JPH0970213A - Washing device in leaf vegetable harvester - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the subject washing device designed to remove soil, etc., stuck to the roots of leaf vegetables such as spinach at the same time of their harvesting. SOLUTION: In a self-propelled leaf vegetable harvester mounted with a pretreatment conveyer 12 to firmly hold both sides of the leaves of leaf vegetables and pull and convey the vegetables toward a operating section C situated behind, a main tank 2 with washing water reserved in is set up under the conveyer 12, a washing gutter 4 with the upper part open is arranged nearly in parallel with the conveying channel for the vegetables, and a pump 3 to lift water onto the upper part of the washing gutter 4 is provided; and during the conveyance of the vegetables on the conveyer 12, soil, etc., adhered to the roots of the vegetables is washed off.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a harvester for harvesting leafy vegetables such as spinach.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, using a sandwiching and conveying conveyor wound around an endless belt formed of a soft elastic material such as sponge, both sides of the leaves of leafy vegetables are sandwiched and pulled out from the field, and the sandwiching and conveying is performed. A soil removal device consisting of a suction pipe with multiple suction ports and a vacuum pump is installed below the conveyor's transport path, and the soil and mud adhering to the roots are sucked in during the transport process, allowing the harvest target to be harvested. A technique for removing mud and the like attached to the root of leafy vegetables is known in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-314183.

[0003]

However, in the prior art, in the structure utilizing the soil removing device using the suction pipe having the suction port opened, the mouth having an appropriate diameter is used to suck the soil or the like. It is necessary to open, and a large-capacity vacuum pump is required to have a structure in which a plurality of the openings are opened, resulting in a costly structure. Furthermore, a large driving force is required to drive the vacuum pump, and the load on the engine is excessive. Also, if dirt or the like adheres to the suction port, the suction ability will drop significantly,
In some cases, the work to remove the soil adhering to the root was insufficient. Therefore, there has been a demand for a soil removing device of a harvester for leafy vegetables, which has an inexpensive configuration and has a high ability to remove soil and the like.

[0004]

The present invention uses the following means in order to solve the above problems. That is, in a self-propelled leafy vegetable harvester equipped with a pretreatment conveyor that holds leaf portions of leafy vegetables from both sides and pulls them out and conveys them to a rear working section, below the pretreatment conveyor, wash water is used. In the process of transporting the main tank, the washing doy with the upper part opened and a pump for pumping water to the upper part of the washing doy, in a process substantially parallel to the transportation route of leaf vegetables It was configured to remove soil and the like adhering to the roots of leafy vegetables with water.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The problems and configurations to be solved by the present invention are as described above. Next, an embodiment of the present invention shown in the attached drawings will be described. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a leafy vegetable harvesting machine equipped with a soil removing cleaning device of the present invention, and FIG.

The overall structure of the leafy vegetable harvester A will be described with reference to FIG. The leafy vegetable harvester A has a mainframe F
From the engine E mounted on top of the main frame F, it is possible to change the speed of the transmission by the transmission case M and drive the drive wheels 20, 20 arranged behind the main frame F.
Steering wheels 21, 21 are provided in the front part of the steering wheel so that steering operation can be performed. The steering operation and the forward / backward shift operation are performed in the driving section 22 provided at the rear portion of the main frame F. A harvesting unit B is disposed in front of the main frame F, and a working unit C is disposed behind the harvesting unit B to configure a harvester A for harvesting leafy vegetables.
It is also possible to form the riding-type harvester A by forming the operation unit 22 of the harvester A on the main frame F.

The working section C is provided with support columns 23.2 which stand upright from the front and rear portions of the main frame F.
It is composed of a flat plate-shaped workbench 25 placed on No. 4, and performs a sorting operation and a bundling operation for harvested products. A work seat 27 is arranged at a lateral position of the work section C. It is also possible to use a roller conveyor as the work table 25 and to arrange a binding machine above the roller conveyor. Then, the leaf vegetables processed in the working section C are stored in a container or the like.

Further, the harvesting section B is provided at the front portion of the upper end of the support column 23 so as to be rotatable in the up-down direction about a rotating body 10 having a shaft center in the left-right direction. It is composed of a pre-treatment conveyor 12, a drive case 15, and a subsoiler 19 for digging leafy vegetables. The pre-treatment conveyor 12 has conveyor frames (not shown) juxtaposed to the front, rear, rear, and right and left, and has driven pulleys 13 and 13 each having a shaft center in the vertical direction at the front end of each conveyor frame. Drive pulleys 14 and 14 having an axial center in the vertical direction are arranged at the rear end of the conveying frame, and endless belts 11 and 11 are provided between the drive pulleys 14 and 14 and the driven pulleys 13 and 13. It is wound. The rotating body 10 is fixedly mounted on the rotating shaft 26, and is rotated by receiving power from the engine E. By the rotation of the rotary shaft 26, the drive pulley 1
4 ・ 14, the left and right conveyor belts 11 ・ 11
The conveyance path is formed so as to move from below to above. The outer peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 11 is formed of a soft elastic material 11a such as a sponge, and is sandwiched so as not to damage the leaf portion of leafy vegetables, and is pulled out and conveyed.

