JPH0858727A - Boxing device for long vegetable - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a boxing device which can assuredly pack long vegetables which are sorted and discharged from a sorting conveyor without damaging the vegetables and in addition, while ranging one of the side ends of the long vegetables, and can efficiently and automatically pack the long vegetables in a box while saving works by hand. CONSTITUTION: Long vegetables S which are sorted and discharged from a sorting conveyor 1 are put on respective loading parts of a container 2 wherein a plurality of loading parts consisting of grooves in the longitudinal direction are formed in parallel, and carried. Then, the container 2 containing the long vegetables S is tilted to the front end side or rear end side of the container 2 by end partranging device 6 which is provided on the path for the carrying. By the tilting of the container 2, the long vegetables S on the container 2 are ranged at a specified location while one of the side ends being fastened by the internal surface of the edge part of the container 2. The long vegetables of which the side ends are ranged are picked up by a picking up/transfer device 8 while being held by a plurality, and are packed in a box at a specified boxing unit.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is preferably used in a sorting field for sorting and packing long vegetables such as cucumber, carrot and eggplant, and more specifically, it automatically selects long vegetables sorted and discharged from a sorting conveyor. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a boxing device for long vegetables that is boxed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the packaging of long vegetables sorted and discharged from a sorting conveyor is carried out by pulling out the long vegetables discharged from the sorting conveyor to the outside of the machine, so that the long vegetables are not manually intersected with each other. In addition, large size vegetables such as 2L, L, etc. with one side end aligned are packed in an array (one row) as shown in FIG. 16A, and smaller size ones, such as M, S, etc. They are packed in an array (two rows) as shown in FIG.
In addition, although not shown, packing is performed in a plurality of different columns.

Also, as a boxing device for relatively small and long vegetables such as broad beans, common beans, and peas, the Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho-6 is used.
The one disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-3808 is known.
This boxing device packs long vegetables supplied from the belt conveyor into the hopper into a box that stands below the hopper by aligning the longitudinal direction of the long vegetables in a certain direction by the swinging alignment partition in the hopper. It is something to try.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned manual boxing is concentrated because the amount of long vegetables sorted and discharged from the sorting conveyor is not always constant, depending on the grade and distribution ratio of long vegetables. However, there is a problem that when it is sparsely discharged, it becomes empty and the work efficiency is low. Moreover, there is a problem in that the quality of the packaging (direction, arrangement, quantity) is lacking in certainty because of manual work, and the degree of fatigue of the operator is great.

Further, the above-mentioned manual packing work must be carried out by mobilizing the largest number of manual laborers at the peak period of box packing and shipping in the sorting field. It is difficult and labor-saving in packaging work is strongly demanded.

On the other hand, the Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-3808 discloses that long vegetables are aligned in a substantially constant direction so that they are so-called loosely packed, as shown in FIG.
As in 6 (b), the long vegetables cannot be packed in a box by aligning the rows of long vegetables and one end of the long vegetables, and since the long vegetables are dropped into the box from above the hopper, they can be used like cucumbers. It has a drawback that it cannot be used for packaging long vegetables whose epidermis is easily damaged.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems and demands, and it is possible to reliably pack long vegetables sorted and discharged from a sorting conveyor without damaging them, and to automatically save human labor. An object of the present invention is to provide a boxing device for long vegetables that can be boxed in a box.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the boxing device for long vegetables according to the first aspect, a plurality of mounting portions composed of longitudinal grooves are formed in parallel, and the edges of the front and rear ends are formed. A container whose portion is formed higher than the groove bottom, and a container in which long vegetables discharged from the sorting conveyor are placed and conveyed on each of the plurality of placing portions and tilted to the front end side or the rear end side. An end aligning device that locks one side end of the long vegetables on the container to the inner surface of the edge of the container, and holds and picks up a plurality of long vegetables from the container sent from the end aligning device. And a pick-up and transfer device for transferring to a box packing section and packing in a box in a predetermined arrangement.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container for packaging a long vegetable, in which a plurality of mounting portions each having a groove in the front-rear direction are formed in parallel, and edges of a front end and a rear end are formed higher than the groove bottom. , Tilting the preceding container in which the long vegetables discharged from the sorting conveyor are respectively placed on the plurality of mounting portions and conveyed to the front end side, and tilting the subsequent container to the rear end side, the preceding container An end aligning device for locking one side end of a long vegetable placed on the upper and subsequent containers to the inner surface of the edge of each container, and a preceding container sent from the end aligning device The present invention is characterized by further comprising a pick-up and transfer device for holding and picking up a plurality of long vegetables from above and on a subsequent container and transferring the picked vegetables to a predetermined box packing section and packing them into the box in a predetermined arrangement.

