JPH10175183A - Robot hand - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the labor of a worker in the processing work condition of spherical farm products. SOLUTION: A hydraulic cylinder 54 is supported to a supporting member 41 in order to move forward and rearward a farm product extruding body 53 provided at the front end side of the cylinder 54, from the supporting member part surrounded at the base end side of plural fingers 16. In order to compose a finger opening diameter changeover regulating mechanism 57, a cylinder tube 58 is composed turnably around a cylinder axial core Q, and in order to permit the separate movements of the fingers 16 in the diameter direction of the supporting member 41, the base end parts of the fingers 16 are inserted to the guide grooves of the supporting member 41. And a cam body 61 to press and draw the base end sides of the fingers 16 by turning the fingers 16 following the turn of the cylinder tube 58 is also provided, and a turn driving part is provided at the opposite side of the extruding body 53 of the cylinder tube 58.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a robot hand for feeding a spherical crop to a crop receiving section of a crop processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one of crop processing apparatuses, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-315316, there is a packaging apparatus for packaging lettuce as spherical crops. In packaging, an operator supplies lettuce onto a packaging sheet placed over the upward opening of the packaging device, and drops the lettuce together with the packaging sheet inside the opening.

[0003]

When the lettuce is wrapped by the above-mentioned wrapping device, it is common to wrap a large number of lettuce. Therefore, an operator supplies the lettuce to the wrapping device as in the prior art. Such a method puts a heavy burden on the worker. In addition, not only the lettuce packaging apparatus, but also other crop processing apparatuses, the supply of spherical crops to the processing apparatus is performed by an operator, which imposes a heavy burden on the operator.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the labor of an operator when processing spherical crops.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

[Structure] The characteristic structure of the invention according to claim 1 is that a fluid pressure cylinder provided with a crop pushing body at the tip of a piston rod is replaced with a position-changeable support member that supports a plurality of fingers for gripping a spherical crop. The crop extruding body is supported so as to protrude and retreat from the support member portion surrounded by the base end sides of the plurality of finger portions, and the gripped or almost released gripped spherical crop is received in the crop receiving unit of the crop processing device. And a finger opening diameter changing adjustment mechanism for changing and adjusting an initial opening diameter of the finger portion is provided, and the cylinder tube of the fluid pressure cylinder is supported by the finger opening diameter changing adjusting mechanism. Each finger portion is configured to be rotatable around the cylinder axis with respect to the member, and each finger portion is positioned in the radial direction of the support member with respect to the support member. As permitted from moving,
The base end side of the finger portion is inserted into the guide groove along the radial direction provided in the support member, and is rotated with the rotation of the cylinder tube. A cam body that pushes and pulls in the radial direction and moves the base end side in the guide groove is provided in the cylinder tube, and the rotation drive unit of the cylinder tube is located on the side opposite to the extruded body side of the cylinder tube. It is located.

A feature of the invention according to claim 2 is that, in the invention according to claim 1, a rotation drive unit for the cylinder tube is provided on a fixed-side member separated from the support member. It is linked to the end opposite to the extruded body side.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the finger portion is formed of a hollow soft material, and a fluid is supplied from the fluid supply portion into the finger portion. The finger portion is bent and deformed to a gripping state by pressure, and is restored to a gripping released state by discharge of fluid, and forms a fluid supply / discharge path between the fluid supply portion and the hollow portion of the finger portion. Forming an annular fluid containing space between the cylinder tube and a support portion of the support member around the cylinder tube,
The fluid supply unit and the fluid storage space are connected to each other through a first flow path, and the hollow portion of each finger and the fluid storage space are connected to each other through a second flow path for fluid distribution. There is to be.

[Operation] The operation of the present invention will be described below using a lettuce as a spherical crop and a lettuce packaging apparatus as a crop processing apparatus. According to the configuration of the first aspect, the following operation can be achieved. (B) When lettuce is sent to the crop receiving portion of the lettuce packaging device, the finger portion supported by the support member supplies the lettuce onto the packaging sheet provided over the upward opening of the packaging device, and grips the lettuce. Is released or almost released, the hydraulic cylinder is driven to extend and the extruded agricultural product provided at the tip of the piston rod pushes the lettuce together with the packaging sheet inward of the opening.

