JPH08324768A - Onion automatic separating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an onion automatic separating device for automatically separating onions by measuring the sizes of onions even when these onions have small curves. CONSTITUTION: An onion automatic separating device is provided with a carrying means 1 for carrying onion placing bases 6 set in a row in a lateral direction, an onion size detecting means 2 composed of an operation part 12 moved toward an onion A placed on the onion placing base 6 and the position sensor part of the operation part 12 with a contact sensor 14 added in its tip and a dividing means 3 for opening the onion placing bases 6 in any of the plurality of position of the carrying direction and dividing these based on the detecting signal of the onion size detecting means 2. This is further provided with a supporting body 9 for supporting the stalk part of the root of the onion A floated from the bottom plate 6A of the onion placing base 6 and a contact sensor 14 positioned immediately above the supporting body 9 on the onion placing base 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an onion automatic sorting apparatus for automatically classifying onions according to their size.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When shipping harvested green onions, it is necessary to divide them into large and small ones, which cannot be carried out efficiently and accurately by dividing the weight by measuring the weight. The inventor of the present invention has proposed an automatic sorting device for sorting green onions in the registered utility model publication No. 3002048, and has attracted attention in the art.

This conventional automatic onion sorting apparatus "feeds the green onions which are to be sorted one by one into the box body of the transport mechanism and transports them, and at the position of the thickness detection mechanism, the operating portion descends and approaches the onion. When abutting, the contact sensor senses and stops the descent of the operating part and returns to the original position.During this descent operation of the operating part, it is possible to determine the thickness of the leek by detecting the lowest position of the operating part. Then, when a plurality of combinations of the position sensor unit installed at a predetermined height and the operating unit with the light shielding plate were formed in the transport direction, the light shielding plate blocked the light of the position sensor unit by the vertical movement of the operating unit. It is possible to determine the descending position of the operating part depending on whether or not the thickness is detected by the thickness detection mechanism.
When the rotating rod at a predetermined position rotates to release the support of the bottom plate of the box body, the bottom plate of the box body opens and the green onions in the box body fall to predetermined dividing positions. It was something.

[0004]

Although the above-mentioned automatic sorting device is useful as such, it is difficult to accurately determine the thickness if the onion stem is bent, and the onion is the tip of the stem. There is a problem that it is difficult to accurately determine the thickness because there is a bifurcated leaf stem portion in the. In other words, a large bent non-standard onion can be removed manually, but the size of the onion stalk within the standard with only a small amount of bending needs to be accurately measured and divided, but the box (green onion stand) Since the bottom plate is flat, when the contact sensor comes into contact with the onion placed on it, the contact position fluctuates due to the bending of the onion, making it difficult to accurately determine the size of the stalk.

Further, since the leaf stem has a bifurcated shape, the contact position of the contact sensor may fluctuate depending on the placement of the leaf stem, even if the stem is straight. It was difficult to determine the exact size. Therefore, the object of the present invention is to make it possible to accurately determine the size of the onion within the standard in which the stalk has some bending while ensuring the usefulness of the above-mentioned conventional automatic sorting device as it is. .

[0006]

According to the present invention, a transportation means 1 for arranging onion stands 6 in a row and for conveying in the horizontal direction, and a contact sensor 14 attached to the tip end are placed on the onion stand 6. Based on the detection signal of the onion thickness detecting means 2, the onion thickness detecting means 2 consisting of the operating part 12 advancing toward the onion A and the position sensor part 13 of the operating part 12, and the onion stand 6 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the following technical means is provided in the automatic litter sorting apparatus including the sorting means 3 that performs the opening operation at any of a plurality of positions in the transport direction to perform sorting. .

That is, according to the present invention, the support body 9 which supports the root side stalk portion of the green onion A so as to float above the bottom plate 6A of the green onion stand 6 and supports the same.
Is provided, and the contact sensor 14 is positioned and provided directly above the support 9 on the onion rest 6 that is transported and moved. Further, in the present invention, the support 9 is a rod or a plate extending in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the onion, and may have a positioning engaging portion 9A on the onion rest 6 of the onion A. desirable.