[0010]

According to the apparatus for packaging long vegetables of claim 1 configured as described above, the container in which the long vegetables discharged from the sorting conveyor are placed on the plurality of placing portions and conveyed is The container is tilted to the front end side by the aligning device. The tilting of the container causes the long vegetables on the container to slide along the groove along the groove and one end of the long vegetable is locked to the inner surface of the edge of the container. As a result, one end of the long vegetables placed on each placing section is aligned at a fixed position. A plurality of long vegetables on a container whose one side end is aligned are held by a pick-up and transfer device while being picked up, transferred to a predetermined boxing section, and packed in a box in a predetermined arrangement.

Further, according to the long vegetable packing apparatus of the second aspect, the containers in which the long vegetables discharged from the sorting conveyor are placed on the plurality of placing portions and conveyed are sequentially fed to the end aligning device. . When the leading container and the trailing container are fed, the end aligning device tilts the leading container toward the front end side and tilts the trailing container toward the trailing end side. By this tilting, the long vegetables placed on the preceding container and the succeeding container are slid along the groove on the placing portion, and one side end thereof is locked to the inner surface of the edge of each container. . As a result, one side end of the long vegetables placed on each placing portion of each container is aligned at a fixed position. The long vegetables placed on the preceding container and the succeeding container whose one end is aligned are picked up by the pick-up and transfer device and transferred to a predetermined boxing section and packed in a box in a predetermined arrangement. .

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, cucumber is used as the long vegetables S in this example.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a boxing device for long vegetables according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same. FIG.
[Fig. 3] is a schematic plan view of a sorting and packaging facility showing a state in which a plurality of long vegetable packaging devices of the present embodiment are arranged along a conveying path of a sorting conveyor.

First, the outline of the configuration of each part will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a sorting conveyor, which is a long vegetable S
Are transported and are sorted according to a class based on a predetermined class classification during the transportation. In the embodiment, the sorting conveyor 1 is configured to be arranged in a two-row type, but may be a plurality of different rows. The sorting conveyor 1 is provided with twelve discharging devices 10 at each sorting discharge position for each class according to the number of mounting portions of the containers 2 described later. The number of the discharging devices 10 is the same as the number (12
The number is not limited to the above.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a container in which a predetermined plurality (12 pieces) of long vegetables S are placed. A container transfer device 3 supplies an empty container 2 below each sorting and discharging position of the sorting conveyor 1, and when a long vegetable S is placed on the container 2, the container 2 containing the long vegetable S is forwarded. It is designed to be sent to. A guide device 4 is provided between the selection conveyor 1 and the container transfer device 3, and guides the long vegetables S discharged from the selection conveyor 1 onto the container 2. A storage device 5 conveys the container 2 on which the long vegetables S are placed and waits at a predetermined pick-up position. An end aligning device 6 tilts the container 2 conveyed on the storage device 5 to align one end of the long vegetables S on the container 2. Reference numeral 8 denotes a pick-up and transfer device, which picks up the long vegetables S from the container 2 waiting on the storage device 5 and packs them in the box.

Next, the configuration of each part will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The sorting conveyor 1 is a long vegetable S.
A laterally long bucket 11 for laterally mounting the paper is mounted between the left and right conveyor chains 12, 12 that endlessly travel and rotate, by a mounting member 13 such as a pipe or a round bar so as to be rotatable in large numbers at regular intervals in the transport direction. ing. The bucket 11 is horizontally held by being engaged with a pin (not shown) projecting to the side of the bucket 11 by a catch mechanism (not shown) attached to the conveyor chain 12, and when the engagement is released. It is designed to rotate downward.

The bucket 11 is maintained in the horizontal position when the catch mechanism (not shown) is released by the discharging device 10 including an electromagnetic solenoid, a cylinder, etc. provided at a predetermined sorting and discharging position. The release of this engagement causes the bucket 11 to rotate downward.

The sorting conveyor 1 is, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-4.
The sorter conveyor device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 9848 can be used.