Then, the rotator 10 vibrates and drives a hoe-shaped subsoiler 19 arranged at the front end through a chain, a sprocket, a cam mechanism, etc. inside the drive case 15 to remove leaf vegetables from the soil. It vibrates and lifts the root vegetables, making them easy to pull out. Further, a gauge wheel 16 is pivotally supported at the front end of the drive case 15,
The harvesting section B is kept at an appropriate height.
In addition, in front of the front end of the pretreatment conveyer 12, a weed culm 17 is projected forward in a substantially triangular shape in a side view, and the leaf portion of the leafy vegetables lying sideways is guided upward to weed, It is configured so as to be easily clamped at the front end portion of the pretreatment transfer conveyor 12.

The cleaning apparatus 1 of the present invention for removing soil, mud and the like adhering to the roots of the leaf vegetables thus extracted is explained below. The cleaning device 1 is arranged below the pretreatment conveyor 12 on the front part of the main frame F. The cleaning device 1 is composed of a main tank 2, a pump 3, and a cleaning dough 4. The main tank 2 is provided with a settling tank 2a in the front part, and a discharge port 2b is provided on the front surface of the settling tank 2a so that settling mud and water in the main tank 2 can be discharged. There is. Above the main tank 2, the cleaning doy 4 is arranged in parallel with the pre-treatment transfer conveyor 12 at a front lower rear height, and the upper end of the cleaning doy 4 has a rear portion of the main tank 2. The end portion of the discharge pipe 3a of the pump 3 disposed in the above is extended, and the lower end portion of the cleaning dough 4 is extended above the sedimentation tank 2a. As shown in FIG. 2, the washing dough 4 is formed in a semicircular shape in cross section so as to open upward so that the root portion K of the leafy vegetables conveyed on the conveying path can pass through the washing doy 4. There is. The cross-sectional shape of the cleaning dough 4 is not limited to a semi-circular shape as long as the upper surface is open.
It is also possible to use a U-shaped cross-section. Further, the inclination of the washing dough 4 is set to an angle such that the dropped mud can fall into the sedimentation tank 2a.

An auxiliary tank 5 is disposed behind the cleaning device 1, and the lower end of the auxiliary tank 5 and the main tank 2 of the cleaning device 1 are connected via a valve 6 and a hose. are doing. The valve 6 is composed of an electromagnetic valve, and is configured so that the liquid level is constantly kept constant by interlocking with a sensor for detecting the liquid level in the main tank 2. However, it is also possible to arrange a liquid level gauge near the work seat 27 so that the operator can open and close the valve 6 manually by seeing the amount of water in the main tank 2. The structure in which the side casing 2 and the auxiliary tank 5 are directly connected may be configured such that when the water in the main tank 2 decreases, the auxiliary tank 5 replenishes the water.

With this structure, the cleaning water stored in the main tank 2 is discharged from the upper end of the cleaning doy 4 by the pump 3 through the discharge pipe 3a, and the cleaning water is discharged from the cleaning doy 4 It flows downward along the flow path and flows into the main tank 2. As described above, the root portion of the leaf vegetables passes over the cleaning dough 4, so that the cleaning water flowing through the cleaning doy 4 can wash away the soil or the like adhering to the root portion. The soil washed away by the running water flows along the washing dough 4, flows into the settling tank 2a to precipitate only the soil, and only the washing water is sucked up by the pump 3 and circulated. Further, the sedimented soil or the like can be discharged from the discharge port 2b. In addition, the distance between the pretreatment conveyer 12 and the cleaning dough 4 is narrowed, and the root K of the leafy vegetables is pushed against the cleaning doy 4 so as to bend and is conveyed, whereby the leaves and the root K are sufficiently washed. It is also possible to do so, and even if the length of leafy vegetables is short, the root K can be immersed in running water for washing.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the process of extracting and transporting leafy vegetables, the mud and the like attached to the roots are washed away with the wash water at the same time. The mud does not adhere to the leaves, and it is efficient because it eliminates the need for washing after harvesting. Further, as compared with the method of removing the soil or the like adhering to the root portion by vibration, suction, blowing air, etc., the cleaning effect is enhanced by rinsing with running water. In addition, if the structure such as suctioning soil using a vacuum pump etc., clogging etc. may occur and the suction may vary, the removal of soil may be uneven, but it is a simple structure because it is rinsed with running water. With a simple structure, it is cheaper and can be washed uniformly,
It is also excellent for maintenance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a leafy vegetable harvester equipped with a soil removing cleaning device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration in which a leaf vegetable root portion is passed through a washing doy in which washing water flows.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Leafy vegetable harvester 1 Cleaning device 2 Main tank 3 Fluid pump 4 Cleaning doy 12 Pretreatment conveyor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A self-propelled leafy vegetable harvester equipped with a pretreatment conveyer for sandwiching leaf portions of leafy vegetables from both sides and pulling them out to convey them to a rear working section, below the pretreatment conveyer conveyor. In the process of transporting the main tank that stores the wash water, the wash doy that opens upward in a direction substantially parallel to the transport path for leafy vegetables, and the pump that pumps water to the top of the wash doy, the pretreatment transport conveyor. A cleaning device for a leafy vegetable harvester, characterized in that it is configured to remove soil attached to the roots of leafy vegetables with washing water.