[0008]

According to the present invention, when the onion A to be sorted is manually supplied to the onion rests 6 arranged in line on the conveying means 1, the root side stalk of the onion A is engaged with the support 9. It is placed on the section 9A as a direction orthogonal to the transport direction and transported. During this conveyance movement, the stalk of the green onion A is engaged with the engaging portion 9A of the support 9, so there is no delusion of the green onion A on the onion stand 6.

Further, even if the stalk portion of the onion A is slightly bent, the bending can be absorbed because the support body 9 floats above the bottom plate 6A, and even if the stalk portion of the onion A is bifurcated. Support in position. When the onion stand 6 comes to the position of the thickness detecting means 2 due to the above-described conveyance movement, the operating portion 12 descends and the contact sensor 14 comes into close contact with the stem portion of the onion A.
At 4 the size of the stalk is sensed, the descent of the actuating part 12 is stopped, and it returns to the original position (upward).

Even if the contact sensor 14 makes contact, the onion A
Is securely held by the support 9, and the stem can be accurately detected even if there is some bending. At the time of the lowering operation of the operating part 12, the thickness of the onion A can be determined by detecting the lowest position of the operating part 12, and the position sensor part 13 installed at a predetermined height and the light-shielding plate 15 are attached. If a plurality of combinations of the parts 12 are formed in the transport direction, the operating part 12
The lowered position of the actuating portion 12 can be determined by whether or not the light shielding plate 15 blocks the light of the position sensor portion 13 by the vertical movement of. Next, based on the onion thickness determination by the thickness detection means 2, when the support of the bottom plate 6A on the onion rest 6 at a predetermined position is released,
The green onion stand 6 is opened to drop the green onions into predetermined dividing positions.

[0011]

EXAMPLES Next, examples of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the onion automatic sorting apparatus shown in the embodiment comprises a conveying means 1, a thickness detecting means 2 and a sorting means 3, and the conveying means 1 has an appropriate frame shape. A transport unit (endless chain / endless belt) 4 which is wound around a drive unit and a driven unit provided in the main body and can be intermittently or continuously operated by the drive unit is provided. The transport unit 4 is parallel to the main body. Consisting of two endless chains or belts 5 wound around
A large number of long box-shaped onion stands 6 are lined up between these two endless chains 5.

In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the bottom stand 6A of the onion stand 6 is hinged with a long edge so as to be openable and closable, and the onion stand 6 is installed at a position other than the position where the sorting means 3 is being conveyed. A member (rail rod) 7 is arranged for preventing the opening / closing operation of the bottom plate 6A and closing the opened bottom plate 6A. Further, in the case of an onion having a length protruding from the onion stand 6, the conveying means 1 cannot convey the onion, and therefore, the protruding portion of the onion as shown in FIG. A cutting section 8 for cutting is attached, and the cutting section 8 is provided with a cutter 8B operated by a cylinder 8A, but may be a rotary type.

On the bottom plate 6A of the onion stand 6, the bottom plate 6A is placed.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, there is provided a support body 9 protruding upward and supporting the root side stem portion of the onion A by floating.
The support 9 is made of a bar or plate such as a round bar or a square bar. In this embodiment, the support 9 is floated and fixed via a spacer 10 and extends in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the onion A. An engagement portion 9A for preventing delusional movement of the onion A placed on the body 9 and for positioning is formed.

The flying height of the support 9 is determined in consideration of the degree of bending of the stem of the onion A and the degree of opening of the bifurcated leaf stem of the onion A. The stalk of the green onion A is surely supported by correcting and absorbing the bending condition. The engaging portion 9A of the support 9 may be formed by bending the side opposite to the conveying direction F to a high degree as shown in FIG.
It may be formed in a V-shape or a U-shape as shown in FIG. 7, or may be bent at a high level on the conveying direction F side as shown in FIG.

When the engaging portion 9A is formed in the shape shown in FIG. 3 or 6, it is possible to reliably position the stalk to move due to inertia during conveyance, but when the bottom plate 6A is opened and dropped for division. As shown in FIG. 5, the engaging portion 9A is overcome and dropped. On the other hand, in the case of the shape shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to prevent the stem from deviating due to the reaction when the conveyance is interrupted and to open the bottom plate 6A. Smooth the fall.