The sorting conveyor 1 is equipped with a measuring device (not shown) such as a camera for measuring a predetermined sorting item of the long vegetables S on the bucket 11 in the middle of its conveying path. Based on a measurement result (not shown), a predetermined sorting division is determined by an arithmetic processing unit (not shown). Based on this sorting classification, a sorting control device (not shown) outputs a sorting signal that is output in synchronism with the conveyance of the bucket 11.
Are operated sequentially. Further, the predetermined sorting classification is a class in the embodiment, and the sorting conveyor 1
Is designed to sort long vegetables S by rank.

In the sorting control device (not shown), first of the twelve discharging devices 10, the discharging device 10 on the most downstream side is first.
After activating A (the left end in FIG. 8), the output destination of the sorting signal is preset so as to sequentially activate the discharging device 10 along the upstream side. When the discharging device 10 is sequentially operated by the sorting signal output from the sorting control device (not shown), the corresponding bucket 11 is rotated downward and the long vegetables S on the bucket 11 are discharged downward.

The container 2 is constructed as shown in FIGS. That is, the container 2 is formed of a material such as a synthetic resin, and a plurality of long vegetables S for packing are vertically oriented in the front-rear direction (conveying direction) of the container 2 and are arranged in the left-right direction (12 in the drawing).
The upper surface is formed in a wave shape by the valleys 21 and the peaks 22 so that they can be placed side by side. The edge 2a at the front end and the edge 2b at the rear end of the container 2 are formed higher than the bottom of the valley 21. The outer shape of the container 2 is formed in the same size for each class, but the number of the valleys 21 is small in the large class (2L, L) and small in the small class (2S, S) depending on the packing form. I am trying to form many. In this embodiment, the mounting portion in the claims corresponds to the valley portion 21.

It is preferable that the shape of the upper surface of the container 2 is appropriately formed according to the type of the object to be sorted. For example, the upper surface of the main body of the container 2 is divided by projections or partition members (not shown) to form a plurality of mounting portions. Can also be formed.

Further, the upper surface of the container 2 in the embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in, when the long vegetable S is placed on the valley portion 21, only the middle portion of the long vegetable S is supported.
Portions corresponding to both ends of the long vegetable S on the upper surface of the container 2 are formed slightly lower than the corrugated valley portion 21. As a result, even if the long vegetables S are slightly bent, they are not supported on both ends, and can be stably placed on the container 2.

The container transfer device 3 supplies an empty container 2 below the sorting and discharging position of the sorting conveyor 1, and when a predetermined number of long vegetables S discharged from the sorting conveyor 1 are placed on this container 2. The container 2 is held horizontally and transferred to the side of the sorting conveyor 1. The same container transfer device 3 is provided symmetrically for each class according to the two-row sorting conveyor 1. Therefore, the description will be made using one unit.

That is, 30 is a frame of the container transfer device 3. A start end sprocket 31, an end sprocket 32, and lower sprockets 33, 33 are mounted on the frame 30 on the left and right in the transport direction with a predetermined distance therebetween. The left and right sprockets 31, 32, 33, 33 are axially mounted on the frame 30 with a predetermined length position offset in the transport direction. Reference numerals 34, 34 denote conveyor chains, which are stretched over the left and right sprockets 31, 32, 33, 33 so that when an intermittent driving device (not shown) is activated, they move a predetermined distance in the arrow direction and stop. Has become.

Reference numeral 35 denotes a container mounting base for mounting the container 2 in a rectangular shape in a plan view, and as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the container platform 35 is supported at two points on the two conveyor chains 34, 34 by mounting portions 35a, 35a provided in the diagonal direction of the pallet platform 35. There is. Therefore, the conveyor chains 34, 3
Even when 4 is continuously rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6, the container platform 35 can be circulated and transferred from the upper stage to the lower stage or from the lower stage to the upper stage while maintaining the horizontal state. In addition, this container platform 3
5 is an opening 35 having a size such that the container 2 does not fall on the bottom thereof.
A carry-out conveyor 36 (carry-in conveyor 38), which will be described later, penetrates the opening 35b from below and ascends and descends.