[B] In the case of [A] above, if the initial opening diameter of the finger portion is fixed to a fixed value, the smaller diameter lettuce is gripped only by the tip side of the finger portion, and the larger diameter lettuce is held. As the lettuce is gripped only on the base end side of the finger, the shape of the finger when gripped becomes an unnatural shape that does not match the shape of the lettuce,
In either case, the grip tends to be insufficient. However, according to the configuration of claim 1, the initial opening diameter of the finger portion can be changed and adjusted according to the lettuce by the finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism. Even if is small or large, the shape of the finger portion when grasped becomes a natural shape that matches the shape of the lettuce, and the lettuce can be firmly grasped.

[C] The finger opening diameter changing and adjusting mechanism is operated by driving a rotation drive unit of the cylinder tube. In other words, when the rotation drive section is driven, the cylinder tube of the fluid pressure cylinder rotates around the cylinder axis with respect to the support member, and the cam body rotates with the rotation. The base end side of the finger portion is pushed and pulled in the radial direction of the support member to move in the guide groove along the radial direction on the support member side, thereby changing the initial open diameter of the finger portion.

[D] For example, it is also conceivable to provide a rotation drive section for directly rotating the cam body without making the cylinder tube rotatable. In this case, the rotation driving unit is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the support member in a state of being located on the outer side near the base end side of the finger unit (when the rotation driving unit is attached to another portion, the rotation driving unit and the cam body are not connected to each other). However, such a configuration has the following problem. In other words, since the support member supporting the finger portion generally has a maximum diameter at a portion near the attachment portion of the finger portion, as described above, the rotation drive portion is disposed near the base end side of the swinger portion. When it is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the support member in a state of being located on the outside of the robot hand, the portion around the attachment portion of the finger portion in the robot hand is further enlarged.

On the other hand, in the structure of the first aspect, the cylinder tube is configured to be rotatable, and the cam body is configured to be rotated by the rotation drive of the cylinder tube. Is disposed on the side opposite to the extruded body side of the cylinder tube, so that it is possible to avoid an increase in the diameter of the portion of the robot hand near the attachment portion of the finger portion.

According to the structure of claim 2, in addition to the function similar to the function of the structure of claim 1, the following function can be provided. [E] A structure in which the cylinder tube is rotated by a rotation drive unit provided on the fixed side member separated from the support member, and the cam body is rotationally driven with this rotation. Is linked to the end of the cylinder tube on the side opposite to the extruded body side, so that the number of members that change the position together with the support member is reduced as compared with, for example, a structure in which the rotation drive unit is provided on the support member, and the position change It is possible to reduce the weight of the part to be made.

According to the configuration of claim 3, in addition to the same operation as the operation of the above-described configuration of claim 1 or 2, the following operation can be obtained. [F] The finger portion is formed from a hollow soft material, and the finger portion is bent and deformed into a gripping state by the supply pressure of the fluid from the fluid supply portion into the finger portion, and is restored to the gripping released state by discharging the fluid. With such a configuration, the lettuce can be easily gripped.

(G) The fluid from the fluid supply section is accommodated through a first flow path in an annular fluid accommodation space formed between the cylinder tube and a support portion of the support member around the cylinder tube. Since the fluid is distributed to the hollow portions of the finger portions through the two flow channels, the fluid channels can be more compactly compared to a case where the fluid is directly distributed from the first flow channel to the hollow portions of the finger portions. As a result, it is possible to prevent a hose or the like forming the flow path from being caught by another object when the position of the support member is changed.