The thickness detecting means 2 has a combination of the operating portion 12 and the position sensor portion 13 as one unit from the frame rod 11 positioned above the main body, and is vertically arranged above the conveying mechanism in a line in the conveying direction. It is a thing. The actuating portion 12 is provided with the contact sensor 14 via the bracket 312 on the actuating rod 212 that moves forward (descends) toward the onion A in the onion stand 6 being conveyed by the fluid expansion and contraction cylinder 112 such as air. At the time of sensing, the lowering operation of the operating rod 212 is controlled so that the operating rod 212 is controlled to return to its original position by ascending.
Is provided so as to project toward the position sensor portion 13, and the contact sensor 14 is positioned directly above the positioning portion of the support body 9 without being displaced in the onion longitudinal direction.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the position sensor section 13 has a support rod 16 having a long hole 16A provided vertically and a scale rod 17 displaying a scale line 17A suspended from the frame rod 11 and attached to the support rod 16. Is a sensor mounting plate 18 having a U-shape in a plan view, which is provided with side plates facing each other across the light-shielding plate 15 from above and below, and is mounted by screws 19 along the slot 16A so as to be vertically adjustable. A light emitting unit 20A is provided between opposite side plates of the mounting plate 18.
And an optical sensor 20 including a light receiving portion 20B.

The contact sensor 14 may be doubled via the spring 114 as shown in FIG. 6, and the contactor 214 may be turned on / off while reducing the resistance at the time of contact. The sorting means 3 has an opening / closing blocking rod 22 of an appropriate length on a rotating rod 21 installed in parallel to the installation direction of the onion stand 6 below the passage position of the onion stand 6 during conveyance to the partitioning position. The projecting members arranged parallel to the carrying direction are installed in classes that should be divided at appropriate intervals, and fallen objects (bottom A) from the bottom plate 6A opened by the operation of the rotation preventing rods 22 below the carrying unit. )
Partition plate 23 and storage box 24 for partitioning the compartment into predetermined positions
Is provided.

When the apparatus is operated to perform classification based on the thickness of the onion A, the position of each sensor mounting plate 18 of the thickness detecting means arranged in parallel at the beginning is desired with reference to the scale 17A of the scale rod 17. The thickness is adjusted and fixed according to the thickness division standard, and is gradually increased (thicker) from the front part to the rear part of the conveyance. In the above embodiment, the bottom plate 6A of the mount 6 is opened, but
As shown in FIG. 8, the entire mount 6 may be opened with the pivot shaft 6B as a fulcrum. At this time, the opening / closing block 122 is not shown in the middle of the two parallel rail members 25. An interrupting portion is formed in the rail member 25 by a driving body such as a solenoid, and a notch portion 6C for avoiding interference with the sensor 14 at the time of opening operation is formed in the mounting base 6.

The configuration shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 can be adopted as the configuration other than the opening operation of the stand 6 in the embodiment of FIG. Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment will be described. The green onion A is manually supplied (a transfer (supply) machine may be used) from a predetermined supply position (the transfer start end B in FIG. 1).

At this time, the stalk is fed in a direction intersecting the conveying direction, and the stalk is positioned so as to be positioned by the engaging portion 9A in a state where the stalk is floated above the bottom plate 6A by the support 9. Due to the floating support by the support 9, the onion A is reliably and stably supported even if the stem is slightly bent. The supplied onion A is cut off at a leaf portion protruding from the placing table 6 at the cutting portion 8 and is intermittently conveyed to the position of the thickness detecting means 2. When it is conveyed to the position of the thickness detecting means 2, the operating rod 212 descends and approaches the onion A, and when the contact sensor 14 contacts the onion A, it is sensed and the descent of the operating rod 212 is stopped. Return to original position. At this time, the contact sensor 14 is directly above the support 9, and the onion A is floated and supported by the bottom plate 6A, so that even if there is some bending, it is corrected and absorbed and detected reliably.