Reference numeral 36 denotes a carry-out conveyor, which carries out the container 2 containing the long vegetables S on the container mount 35 onto the conveyor 50 of the storage device 5 which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 9, the carry-out conveyor 36 is provided across the forward path side (upper part) of the conveyor chain 34 and the upper surface of the conveyor 50 of the storage device 5, and the lifting device 37.
It is designed to move up and down. This carry-out conveyor 3
6, a drive type belt conveyor or roller conveyor can be used.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a carry-in conveyor, which has a structure similar to that of the carry-out conveyor 36 as shown in FIG. 9 and is provided so that the carrying direction is reversed between the return side (lower part) of the conveyor chain 34 and the lower return conveyor 51. The empty container 2 on the return conveyor 51 is loaded onto the container platform 35 of the container transfer device 3. The carry-in conveyor 38 has the same structure as the carry-out conveyor 36, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The guide device 4 is provided between the selection conveyor 1 and the container 2 of the container transfer device 3, and centers the long vegetables S sorted and discharged from the selection conveyor 1 to each trough of the container 2. 21 above.

That is, 40 and 40 are a pair of supporting members, and as shown in FIG. 6, they are opposed to each other between the sorting conveyor 1 and the container transfer device 3 with a space slightly wider than the width of the bucket 11. . As shown in FIG. 8, 41 and 41 are containers 2
The fixed guide plates are obliquely installed at predetermined upper positions corresponding to the ridges 22 at the left end and the right end, respectively, and are installed between the support members 40, 40 as shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 42 is a rocking guide plate, which is provided at a predetermined position above each of the mountain portions 22 of the container 2 in correspondence therewith. In the swing guide plate 42, a support shaft 43 provided at a lower end portion thereof has a bearing 44 between the support members 40, 40.
The upper end portion is pivotally supported by and is configured to be swingable at a fixed angle.

Reference numeral 45 denotes a rotary solenoid, the output shaft of which is connected to each of the support shafts 43 of the swing guide plates 42. When the rotary solenoid 45 is operated by an operation command (not shown), the swing guide plate 42 is predetermined. It is designed to rotate at an angle. Therefore, this swing guide plate 42
By activating the rotary solenoid 45 before the long vegetables S are discharged, it can be tilted in an inverted V shape above the discharged valleys 21. This allows
The long vegetables S discharged from the sorting conveyor 1 are centered by an inverted C-shaped guide plate and packed on the valley 21.

The rotary solenoid 45 is driven by a control circuit (not shown) which is preset so that the rotary solenoid 45 operates a predetermined time after the discharge device 10 operates. Further, as another method of driving the rotary solenoid 45, when the long vegetables S sorted from the sorting conveyor 1 pass through the swing guide plate 42, they are driven by a signal from a sensor (not shown) that detects this. You can

The storage device 5 merges and carries out the containers 2 containing the long vegetables S sent out from the sorting conveyors 1 for each class for each class, and makes them wait at a predetermined pick-up position. And an upper transfer conveyor 50 that transfers the container 2 on which the container 2 is placed.
A return conveyor 51 for transporting the empty container 2 provided at a predetermined position below, and a terminal end portion 50b of the transport conveyor 50.
And a lift device 52 provided in the.

The transfer conveyor 50 is provided across the sorting conveyor 1 as shown in FIG. The conveyor 50 is an accumulable roller conveyor including a large number of rollers 53 that are rotationally driven, and conveys the container 2 on which the long vegetables S are placed in the direction of the arrow in the figure. In addition, this transfer conveyor 50
Is not limited to the roller conveyer system shown in the drawings, and various conveying means such as a chain conveyer and a belt conveyer can be used.

As shown in FIG. 12, the return conveyor 51 has a structure similar to that of the transfer conveyor 50, and is installed at a predetermined position below the transfer conveyor 50 with the transfer direction reversed, and is lowered by the lift device 52. Empty container 2
Are conveyed to above the carry-in conveyor 38.

As shown in FIG. 12, the lift device 52 is provided adjacent to the terminal end portion 50b of the transfer conveyor 50, and the transfer device 54 is configured to have a cylinder (not shown). ), It can be raised and lowered. The conveyor 54 receives the container 2 containing the long vegetables S from the upper conveyor 50 when the conveyor 54 ascends, so that the conveyor 54 travels and rotates in the same direction as the conveying direction of the conveyor 50.

On the other hand, the conveyor 54 is controlled so that the conveying direction is opposite to that of the upper stage in order to send the empty container 2 onto the lower return conveyer 51 when it is lowered.
The machine length of the conveyer 54 is set so that two containers 2 can be placed side by side in the carrying direction. The size (machine length) of the conveyor 54 can be set arbitrarily according to the size of the container 2 and the packaging method.