[H] Instead of the fluid storage space, for example, a U-shaped distribution channel surrounding a cylinder tube in a cross-sectional plan view is drilled in a support member with a drilling machine, and each linear flow in the distribution channel is formed. A flow path for communicating and connecting the middle part in the longitudinal direction of the path part and each finger part is formed in the support member from the radially outer side, and a fluid supply part is formed in one opening of the U-shaped distribution flow path. The first flow path is connected to the remaining openings (when forming a U-shaped distribution flow path with a drilling machine as described above, three holes are machined. (The number of parts is two.) If it is configured to be plugged, the number of channels to be drilled will increase, and it will be necessary to drill each linear channel so as to connect with each other. Processing takes time and a plugging step is required. According to this, the flow path connecting the fluid storage space and each finger portion is formed in the support member from the radially outer side, and the flow path connected to the first flow path from the fluid supply unit is formed in the fluid storage section. It is only necessary to form the passage so as to communicate with the gap, and the number of channels to be processed is reduced, so that the drilling time can be shortened. Further, the plugging step is not required and the production cost can be reduced.

[Effect] Therefore, according to the configuration of claim 1, the operation [A] can reduce the labor of the worker at the time of packing the spherical crop, and the operation [B] can reduce the finger labor. The spherical crop can be firmly gripped by the portion, and the gripped spherical crop can be prevented from dropping or displacing, and the robot hand can be miniaturized by the above operations (c) and (d).

According to the configuration of claim 2, in addition to the same effect as the effect of the configuration of claim 1, it is possible to provide a drive unit for changing the position of the support member by the operation [e]. The output was small.

According to the structure of claim 3, in addition to the effect similar to the effect of the structure of claim 1 or 2, it is possible to prevent the damage of the crop due to the gripping by the action [f]. The operation [g] can improve the workability, and the operation [h] can be manufactured at low cost and improve the economic efficiency.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a lettuce wrapping device 1 (corresponding to a crop processing device, hereinafter abbreviated as a wrapping device) and a lettuce supply device 2 for supplying lettuce to the wrapping device 1 are independently floor-mounted. On the surface, a control device 3 for controlling both devices 1 and 2 is provided to constitute a lettuce packaging facility.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lettuce supply device 2
Is provided with a portal-shaped main frame 4 made of a round pipe standing upright in a state facing the front wall of the packaging device 1 and having a height higher than that of the packaging device 1, and letting the lettuce supplied by an operator be laterally placed on the side of the packaging device 1. The transfer end side of the belt conveyer 5 is detachably attached via a bolt connection mechanism 7 to a first horizontal support frame 6 made of a round pipe provided on the side of the main frame 4 opposite to the packaging device 2. In addition to supporting the belt conveyor 5, a leg 5 </ b> A is provided on the conveyance start end side of the belt conveyor 5.
The robot hand 9 which grips the lettuce sent to a predetermined take-out position A with a plurality of finger portions 16 and takes out the lettuce to the lettuce receiving portion 8 of the packaging device 1 is moved to the side portion of the main frame 4 on the packaging device 1 side. Is supported by the second lateral support frame 10 provided in the first embodiment. A pair of shelves 1 are provided at both ends in the width direction at the transport start end side of the belt conveyor 5.
The overhang 1 is formed so that a knife for root cutting of lettuce, a towel for wiping the juice of lettuce after root cutting, and the like can be placed.

Then, a stay 12 is provided on the packaging device main body 1A along the front wall of the packaging device 1 so as to be longer than between the two legs 4A of the main frame 4. The downward first hook 13 provided on the leg 4A on the side corresponding to the upper side in the lettuce transport direction was engaged, and the downward second hook 15 provided on the other leg 4A was fixed to the stay 12. It is engaged with the engagement hole 14A of the lateral support piece 14. In other words, both hooks 1
The structure in which the stays 3 and 15 are engaged with the stays 12 and the engagement holes 14A constitutes a positioning engagement means R capable of positioning and connecting and disconnecting the lettuce supply device 2 with respect to the packaging device 1. The work of engaging the second hook 15 with the engagement hole 14A is performed from the outer side of the transport end of the belt conveyor 5, but in the above structure, the engagement hole 14A is located outside the transport end. Because it is located near the side space, for example,
There is an advantage that it is easier to perform an engagement operation than a structure in which the first hook 13 is engaged with an engagement hole formed in a state corresponding to the first hook 13.

