement / transportation device 3 that sends out the crops C one by one to the subsequent step, and the transported crops C sent out from this sequential feed placement / transport device 3 are weighed while being placed and transported, and a plurality of collection tools 4 are provided for each weight rank. It is configured to include a weighing and sorting device 5 for selectively sorting and collecting.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the carry-out conveyor 2 winds an endless rotary belt 7 around a pair of upper and lower pulleys 6, 6 and a predetermined outer peripheral surface of the endless rotary belt 7. The catching protrusions 8 are formed at a pitch, and the transporting start ends of the catching protrusions 8 are arranged in the storage hopper 1 so as to face the bottom through the cutouts formed on one side of the storage hopper 1. The crops C are placed side by side one by one and are conveyed obliquely upward. Also, this carry-out conveyor 2
Vertical walls 9, 9 for preventing the transported crop C from falling laterally outward are formed on both left and right sides of each vertical wall 9,
In order to prevent the placed crops from dropping from the upper side of the transportation route toward the storage hopper 1 over the upper part of 9, a protective sheet 10 made of transparent synthetic resin covering the upper side of the transportation route of the carry-out conveyor 2 is installed. I am doing it. The conveyance start end side of the protective sheet 10 is bent in an arc shape and fixed with a screw through the contact plate 11, and for example, the crop is erroneously attempted to be conveyed while being placed on the locking projection 8 in the upright posture. At this time, the posture is changed by abutting on the arcuate bent portion 10a.

The weighing / sorting device 5 is rotatable about a horizontal axis centered at a position deviated to one side in the conveying direction, at a predetermined pitch over a pair of left and right endless rotating chains 12, 12. The mounting engaging portion 14 formed on the opposite side of the erected portion is mounted and locked on the guide rail 15 arranged along the endless rotating chain 12 to maintain a predetermined mounting posture. Configured. Then, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the movable rail 1 is set at an appropriate position in the middle of the guide rail 15.
5a, and the movable rail 15a is attached to the balance arm 16
The balance 17 is attached to one side, and the weight 17 corresponding to the weight rank is attached to the other side of the balance arm 16.
When the weight of the transported crop C placed on the heavier than the weight 17 is lower than the weight 17, the movable rail 15a is lowered downward, and the tray 13 is rotated downward to guide the placed crop downward.
The collecting tool 4 of the corresponding rank among the collecting tools 4 arranged in parallel on the lateral side along the transport direction of the endless rotating chain 12 is configured to be collected via 8 through 8. Further, the transported crop C that has not fallen to any of the collecting tools 4 is configured to be guided to fall from the transporting end portion through the guide chute 19 to the storage tools 20 arranged in parallel with each of the collecting tools 4. is there. The storage device 20 is arranged in a state in which the endless rotation chain 12 is located on the upper hand side of the conveyance than the conveyance end position.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the progressive feeding device 3 has an upper crop-placing surface 21a having substantially the same width as the transported crop C, and the lower side of the transported crop C being transported. A plurality of conveyors 21 arranged in a tilted position located below are arranged in parallel along the crop conveyance direction, and each conveyor 21
Is provided with a drive mechanism 22 for moving up and down at a predetermined pitch, and the drive timing is set so that adjacent conveying bodies 21 move up and down in a contradictory manner. That is,
As shown in FIG. 8, the odd-numbered carriers 21 are configured as a first group so as to integrally reciprocate up and down at a constant pitch, and the even-numbered carriers 21 are integrally configured as a second group at a constant pitch. It is configured to reciprocate up and down,
A pair of T-shaped rocking members 24, 24 reciprocatingly rocked by an eccentric crank mechanism 23 are provided below each carrier 21, and a connecting arm 24a connected to the carrier 21 of the first group is provided. Each of the swing members 24 is pivotally supported on one side of the balance swing end, and the connecting arm 24a connected to the second group carrier 21 is connected to the other side so that the first group and the second group are contradictory. The drive mechanism 22 is configured by setting the drive timing so as to move up and down. In addition, the conveyance width of each conveyance body 21 is formed to be wider at the conveyance start end portion and gradually narrower toward the end portion side, and at the end portion, only one crop is formed on the conveyance body 21. Is configured to be placed, and each of the transport bodies 21 is slightly inclined along the transport width direction so that the transported crops C overlapping with the transport are laterally displaced and placed one by one. is there. Then, the transport width of the two transport bodies 21 at the transport end position, that is, the width in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction is set to be larger than the transport width of the transport body 21 on the better side than that.
Further, the transport body 21A at the end is formed in a thin plate shape.

[0011] The conveyed product C dropped from the end of the carry-out conveyor 2 is guided through the guide chute 25, which guides the conveyed product C downwardly in a posture along which the conveyed product 21 is placed and conveyed. It is configured such that it is sent to a position on the upper side of the slope 21 so that the overlapped crops C to be conveyed are supplied in a state where the overlap is broken. A guide belt 27 [rotating around the vertical axis that moves the transport speed at substantially the same speed and abuts on the transported crop C on the lateral side of the transport body 21 on the high level side in the transport width direction. An example of a guide member] is provided in a range that covers almost the entire area of the conveyance path. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lower side of the inclination of the exit of the guide chute 25 is conveyed toward the lower side of the conveyance. Body 2
1 in the posture inclining toward the low level side, and in the state of extending to the midway point of the conveying path of the progressive conveying device 3, the longitudinal direction of the conveyed crop C is the longitudinal posture along the conveying direction. A guide plate 28 made of synthetic resin for changing the posture to a sideways posture is provided, and the guide plate 28 is attached so that it can be vertically swung around the horizontal axis on the hand side of conveyance and the inclination angle can be changed and adjusted. On the left and right sides of the transport body 21 where the transport end portion is located, the dropped transported crop C is returned to the reduction belt 29.
A guide chute 30 is provided to guide the flow-down to the storage hopper 1, and the transported crop C guided by the reduction belt 29 is returned to the storage hopper 1.