Reference numeral 55 denotes a stopper device which prevents the container 2 containing the long vegetables S sent out onto the conveyor 50 by the carry-out conveyor 36 from colliding with the container 2 containing the long vegetables S conveyed from the upstream side of the conveyor 50. As described above, when the carry-out conveyor 36 operates, the carry-out conveyor 3
The container 2 on the upper side of 6 is temporarily stopped on the conveyor 50.

Reference numeral 56 denotes a stopper device, which has the same construction as that provided on the transfer conveyor 50, is provided so as to project above the return conveyor 51, and is provided with a subsequent empty container during the operation of the carry-in conveyor 38. 2 is to be paused.

When the two containers 2 transported on the storage device 5 are arranged side by side, the end aligning device 6 tilts the two containers 2 simultaneously to the front end side and the rear end side, respectively. ing.

That is, 60 and 60 are frame frames, which are mounted on the left and right frames 501 and 501 of the conveyor 50. Reference numerals 61 and 61 denote support shafts, which are rotatably supported by bearings 62 and 62 between the left and right frame frames 60 and 60. The support shafts 61, 61 have
The tilting arms 63, 63 are symmetrically attached to the outside of the outer shape of the container 2.

Reference numerals 64, 64 are contact plates, and the tilting arms 63, 63 have slide bearings 65, 65 and a slide shaft 6.
6 and 66, which are slidably mounted inward. 67, 67 are the contact plates 64, 6
It is a clamp cylinder for retracting and retracting 4.

Reference numerals 68 and 68 denote stopper members provided on the tilting arms 63 and 63, which are combined with cylinders 69 and 69 so that the stopper members 68 and 68 can move forward and backward. The stopper members 68, 68 are attached to the tilting arms 63, 63 on the front side in the transport direction in order to stop the preceding container 2. Therefore, when the stopper member 68 advances, it comes into contact with the front end of the preceding container 2 conveyed on the conveyor 50.

Reference numerals 70 and 70 denote rotating levers, which are attached to one ends of the support shafts 61 and 61. Reference numeral 71 is an interlocking shaft, and drive levers 72, 72 are attached to both ends thereof. The drive lever 72 and the rotating lever 70 are connected by connecting links 73 and 73, respectively. 74 is a drive motor, and the sprocket 75 of the drive shaft thereof is connected to the sprocket 76 attached to the interlocking shaft 71 by a chain (not shown).

Reference numeral 77 is a stopper plate that appears on the transport conveyor 50 in front of the end aligning device 6 and is combined with an elevating cylinder 78.

According to the end aligning device 6, the preceding container 2 conveyed on the conveyor 50 is the conveyor 5
It is temporarily stopped on the conveyor 50 by the stopper members 68, 68 provided on the tilting arms 63, 63 standing by at 0. When the front end of the succeeding container 2 is connected to the rear end of the preceding container 2 from the preceding container 2, the stopper plate 7
7 projects onto the transport conveyor 50 and stops the transport of the container 2 further transported from the rear. The two containers 2 temporarily stopped on the conveyor 50 by the stopper members 68, 68 are clamped by the left and right contact plates 64, 64 by the operation of the clamp cylinders 67, 67. Container 2
When is clamped, the drive motor 74 operates and its rotational force is transmitted to the front and rear support shafts 61, 61 via the interlocking shaft 71. As a result, the tilting arm 6 that clamps the container 2
3, 63 are tilted by a predetermined angle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pick-up and transfer device 8 sucks a plurality of long vegetables S on the two containers 2 standing by on the conveyor 54 of the lift device 52 by the vacuum suction type suction means 81. Then, the long vegetables S are transferred to a position above the box support device 85 and transferred to the box support device 8
5 is packed in a cardboard box 100 that stands by.

As shown in FIG. 15, this pick-up and transfer device 8 is a slide in which a cylinder 82 and a link 83 are combined when the front and rear suction means 81 are transferred from the container 2 onto the cardboard box 100. The mechanism 84 narrows the space in front of and behind the suction means 81 so that the suction means 81 can be placed in the cardboard box 100. As a result, the front end of the long vegetable S on the preceding container 2 and the rear end of the long vegetable S on the subsequent container 2 can be boxed exactly along the inner surface of the corrugated board box 100.

In the embodiment, as the means for holding the long vegetables S, the long vegetables S are sucked and held by using the vacuum suction type suction pad, but the holding means is not limited thereto. May be.

The box supporting device 85 raises an empty cardboard box 100 for packing to a predetermined height in a predetermined boxing section and makes it stand by, and lowers the boxed cardboard box 100 to lower it. It is designed to be delivered onto a product transport conveyor 9 provided at a predetermined position below 51.