The bolt connecting mechanism 7 connects the pair of downward U-shaped members 18 provided on the lower surface of the conveyor frame 17 of the belt conveyor 5 on the transport end side via the support bracket 81 to the first lateral support frame 6. It is fitted from above, and both free ends of the U-shaped member 18 and the first lateral support frame 6 are connected by bolts and nuts. By releasing the connection of the bolt connection mechanism 7, the operator changes the orientation of the belt conveyor 5 with respect to the main frame 4 by 180 ° with the handle 80 provided on the transfer end side portion of the transfer frame 17. (See FIG. 6). In other words, the bolt connection mechanism 7 constitutes a connection means capable of positioning and connecting the transport end portion and the main frame 4 for each direction of the belt conveyor 5 with respect to the main frame 4 in plan view and connecting and releasing the connection. I have.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the lettuce support member 19 made of rubber, in which a lettuce support portion 19A having a divided annular shape in plan view is integrally provided on a circular seat plate 19B, is transported to the belt conveyor 5. The lettuce is provided on the surface at a constant pitch in the longitudinal direction, and the lettuce is positioned so that the cut surface thereof is on the upper side.
It is configured to be transported to the robot hand 9 side while being positioned and supported by A. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a protruding ring portion 19C integrally formed on the seat plate 19B in a state of being located at the center of the lettuce support portion 19A,
A lower end opening of a rubber-made lettuce auxiliary support member 20 made of a bottomed cup is provided so as to be elastically fittable, and the robot hand 9 is attached to the lettuce support portion 19A and the lettuce auxiliary support member 20 from their radially outer sides. In the case of a spindle-shaped lettuce having a short diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the lettuce support portion 19A, a plurality of cutout portions 21 are provided to allow a plurality of finger portions 16 to enter each and grip the lettuce. In a state where the lettuce is positioned by 20 and supported in a vertical posture, the lettuce can be conveyed to the robot hand 9 side. In addition, each notch 21 of the lettuce auxiliary support member 20
The positioning means 22 for positioning the lettuce auxiliary support member 20 with respect to the lettuce support part 19A is provided in such a state that each is positioned corresponding to each of the notches 21 of the lettuce support part 19A. And the seat plate 1
9B and the bottom of the lettuce auxiliary support member 20 are provided with an engaging pin 23 and an engaging hole 24 which are engaged with each other.

As shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, the main frame 4 of the lettuce supply device 2
The wiping device 25 that removes the vegetable liquid from the cut surfaces of the pair of lettuce separately supported by the pair of lettuce support portions 19A on the better side is transported to the belt conveyor 5 in a state of straddling the belt conveyor 5. It stands on the frame 17.

The wiping device 25 is constituted by a pair of oscillating arms 27 supported on a supporting frame 26 so as to be freely oscillatable up and down around a common first horizontal axis X. , A shock absorbing cylindrical member 28 made of sponge
Is mounted above the transport surface along the width direction of the transport surface, and a towel 29 as an absorbent for absorbing plant fluid is wound around the columnar member 28 and a magic tee provided at an end of the towel 29 is provided. A rocking drive mechanism 30 that is fixed with a tape 82 and is driven to rock the rocking arm 27 on the rocking base end side of the rocking arm 27 to strike the cut surfaces of the pair of lettuce on the pair of towels 29 separately. In order to constitute the swing drive mechanism 30, the pair of swing arms 27, which extend from the first horizontal axis X to the opposite side to the swing end, are provided at the base end side. The crank pin 31 which receives the part in a state where it is sandwiched and contacted by these two extended ends to prevent free swinging down of the two swing arms 27 and prevents the two swing arms 27 in the sandwiched contact state. Click the crank pin 31 so that it rises and swings alternately. Crank mechanism is rotated to a second horizontal axis Y around along the first horizontal axis X via the Nkuamu 32 3
And a spring 3 for pressing both extension ends against the crankpin 31 to suppress the occurrence of an impact between them.
4 are provided over both swinging arms 27.