Further, when lowering the operating rod 212,
When the light shielding plate 15 descends to the position of the sensor mounting plate 18 and blocks the light of the optical sensor 20, it is possible to determine that the onion A at that position has a predetermined thickness or less.
The pivoting rod 21 at the position leading to the table is rotated to release the support of the bottom plate 6A of the mount 6 in which the onion A is stored, and the bottom plate 6A of the mount 6 or the entire mount 6 is opened to release the support. The green onion A is dropped into the compartment a.

When the onion A is thicker than a predetermined value at the detection position, when the operating rod 212 descends to come into close contact with the onion A and stops its descending to return to the original position, the light shield plate 15 is used as a sensor. Since it does not block the light of the optical sensor 20 by descending to the position of the mounting plate 18, it is possible to determine that the onion A has a predetermined thickness or more. Therefore, move the sorting means to the next detection position without activating it. The thickness of the sensor mounting plate 18 is discriminated at a heightened position, and when the height is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the corresponding sorting mechanism is operated to drop and store in the sorting chamber b.

As described above, when the thickness of the green onion is sequentially determined and dropped and stored in the predetermined dividing chamber, the green onion is automatically divided by each thickness. The support 9 can be covered with a rubber or resin tube to prevent damage to the onion, or can be directly fixed to the bottom plate 6A without the spacer 10 and attached via the spacer 10. when,
It is also possible to prepare spacers 10 of different thicknesses and replace them according to the bending condition of the onion and attach them. Further, it is desirable that the entire device be portable.

[0025]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, even in the case of a leek whose stem portion is slightly bent within the standard, the size of the diameter can be accurately measured, and accurate sorting can be efficiently performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical front view of a main part of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an essential part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional operation diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a second embodiment of the support.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a third embodiment of the support.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Transporting Means 2 Thickness Detecting Means 3 Sorting Means 6 Onion Resting Bases 9 Supports 9A Engaging Parts 14 Contact Sensors

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 5, 1995

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Full text

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Document name] Statement

[Title of Invention] Automatic onion sorting device

[Claims]

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an onion automatic sorting apparatus for automatically classifying onions according to their size.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When shipping harvested green onions, it is necessary to divide them into large and small ones, which cannot be carried out efficiently and accurately by dividing the weight by measuring the weight. The inventor of the present invention has proposed an automatic sorting device for sorting green onions in the registered utility model publication No. 3002048, and has attracted attention in the art.

This conventional automatic onion sorting apparatus "feeds the green onions which are to be sorted one by one into the box body of the transport mechanism and transports them, and at the position of the thickness detection mechanism, the operating portion descends and approaches the onion. When abutting, the contact sensor senses and stops the descent of the operating part and returns to the original position.During this descent operation of the operating part, it is possible to determine the thickness of the leek by detecting the lowest position of the operating part. Then, when a plurality of combinations of the position sensor unit installed at a predetermined height and the operating unit with the light shielding plate were formed in the transport direction, the light shielding plate blocked the light of the position sensor unit by the vertical movement of the operating unit. It is possible to determine the descending position of the operating part depending on whether or not the thickness is detected by the thickness detection mechanism.
When the rotating rod at a predetermined position rotates to release the support of the bottom plate of the box body, the bottom plate of the box body opens and the green onions in the box body fall to predetermined dividing positions. It was something.

[0004]

Although the above-mentioned automatic sorting device is useful as such, it is difficult to accurately determine the thickness if the onion stem is bent, and the onion is the tip of the stem. There is a problem that it is difficult to accurately determine the thickness because there is a bifurcated leaf stem portion in the. In other words, a large bent non-standard onion can be removed manually, but the size of the onion stalk within the standard with only a small amount of bending needs to be accurately measured and divided, but the box (green onion stand) Since the bottom plate is flat, when the contact body comes into contact with the onion placed on it, the contact position fluctuates due to the bending of the onion, making it difficult to accurately determine the size of the stalk.

Further, since the leaf stem has a bifurcated shape, depending on the placement of the leaf stem, even if the stem is straight, the contact position of the contact body fluctuates. It was difficult to determine the exact size. Therefore, the present invention, while maintaining the usefulness of the conventional automatic sorting apparatus described above,
The aim is to be able to accurately determine the size of a green onion that has a certain bend in the stem part and that is within the specifications.