Reference numeral 91 denotes a product merging conveyor arranged in parallel with the sorting conveyor 1 so that the corrugated cardboard boxes 100 sent out for each class by the product conveying conveyors 9 are merged and conveyed.

Reference numeral 95 denotes an empty box carrying conveyor for carrying an empty cardboard box 100, which is provided outside the box supporting device 85 at a predetermined upper position in parallel with the sorting conveyor 1. The corrugated cardboard boxes 100 transported by the empty box transport conveyor 95 are sent one by one toward the corresponding box support device 85 by the box distribution device 96 provided on the side of the empty box transport conveyor 95. .

Reference numeral 97 denotes an empty box lowering device provided corresponding to the box distributing device 96, which vertically lowers the cardboard box 100 sent by the box distributing device 96 and sends it out onto the box supporting device 85. ing. The supply method of the empty cardboard box 100 is not limited to the drawing, and various methods can be used.

The operation of the long vegetable packing apparatus configured as described above will be described below. First, the empty container 2 is transferred by the container transfer device 3 in advance below each sorting and discharging position and is on standby.

The long vegetables S placed horizontally on the bucket 11 of the sorting conveyor 1 with the hanging side (base part) or the flower drop side (tip part) aligned on one side are placed in a measuring device (not shown) during the conveyance. The predetermined selection items are measured by. Then, a class is determined by an arithmetic processing unit (not shown) based on the measured result. Then, based on this class classification, the sorting control device (not shown) first discharges the discharging device 10A on the most downstream side among the discharging devices 10 having 12 sorting signals.
(The left end in FIG. 8) is output.

According to this sorting signal, the corresponding discharge device 10
When A is operated, the long vegetables S on the bucket 11 are stored in the container 2
Is supplied on the leftmost valley 21 of the. Then, the discharged long vegetables S are supplied from there to the valley 21 on the upstream side. Thereafter, the same supply operation as described above is sequentially carried out by moving to the upstream side.

Further, the sorting control device is (not shown).
Operates the twelve discharge devices 10 sequentially from the leftmost side to the right side, and when the rightmost discharge device 10L is activated, the sorting signal of the sorting signal is set so that the leftmost discharge device 10A is activated again. The output destination is controlled in advance.

The discharge device 1 on the leftmost side by the sorting signal
The long vegetables S discharged from the bucket 12 due to the operation of 0A are fixed on the leftmost valley portion 21 of the container 2 and are tilted in an inverted V shape to stand by. Is guided to the center and guided downward, and is placed on the valley portion 21 of the container 2 through the gap between the guide plates 41 and 42.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the discharged long vegetables S are placed on the leftmost valley 21 of the container 2, the guide plates 41 and 42 swing to the leftmost. The rotary solenoid 45 of the guide plate 42 operates to move the upper end of the swing guide plate 42 to the left side (imaginary line in FIG. 11).
Rock to. As a result, even a slight bend that causes a slight catch between the guide plates 41 and 42 can be smoothly packed on the valley portion 21.

On the other hand, when the leftmost rocking guide plate 42 rocks to the left, the rocking guide plate 42 and the rocking guide plate 42 on the right side of the rocking guide plate 42 on the next valley portion 21. An inverted V-shape is formed. As a result, the long vegetables S to be discharged next can be centered and placed on the next valley 21. Hereinafter, this operation is performed by sequentially moving to the upstream side along with the operation of the discharging device 10.

Reference numeral 46 is a guide bar, and each swing guide plate 4
It is formed by a rod or a plate-shaped member between the lower part of 2 and each mountain part 22, and guides the long vegetables S placed on the valley part 21 so as not to rest on the adjacent valley part 21 due to reaction. ing.

In this way, the long vegetables S are placed in each valley 21 of the container 2.
The container 2 on which is placed is sent to the next station (on the carry-out conveyor 36) while being placed on the container platform 35 by the intermittent drive device (not shown) of the container transfer device 3 being activated. The container 2 containing the long vegetables S sent out onto the carry-out conveyor 36 is moved by the carry-out conveyor 36 to the container table 3
It is sent out from above 5 to the upper conveyer 50 of the storage device 5. On the other hand, with this carry-out conveyor 36, long vegetables S
While the filled container 2 is being sent out, the empty container 2 is fed from above the lower return conveyor 51 by the carry-in conveyor 38.
Are carried on the container mounting table 35 of the container transfer device 3.
(See FIG. 9).