The belt conveyor 5 is an intermittent operation type in which the belt conveyor 5 moves by one pitch of the constant pitch and then repeatedly stops at a set time. When the belt conveyor 5 stops, the pair of swing arms 5 The wiping device 25 is arranged and configured so that the pair of towels 29 individually strike the cut surfaces of the pair of lettuce when the pair of towels 29 are swung, and the interval between the towels at the lettuce tapping position is adjusted by the lettuce support member 19. The pitch is set to be the same as that of FIG.
(See (a) and (b).)

As shown in FIG. 1, the packaging apparatus 1 has a lettuce inlet 35 formed in a lettuce receiving portion 8 at the center of the upper surface.
And lettuce is wrapped in a transparent packaging sheet 36,
An opening 37 provided on the side opposite to the main frame 4
(See FIG. 28) This is a device for discharging lettuce after packaging. The packaging device 1 and the control device 3 are each provided with a caster 38 that is independently and freely movable (see FIG. 5).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 14, the robot hand 9 has a support bracket 39 fixed to the second lateral support frame 10 and is supported by the first electric motor M1 and the support bracket 39 so as to be able to swing. Swing arm 40
A finger support member 41 for suspending and supporting a plurality of finger portions 16 is provided on the swing end side of the device, and a posture holding mechanism 42 for holding the posture of the finger portion 16 via the finger support member 41 is provided. In accordance with the swing of the swing arm 40, the finger portion 16 reciprocates between the take-out position A and the feed position B corresponding to the lettuce insertion port 35 while drawing a circular locus in a downward posture. It is composed.

As shown in FIG.
Is made of a hollow rubber material having bellows 16a formed on the back side at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction. The base end side of the hollow rubber material is externally fitted to a flanged support pipe 65, and the base end side is tightened with a ring. 83 and fix it.
In the gripping surface side portion of the connection portion between the base end portion and the support pipe 65, the step of the gripping surface side portion is filled, and the surface facing the lettuce side of the portion is reduced in diameter as the distance from the distal end of the finger portion 16 increases. Position the tapered portion 66 to be positioned
The finger portion 17 is bent and deformed into a gripped state by the supply pressure of air from the compressor 67 (corresponding to a fluid supply portion, see FIG. 17) into the finger portion.
It is configured to restore the grip release state by discharging air.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 16, a first proximity sensor 44 for detecting that the swing arm 40 is almost upright is detected via a detection member 43 provided on the swing arm 40.
The storage device is configured to stop the storage at a substantially upright position based on the detection information of the first proximity sensor 44. A pair of detected plates 45 is provided on the swing arm 40, and one end of the plate 45 is provided on the swing arm 40. Are arranged side by side so as to protrude outward from the side, and the swing arm 40 is moved to the lettuce take-out position A.
Side or lettuce feed position B side,
The corresponding detected plate 45 of the pair of detected plates 45
Are provided on the side surface 39A on the support bracket 39 side, and based on the detection information of the pair of second proximity sensors 46, the swing arm 40 is stopped and the swing direction is changed. The control device 3 is configured to perform switching control in the reverse direction. Reference numeral 86 in the drawing denotes a stopper for preventing overrun.

To constitute the posture holding mechanism 42, a support shaft 47 integrally provided on the finger support member 41 in a state along the lettuce transport direction is provided in a posture parallel to the swing axis O of the swing arm 40. To be rotatable about the spindle shaft P, supported by the swinging end of the swing arm 40, and rotatable integrally with the support shaft 47 in a state where the shaft center is located on the spindle shaft P. Upper end toothed pulley 4 as endless body first winding member provided
8 and the support plate 39 attached to the support bracket 39 separately from the swing arm 40 in a state where the axis is positioned on the swing axis O.
And a lower toothed pulley 49 as an endless second winding member fixed in position via
Has been wound.