The mounting surface 2 on the low level side of each carrier 21
1a, on the working surface of the guide belt 27, the transported crop C
Surface material 31 that gives resistance to sliding and guides it to roll
Is attached. The surface layer material 31 is configured by arranging a large number of elastic small projections on the seat surface like a so-called artificial grass.

In the progressive transport device 3, the transported crop C is transferred to the transport body 21 on the lower side in the transport direction by the upward movement of the transport body 21 by the crop placing surface 21a in the inclined posture. The transfer target crop C is transported by sequentially repeating such transfer. At this time, since the transported crop C before being transferred to the transport body 21 moving downward is received and supported by the front surface of the next transport body 21, the separation is surely performed. Moreover, since the width of the carrier 21 along the carrying direction is substantially equal to the width of the transported crop C, and the carrying width in the direction orthogonal to the carrying direction is gradually narrowed, such a transfer movement is performed. When the above is repeated a plurality of times, the transported crops C, which are overlapped by two or more, are leveled one by one, and are securely placed one by one near the end portion. Then, the transported crop C that has been introduced into the transport device 3 in a vertically long posture in which the longitudinal direction is along the transport direction.
Is gradually guided by the guide plate 28 in a predetermined horizontal posture to perform the above-described transfer operation, and even if a small transported crop is sandwiched between the guide plate 28 and the carrier 21. , The guide plate 28 retreats upward,
Less likely to cause damage.

Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the guide action end position by the vertical surface portion 27a of the guide belt 27 on the side facing the progressive feeding device 3 is configured to be adjustable along the contact guide surface. The carrier 21 located at the end of the guide belt 27 is configured to be positionally changeable in the longitudinal direction of the placed crop. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, the support member 33 that supports the rotating rollers 32, 32 around which both ends of the guide belt 27 are wound is fixed to the fixed frame 3.
4 is configured to be bolted to a pair of brackets 35 extending from 4 through a long hole so as to be positionally changeable in the longitudinal direction, so that the entire belt can be adjusted in parallel movement along a guide action surface. There is. In addition, as shown in FIG. 13, the two conveyors 21 located at the guide action end portion of the guide belt 27 are bolted to the connecting arm 24a through the elongated holes, and the mounted crop longitudinal direction is obtained. It is structured so that it can be slid onto and adjusted to change its position. In this way, when the transported crops C are of different lengths, the end position of the progressive transfer device 3 is substantially adjusted by adjusting the end position of the guide belt 27 and the slide adjustment of the transfer body 21. Conveyor width is shorter than that before adjustment [L1] [L
2] can be set, and the vertical guide portion 27a of the guide belt 27 ensures a positive guide action by abutting guide action from one lateral side.
Individual objects can be guided to fall onto the guide chute 30 and can be fed out individually.

It should be noted that reference numerals are added to the claims for facilitating the comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the accompanying drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of drawings]

1] Overall side view of the sorting device

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a progressive feeding device.

[Fig. 3] Side view of the carry-out conveyor

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the carry-out conveyor.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a progressive feeding device.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a guide plate arrangement portion.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a guide plate arrangement portion.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the progressive feeding device.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the weighing and sorting device.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a weighing and sorting device.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a transport end portion of the progressive transport device.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a guide belt mounting structure.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a slide support structure of a carrier.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage part 2 Unloading device 3 Sequential feeding placement transfer device 5 Weighing and sorting part 21 Transport body 21a Crop mounting surface 22 Drive mechanism 27 Guide member 27a Vertical surface part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A carry-out device (2) for sequentially carrying out and carrying out crops from a storage part (1), and a weighing and sorting part for the next process in a predetermined posture one by one for the crops sent out from this carry-out device (2). A transport device for sorting crops, which comprises a sequential feeding placement transport device (3) for sending to (5), wherein an upper crop placement surface (21a) having substantially the same width as the transported crop is Conveying crops Conveying crops are arranged in parallel along the crop conveying direction such that a plurality of conveying bodies (21) arranged in an inclined position are positioned so that the lower side is closer to the lower side, and the working length is shorter toward the lower side in the conveying direction. A drive mechanism (22) for moving the body (21) up and down at a predetermined pitch is provided, and each adjacent carrier (2
1) The drive timing is set so that the two are moved upside down in a contradictory manner to configure the progressive loading transfer device (3), and the transfer speed is substantially the same along one lateral side of the sequential transfer device (3). A guide member (27) having a vertical surface portion (27a) that moves at a speed of 7
The guide action end position of the guide member (27) is configured to be adjustable and adjustable along the contact guide surface, and the carrier (2) located at the end part of the guide member (27).
1) A conveying device for sorting crops, the position of which is freely changeable in the longitudinal direction of the mounted crop.