The container transfer device 3 sends the container 2 on which the long vegetables S are placed from below the sorting / discharging position to the next station (on the carry-out conveyor 36) and at the same time sends the empty container 2 to the sorting / discharging position. The operation of sending downward is synchronized.

In this container transfer device 3, the long vegetables S discharged from the rightmost discharge device 10L in FIG. 8 are supplied to the rightmost valley 21 of the container 2 and at the same time.
It is supposed to be replaced. For this reason, the long vegetable S, which is to be continuously discharged next, is the leftmost discharging device 10
It is transferred to the position corresponding to A. Therefore, the next container 2 can be supplied below the sorting / discharging position by the container transfer device 3 while utilizing the transfer of the bucket 11. Therefore, even if the long vegetables S conveyed by the sorting conveyor 1 are continuously discharged to the same sorting and discharging position, the long vegetables S can be continuously supplied without stopping the sorting conveyor 1. it can.

The container 2 containing the long vegetables S sent out to the upper carrying conveyor 50 by the carrying-out conveyor 36.
Are transported in the direction of the arrow by the transport conveyor 50 and their front ends are stopper members 68, 6 of the end aligning device 6.
Locked at 8. The container 2 sent to the end aligning device 6
When two are connected to each other at a predetermined position and stand by, the clamp cylinders 67, 67 operate to clamp the container 2 from both sides of the container 2 by the contact plates 64, 64. After the clamping, when the drive shaft of the drive motor 74 is rotated by a certain angle, the interlocking shaft 71 connected to this drive shaft is rotated and the turning force is transmitted to the front and rear support shafts 61, 61. As a result, the front and rear tilting arms 63, 63 tilt in a V-shape at a predetermined angle as shown in FIG.

By this tilting, the clamped preceding container 2 tilts toward the front end side and the following container 2 tilts toward the rear end side. Therefore, the long vegetable S placed on the preceding container 2 slides down on the valley 21 and one end thereof is locked to the inner surface of the front edge of the container 2. On the other hand, the long vegetable S placed on the succeeding container 2 slides down on the valley 21 in the same manner as described above, and one side end thereof is locked to the inner surface of the rear edge of the container 2.

When the container 2 tilts for a predetermined time, the drive motor 74 operates to lower the tilted container 2 to a predetermined lower position. When the lowered container 2 is placed on the conveyor 50, the stopper members 68, 68 are retracted and the contact plates 64, 64 are also retracted, so that the container 2 containing the long vegetables S having the one side end aligned. The clamp is released.
When this clamp is released, the container 2 containing the long vegetables S is sent by the transfer conveyor 50 to the conveyor 54 of the preceding lift device 52 and stands by there. The transfer conveyor 50 controls the timing of merging on the transfer conveyor 50 by the stopper device 55 in order to combine and transfer the containers 2 containing the long vegetables S fed from the two container transfer devices 3. Has become.

When a predetermined number of long vegetables S containing the long vegetables S on the conveyor 54 of the lift device 52 are lined up, two in the drawing, the long vegetables S on the containers 2 are sucked and held by the suction means 81. Then, the suction means 81, which holds the long vegetables S, moves to a position above the box supporting device 85 as shown in FIG.
By this, the front and rear of the suction means 81, 81 are narrowed, and one side end of the long vegetables S is aligned and packed in the cardboard box 100 which stands by on the box support device 85.

Thereafter, this operation is repeated, and when a predetermined number of long vegetables S are stacked in the corrugated cardboard box 100, the box support device 85 lowers the corrugated cardboard box 100 and sends it out onto the product transport conveyor 9. Then, the cardboard box 100 filled with the long vegetables S transported by the product transport conveyor 9 is sent out onto the product merging conveyor 91 at a merging timing.

On the other hand, the container 2 on the lift device 52, in which the long vegetables S are picked up by the adsorption means 81 and emptied,
It is lowered onto the return conveyor 51 and sent out to the other side.
The empty container 2 sent to the return conveyor 51 is conveyed toward the carry-in conveyor 38 by the return conveyor 51 and is used in a circulating manner.

In the above embodiment, the edge aligning device 6 is used to
Although the individual containers 2 are configured to be tilted to the front end side and the rear end side at the same time, the containers 2 may be tilted one by one.

In order to tilt the end aligning device 6,
Although it is configured by using the mechanism in which the motor and the link are combined, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that other different means such as a cylinder can be adopted.