As shown in FIG. 15, the finger supporting member 41 is formed by connecting a hollow, umbrella-shaped finger holding portion 41B at the lower end of a vertical pipe portion 41A. The structure of (1) will be described. An elastically deformable lettuce extruded body 53 in which a sponge 53a is covered with a rubber or soft resin 53b whose surface is smooth is provided on the tip of a piston rod 52 having an oval cross section (see FIG. 17). The air cylinder 54 (equivalent to a fluid pressure cylinder) provided with a finger is moved from the vertical pipe portion 41A to the finger so that the lettuce extruded body 53 moves out of the supporting member portion surrounded by the base end sides of the plurality of finger portions 16. The bracket 56 is attached to the bottom plate 55 of the finger support member 41 while being supported in a downward position over the hollow portion of the holding portion 41B. The piston rod 52 is inserted through the hole 56A of the form, and the lettuce that has been released or almost released can be pushed into the lettuce receiving portion 8 of the packaging device 1 to change and adjust the initial opening diameter of the finger portion 16. A finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism 57 is provided. The lettuce extruded body 53 is formed with a cutout 53A that allows each of the finger portions 16 in the gripped state to enter each other (see FIG. 14).

As shown in FIGS. 15, 19 and 20, in order to constitute the finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism 57, the cylinder tube 58 of the air cylinder 54 is moved around the cylinder axis Q with respect to the finger support member 41. Each support pipe 65 is formed so as to be rotatable, and each of the support pipes 65 is connected to the finger support member 41 such that the finger portion 16 is allowed to move individually in the radial direction of the finger support member 41. In the state where each support pipe 65 is inserted through a plurality of long holes 60 formed in a spiral shape around the cylinder axis Q, respectively, through the plurality of guide grooves 59 along the radial direction provided on the bottom plate 55. By rotating along with the rotation of the cylinder tube 58, the support pipe 65 is pushed and pulled in the radial direction and moved in the guide groove 59. A cam member 61 the cylinder tube 58
And a second electric motor M2 for rotationally driving a cylinder tube 58 provided at the lower end of the main frame 4 and a lettuce extruded body 5 of the cylinder tube 58.
A rotating disk 62 fitted externally so as to be rotatable integrally with the upper end opposite to the third side is linked via a wire 63.

The second electric motor M2 has such an output that the base end side of each finger portion 16 located around the lettuce contacts the lettuce and stops when the contact pressure becomes higher than a certain value. A detecting means for detecting, that is, a potentiometer 64 for detecting that the rotation change of the rotating disk 62 has disappeared is provided, and under the control of the control device 3,
The initial opening diameter of the finger portion 16 is set to the large diameter side (FIG. 1).
9, FIG. 21 (a)), and with each finger portion 16 opened, each finger portion 16 is positioned around the lettuce, and then the finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism 57 is operated to reduce the diameter (FIG. 20, FIG. 20). FIG. 21 (b)), finger portion 16
When the potentiometer 64 detects that the base end side approaches or contacts the lettuce, the respective finger portions 16 are configured to be gripped and bent to the closing side based on the detection result. Since the lettuce is grasped in this manner, the lettuce can be embraced and grasped, and even if the lettuce is small or large, the finger portion 16 has a shape suitable for grasping along the shape of the lettuce when grasped. become.

As shown in FIGS. 15, 17, and 18, a cylinder tube 58 is formed to form an air supply / discharge path between the compressor 67 and the hollow portion of the finger portion 16.
And the vertical air pipe portion 41A of the finger support member 41, an annular air storage space 68 is formed, and the compressor 6
7 and the air containing space 68 are connected to each other via a first hose 69 (corresponding to a first flow path), and the hollow portion of each finger portion 16 and a plurality of portions of the air containing space 68 are used for air distribution. Are connected to each other via a plurality of second hoses 70 (corresponding to second flow paths).