[0006]

The present invention SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION comprises a transport means 1 for transporting horizontally and arrayed the stand 6 leek, put the leek
The onion thickness detection means 2 for detecting the thickness of the green onion A by contacting the green onion A placed on the table 6, and the onion table 6 for detecting the onion thickness detection means 2 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the following technical means is provided in the automatic litter sorting apparatus including the sorting means 3 that performs the opening operation at any of a plurality of positions in the transport direction based on ing.

That is, according to the present invention, the support body 9 which supports the root side stalk portion of the green onion A so as to float above the bottom plate 6A of the green onion stand 6 and supports the same.
Is provided, and the contact body 14 is positioned and provided immediately above the support body 9 in the onion stand 6 that is transported and moved. Further, in the present invention, the support 9 is a rod or plate extending in a direction intersecting with the onion longitudinal direction, and the positioning engaging portion 9A on the onion rest 6 of the onion A is used.
It is desirable to have

[0008]

According to the present invention, when the onion A to be sorted is manually supplied to the onion rests 6 arranged in line on the conveying means 1, the root side stalk of the onion A is engaged with the support 9. It is placed on the section 9A as a direction orthogonal to the transport direction and transported. During this conveyance movement, the stalk of the green onion A is engaged with the engaging portion 9A of the support 9, so there is no delusion of the green onion A on the onion stand 6.

Further, even if the stalk portion of the onion A is slightly bent, the bending can be absorbed because the support body 9 floats above the bottom plate 6A, and even if the stalk portion of the onion A is bifurcated. Support in position. When leek stand 6 by a conveying movement of the above comes to the position of the thickness detecting unit 2, the contact body 14 to the stem of green onion A hydraulic unit 12 is lowered is close contact, the stems at the contact body 14 Detecting the size, the descent of the actuating portion 12 is stopped and the original position (upward) is restored.

Even if the contact body 14 comes into contact with the onion A, the onion A is securely held by the support body 9 and the stem can be detected accurately even if there is some bending. At the time of the lowering operation of the operating part 12, the thickness of the onion A can be determined by detecting the lowest position of the operating part 12, and the position sensor part 13 installed at a predetermined height and the light-shielding plate 15 are attached. If a plurality of combinations of the portions 12 are formed in the transport direction, the lowered position of the operating portion 12 can be determined by whether or not the light shielding plate 15 blocks the light of the position sensor portion 13 by the vertical movement of the operating portion 12. Next, when the support of the bottom plate 6A on the onion rest 6 at a predetermined position is released based on the onion thickness determination by the thickness detecting means 2, the onion rest 6 is opened to drop the onion at a predetermined dividing position. To do.

[0011]

EXAMPLES Next, examples of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the onion automatic sorting apparatus shown in the embodiment comprises a conveying means 1, a thickness detecting means 2 and a sorting means 3, and the conveying means 1 has an appropriate frame shape. A transport unit (endless chain / endless belt) 4 which is wound around a drive unit and a driven unit provided in the main body and can be intermittently or continuously operated by the drive unit is provided. The transport unit 4 is parallel to the main body. Consisting of two endless chains or belts 5 wound around
A large number of long box-shaped onion stands 6 are lined up between these two endless chains 5.

In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the bottom stand 6A of the onion stand 6 is hinged with a long edge so as to be openable and closable, and the onion stand 6 is installed at a position other than the position where the sorting means 3 is being conveyed. A member (rail rod) 7 is arranged for preventing the opening / closing operation of the bottom plate 6A and closing the opened bottom plate 6A. Further, in the case of an onion having a length protruding from the onion stand 6, the conveying means 1 cannot convey the onion, and therefore, the protruding portion of the onion as shown in FIG. A cutting section 8 for cutting is attached, and the cutting section 8 is provided with a cutter 8B operated by a cylinder 8A, but may be a rotary type.