[0074]

As described above, the apparatus for packaging long vegetables of the present invention tilts one side end of the long vegetables placed on the container from the sorting conveyor to the front end side or the rear end side. It is designed to lock and align with the inner surface of the edge of the container, pick up a plurality of long vegetables whose one end is aligned and pick them up with a transfer device and pack them in a predetermined array. It was possible to automate and mechanize the long-sized vegetable packaging that had been done.

Further, the long vegetables are packed in a box with one side end thereof aligned, so that when the long vegetables are packed in a box, the long vegetables can be packed in the box along the inner surface of the box. This improves the volume feeling of the long vegetables when packed in a box and improves the appearance of the aligned state and the like, and has the effect of gaining high market and consumer praise.

Further, since one side end of the long vegetables is aligned and packed in the box, if the distance between the end of the long vegetables and the inner surface of the box is set in advance to the minimum gap where the ends of the long vegetables do not collide. , The ends of long vegetables do not hit the inner surface of the box when packing. Therefore, it is possible to prevent breakage and injury of long vegetables at the time of packing in a box and save labor for a watchman for this purpose.

[0077]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the entire packaging device for long vegetables according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a sorting and packaging facility in which a plurality of long vegetable packaging devices of FIG. 1 are arranged in parallel.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a container.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the same container.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the container transfer device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the container transfer device.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the guide device.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing operating states of a carry-out conveyor and a carry-in conveyor.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the guide device.

11 is a partial detailed view of FIG. 8. FIG.

12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the edge aligning device.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 15 is a partial detailed view of the pick-up transfer device.

16 (a) and 16 (b) are explanatory views of a boxing pattern for long vegetables.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Sorting conveyor S: Long vegetables 10: Ejection device 11: Bucket 12: Conveyor chain 13: Mounting member 2: Container 21: Valley 22: Mountain part 3: Container transfer device 30: Frame 31, 32, 33: Sprocket 34 : Conveyor chain 35: Container platform 36: Carry-out conveyor 37: Lifting device 38: Carry-in conveyor 38: Guide device 40: Support plate 41: Fixed guide plate 42: Swing guide plate 43: Spindle 44: Bearing 45: Rotary solenoid 5: Storage device 50: Conveyor 51: Return conveyor 52: Lift device 53: Roller 54: Conveyor 55: Stopper device 56: Stopper device 6: End alignment device 60: Frame frame 61: Spindle 62: Bearing 63: Tilt Frame 64: Contact plate 65: Slide bearing 66: Slide shaft 67: Clamp cylinder 68: Topper member 69: Cylinder 70: Rotating lever 71: Interlocking shaft 72: Drive lever 73: Connection link 74: Drive motor 75: Sprocket 76: Sprocket 77: Stopper plate 78: Lifting cylinder 8: Pick-up transfer device 81: Adsorption means 82 : Cylinder 83: Link 84: Slide mechanism 85: Box support device 9: Product transport conveyor 91: Product merging conveyor 95: Empty box transport conveyor 96: Box distribution device 97: Empty box lowering device 100: Cardboard box

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location B65G 47/53 F

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A container in which a plurality of mounting portions each including a groove in the front-rear direction are formed in parallel, and edges of a front end and a rear end are formed higher than the groove bottom, and a plurality of long vegetables discharged from a sorting conveyor. End alignment for tilting the container conveyed on each of the mounting parts to the front end side or the rear end side to lock one side end of the long vegetable on the container to the inner surface of the edge part of the container And a pick-up and transfer device for holding and picking up a plurality of long vegetables from the container sent from the end aligning device and transferring them to a predetermined boxing section and packing them in a box in a predetermined array. A characteristic long vegetable packaging device. 2. A container in which a plurality of mounting portions each including a groove in the front-rear direction are formed in parallel, and edges of a front end and a rear end are formed higher than the groove bottom, and a plurality of long vegetables discharged from a sorting conveyor. Of the preceding container, which is placed on each of the loading parts and conveyed, is tilted to the front end side, and the subsequent container is tilted to the rear end side, and placed on the preceding container and the succeeding container. An end aligning device that locks one side end of the long vegetables to the inner surface of the edge of each container, and the long vegetables from the preceding container and the subsequent container sent from the end aligning device. A packaging device for long vegetables, comprising: a plurality of holding and picking-up devices, a transfer device for picking up and transferring to a predetermined cartoning part, and a picking-up and transferring device for packing into a box in a predetermined arrangement.