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the upper open transparent covering the moving space of the finger portion 16 of the robot hand 9 from the side of the conveyor belt 5 to the lettuce receiving portion 8 of the packaging device 1 from the side. Cover 71
It is provided on a third lateral support frame 72 provided on the main frame 4 in a cantilever manner above the lateral support frame 6. The cover 71 is provided with a handle 73 on the free end side. The cover 71 swings upward and downward through a gas spring 74 and closes, with the outer frame portion 72A of the third lateral support frame 72 as a fulcrum. It is configured to be capable of dynamic switching.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, an activation switch 75 of the packaging device 1 and an activation switch 76 of the robot hand 9 are provided on the inclined operation panel 3A at the upper part of the control device 3 together with other operation switches. With the cover 71 opened and the start switch 76 of the robot hand 9 turned off, the worker puts the lettuce into the lettuce receiving portion 8 of the packaging device 1 and turns on the start switch 75 of the packaging device 1. The lettuce is packaged. Since the control device 3 can be moved independently of the packaging device 1, the work can be performed with the control device 3 moved to a place where the switch can be easily operated.

As shown in FIG. 1, each lettuce support member 19
Is arranged such that when a predetermined lettuce support member 19 is located at the take-out position A, the preceding adjacent lettuce support member 19 is positioned in a downward position at a set position on the start end side of the return stroke of the belt conveyor 5. , The front end side support portion 19 of the lettuce support member 19 located at the set position in a downward posture
The position sensor 7 detects that the lettuce support member 19 is located at the set position by blocking the light beam by A.
7 is provided so as to detect that the predetermined lettuce support member 19 has reached the take-out position A.

Further, a presence / absence sensor 78 comprising a light projecting portion 78A and a light receiving portion 78B for detecting whether or not a lettuce exists in the lettuce support member 19 at the take-out position A by blocking the light beam is provided. Is detected by the presence / absence sensor 78, and when the position sensor 77 detects that the lettuce support member 19 holding the lettuce has reached the take-out position A, the control is performed based on the detection results of both sensors. While the device 3 controls and stops the belt conveyor 5,
The robot hand 9 is controlled so as to be taken out and operated by the finger unit 16. The belt conveyor 5 resumes the conveyance when the lettuce is taken out. Even if the light projecting unit 78A and the light receiving unit 78B are arranged such that the line connecting them is inclined with respect to the transport direction in a plan view, even if the robot hand 9 may drop the lettuce, The lettuce is prevented from being damaged by preventing it from falling onto a support bracket or the like of the light projecting portion 78A or the light receiving portion 78B.

The operation of the robot hand 9 will be briefly described (see FIGS. 23 to 28). The swing arm 40 swings down to the take-out position A and the initial open diameter is set to the large diameter side. Finger portions 16 are located around the lettuce. The lettuce push-out body 53 is pushed up relatively to the base end of the lettuce in an upside-down posture as the swing arm 40 swings down. Finger opening diameter change adjustment mechanism 57
Operates to reduce the diameter, and as described above, each finger portion 16 embraces and holds the lettuce (FIG. 24). Next, the swing arm 14 swings to the lettuce feed position B side and stops (FIG. 25), and when each finger portion 16 releases or substantially releases the lettuce, the air cylinder 54 is driven to extend and the lettuce extruded body is moved. 53 pushes the lettuce into the lettuce receiving section 8 of the packaging device 1 (FIG. 26). The lettuce is sent onto the movable base 85 while being squeezed by the rubber squeezing member 84 of the packaging apparatus 1 together with the wrapping sheet 36 (FIG. 27).
Then, the lettuce is packaged through several steps such as lowering of the movable base 85 and collected by the container 79 (FIG. 28).
An excess portion on the upper end side of the packaging sheet 36 is cut by a cutter (not shown), and the cut pieces are collected in a bag 87 (see FIG. 1).

[Another Embodiment] The spherical crop is not limited to lettuce, but may be cabbage, other vegetables or fruits. The processing device may be, for example, a grade discriminating device that discriminates the grade of the spherical crop.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a lettuce packaging facility.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure around a conveyance end side of a belt conveyor.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the lettuce packaging equipment as viewed from a lower side in a conveying direction of the belt conveyor.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a lettuce packaging facility.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the lettuce packaging equipment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the orientation of the belt conveyor with respect to the main frame in a plan view is changed by 180 °;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a lettuce support portion.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a support state of a spindle-shaped lettuce;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a support state of a lettuce having a normal shape.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a lettuce wiping device;

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a lettuce wiping device.

FIG. 12 (a) A perspective view showing a state before attaching a towel in a lettuce wiping apparatus. (B) A perspective view showing a state after attaching a towel in a lettuce wiping apparatus.

13A is a diagram showing a lettuce beating operation of the lettuce wiping device. FIG. 13B is a diagram showing a lettuce beating operation of the lettuce wiping device.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the robot hand.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a robot hand.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state in which a swing arm in a robot hand is in an upright state.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional plan view showing an air supply / discharge path between the compressor and the hollow portion of the finger portion.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an air supply / discharge path between a compressor and a hollow portion of a finger portion.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism in a state where the opening diameter of the finger portion is large.

FIG. 20 is a view showing a finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism in a state where the opening diameter of the finger portion is reduced.

FIG. 21 (a) is a cross-sectional plan view showing a finger portion in a state where the opening diameter of the finger portion is large and lettuce immediately before being gripped by the finger portion. (B) The opening diameter of the finger portion is small. Cross-sectional plan view showing a finger portion in a state and a lettuce gripped by the finger portion

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a connection structure between a finger portion and a support pipe.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a state before the robot hand grips the lettuce;

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a state in which the robot hand grips the lettuce at the removal position.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a state in which the robot hand is located at a sending position.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a state in which the lettuce is pushed out to the lettuce receiving portion by the lettuce pushing body.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a state where a lettuce is received by a lettuce receiving unit;

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a state in which the lettuce after packaging is collected in a container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Agricultural product processing device 8 Agricultural product receiving part 16 Finger part 41 Support member 52 Piston rod 53 Agricultural product extruded body 54 Fluid pressure cylinder 57 Finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism 58 Cylinder tube 59 Guide groove 61 Cam body 67 Fluid supply part 68 Fluid storage space 69 1st flow path 70 2nd flow path M2 rotation drive part Q cylinder axis

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A hydraulic cylinder having an extruded crop at the tip of a piston rod is mounted on a support member which supports a plurality of fingers for gripping spherical crops, and the plurality of extruded crops are mounted on the support member. The support member portion is surrounded and retracted from the support member portion surrounded by the base end side of the finger portion, so that the gripped or almost released gripped spherical crop can be pushed into the crop receiving portion side of the crop processing device, A finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism for changing and adjusting the initial opening diameter of the finger portion is provided.To configure the finger opening diameter changing adjusting mechanism, the cylinder tube of the fluid pressure cylinder is arranged around the cylinder axis with respect to the support member. It is configured to be rotatable so that each finger portion is allowed to move individually in the radial direction of the support member with respect to the support member. The base end side of the finger portion is inserted by inserting the base end side of the finger portion into the guide groove along the radial direction provided in the support member, and is rotated with the rotation of the cylinder tube. Is provided on the cylinder tube to push and pull in the radial direction and move the base end side in the guide groove, and the rotation drive unit of the cylinder tube is opposite to the extruded body side of the cylinder tube. Robot hand arranged on the side. 2. The rotation drive unit of the cylinder tube,
2. The robot hand according to claim 1, wherein the robot hand is provided on a fixed-side member separated from the support member, and is linked to an end of the cylinder tube on a side opposite to the extruded body side. 3. 3. The finger portion is formed of a hollow soft material, and the finger portion is bent and deformed into a gripping state by a supply pressure of a fluid from the fluid supply portion into the finger portion, and is gripped by discharging the fluid. The cylinder tube and the support portion around the cylinder tube of the support member are configured to restore the release state, and to configure a fluid supply / discharge path between the fluid supply portion and the hollow portion of the finger portion. An annular fluid accommodating gap is formed between the fluid supply portions and the fluid accommodating gap through a first flow path, and the hollow portion of each finger portion and the fluid accommodating gap are connected to each other for fluid distribution. 3. The robot hand according to claim 1, wherein the robot hand is connected to each other via two flow paths.