On the bottom plate 6A of the onion stand 6, the bottom plate 6A is placed.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, there is provided a support body 9 protruding upward and supporting the root side stem portion of the onion A by floating.
The support 9 is made of a bar or plate such as a round bar or a square bar. In this embodiment, the support 9 is floated and fixed via a spacer 10 and extends in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the onion A. An engagement portion 9A for preventing delusional movement of the onion A placed on the body 9 and for positioning is formed.

The flying height of the support 9 is determined in consideration of the degree of bending of the stem of the onion A and the degree of opening of the bifurcated leaf stem of the onion A. The stalk of the green onion A is surely supported by correcting and absorbing the bending condition. The engaging portion 9A of the support 9 may be formed by bending the side opposite to the conveying direction F to a high degree as shown in FIG.
It may be formed in a V-shape or a U-shape as shown in FIG. 7, or may be bent at a high level on the conveying direction F side as shown in FIG.

When the engaging portion 9A is formed in the shape shown in FIG. 3 or 6, it is possible to reliably position the stalk to move due to inertia during conveyance, but when the bottom plate 6A is opened and dropped for division. As shown in FIG. 5, the engaging portion 9A is overcome and dropped. On the other hand, in the case of the shape shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to prevent the stem from deviating due to the reaction when the conveyance is interrupted and to open the bottom plate 6A. Smooth the fall.

The thickness detecting means 2 has a combination of the operating portion 12 and the position sensor portion 13 as one unit from the frame rod 11 positioned above the main body, and is vertically arranged above the conveying mechanism in a line in the conveying direction. It is a thing. The actuating part 12 is provided with the contact body 14 via the bracket 312 on the actuating rod 212 that moves (moves down) toward the onion A in the onion rest 6 being conveyed by the fluid telescopic cylinder 112 such as air. At the time of sensing, the lowering operation of the operating rod 212 is stopped so that the operating rod 212 is controlled to ascend and return to its original position. Further, the operating rod 212 is provided with an appropriate light shield plate 15 on the position sensor unit 13 via a screw means 512 on the connecting rod 412. The contact body 1 is projecting toward
Reference numeral 4 is positioned directly above the positioning portion of the support 9 without being displaced in the onion longitudinal direction.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the position sensor section 13 has a support rod 16 having a long hole 16A provided vertically and a scale rod 17 displaying a scale line 17A suspended from the frame rod 11 and attached to the support rod 16. Is a sensor mounting plate 18 having a U-shape in a plan view, which is provided with side plates facing each other across the light-shielding plate 15 from above and below, and is mounted by screws 19 along the slot 16A so as to be vertically adjustable. A light emitting unit 20A is provided between opposite side plates of the mounting plate 18.
And an optical sensor 20 including a light receiving portion 20B.

The contact body 14 may be doubled via the spring 114 as shown in FIG. 6 so that the contact 214 is turned on / off while reducing the resistance at the time of contact. The sorting means 3 has an opening / closing blocking rod 22 of an appropriate length on a rotating rod 21 installed in parallel to the installation direction of the onion stand 6 below the passage position of the onion stand 6 during conveyance to the partitioning position. The protrusions arranged in parallel with the conveying direction are installed in classes that should be divided at appropriate intervals, and the rotation preventing rods 2 are provided below the conveying unit.
A partition plate 23 and a storage box 24 are provided for partitioning fallen objects (green onions A) from the bottom plate 6A opened by the operation 2 into predetermined positions.

When the apparatus is operated to perform classification based on the thickness of the onion A, the position of each sensor mounting plate 18 of the thickness detecting means arranged in parallel at the beginning is desired with reference to the scale 17A of the scale rod 17. The thickness is adjusted and fixed according to the thickness division standard, and is gradually increased (thicker) from the front part to the rear part of the conveyance. In the above embodiment, the bottom plate 6A of the mount 6 is opened, but
As shown in FIG. 8, the entire mount 6 may be opened with the pivot shaft 6B as a fulcrum. At this time, the opening / closing block 122 is not shown in the middle of the two parallel rail members 25. An interrupting portion is formed in the rail member 25 by a driving body such as a solenoid of the above, and the rail member 25 is contacted with the placing table 6 at the time of opening operation.
A notch 6C is formed to prevent interference with the touch body 14.

