JPH08252541A - Grader for spherical vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To secure a space to enable an operator to stand on a hand placing section by limiting the number of pieces of sloped receiving links relative to a single supporting bridge and receiving vegetables and fruits with a pair of the right and left sloped receiving links. CONSTITUTION: Each supporting bridge 3 to be integrally mounted with one side of link plates 1a of a traveling chain 1 is projectingly provided with two pieces of the sloped receiving links 5 pivotally and independently fitted at the base ends in parallel to each other apart a respective projecting spacing c'. A conveyor transporting body is constituted by continuing V-shaped placing parts 6 formed by a pair of such sloped receiving links 5. In such a case, the sloped receiving links 5 are pivotally fitted at fulcrum shafts 4a mounted with springs 8 for turning on the supporting arm parts 3a of the supporting bridges 3. Further, the detaining step parts 5a of the base ends are detained to actuation lever rods 10 to be pressed by a rotary solenoid type control means (control means) 9 on the transporting machine frame side. The control means 9 turn and hang the sloped receiving links 5 in accordance with the sorting signals.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for sorting fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes and the like, which is suitable for hand-loading work, in which the placement (set) position is regulated by automatic sorting of vegetables and citrus fruits.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a ball-shaped fruit and vegetable such as vegetables and citrus fruits used in a tangerine orchard, etc., is a ball-shaped fruit or fruit using an optical or camera-type equal / grade measuring device. Has been automated so that the outer shape is measured for each unit, the grade and rank are automatically determined based on the measured values, and a predetermined spherical fruit can be dropped and sorted by the fruit selection signal. As this conveyor means, a fruit sorting conveyor for supplying and placing spherical fruits and vegetables in one row is used, and an optical or camera type class measuring device is arranged in the middle of the fruit sorting conveyor, and the grade measuring device is passed through the grade measuring device. The external shape is automatically measured.
In this case, generally, the arrangement of the fruit sorting conveyor group is such that many (6, 8, etc.) fruit sorting conveyors are narrowed (narrowed) in view of intensive measurement of the grade measuring device and transport management. Also, the configuration is such that the transport paths are arranged in a parallel arrangement and as a whole are straight.

[0003] That is, a large number of fruit sorting conveyors use a series of linear conveyors from the sorting and feeding section to the measuring section and the sorting section in view of the arrangement space of the sorting place and management. Moreover, spherical fruits and vegetables are like citrus fruits such as mandarin oranges.
In a fruit-picking conveyor of a mode in which the placement position (set posture) for one unit is relatively unspecified, the feeding mechanism from the supply conveyor, which is the previous process, to the aligning and supplying unit may be simply addressed to one unit and the feeding mechanism may be sequentially loaded. We are dealing with mechanical supply using.

[0004]

However, in order to use a camera-type equal-class measuring device in which a sphere (lump) of fruit or vegetables is to be placed like this, such as tomatoes, with its face facing downward, an error will occur. However, the set posture is restricted, and the placement process must be done by hand. In this case, a large number of fruit sorting conveyors are simply arranged in parallel with a narrow interval (straight path).
In the case of the combination (1), an operator inevitably stands at one side of the fruit sorting conveyor group in the sorting and feeding unit, and must lift, for example, one tomato one by one and place it on the receiving plate of the fruit sorting conveyor. At this time, the worker is easily placed on the fruit sorting conveyor on the front side. However, when the fruit sorting conveyor has a multi-row configuration such as 6 rows or 8 rows, the arrangement width increases as a whole, and the other side (the back side). The fruit conveyer cannot be reached, and the hand-loading operation is troublesome or impossible.

[0005] It is conceivable that the fruiting conveyor is appropriately meandered to widen the arrangement interval and that an operator stands inside the fruiting conveyor. For example, a conventionally known fruiting conveyor of this type (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-10050). The configuration of the receiving piece (slat-shaped receiving plate) for receiving the spherical fruits and vegetables described in the official gazette is difficult because of a conveyor path mainly composed of a straight road. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the configuration of the receiving piece of the fruit-picking conveyor has been such that a single holder a supported on front and rear pins f of a predetermined pitch on a predetermined link plate e of the chain body d with a constant pitch. On the other hand, at least three (three or more) receiving piece pieces b are provided in a protruding manner. However, in order to mount three receiving pieces b on a holder a having a constant width (length), the single receiving piece itself becomes narrow and the projecting gap c of each receiving piece b is inevitable. The arrangement of the receiving piece group on the entire fruit sorting conveyor also becomes a narrow protruding gap c. In the fruit sorting conveyor provided with the holder a for arranging the receiving piece b, the receiving piece group moves in parallel in a straight running, so that there is no problem (the receiving piece does not touch each other). However, in a mode in which the conveyor path of this specification is slightly curved to meander, the chain body must also bend,
Holder a group attached to each link plate also bends sequentially,
The protruding gap c between the adjacent holder a and the receiving piece b narrows according to a predetermined radius of curvature, and the leading ends of the two receiving pieces b come into contact with each other when traveling on a curve (see FIG. 10). It is difficult to form a meandering path that curves greatly. In particular, in the one-sided support type that receives spherical fruits and vegetables only with the one-sided projecting piece, the length of the single piece is naturally set large,
Increasingly, the tips of the receiving pieces touch each other under the curve. Therefore, it is not possible to provide a bent (meandering) path for providing a space for an operator in the hand-loading section during the multiple-row sorting conveyor. Also, the receiving piece b protruding from the holder a is
In the case of a large number of pieces or more, a plurality of pieces b are often positioned with respect to a single spherical fruit and fruit, and the extra spherical fruit and fruit are dropped, resulting in poor selectivity.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention limits the number of inclined receiving piece pieces to a single supporting piece (holder) to two, and receives a pair of left and right inclined receiving piece pieces. As a result, even if the traveling chain itself is curved, a transport path in which the tip of each piece of the receiving piece does not touch is obtained, so that a space for an operator to stand on the hand-holding portion can be easily provided, and tomatoes and the like that solve the above-mentioned problems can be provided. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for sorting fruit and vegetables.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention measures a spherical fruit and vegetables to be fed and arranged in a line by a camera type grade measuring device which sorts the grade into grades and the like. In the fruit and vegetable sorting device that sorts the fruits and vegetables at a predetermined drop and discharges them to the lower conveyor, the conveyor means for transporting the spherical fruits and vegetables is laid with a traveling chain that is a curved chain that is freely bendable to the left and right. At the same time, a support piece is attached at a fixed interval to each of the opposing sides of each of the running chains, and each of the single support pieces is provided with two inclined receiving pieces which pivot at a predetermined signal with their base ends pivoted. And a conveyer body in which divided V-shaped mounting portions formed of a pair of left and right inclined receiving pieces are connected to each other, and the arrangement of a plurality of strips of the conveyor conveyance body is set at a hand-holding portion position. To provide space for workers in the middle And the array of positions of the camera type equivalent class measuring device continuous to the hand-holding section is a parallel array with a narrow interval through a meandering path section, and the left and right inclined receivers of the sorting section position in this parallel array path. On each lower surface of the piece, an inclined drop guide rod that spreads downward in the transfer direction is installed,
The slidable receiving piece is slidably rotated down on the inclined drop guide rod.

[0008]

As described above, in the apparatus for selecting spherical fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, the conveyor conveyer is rotated by a predetermined signal on each of the supporting pieces arranged opposite to one side of the pair of bendable traveling chains. Since each of the inclined receiving piece pieces is provided in a protruding manner, and the inclined receiving piece pieces which are opposed to each other on the left and right sides constitute the split type V-shaped mounting portion,
When aligning and feeding (handing), where the placement position is regulated like spherical fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes that requires hand-working, a number of units within a range within which the worker can reach a large number of conveyor conveyors (1
Even if the running chain is appropriately curved (meandering) with a meandering path portion, the supporting piece has two inclined receiving pieces protruding, so that the adjacent inclined receiving piece is formed. The protruding gap with the piece is set to be relatively large, so that the tips do not touch each other even when curved (of course, the spherical fruits and vegetables of the present invention are supported by a pair of left and right inclined receiving pieces only. However, the length of a single inclined receiving piece can be shortened, and this can cope with the curve. The conveyor carrier is located in the hand rest part and can be curved appropriately to provide a space for workers in the middle.If a worker enters this space, even if there are multiple conveyor carriers, the position regulation of spherical fruits and vegetables can be performed. Easy to place. That is, in the hand-holding section, the spherical fruits and vegetables can be placed on the conveyor transporting body in a short state (a range in which the hand is not reached unnecessarily), which is efficient. In addition, even in the transfer from the hand-holding section to the multiple measuring sections at a narrow interval through the meandering path section, the inclined receiving pieces do not touch each other, and a smooth and stable transition is achieved. In the measurement section, the grade and class are measured by capturing the outer shape with a grade measuring device that is taken from above, and the signal resulting from this grade and class value is input to the control means arranged at a certain position on the side of the front sorting section. , The left and right inclined receiving piece pieces carrying the fruits and vegetables that are transferred in synchronism with the operation of the control means are released and pivoted. The fruits and vegetables get a shock-free discharge to the discharge conveyor below, as they gradually open without sliding instantly.

[0009]

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings of the embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an apparatus for sorting fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes in the form of spheres (lumps) such as a tomato or the like, in which conveyor conveyors are arranged in a parallel arrangement of four strips and a pick-up portion is provided on the front side of the conveyor. A so-called curved chain running chain laid on both sides of the transport path 2 and capable of bending to the side, and a support piece 3 made of synthetic resin is integrally formed on one side of a link plate 1a at a fixed interval of each running chain 1. The support piece 3 is provided with two inclined receiving pieces 5 which are pivotally attached to the base end independently of each other at a predetermined projecting gap c '. V-shaped mounting portion 6 formed by the inclined receiving pieces 5 and 5 of FIG.
Continuously constitute a conveyor transporting body 7. In this case, the inclined receiving piece 5 is pivotally attached to a supporting arm 3a of the supporting piece 3 by a fulcrum shaft 4a on which a rotation spring 8 is mounted.
The engaging stepped portion 5a at the base end is locked by fitting the tip locking pin portion 10a of the actuating lever 10 which is pressed by the operator 9a of the rotary solenoid type control means 9 provided on the transporter frame 2a side. The control means 9 is a sorting section 7c of the conveyor carrier 7.
In response to a predetermined signal caused by the equality / class value of the camera type equivalent class measurement device 11 arranged above the measurement part 7b in the previous stage, the inclined type piece 5 is turned down. I have. Numeral 8 'denotes a spring mounted on the pivot portion of the operating lever 10. Further, the chain pin 1b and the link plate 1a are loosely fitted so that the chain body can be freely bent.

Further, each of the four conveyor conveyors 7
In order to centralize the measuring unit 7b in which the camera type class measuring device 12 is arranged above and the sorting unit 7c in which the discharge conveyor 13 is arranged orthogonally below a predetermined position, the parallel arrangement is narrowed (closed). In addition, at the front stage of the measuring unit 7b, in the hand-holding unit 7a, the conveyor transporting body 7 is formed as a pair of two-row units (as shown), and is arranged in an expanded arrangement divided into right and left to provide a space 14 where an operator can stand in the middle. Install. In this case, an intermediate portion between the hand-holding section 7a and the measuring section 7b is continuous as a meandering path section 7d in which the traveling chain 1 is appropriately curved, and constitutes a series of conveyor paths as a whole. Since the conveyor transporting body 7 in the meandering path section 7d has only two inclined receiving piece pieces 5 having a large protruding gap c 'protruding from a single supporting piece 3, naturally the adjacent inclined pieces 5 are provided. The protruding gap c 'with the piece 5 is set larger than that of the conventional type in which three pieces are arranged on a single plate supporting piece, and the traveling chain 1 itself is curved by the meandering path 7d. However, the tips of adjacent inclined receiving pieces 5 do not touch each other (see FIG. 8). 15
Is a fixed inclined drop guide rod at the sorting section 7c of the conveyor transporting body 7, in which the lower surface of the inclined receiving piece 5 of the support piece 3 protruding from both sides of a predetermined location from the machine frame side slides; The inclined falling guide rod 15 is structured so as to be inclined downward in the transfer direction and to spread outward from the opposite center side, and the number of the inclined falling guide rods 15 is a predetermined number of classes (for example, the number of sorting such as L, M, S, etc.). ) Are sequentially arranged, and these also constitute a spherical fruit and vegetable sorting apparatus equipped with a hand-held portion for tomatoes and the like in all configurations. Numeral 16 is a guide rod type return means for the inclined receiving piece 5 which is disposed at the terminal position of the carrier portion of the conveyor transporting body 7 and which is sequentially inclined upward and descends. In the drawing, reference numeral 5b denotes a buffer member made of soft rubber or the like protruding in the longitudinal direction of the upper surface of the inclined receiving piece 5.

By the way, the dimensions of the conveyor carrier 7 are as follows: the distance between the pair of running chains is 242 mm, the length of a single link plate is 46 mm, and the length of a single support piece is 58 mm. Width 37 mm (including the amount of protrusion of the support arm),
The inclined receiving piece pivotally attached to the supporting piece is 76 mm long (however,
The protrusion from the pivot point is 23 mm wide, the protrusion gap between the inclined receiving pieces is 9 mm, and the opposed V-shaped gap is 22 mm.

The operation will be described next. When it is necessary to place the hand on the conveyor such that a spherical fruit A such as tomato or the like has its dented portion facing downward, first, a series of a plurality of articles rotated by the drive of the motor 17 is used. A worker (not shown) stands up at a position of a space 14 formed in the hand-carrying portion 7a of the conveyor carrier 7 and the spherical fruits A which have been separately carried in 1
Each piece is picked up by hand and placed on a split-type V-shaped placing portion 6 composed of the inclined receiving pieces 5 and 5 facing each other to form a stable set.

Spherical fruits and vegetables A such as tomatoes placed on the split type V-shaped placing portion 6 of the hand-carrying portion 7a are moved by the conveyor carrier 7 from each hand-carrying portion 7a through the meandering path portion 7d to form a plurality of strips. Proceed to the position of the measuring unit 7b where the interval is narrowed.

In this case, in the meandering path section 7d, the traveling chain 1 curves at a predetermined radius of curvature and each link plate 1a also bends slightly to the side. Since the number of the projecting inclined receiving pieces 5 is two and the projecting gap c 'is set large, and the mounting portion is a pair of left and right inclined receiving pieces 5, it is inevitable that a single inclined receiving piece 5 is provided. The length of the piece 5 is shortened, and even when the chain is curved, the tips of the adjacent inclined receiving pieces 5 do not touch each other, and the chain can be smoothly transported, so that the spherical fruits and vegetables A
Is transported on the V-shaped mounting portion 6 as a whole without causing shaking.

When the spherical fruits and vegetables A on the conveyor carrier 7 reach the measuring section 7b, when they pass through the well-known camera type equal class measuring device 12 arranged over the upper part of this conveyor path, the spherical fruits and vegetables A are detected by the camera. The outer shape of the product is photographed, this image processing is performed by a computer, and a signal of the grade / class value calculated by appropriately calculating this value is synchronized with the transfer speed of the traveling chain 1 and the spherical fruits and vegetables A are discharged from the predetermined sorting section 7c. When the position is reached,
The operation lever 9 is input from the machine frame side to a predetermined control device 9 projecting therefrom and operates the control means 9 to press the operation lever 10 of the support piece 3 by the lowering of the operation element 9a. Since the engagement step 5a of the inclined receiving piece 5 is disengaged by lever operation, the inclined receiving piece 5 is pivotally suspended about the pivot 4 by a pivot spring 8 for mounting.

In this case, the lower surface of each of the rotating inclined receiving piece pieces 5 faces the downward direction of the inclined falling guide rod 15 in the transfer direction, so that the lower surface of the inclined receiving piece pieces 5 falls obliquely. While sliding the guide rod 15, the guide rod 15 is gradually rotated and opened with the transition. That is, the spherical fruits and vegetables A placed across both the inclined receiving piece pieces 5 and 5 serving as the split type V-shaped placing portion 6 are sequentially lowered, and the inclined fruits are removed from the inclined drop guide rods 15 and 15 in the inclined shape. The receiving piece pieces 5 and 5 are completely hung (rotated by 90 °) to be in a so-called double-door open state, and the spherical fruits and vegetables A drop (see FIG. 7). It

The inclined receiving piece 5 which is in a hanging posture with respect to the supporting piece 3 which has reached the end position of the carrier portion of the conveyor path is rotated by the returning means 16 which serves as an upward inclination rod opposite to the above. 8 forcibly raises the inclined receiving piece 5 to return it to a horizontal state, and slides the arc-shaped trailing edge 5b of the inclined receiving piece 5 on the tip end locking pin portion 10a of the operating lever 10. Enters the engaging step portion 5a at the base end and is locked to maintain the lateral projection.

Further, the spherical fruits and vegetables A are placed on the conveyor carrier 7 only to the divided V groove portion having a gap 6a in the middle of the divided V-shaped placing portion 6 formed by a pair of right and left inclined receiving piece pieces 5. Since it is received by 6b, the spherical fruits and vegetables A can be stably placed without being affected by the outer shape, size, and irregularities.

[0020]

As described above, in the apparatus for sorting spherical fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes of the present invention, the conveyor means for transferring the spherical fruits and vegetables is supported at a predetermined interval (unit of link plate) between a pair of curved chain running chains. , And two inclined receiving pieces are protruded therefrom to form a divided V-shaped mounting portion by the left and right inclined receiving pieces. In this arrangement, even if the chain is bent and a meandering path is provided in order to obtain a space for the worker in the hand-holding section, the projecting inclined receiving pieces do not touch the supporting piece. That is, in a mode in which spherical fruits and vegetables require hand placement such that the mounting direction is limited, such as tomatoes, even if a part of the conveyor body is meandered (appropriately bent) to form a meandering path portion, the inclination of the support piece body is increased. Since the number of protruding projecting piece pieces is a small number of two, a relatively large gap is obtained between adjacent inclined receiving piece pieces, and a pair of left and right mounting portions are formed to shorten the single length. Therefore, even if the chain is curved, the tip end portions of the inclined receiving piece do not come into contact with each other, and a smooth transfer can be performed without swinging. As a result, a space for an operator to stand on the hand-holding portion is easily provided, the hand-holding operation for position regulation is facilitated, and the conveyer body has an increased mounting capacity as a whole. Further, in the sorting section, the receiving piece that operates due to a predetermined signal is a double door opening method that opens sequentially downward while sliding on the inclined drop guide rod, and the discharge conveyor can be closely approached. It is possible to minimize the impact of dropping compared to the case of using a single-support type receiving piece piece, which is also suitable for fruits and vegetables that are easily damaged like tomato. Further, in the present invention, since a pair of left and right oppositely inclined inclined piece pieces receive spherical fruits and vegetables in the V-shaped receiving groove portion which is divided at the center, it is stable even if the outer shape has some size, irregularity. This has the effect of being able to be placed in an inclined position. Although the description of the fruit selection device has been made with reference to tomatoes, it is needless to say that the invention can also be applied to various citrus fruits such as tangerines and various bulk fruits and vegetables such as carrots and cucumbers.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a main part of a fruit-picking apparatus for spherical fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing essential parts of a supporting piece and an inclined receiving piece.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a support piece and an inclined receiving piece piece.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a relationship between an inclined receiving piece and an inclined falling guide rod.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram in which spherical fruits and vegetables fall by the double-sided opening of the tilted receiving piece that rotates with respect to the tilted drop guide rod.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a curved state that forms a meandering path section of the conveyor conveyance body.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a single-support type spherical fruit and vegetable transporter in which three receiving piece pieces are arranged on a conventional holder.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view in which the spherical fruit and vegetable carrier is curved.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Traveling Chain 2 Conveying Path 3 Supporting Piece 5 Inclining Receiving Piece 6 Dividing V-shaped Placement Part 7 Conveyor Means (Conveying Part) 7a Hand Placement Part 7b Measuring Part 7c Sorting Part 7d Meandering Part 12 Camera Type Equal Class Device 13 Discharge conveyor 15 Inclined drop guide rod

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A grade of spherical fruits and vegetables to be fed in a line
Measured with a camera-type equal-grade measuring device that sorts the class, etc.,
In the fruit and vegetable sorting device that sorts by a predetermined drop during the transfer process and discharges it to the lower pull-out conveyor due to this equality / class value, the conveyor means for transferring the spherical fruit and vegetables is curved to the side so that it can be bent to the side. The running chains, which are to be chains, are laid in opposition to each other, and support pieces are attached at regular intervals to one side of each of the running chains, and each single support piece is turned by a predetermined signal with its base end pivoted. Move 2
A plurality of inclined receiving pieces are protruded, and a divided V-shaped mounting portion formed by the pair of left and right inclined receiving pieces is a conveyer body connected in series, and a plurality of strips of the conveyor carrier are provided. Array
An expanded arrangement providing a space for workers in the middle of the hand rest part position, and the arrangement of the camera type equivalent class measuring device positions continuous to the hand rest part is a parallel arrangement with a narrow interval through a meandering path part, and this parallel arrangement On each lower surface of the left and right inclined receiving pieces at the sorting portion position on the road, an inclined falling guide rod which spreads downward in the transfer direction is erected, and the sliding inclined receiving piece sliding on the inclined falling guide rod is gradually provided. A fruit sorting device for spherical fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, characterized by rotating and hanging.