The configuration shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 can be adopted as the configuration other than the opening operation of the stand 6 in the embodiment of FIG. Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment will be described. The green onion A is manually supplied (a transfer (supply) machine may be used) from a predetermined supply position (the transfer start end B in FIG. 1).

At this time, the stalk is fed in a direction intersecting the conveying direction, and the stalk is positioned so as to be positioned by the engaging portion 9A in a state where the stalk is floated above the bottom plate 6A by the support 9. Due to the floating support by the support 9, the onion A is reliably and stably supported even if the stem is slightly bent. The supplied onion A is cut off at a leaf portion protruding from the placing table 6 at the cutting portion 8 and is intermittently conveyed to the position of the thickness detecting means 2. When it is conveyed to the position of the thickness detecting means 2, the operating rod 212 descends and approaches the green onion A, and the contact body 14 moves on the green onion A.
It is sensed by contacting with the contact lever, and the descent of the operating rod 212 is stopped to return to the original position. At this time, the contact body 14 is the support body 9
Since the onion A is directly above the bottom plate 6A and is supported by being floated above the bottom plate 6A, even if there is some bending, this is corrected and absorbed to be reliably detected.

Further, when lowering the operating rod 212,
When the light shielding plate 15 descends to the position of the sensor mounting plate 18 and blocks the light of the optical sensor 20, it is possible to determine that the onion A at that position has a predetermined thickness or less.
The pivoting rod 21 at the position leading to the table is rotated to release the support of the bottom plate 6A of the mount 6 in which the onion A is stored, and the bottom plate 6A of the mount 6 or the entire mount 6 is opened to release the support. The green onion A is dropped into the compartment a.

When the onion A is thicker than a predetermined value at the detection position, when the operating rod 212 descends to come into close contact with the onion A and stops its descending to return to the original position, the light shield plate 15 is used as a sensor. Since it does not block the light of the optical sensor 20 by descending to the position of the mounting plate 18, it is possible to determine that the onion A has a predetermined thickness or more. Therefore, move the sorting means to the next detection position without activating it. The thickness of the sensor mounting plate 18 is discriminated at a heightened position, and when the height is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the corresponding sorting mechanism is operated to drop and store in the sorting chamber b.

As described above, when the thickness of the green onion is sequentially determined and dropped and stored in the predetermined dividing chamber, the green onion is automatically divided by each thickness. The support 9 can be covered with a rubber or resin tube to prevent damage to the onion, or can be directly fixed to the bottom plate 6A without the spacer 10 and attached via the spacer 10. when,
It is also possible to prepare spacers 10 of different thicknesses and replace them according to the bending condition of the onion and attach them. Further, it is desirable that the entire device be portable.

[0025]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, even in the case of a leek whose stem portion is slightly bent within the standard, the size of the diameter can be accurately measured, and accurate sorting can be efficiently performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical front view of a main part of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an essential part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional operation diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a second embodiment of the support.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a third embodiment of the support.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 Conveying means 2 Thickness detecting means 3 Sorting means 6 Onion stand 9 Bearing 9A Engagement part 14 Contact body

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A transportation means (1) for arranging onion stands (6) in a row and conveying them horizontally, and a contact sensor (14) attached to the tip, and placed on said onion stands (6). Green onion thickness detecting means (2) comprising an operating part (12) that advances toward the onion (A) and a position sensor part (13) of the operating part (12).
And the onion stand (6), the onion thickness detecting means (2)
And a sorting means (3) for performing an opening operation at any of a plurality of positions in the transport direction based on the detection signal of (1), and sorting means (3), wherein the root side stem part of the onion (A) is Bottom plate (6) of onion stand (6)
A support body (9) that floats above and is supported by A) is provided, and the contact sensor (14) is positioned and provided directly above the support body (9) in the onion stand (6) that is transported. Automatic onion sorting device 2. The support (9) is a rod or plate extending in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the onion, and a positioning engaging portion (9A) on the onion stand (6) of the onion (A). ). The automatic onion sorting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: