JPH11207268A - Sorter for agricultural product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable both low-speed and high-speed transportation by installing a stripe of a high speed transportation conveyer for transporting a pan loaded with an agricultural product and a plurality of stripes of low speed transportation conveyers which transport each of pans at a low speed and the terminals of which are connected to enable the transfer of the pans to the high speed conveyer. SOLUTION: In an agricultural product supply-grade/class selection part, the product is loaded onto a free tray 4 and transported by a transportation conveyer (a low speed transportation type) 52. During the transportation, in each product P on the tray 4 which is subjected to the measurement of grade information through tracking which is done on the conveyer and the measurement of class information by a camera on a selection conveyer (a high speed transportation type) 1, substances from the two prarallel-installed transportation conveyers 52 are combined by a combination mechanism and transferred to the selection conveyer 1. The constitution of (supply-grade/class sorter part)→(sorting conveyer) of the agricultural product is installed here in two lines, and two stripes of the selection conveyers 1, 1 are separated vertically, laminated, and installed extendingly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to apples, persimmons, pears,
A sorting device for sorting and packing agricultural products such as tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, watermelons, etc. while transporting them on a tray (free tray). More specifically, a tray that is transported by multiple transport means is a single transport means. The present invention relates to a sorting device for agricultural products including a tray combining / conveying device adapted to be merged into a tray.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, sorting of agricultural products used in a sorting plant and sorting of agricultural products to be packed are performed by a sorting conveyor for measuring and detecting sorting information (eg, grade, class, etc.) for sorting and sorting agricultural products. The step of supplying the agricultural product (), the step of measuring the sorting information on the sorting conveyor (), the sorting section is determined based on the measurement information (sorting information) obtained by the measurement, and the sorting section is provided for each sorting section. And a packaging step () for packaging the agricultural products sent out according to the sorting category.

[0003] In the above-mentioned work, it is common practice to carry out the steps from the supply of agricultural products to the sorting on a single transport line, and this transport line is continuously connected via a single transport conveyor or a transfer section. It is formed by a plurality of conveyers.

[0004] By the way, in the sorting and sorting of agricultural products, in addition to class elements such as weight and size, grade elements such as color and presence or absence of flaws are often used for sorting in recent years. Because it is not easy to measure mechanically and automatically, the grade elements are graded by visual judgment of the worker, and the workers manually place agricultural products on multiple transport lines arranged by grade. Many multi-conveyance transfer lines were used (Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-50)
No. 29).

[0005] However, providing multiple transport lines of different grades for loading agricultural products has a problem in that the transport lines are duplicated and the cost is increased. Since the distribution state is generally similar to the normal distribution without being evenly distributed in the sorting divisions, it is not usual that all the transport lines provided for each grade are used efficiently, and the average Efficiency (utilization rate) is low, and the capacity of each device cannot be fully exhibited, and there is a problem that the operating efficiency of the system is lower than the cost of capital investment.

As a method for solving such a problem, a single-row multi-grade transport system in which agricultural products of a plurality of grades are mixed and transported on a single transport line has been considered (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 1-1-1).
189380, JP-A-3-229676,
JP-A-4-322778, etc.). This single-article multi-grade transport system has several types depending on the difference in the inspection format of the grade information, the difference in the usage format of the grade information, and the like. Using advanced optical measurement technology or image processing technology using a computer, etc., transmitting the measured grade information to the sorting work unit, displaying the information with a switch provided on the tray itself, to the tray conveyor A tracking display at the loading position, which is detected and detected by a sensor, and the tracking display is recorded in a memory of a computer, for example, by linking the tracking display with an individualized marker (a bar code or the like) provided on a saucer, and is used in the sorting process. There are various types such as one that detects an individualization indicator of the pan and reads out and uses the grade information of the corresponding pan from the memory.

[0007] According to the single-stage multi-grade transfer system, it is not necessary to provide a plurality of transfer lines for each class, so that the equipment is not duplicated, the utilization rate of the transfer line is improved, and cost and cost are reduced.
This is advantageous in terms of utilization efficiency.

[0008]

However, a sorting apparatus for agricultural products has recently required rapid processing and an improvement in processing efficiency by speeding up the processing, and an increase in equipment cost due to an improvement in processing capacity of the apparatus. Reduction is required, and the above-described single-stage multi-grade transfer system is an advantageous system for realizing this. However, further improvement in the performance and the like is required.

Considering the agricultural product sorting apparatus in view of the above, it is generally considered that the use of the above-mentioned multi-grade transfer system in the sorting and sorting of agricultural products composed of the above-mentioned steps (1) and (2) is effective in utilizing the equipment. In particular, it is effective in improving the process of sending the agricultural products obtained by measuring (including visual observation) the elements used for determining the sorting category to a predetermined sorting category while transporting the products on a saucer, but this alone is effective. It is not possible to improve the performance of the entire apparatus and increase the processing speed.

[0010] For example, many factors (information) related to grades
Although the technology capable of high-speed measurement has advanced, there are still many things that still need to rely on visual judgment based on the experience of workers, so the above-mentioned agricultural product supply step or measurement (detection) step Some of them are not easy to mechanize and automate, and often cannot perform high-speed processing. More specifically, for example, scratches on agricultural products often rely on the visual judgment of workers because it is not technically easy to measure the entire surface of agricultural products placed on a saucer with high precision by optical means. However, there is a limit to speeding up the measurement process. In addition, depending on the type of agricultural products, it is not easy to mechanize the operation of placing heavy items such as watermelon and fragile items such as peaches, which are brought into the fruit selection area, one by one on a saucer. For this reason, the supply of agricultural products still depends on the manual work of the workers, so there is a limit to manual processing. The limitation of speeding up the manual processing is more remarkable when the tray is tracked for grade display and placed on a transport line.

Therefore, even if the single-step multi-grade transfer system is adopted in the transfer line for sorting and sorting, the former stage process,
If it is not easy to achieve high-speed processing, high-speed processing of the entire apparatus cannot be sufficiently realized. As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to increase the number of workers in the process and the like. If the speed is increased so that the tray passes at the speed, the ability of the worker is exceeded and the work cannot be actually performed. According to the experience of the present inventors, it is often difficult to exceed the limit of about 1 to 3 pieces per second.

Therefore, in order to effectively utilize the advantages of the single-row multi-grade transfer system, it is necessary to improve the above steps.

In order to solve the various problems as described above, the present inventors have made it possible, for example, to carry out high-speed transfer of, for example, 5, 6 or more per second on the transfer line in the above-mentioned process. For all or part of the work or processing, the tray can be actually worked by a worker or can be measured by a measuring device etc. A transport device was proposed. In short, by transferring the trays from a plurality of low-speed conveyors to a single high-speed conveyor and joining them, the low-speed transport and the high-speed transport required in each process are enabled.

In the meantime, the sorting and sorting work of agricultural products includes not only the above-described sorting and sorting of the agricultural products into the predetermined classifications according to the predetermined ranks, but also the packing process and the evaluation process for appropriately adjusting the price for each producer. Is also an important task.

For this evaluation process, it is necessary to identify which producer the evaluated agricultural product belongs to. Conventionally, a certain number of empty trays have been stored since the end of the previous consignment. A cargo port switching method is used in which the time is shifted for each producer (for each cargo port), such as a method of transporting and then transporting agricultural products in a new cargo port. This method is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-45437 concerning a method for sorting fruits and vegetables, and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-34 concerning a sorting apparatus using an electronic balance.
No. 674, and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 62-5262 concerning a fruit sorting device for evaluating each cargo port.

However, it is not appropriate to adopt this cargo port switching method as it is in the proposed low-speed multi-row high-speed one-row merging method.

For example, (a): in order to process agricultural products brought to a fruit sorting place with a time lag for each producer (consignment), it is necessary to distribute the agricultural products to all of a plurality of low-speed conveyors. Yes, the management and work become complicated.

(B) Agricultural products are generally put in a large container and brought to a fruit sorting place. On the other hand, agricultural products of different consignments are transferred from each low-speed conveyor to a high-speed conveyer without being moved back and forth. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to simultaneously switch cargo ports for all the low-speed conveyors, but in practice, the supply operation rarely ends at the same time on a plurality of low-speed conveyors.

Furthermore, as a result of the above (b), (c): When the last container of a loading port is to be assigned to the operator of one low-speed conveyor, there is no agricultural product to be loaded on the remaining low-speed conveyors. Or simply transporting an empty pan, resulting in a significant reduction in the efficiency of use of the device.

As described above, in the simultaneous switching system of a plurality of low-speed conveyors, the filling rate of the agricultural product in the receiving tray is reduced by the empty area generated for the above-described reason, and as a result, high productivity cannot be obtained. The degree of the decrease in the filling rate depends on the number of processing ports per unit time, but generally, the processing capacity is reduced by 20 to 30% when the sorting and evaluation equipment is continuously operated without waste (filling rate is 100%). Becomes For this reason, the equipment to be introduced into the fruit sorting plant must be designed with a sorting capacity in consideration of the reduced capacity, and as a result, the number of sorting conveyors must be designed to be large, or equipment with a high capacity must be designed. Need to be introduced, resulting in an excess facility having a capacity 20 to 30% higher than the required capacity, an increase in installation area, and a problem leading to an increase in facility cost.

As described above, the improvement of the operation efficiency of the agricultural product sorting is not sufficient as a whole only by the improvement of the individual processes. The improvement of the operation of placing the agricultural products on the receiving tray, the smooth switching of the cargo port, and the like. It is necessary to realize reliable evaluation processing for each producer (for each consignment).

The present inventors have proposed the present invention in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. Specifically, for example, for a sorting conveyor constituting a transport line in the above-mentioned process, for example, a sorting conveyor having a speed of 5 sec. , 6 or more high-speed conveyance, and on the other hand, a process or all or a part of the process is devised to be a low-speed conveyance that can be actually operated by an operator or measured by a measuring device or the like. In addition, at the same time, while efficiently using each low-speed conveyor and high-speed conveyor, the agricultural products of different producers can be distinguished and the evaluation process for price calculation can be reliably performed. The purpose is to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sorting step (for example, the above-mentioned step) in which the speed of the transfer line is relatively easy.
A large speed difference in line transfer between agricultural products supply and measurement processes (for example, the above-mentioned processes) where it is difficult to increase the speed of the transfer line because of the dependence on human work and high-speed processing. An object of the present invention is to provide an agricultural product sorting apparatus that can efficiently adapt to the problem.

Another object of the present invention is that the evaluation of agricultural products carried into a fruit sorting place or the like is suitable for reliably totaling and evaluating by producer (by consignment), Another object of the present invention is to provide an agricultural product sorting apparatus capable of performing this treatment efficiently.

Still another object of the present invention is to reduce the size and equipment area of equipment introduced into a sorting facility or the like by efficiently utilizing the processing capacity inherent in the sorting equipment as described above. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for sorting agricultural products which is effective in reducing the size of agricultural products.

[0026]

The above object is achieved by the invention described in each claim of the present application.

[0027] The invention of the agricultural product sorting apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a single high-speed transport conveyor for transporting a tray not connected to a conveyor at a high speed for sorting and sorting agricultural products placed thereon, and each of the trays At a low speed, and a plurality of low-speed conveyors whose end portions are linked to the high-speed conveyor so that the trays can be transferred to the high-speed conveyor, and a tray that is conveyed by the high-speed conveyor and / or the low-speed conveyor. Measuring means for measuring an element used to determine the sorting category of agricultural products, and sorting category determining means for determining the sorting category of each agricultural product based on the elements measured by the measuring means,
A cargo port information detecting means for detecting information on the cargo port of the agricultural product placed on the tray conveyed by the high-speed conveyor, and preparing the agricultural product conveyed on the high-speed conveyor corresponding to each of the determined sorting sections. A tray discharging means for discharging each tray in the set discharge path, and sorting information totaling means for totalizing information on sorting of agricultural products for each cargo port based on the cargo port information detected by the cargo port information detecting means. And

In the above-mentioned structure, the so-called "free tray", which is not connected to the conveyor, is provided on the receiving tray so that it can be transferred from the low-speed conveyor to the high-speed conveyor.
What is called is used. The structure and shape thereof can be used without particular limitation as long as they can place and transport the agricultural products, but in general, a flat circular shape is preferable in order to smoothly transport the agricultural products, and the sorting is also possible. Depending on the element to be measured, an element suitable for measuring the element is preferably used. For example, when measuring external quality or size based on appearance or the like, a saucer with a structure that can capture the largest possible area of agricultural products is preferably used. When measuring internal quality such as sugar content and acidity, the internal penetration of agricultural products is preferably used. A saucer suitable for measuring light is preferably used.

As the high-speed transport conveyor having the above-mentioned configuration, for example, a plurality of discharge paths connected to the sorting sections while transporting a tray on which agricultural products are loaded (a line branched from the high-speed transport conveyor so as to be connected to the packing device of the packaging stage). )
And a sorting conveyor that sends out a tray to the tray. After measuring the elements used to determine the sorting category, the high-speed conveyor can quickly process the sorting category using a computer. The speeding up of the operation of sending out the relevant agricultural products to the line (branch conveyor or the like) can be dealt with by using a device capable of performing high-speed processing that is mechanized and automated as proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-278848. Things. As the type of the conveyor, an appropriate type such as a belt conveyor and a roller conveyor can be used. Agricultural products whose sorting category has been determined from the above measurement are subjected to a predetermined discharge path (such as a branch conveyor) according to a known tray discharge control such as a sorting information shift method or a method of reading agricultural product sorting information on each tray by a barcode reader. )
Can be discharged. It should be noted that the high-speed transport conveyor of the present invention is not limited to the above configuration.

Examples of the low-speed conveyor in the above-mentioned configuration include a conveyor that requires operations during which high-speed processing is not easy to be performed during transportation, for example, an agricultural product supply conveyor that transports a saucer as a line for manually loading agricultural products. . In the case where the grades of agricultural products are manually displayed by tracking, a conveyor having a structure suitable for this is preferably used. However, the present invention is not limited to these. In short, in any case of manual processing or mechanized processing work, it is suitable to set the transfer speed relatively slow as compared with the processing work of the high-speed transfer conveyor described above. That are subjected to the above-mentioned process. As the type of the conveyor, an appropriate type such as a belt conveyor and a roller conveyor can be used.

In the above configuration, each of the low-speed conveyor and the high-speed conveyor can have a tray supporter for transporting the trays at a constant pitch in the transport direction. Here, the “transportation support portion” is not particularly limited as long as it is suitable for transporting the tray on a conveyor surface having a moving surface, for example, and may have any configuration. As a preferred configuration, the configuration specified in claim 11 is provided, that is, a horizontal rail is provided on the transport surface of the conveyor, and the bar is engaged with the tray to hook the tray in the conveyor transport direction. A type of carrying and carrying can be cited.

In addition, it is generally preferable that the plurality of low-speed conveyors be joined to the high-speed conveyor in a uniform manner. For this purpose, the plurality of low-speed conveyors are transported at the same speed. Driving or claim 9
As in the invention of the above, a configuration in which the tray is transported at a constant pitch is preferably adopted. Further, in order to merge the trays at a constant pitch on the high-speed conveyor,
As described in the invention, a single high-speed transport conveyor and a plurality of low-speed transport conveyors are provided substantially parallel to each other, and a transport support section for transporting and entraining a tray is provided on each conveyor at a constant pitch. The phase of the pitch of the conveying support provided on the conveyor, between each low-speed conveyor,
It is preferable that the setting is made so as to be shifted in the conveying direction by one-seventh of the number of low-speed conveyors (for example, 1/2 when the number of low-speed conveyors is two). By doing this,
For example, the front-back distance between the trays that have moved from the two low-speed conveyors to the one high-speed conveyor is the pitch phase shift. The fact that the deviation amount is “1/1” does not mean that it should exactly match the mathematical value, but it is sufficient that the deviation amount is approximately that numerical value. The deviation of the pitch phase between the low-speed conveyors can be permissible as long as it does not hinder the merging.

The conveying speed of the single high-speed conveyor can be set to be several times the speed of the plurality of low-speed conveyors, or can be set to be higher or lower. In other words, the speed ratio between the high-speed conveyor and the low-speed conveyor must be equal to the number of high-speed conveyors equal to the number of low-speed conveyors (two times in the case of two conveyors) to make the distance between the trays on both conveyors equal. If the distance between the trays on the high-speed conveyor is wider than the distance on the low-speed conveyor, the speed ratio should be at least several times higher and the distance between the trays on the high-speed conveyor should be low. When the distance is smaller than the front-back distance on the conveyor, the speed ratio can be reduced to a multiple times or less within a range where merging is possible. In the following, when the speed ratio is referred to as “substantially the number of times”, any of these is included. The terms “high-speed conveyance” and “low-speed conveyance” refer to the relative speed relationship between the two conveyors, and do not specify a specific speed range. In order to improve productivity, a speed as fast as possible is selected within a range where discharge processing and the like can be performed in a tray sorting process, and a low-speed transport is selected within a range where a work such as placing agricultural products on a tray is possible. .

The number of low-speed conveyors installed in association with one high-speed conveyor is generally two to four in many cases, but is not limited. Further, a two-stage merging method may be adopted in which two of the four lines are joined to the relay conveyor, and the two lines are joined in two stages to one high-speed conveyor. A series of transport mechanisms composed of a combination of a plurality of low-speed transport conveyors and high-speed transport conveyors can, of course, be installed in multiple sets according to the scale of the sorting place.

Further, the transfer from the plurality of low-speed conveyors to the one high-speed conveyor is performed, for example, by arranging a plurality of low-speed conveyors substantially in parallel with the one high-speed conveyor, in a width-shifting manner. Examples include a method of performing transfer, a method of connecting a plurality of low-speed transport conveyors at a right angle to a single high-speed transport conveyor, and performing transfer while turning the transfer direction of the tray 90 °.

The measuring means in the above configuration means means used for detecting elements of the same class (sorting element) used for sorting agricultural products, and is used for detecting weight for class elements. Examples include a weighing device, or a combination of an optical device such as an imaging unit used for detecting a size and an image analysis device. For grading elements, a combination of an optical device such as an imaging device used to detect external quality such as scratches and colors and an image analyzer, and transmitted light used to detect internal quality such as internal defects and sugar content. Examples include a combination of a detection device and a transmitted light analyzer. As a measuring means for detecting a grade element, a grade visually determined by an operator is displayed by a switch or the like provided on a tray, or a tray (free tray) is set in a width direction (transport lateral direction) of a conveyor. The tray is placed on the placement position (for example, the right side, the left side, or the center of the conveyor) of each grade, and the state of the placement position and the state of the switch are detected by a sensor or the like to determine the worker. An example of a method that replaces with an electric signal can also be given.

The measuring means can be all arranged in relation to a low speed conveyor or a high speed conveyor, or some measuring means can be arranged in relation to a low speed conveyor and others can be arranged in a high speed conveyor. They can also be placed in association.

In the above configuration, the sorting classification judging means ranks the measured class elements such as 2L, L, M, S, and 2S indicating the size, and classifies the class elements such as excellent, excellent, good, and good. Comprehensive evaluation by ranking and determining the sorting category to sort the agricultural products with the same overall rating into a single package (usually boxed), such as the types of agricultural products, market demands, changes in the times, etc. For the elements appropriately determined according to the above, for example, a method of comparing the element information obtained by measuring with a predetermined threshold value of the ranking and determining the sorting category can be exemplified. The present invention is not limited thereto, and a known determination method that has been conventionally performed can be appropriately used, and can be generally configured as a device using computer technology. The information (sorting information) of the sorting of the individual agricultural products determined by the sorting category determining means is used to discharge the saucer to a packaging stage prepared for the predetermined sorting category of the agricultural product. To calculate the price for the elderly.

The cargo port information detecting means in the above configuration is one of the most characteristic configurations of the present invention for suitably realizing single-row multi-grade transportation of agricultural products in a state where cargo ports are mixed.

That is, in order to sort and sort agricultural products having a common evaluation, packing information (package information) on the consignment of each agricultural product (that is, to which producer the agricultural product belongs) is not necessary. On the other hand, in order to calculate prices for producers, consignment information on which producers belong to which producers belong to the sorting information of individual agricultural products that directly affects prices is extremely important. However, in the sorting apparatus of the present invention, in which a plurality of low-speed transport conveyors linked to one high-speed transport conveyor can separately handle agricultural products of different cargo ports that are not related to each other, as a result, the single high-speed transport conveyor It is inevitable that agricultural products with different cargo ports are mixed and transported above. Therefore, the above-mentioned means for detecting the cargo port information of the agricultural products conveyed in the mixed cargo state is important. The consignment information detecting means is provided in connection with the high-speed conveyor, and is generally provided in connection with measuring means for measuring the last element of the same class of elements for determining the sorting category of the agricultural product. Preferably. This makes it possible to easily link information on the sorting of the agricultural product, which is determined by measuring the last element, with information on the loading port of the saucer on which the agricultural product is placed. In the above description, “link” refers to associating two pieces of information.

This kind of cargo information detecting means for detecting cargo information of agricultural products conveyed in a mixed cargo state, which can be referred to as a single-item multi-grade mixed cargo transport system, is proposed for the first time in the present invention. Therefore, it will be described in more detail below. In addition, the `` consignment information '' is not directly related to the sorting and sorting work, but it is necessary to use the work to accurately group and sort the individual sorting information of agricultural products brought by a producer to the sorting place. It is sufficient if information is included, and the content of such information is, for example, information that can be used to distinguish one consignment from all other consignments by itself, or one consignment to another consignment by itself. Can not be distinguished from all consignments, but can be distinguished from which low-speed conveyor has been used to place agricultural products on the tray, and can be distinguished from all other consignments by using consignment switching information, etc. Is used as the information. In addition, other information may be included, and the consignment information may be information that can be automatically detected using an identification mark provided in advance on the receiving tray or a transport procedure of the receiving tray, The information may use the cargo port switching information input by the user, and any of them can be used without limitation.

As the detection method by the cargo port information detecting means, for example, by utilizing the conveyor strip information indicating the low-speed transport conveyor on which the work of placing the agricultural products on the tray is distinguished from the receiving tray from another conveyor strip. Further, a method for discriminating the processing time from the other consignments sent by the same low-speed conveyer by using the consignment switching information or the like (article data use method), or a bar code for individualizing the receiving tray For example, a method of linking each agricultural product to each producer via the tray using the identification mark unique to each tray, such as a tray-loader information link system, can be exemplified.

Regarding the above-mentioned article data utilization method,
A method using an identification mark provided on the tray and a shift method using a procedure for transporting the tray can be exemplified.

In the former method using the identification mark of the tray such as a bar code, for example, as in the invention described in claim 2, as the cargo port information detected by the cargo port information detecting means, a single high-speed conveyor is used. Transfer source conveyor information indicating which of a plurality of low-speed transport conveyors the tray has transferred from can be used. For example, when two low-speed conveyors are linked to one high-speed conveyor, the conveyor number information includes the article number (1,
2) or symbols (A, B, etc.) can be used as conveyor strip information.

According to the system in which the detected cargo port information is transferred and used as the original conveyor strip information, even if the receiving trays are conveyed in a mixture of loading ports on the high-speed transport conveyor, the low-speed transport conveyor from which each tray is transferred can be known. Therefore, sorting information for each cargo port (for each producer) supplied to this low-speed transport conveyor can be handled for each group of low-speed transport conveyors, so that sorting information for each cargo port can be handled in the same manner as in the related art.

As specific examples for performing the above method, for example, the inventions of claims 3 and 4 can be exemplified.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the consignment information detecting means in the above invention detects the unique identification mark provided on each tray when the tray is transported on the low-speed transport conveyor, and compares this with the conveyor strip information indicating each low-speed transport conveyor. It is used in combination with a consignment information storage means that is linked and stored in advance, and by detecting the identification mark of each tray, the conveyor strip information linked to this is read from the storage means. I do.

As the identification information unique to each tray in this configuration, for example, a bar code can be used.

According to the present invention, since the identification mark of each tray and the specific conveyor strip information can be linked and stored, when the identification mark of the specific tray is detected on the high-speed conveyor. Then, the information on the sorting of the agricultural products (sorting information) and the conveyor strip information can be linked via an identification mark and stored in the storage means. It is preferable that the consignment information detecting means is provided in association with a measuring means for measuring the last element among the elements used for determining the sorting category. However, the present invention is not limited to the above configuration, as long as the sorting information and the conveyor section information can be linked.

In this way, in the counting of the sorting information, the counting for each low-speed conveyor can be performed using only the conveyor strip information without using the identification mark. Further, for example, by using the cargo port switching information input means provided for each low-speed transport conveyor, it is possible to perform the totalization for each low-speed transport conveyor and each cargo port (for each producer).

The loading port information storage means for detecting the above-mentioned identification mark at the time of receiving a tray on the low-speed conveyor and linking it with conveyor strip information indicating each low-speed conveyor in advance and storing the information, for example, When the barcode is a barcode, the barcode reader provided in connection with the low-speed transport conveyor reads the barcode on the tray, and links and stores the conveyor strip information of the low-speed transport conveyor. be able to. This storage means can also be used for linking and storing this measurement information in the case of measuring an element used for determination of the sorting category on the low-speed conveyor.

The invention of claim 4 can be cited as another example of a system in which the consignment information is transferred and used as the original conveyor strip information.
The conveyor strip information indicating each low-speed conveyor is sequentially shifted and sent to the second position in synchronization with the conveyance of each tray that has passed through the position of the second conveyor to the second position defined on the high-speed conveyor. In the second position, the information of the original conveyor strip that the tray is transferred to can be detected.

In the above configuration, the first position on the low-speed conveyor is, for example, near the end of the low-speed conveyor,
It can be set near the downstream of the work area where the worker places the agricultural product on the saucer, etc., and when measuring means is provided in connection with the low-speed conveyor, it is usually set downstream of this measuring means. . Further, it is preferable that the second position on the high-speed conveyor is set in association with the measuring means for measuring the last element of the class elements, as described above.

According to the present invention, the transfer time of the tray from the specific low-speed conveyor to the high-speed conveyor to the second position, and the number of feeding steps that can be detected by a pulse motor or the like are managed. At some point, the second
It is possible to determine which of the low-speed conveyors from which the agricultural product on the saucer that has reached the position is the transfer source, and therefore it is possible to detect the transfer source conveyor by shifting the conveyor information. it can.

As described above, according to any of the above-mentioned methods, even if agricultural products of different consignments are mixedly transported on the high-speed transport conveyor, it is possible to link the sorting information of the agricultural products on each tray and the conveyor strip information. Sorting information on agricultural products being conveyed in mixed cargo
Furthermore, it is possible to detect by conveyor line and by cargo port using the cargo port switching information.

Further, an intermediate system between the above-described bar code system and the shift system using the information of the conveyor belt from which the tray is transferred is also conceivable. For example, although not using a unique identification sign to identify each tray, a sign that can identify a plurality of low-speed conveyors, for example, a sign that identifies trays that are individually conveyed by two low-speed conveyors by color coding, etc. Can be preliminarily attached to the trays, and the label can be used to detect the low-speed conveyor from which each tray was transferred. In this case, since the trays are generally circulated and reused, a tray with a mark associated with a specific low-speed conveyor may be provided with a means for returning the specific low-speed conveyor to the tray return path. Good.

Next, a description will be given of the receiving-load-port information link system.

The consignment information detected by the consignment information detecting means used in the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned transfer source conveyor strip information, but indicates the producer itself as in the invention of claim 5. Consignment information (for example, a uniform number for each producer) can also be used.

That is, in the invention of claim 5, the cargo port information detecting means detects a unique identification mark provided on each tray and links the cargo information and the cargo information of each individual agricultural product in advance and stores them. And detecting the identification mark of each tray to read out the consignment information linked thereto.

According to this method, the sorting information of each agricultural product is securely linked to each tray as packing information, sorting information for sorting and sorting, and sorting information for price calculation. Thus, extremely reliable processing can be performed. In this method, signs such as barcodes are detected on the low-speed conveyor and linked to consignment information (producer information), and the signs are detected on the high-speed conveyer and the consignment information and the sorting information of agricultural products are linked. Is done.

The sorting information totalizing means in the above configuration is provided for calculating the price of the agricultural product brought to the sorting place with respect to a certain consignment (producer), and corresponds to the consignment information detecting means described above. Any suitable configuration can be adopted as appropriate.

The method of aggregation is appropriately selected in relation to the advantages and disadvantages of data processing. For example, when the cargo information detection means of the above-mentioned article data utilization method is used, the sorting information of each agricultural product is used as cargo information. (In this case, the transfer port information is accumulated without being related to the transfer source conveyor information, and the load port input to the load port switching input means when the processing of a specific load port of a certain low-speed conveyor (loading of agricultural products) is completed. Using the switching information, the cargo port information indicating the low-speed transport conveyor (transfer source conveyor strip information) from the accumulated work information
Is a method for summarizing the linked sorting information: For each of the consignments switched by the consignment switching information for each of the low-speed conveyors, each time the information (sorting information) of the sorting category determined sequentially is input, the corresponding sorting is performed. A method of counting and counting the number of agricultural products indicating the category, and terminating the counting when the next consignment switching information is input: the sorting information collected in the above step is further combined with information of a specific producer. Examples of a linking method and the like can be given, but the method is not limited thereto.

Further, in the above-mentioned receiving tray-consignment information link system, the counting can be performed in the same manner as in the above-described method, and all the sorting processes are completed because the sorting information is linked to the specific producer information. After that, the sorting information can be totalized for each producer using the producer information.

The arithmetic processing for performing each of the above means can be easily constructed using a known MPU (microprocessor unit) or the like.

The apparatus of the present invention can be applied without particular limitation as long as it is an agricultural product to be sorted and sorted, such as apple, persimmon, pear, tomato, eggplant, cucumbers, and watermelon.

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, the trays can be joined onto the high-speed transport conveyor without waiting for timing while continuously driving the low-speed transport conveyors, so that the processing capacity and work efficiency are high. Combined conveyance can be realized, and an appropriate and error-free price can be calculated for each producer without hindering this highly efficient operation.

In addition, since the speed ratio between the high-speed conveyor and the low-speed conveyor can be increased, the high-speed conveyor can perform high-speed processing with high capability, and the low-speed conveyor can perform processing at a low speed adapted to the processing operation. it can.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in each of the above-mentioned inventions, the cargo port information detecting means includes a plurality of cargo port switching information input means provided for inputting that the preceding cargo port and the subsequent cargo port have been switched. , For each of the low-speed conveyors.

The above-mentioned cargo port switching information input means includes, for example,
An operation button that can be operated by one of a plurality of workers assigned in connection with each low-speed conveyor is provided, and the loading operation of the agricultural products at a certain consignment which joins a single high-speed conveyor from the low-speed conveyor is completed. Then, when the operation button is pressed, a signal for switching the consignment port is output to the sorting information totalizing means or the like.

When the loading operation is completed, for example, the position of the identification mark detecting means provided in connection with the low-speed transport conveyor, or the first position in the invention of claim 4, is loaded with the last agricultural product in the loading port. It can be the time when the pan (or the next or several trays after the last pan of the consignment: these include the "last pan" below),
Immediately after that, the loading operation of the next cargo can be started.

The switching information to be input may be a signal indicating simple cargo port switching, or a signal including a signal indicating the producer (such as the producer's uniform number) together with the cargo port switching signal. it can. When the latter signal including the producer is included, a method of detecting, for example, a bar code on a producer card attached to the agricultural product container sent to the agricultural product supply operation position by a reader may be adopted.

According to the present invention having the above-mentioned cargo port information detecting means, the cargo port of the agricultural product can be detected and confirmed for each of a plurality of low-speed conveyors, so that the transport of empty trays can be reduced. Efficiency can be improved.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in each of the above inventions, the sorting information totalizing means stores the totaled sorting information and the cargo port information in response to the input of the cargo port switching information to the switching information input means of the sixth aspect. It is characterized in that it is linked and output to the storage or price calculation means, and the counting work is updated.

Here, in response to the input, the loading port switching information is input so as to indicate the last tray of a loading port, and the loading port information detecting means provided in connection with the high-speed conveyor. Detects the identification mark of the receiving tray (or detects the receiving tray by the shift method) and totals the sorting information of the consignment. Updating the tabulation work means that the information for which the tabulation has been completed is stored in the storage means as necessary, but the work for tabulation is cleared and the next consignment is started.

According to the present invention, the counting operation can be performed sequentially for each cargo port, so that the point of the temporary storage means and the like can be reduced.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the above inventions, at least one of the measuring means is arranged for measuring agricultural products conveyed on a low-speed conveyor,
Others are characterized by being arranged to measure agricultural products conveyed on a high-speed conveyor, according to the present invention,
Measurements suitable for low-speed transport conditions and measurements that can accurately measure even in high-speed transport conditions can be provided as appropriate according to the situation, and the measuring device provided on the high-speed transport conveyor has multiple rows of low-speed transport Since it is used in common for the trays joined from the conveyor, there is an advantage that the number of devices can be reduced as compared with the case where the plurality of low-speed conveyors are provided respectively.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the above inventions, all of the measuring means are arranged for measuring the agricultural products conveyed on the low-speed conveyor. An effective device can be provided when all of the required measurement information is suitable for the low-speed transport state.

According to a fourteenth aspect, in the twelfth aspect or the thirteenth aspect, one of the measuring means for measuring agricultural products conveyed on the low-speed conveyer is in a tracking state so as to display a grade. The grade of the agricultural product is measured by detecting a tracking position of a tray placed on the low-speed conveyor.

According to the present invention, the grade can be measured by a simple method in the agricultural product sorting in which the visual judgment of the operator is required, and the above-mentioned excellent advantages of the present invention can be further exhibited.

In each of the above-mentioned inventions, transfer relays are provided for relaying the transfer of the tray from the low-speed conveyor to the high-speed conveyor, and the transfer speeds of these transfer relays are reduced by the low-speed conveyor and the high-speed conveyor. According to this, even if the transport speed difference between the high-speed transport conveyor and the low-speed transport conveyor is large, transfer of the trays without trouble can be realized.

In each of the above-mentioned inventions, the low-speed conveyor conveyed on the same horizontal plane extends from the low-speed conveyer to the high-speed conveyer, and is engaged with a tray obliquely with respect to the conveying direction of the conveyor. In addition, it is preferable to provide a guide unit that guides the transfer of the tray by shifting the tray horizontally and horizontally, so that the merging from the low-speed conveyor to the high-speed conveyor can be performed accurately and smoothly.

[0081]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a part of a sorting place equipped with an apparatus for sorting agricultural products according to the present invention (a path from measurement for sorting agricultural products to packing). This sorting apparatus is roughly divided into a supply / gradation sorting section for agricultural products (processing section of the above-mentioned process), and a sorting section (discussed above) for discharging the agricultural products determined to be graded to the storage conveyor of each sorting section. And a box packaging unit (the processing unit of the above-described process) that packs a group (the number of packaging units) of agricultural products sent from the storage conveyor of each of the sorted sorting to the box standby position. )).

In the present example, the working parts of these three processes are provided as two low-speed conveyors for the supply of agricultural products and the grade element measuring unit, so that the working speed can be relatively low, which requires visual judgment by the operator. A work tray is ensured, and before it reaches the sorting section, the trays that are conveyed by the two-line supply / equal-class sorting section (hereinafter referred to as "free trays").
Into a single high-speed conveyor to enable high-speed and efficient processing by mechanical work,
The packaging unit has a feature that a large number of packaging devices are operated efficiently. In this example, two sets of two conveyors and one high-speed conveyor are provided in two lines, sorting and sorting sections are arranged in upper and lower two stages, and the trays are sent out to the common packaging and packaging section from these to further increase the number of trays. We are trying to improve efficiency.

The above-mentioned agricultural product supply / equivalent class sorting section is shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3 and transfers the free tray 4 returned by the return conveyor 51 onto a transport conveyor 52 which is a low-speed transport conveyor. While the worker 50
Agricultural products are picked up from the pull-in conveyor 57 which transports a container containing a large number of agricultural products brought to the fruit sorting place, and the agricultural products are placed on the free tray 4. At this time, in this example, the grades (excellent, excellent) , Good, A, B, C etc. 3
The position of the free tray 4 is moved to predetermined positions of the center, right side, and left side (positions P _C , P _R , and P _L shown by two-dot chain lines in FIG. 3) of the conveyor 52. The tracking is made to indicate any of the three classes. Reference numeral 571 in the figure denotes an incoming conveyor, which is connected to the incoming conveyor 57 so as to distribute the containers.

The conveyor 52 of this embodiment is a conveyer provided with bars 521 at regular intervals in the carrying direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the center of the bar 521 in the left-right direction is a circular plane. Is provided in a notch 5211 that can be engaged with the free tray 4 in a shallow and uneven manner. The notch 521 is provided at each of left and right positions, and the notch 521 is provided at a central position.
The free tray 4 is engaged with the first tray 1 so that the free tray 4 can be stably positioned so that the tracking display can be accurately displayed. In addition, the return conveyor 5
One free tray 4 is inserted into each block divided by the crosspiece 521 by a pitching screw 511 having a spiral groove provided at one end portion.

The conveyor 52 is provided with an opposing link 581 of a pair of parallel link chains 58 that rotate endlessly.
By arranging the plate 59 therebetween, a substantially continuous conveyor conveying surface suitable for conveying and supporting the free tray 4 is formed. A cover 582 covers the link chain 58 and also serves as a side edge frame of the conveyor conveyance surface.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a tracking detection device such as a photoelectric sensor provided for detecting the position state (tracking state) of the free tray 4, and the tracking position of the free tray 4 on which the grade of the agricultural product is placed. Is to detect from.

In this example, the free tray 4 after the tracking is detected is lined up in a line by the tapered rail 522. The tracking detection device 53 constitutes one of the measuring means in the present example.

Reference numeral 55 denotes a bar code reader which reads bar codes as different identification marks displayed on the free tray 4 one by one. In this example, the bar code reader 55 is an element used for judging the sorting category when sorting and sorting agricultural products. The information is linked with the class information read by the tracking detection device 53, and is stored in the memory (storage unit) of the arithmetic and control unit 9 composed of an MPU (microprocessor unit) and the like. It has a characteristic configuration in which one of the two conveyors 52 on which the conveyor 4 is transported is linked to the storage information and stored. For example, the conveyor number 52 on the left side of FIG. 1 is assigned an article number “A”, and the conveyor number 52 on the right side is assigned an article number “B”. The numbers are linked and stored. In this example, the assignment of the article number linked to the detection of the bar code constitutes the cargo port information (transfer original conveyor article information) detected by the cargo port information detecting means described later.

As described above, the identification information (individualization information) of a specific free tray 4 is detected by a bar code.
The grade information (information detected by the tracking detection device 53) relating to the grade of the agricultural product placed on the specific free tray 4 and the article number, which is consignment information, are converted into electric signals, and are processed by an arithmetic and control unit (computer). 9 and temporarily stored as one of the sorting determination elements (grade information) for determining which sorting category the agricultural product placed on the specific free tray 4 belongs to. The temporarily stored information is used in combination with the information of the class element (or the grade element) based on the imaging information measured on the sorting conveyor 1, which is a high-speed conveyor described later, to determine the sorting category. It is used as information for discharging the free tray 4 to the conveyor, and the article number is used as information for calculating the price to the producer.

Next, the free conveyors on the two conveyors 52
The configuration of the merging mechanism 56, which is one of the features of the present example, in which the tray 4 is transferred and merged with a single sorting conveyor 1 as a high-speed transport conveyor of the present invention for transferring the tray 4 at a high speed will be described.

At the end of the transport conveyor 52 of the agricultural product supply / equivalent class sorting section, the two transport conveyors 52 run in parallel at a predetermined interval, and the two Reference numeral 521 is provided so as to be driven (conveyed) with a １ ／ pitch phase shifted in the conveying direction. A transfer relay conveyor 56 is provided for each of the sorting conveyors 1, which are disposed in the middle of the two conveyors 52 and are provided such that the conveying surfaces move in parallel at approximately twice the speed.
The inclined rails 562 and 562, which are transfer guide means for the receiving tray, are arranged so as to narrow the free tray 4 in the lateral direction and to merge through the trays 1 and 561.

The transfer relay conveyor 561 is for smoothly performing transfer relay when the speed ratio between the transport conveyor 52 and the sorting conveyor 1 is large. In addition, the transfer speed is set to an intermediate speed between the transport conveyor 52 and the sorting conveyor 1. Also, a transfer relay conveyor 561 provided corresponding to each transport conveyor 52.
Are set in such a manner that the bars 5611 provided on them are provided with a phase shift of 1/2 pitch from each other in the transport direction, and the free tray 4 can be transferred between the bars 5611 of the transport conveyor 52 and the bars 5611. Is done.

As described above, each of the two conveyors 5
The free tray 4 on which the agricultural products on which the elements used for determining the equal-grade sorting section are measured is placed on the inclined rail 562 while being transported by the transport conveyor 52, along the inclined rail 562. To the sorting conveyor 1. Then, since the phases of the crosspieces 521 of the transport conveyors 52 on both sides are shifted by ピ ッ チ pitch in the transport direction, they are alternately and efficiently arranged at equal intervals on the sorting conveyor 1 and are set to the sorting conveyor 1. At a high speed. In this example, the transport speed of the sorting conveyor 1 which is a high-speed transport conveyor is set to be slightly higher than twice the transport speed of the transport conveyor 52 which is a low-speed transport conveyor. In order to facilitate the processing in the subsequent stage by increasing the front-rear spacing of the trays 4 on the tray 1, the transport speed of the trays 4 on the transport conveyor 52 is reduced, and the work of placing the agricultural products P on the trays 4 is performed. Is configured so that the above condition can be relaxed as much as possible.

The sorting conveyor 1 according to the present embodiment includes a step of measuring the class elements required to determine the sorting information of the agricultural product P while transporting the tray 4, and a sorting division determined based on the measured measurement information. And a step of sorting agricultural products into predetermined sorting categories.

The step of measuring the former class element is as follows:
This is performed by the imaging device 101 provided in the middle of the sorting conveyor 1. The imaging device 101 is configured by a color camera, a sensor camera, or the like, and captures, for example, the appearance of the agricultural product P, and classifies or ranks each agricultural product by an appropriate calculation method. Further, a transmitted light detecting device for measuring the internal quality may be provided as necessary. In this example,
In order to confirm the relationship with the agricultural product P on the specific saucer 4 to be carried into the imaging device 101, a barcode reader 102 is arranged at the entrance to the imaging device 101 and linked with the imaging information to perform arithmetic control. Information is input to the device 9. Thus, the bar code reader 55
Classification classification determining means programmed in the arithmetic and control unit 9 based on the class information input to the arithmetic and control unit 9 by linking to the class information and the class (and / or class) information measured by the imaging device 101. As a result, the sorting information of the agricultural products placed on each saucer 4 is determined, and is linked to the barcode and stored in the memory.

The sorting information stored in the memory of the arithmetic and control unit 9 as described above is used for sorting and sorting agricultural products.
In addition, it is used together with the sorting information stored in link with the sorting information for evaluation sorting for performing payment of the price to the producer.

In this example, the evaluation screening for performing the price settlement for the producer is performed as follows. That is, the two lines of the conveyor 52 of FIG. 1 are 52A and 52B as described above,
Workers 501 and 501 located on the most upstream side of the conveyors 52A and 52B of the respective strips have information on producers (loading ports) that are about to start sorting (supply work) from now on,
For example, cargo number (A1, A2,... B
1, B2, ...) and the size of the consignment (weight, number)
By operating the console 903, the results are input to the totaling device 902 in advance, and the result selection work is started. In addition,
The input time of the basic data etc. for each producer may be after the sorting of the consignment of the producer and before the supply of the consignment of the next producer, but usually the input work is performed before the sorting. Often.
Then, the worker 501 confirms the change of the agricultural product container sent from the receiving conveyor 571, and when the tray 4 on which the final agricultural product P is loaded passes through the position of the barcode reader 55, the operator console is displayed. The user presses a cargo port switching button on 903. Thereby, the receiving tray 4 on which the final agricultural product P in the loading port is placed is conveyed to the sorting conveyor 1 on the downstream side in a state where the bar code number of the receiving tray 4 and the switching signal are linked. When the tray 4 on which the agricultural product P is placed passes through the barcode reader 102 and the imaging device 101 of the sorting conveyor 1, a switching signal can be obtained from the detection of the barcode. In the tabulation device 902 to which the switching signal has been input, the sorting information is linked to the barcode of the tray 4 sent from the arithmetic and control unit 9 and is input from the sorting information stored and stored as shown in Table 1 below.
At the time of switching the consignment, for example, the consignment of the conveyor strip A is totaled as the sorting information of the consignment A1, and this is used as a total value of the sorting information for calculating the settlement price to the producer. (Not shown). Table 1 below shows an example in which agricultural products of different loading ports are sent to the two conveying conveyors 52A and 52B.

[0099]

[Table 1]

Note that the price calculation method is not limited to the above-described one. For example, in each of the pull-in conveyors 57 branched from the receiving conveyor 571 into a plurality of sections, the operator can input the switching of the consignment port. At the same time, the barcode on the tray 4 at the time of switching the cargo port may be read by a barcode reader (not shown) to store cargo port information corresponding to each barcode. In the present example showing one embodiment of the present invention, since the line numbers indicating the line information of the conveyors 52A and 52B are linked to each sorting information and stored, the line numbers are used as the index. Agricultural products being conveyed on the sorting conveyor 1 in a mixed cargo port (multiple cargo port) state can be reliably grasped by item. Therefore, even if the method of switching the consignment which is considered in the single-stage multi-grade transport method is used, there is substantially no problem in the evaluation selection by consignment. This point shows one of the extremely excellent effects of the present invention.

Next, a description will be given of the sorting / sorting step of the present example provided at the subsequent stage of the sorting conveyor 1.

In the agricultural product sorting apparatus of this embodiment, the transport conveyor 52 of the above-mentioned agricultural product supply / gradation sorting section is provided in two sections, and the free trays 4 sent out from the two article supply / grade sorting sections are merged. Sets of sorting conveyors 1 to be conveyed and transported are provided in a vertically stacked and separated form as a packaging line, and the supply of the free tray 4 from the upper and lower packaging lines to one packaging device is selected. This is an extremely unique configuration that has not been available before (see FIG. 5). The configuration of the present example is extremely suitable for a case where an efficient working mode is adopted corresponding to a practically suitable workable speed. In the supply process of agricultural products provided in two systems in FIG. 1, the supply process system on the right side of the figure is linked to the sorting conveyor 1 in the upper stage of FIG. 5, and the supply process system on the left side of the diagram is in the lower stage of FIG. 2 shows a configuration linked to the sorting conveyor 1 of FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment to which this is actually applied will be described and clarified.

As shown in FIG. 5, the free tray 4 on which the agricultural products whose sorting is determined by the agricultural product supply / equivalent class sorting section is transported by the upper and lower two-stage sorting conveyors 1, 1 as shown in FIG. Storage conveyor 202 branched and connected in the horizontal direction
(In this example, the same number of upper and lower 2021 to 2022 n articles)
For each sorting category, the free tray 4 on which the agricultural product of the corresponding sorting category is placed is discharged.

In the present embodiment, the storage conveyor 202 described above is used.
The four upper and lower four lines form a group (group), forming a branch boxing line 2 linked to one boxing standby position of the boxing and packaging section. In the example of FIG. 1, five sets of these branching and packaging lines 2 are respectively linked to the packaging standby position. It is to be noted that the branch line may be provided for manual filling work by an operator, or a branch line which does not pack into a box may be provided. A branch line for manual packing is effective, for example, for sorting of very few agricultural products, and there is no need to pack boxes for agricultural products that cannot be shipped as extraordinary products. This is often necessary as a sorting facility.

Hereinafter, one set of branch boxing lines 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 5, and 6, but the other sets have the same configuration except that the arrangement pattern of the boxing is different.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the above-mentioned branch boxing line 2 constituting the sorting section is generally provided with upper and lower discharge devices 201, which discharge the free tray 4 from the upper and lower sorting conveyors 1, respectively. 201, upper and lower storage conveyors 202, 202 for storing the discharged free tray 4, a box standby position 2
A tray sending device 204 sends the free tray 4 from the upper and lower storage conveyors 202 to the tray 03.

The discharging device 201 is, for example, disclosed in
-278848, which can be configured by using a sorting and discharging device capable of high-speed tray discharging.
The upper and lower sorting conveyors 1 and 1 are provided independently of each other. In this example, two discharge lanes (two lines) of the storage conveyor 202 (2021, 202 in FIG.
It is configured to have a function of sorting the free tray 4 in 2). That is, the discharge device 201 includes a large number of electromagnetic attraction portions 2 at equal intervals along the circumferential direction inside the outer peripheral portion.
012, and a rotating table 2011 that rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6, and a suction tray that turns the free tray 4 to discharge the free tray 4 from the sorting conveyor 1.
At a predetermined fixed position, the electromagnetic adsorption unit 2 of the turntable 2011
One exciting means 2013 for exciting the 012 and the electromagnetic attraction part 2012 fixedly provided at two predetermined positions for distributing the free tray 4 to the two-lane storage conveyors 2021 and 2022 as described above. It comprises excitation release means 2014 and 2015.

With the above-described configuration, for example, an agricultural product (for example, the size class is L and the class is A) for which the information (sorting information) of the sorting class of the same class is determined is set so as to correspond to the sorting class. When passing through the position of the discharge device 201 having the storage conveyor 202, the excitation means 2013 is excited by a control command of the discharge control device 901 to which a discharge control signal is transmitted from the arithmetic and control unit 9, and The free tray 4 is attracted to a rotating table 2011 having an electromagnetic attracting portion 2012, and is turned and discharged from the sorting conveyor 1 in the horizontal direction according to the rotation of the rotating table 2011. Then, the excitation release means 2014, 2
The suction is released by operating any of the free trays 015 in response to a command from the discharge control device 901, and the discharged free tray 4 is sent to one of the two lanes 2021 and 2022.

In this example, the operation of selecting the agricultural products of a specific sorting category by the predetermined discharging device 201 and discharging the agricultural products to the corresponding storage conveyor 202 is performed as follows. That is, by reading the bar code (unique sign) of the free tray by the bar code reader 103 (see FIG. 1) arranged upstream of the sorting conveyor 1, the agricultural products recorded in a one-to-one relationship with the bar code are read. The assortment information is read, and from the arrangement position of the barcode reader 103, the storage conveyor 20 of the assortment classification corresponding to the corresponding assortment information.
The transfer distance (or time) to the discharge device to the discharge device 2 is determined based on the number of pulses output from the encoder device or the like in accordance with the moving amount of the sorting conveyor 1, and the corresponding free tray 4 discharges the output. Activated when passing through the device 201 part.

In this example, for example, the discharge device 201 shown on the right side of FIG. 6 is used to move the free tray 4 on which the agricultural products P having the size M of the classification A are loaded into the two storage conveyors 2.
02, and the discharge device 201 on the left side
Can be installed on the two storage conveyors 202 so as to discharge the agricultural products P in the sorting section of the size L and the class A, but this is the same for all the storage conveyors 202 of one branching boxing line 2. Assortment categories or all different assortment categories can be used, and the selection can be determined as necessary according to the distribution ratio of the assortment categories of the agricultural products to be processed.

Next, the storage conveyor 202 will be described. The storage conveyor 202 is constituted by a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, or the like, and the discharged free conveyor is provided.
The tray 4 is transported downstream. Also,
As described above, two lanes 2 for one discharge device 201
The lanes 2021 and 2022 are provided so as to accumulate the free trays 4 in a line.
A stopper mechanism 2023 for stopping the free tray 4 is disposed at the transfer end position. The stopper mechanism 2023 normally acts to stop the conveyance of the free tray 4 and, for example, a sensor (not shown) reduces the number of accumulated free trays to a predetermined number of packaging units (a number that can be packed into one box in a box packing operation). Is detected, the state is switched to a state in which conveyance is permitted based on a command from a control means (not shown) in accordance with the progress of the subsequent box packing operation, and the predetermined number of free trays 4 are set. In the box standby position 2
03, and after the predetermined number of feeds, the stopper mechanism 2023 is returned to the transport stop state so as to stop feeding the subsequent free tray 4 again. Such a stopper mechanism 2023 can be configured by combining, for example, a stopper plate and a cylinder device.

The discharging device 201 and the storage conveyor 2 described above
02 are provided independently for the upper and lower sorting conveyors 1 and 1, respectively. Therefore, in the configuration of this example, in one branch boxing line 2, the storage conveyor 202 is vertically four rows each, and the discharging device 201 is Two each are arranged above and below.

Next, the box packaging unit will be described. The box packaging unit of the present embodiment includes a box packing standby position 203 for agricultural products, a switchable tray sending device 204 for sending agricultural products from the storage conveyor 202 to the box packing standby position 203, and a box packing device 205 for performing box packing work. , And peripheral devices related thereto.

The above-mentioned box standby position 203 is provided with a predetermined number of free trays 4 sent from one of the lanes of a plurality (eight in this example) of storage conveyors 202 included in one branching boxing line 2. Are provided in a box lane 2031 which is arranged in a line for packing and stands by for packing. In addition, a switchable tray delivery device 204 for delivering agricultural products is provided with a four-swing delivery conveyor 2041 (up and down swing type) for sending a free tray 4 from any of the storage conveyors 202 to the box lane 2031. 5 and 6), and an air cylinder device 2042 for each lane for swinging these delivery conveyors 2041;
In order to transfer the free tray 4 delivered from the strip storage conveyor 202 via the delivery conveyor 2041 to the box lane 2031, the relay conveyor 20 extended in a right angle direction.
43. Each air cylinder device 20
In order to send out a group of free trays 4 from one of the storage conveyors 202 forming a pair up and down, the relay conveyor 2043 is switched before the stopper mechanism 2023 is switched to a state in which conveyance is permitted. Side shaft 2
044, the sending conveyor 2041 is swung up and down, and the corresponding storage conveyor 202 and the box lane 20 are swung.
31 are switched so as to be in a continuous relationship (either directly or via the relay conveyor 2043).

FIG. 6 shows a state in which when the 24 free trays 4 in the number of boxed packaging units are stacked on the storage conveyor 2021 on the right side of the figure, the delivery conveyor 2041 is sent out in a horizontal posture. FIG. 5 shows the delivery conveyor 2041 shown in FIG. 5 in a tilted position in which the delivery conveyor 2041 is swung downward.
This shows a state in which the tray 4 is being sent out.

The free trays 4 sent out by the predetermined number from the predetermined storage conveyor 202 by the above-mentioned tray sending device 204 are sent onto the box lane 2031 and the stopper mechanism 2034 provided at the tip of the box lane 2031.
, And is put into a box standby state. The stopper mechanism 2034 can be configured in the same manner as the stopper mechanism 2023, and is switched to a state in which the transport is permitted at the end of picking up of the agricultural product (or at the point in time when the transport is no longer troublesome after picking up), and an empty free state is set. After the trays 4 have been sent out to the return conveyor 51 and a predetermined number of them have been sent out, the subsequent free trays 4 are returned to a state where they are stopped again.
The end of the return conveyor 51 is connected to the transport conveyor 52 shown in FIGS.

Next, a working robot as the box packing device 205 will be described.

The box packing device 205 of this embodiment is a work robot having a vertically articulated arm mechanism (hereinafter referred to as “work robot 205”) as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-301304. And a packaging lane 2031 at the packaging standby position 203.
The agricultural products P are picked up from a predetermined number of the free trays 4 arranged in a line and waited, and one of the tray packs 801 to 804 is selected and packed one by one into the cardboard box 6 inserted and inserted. Things. In the sorting apparatus of this example, for example, when packing agricultural products P having a size L, they are packed in 5 × 4 rows (20 in total), but when packing agricultural products P having a size M, 6 pieces are packed. Since 4 × 4 rows (total 24) are packed, the suction cups of the work robot 205 that are not involved in the picking can be evacuated to the retracted position so as to cope with the difference in the picked number. It is provided as follows.

That is, the working robot 205 of the present example
As shown in FIG. 5, a root link mechanism 2052 for performing a parallelogram link motion extends from the main body 2051, and a parallelogram is provided at a tip of the root link mechanism 2052 via a hinge that allows rotation about a horizontal axis. A plurality of suction cups 20563 for linking the tip link mechanism 2053 performing the link motion and lifting and holding the agricultural product P at the tip of the tip link mechanism 2053 are provided in the depth direction of the paper surface of FIG. 5, that is, in the left-right direction of FIG. Are suspended so that their adjacent distances can be changed.

Next, peripheral devices and the like provided in the sorting device of this embodiment will be described.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a supply / discharge device for the cardboard box 6. The empty box 6 conveyed by the empty box conveyor 701 is pushed into the empty box lowering device 703 by the pusher 702 at a predetermined timing. After being lowered, it is sent to the packing position 704 along the arrow shown in FIGS. Further, the cardboard box 6 in which the packing of the agricultural products P has been completed is lowered from the boxing position 704 to an ejection conveyor 705 by an elevator (not shown), and is conveyed to a predetermined product accumulation place by the product conveyance conveyor 706.

The present example of the box-packing operation of the agricultural product P by the sorting apparatus having the above configuration will be described below.

In the agricultural product supply / grade class sorting section, while the agricultural products are placed on the free tray 4 and transported by the transport conveyor 52, the measurement of the grade information via the tracking performed on the transport conveyor 52 described above and the sorting conveyor 1 Each of the agricultural products P on the free tray 4 on which the class (and / or class) information has been measured by the upper imaging device 101 is obtained by merging the products P from the two side-by-side conveyors 52 by the merging mechanism 56. It is transferred to the sorting conveyor 1.

In this example, the structure of the (supply / equivalent class sorting section) → (sorting conveyor 1) is provided in two lines in this example, and the two sorting conveyors 1, 1 are vertically separated and stacked. Has been extended.

The free tray 4 on which the agricultural products P for which the sorting has been determined using the measured class elements is transported by the upper and lower two-stage sorting conveyors 1 while being discharged by the discharge device 201 shown in FIG. It is sent to the storage conveyor 202 designated as the sorting section and is accumulated. The stopper mechanism 2023 arranged at the end of each of the storage conveyors 202 is in a state in which the free tray 4 is stopped.

The number of free trays 4 accumulated on each storage conveyor 202 in this way is counted by a sensor (not shown), and when one box for packing in one cardboard box 6 is accumulated, Box packing device (work robot) 205
Is in a receivable state (a state in which the packaging operation can be performed), the stopper mechanism 2023 at the end thereof is retracted, and the packaging lane 2 is transported via the delivery conveyor 2041.
The free tray 4 for one box is sent until 031. At this time, among the four upper and lower storage conveyors 202 belonging to one branch / box line 2, the storage conveyor 202 from which the delivery is to be performed is determined by, for example, each storage conveyor 2.
Based on information detected from a sensor camera (not shown) provided for each 02, computer control of the free tray accumulation state, difference in accumulation speed, and the like is performed so that packing processing can be efficiently performed. do it. And in the case of sending out from the upper storage conveyor 202,
Outgoing conveyor 2 continuous to the corresponding storage conveyor 202
041 is in a horizontal posture, and in the case of sending out from the lower storage conveyor 202, the delivery conveyor 2 which is continuous with the storage conveyor 202 concerned by the operation of the air cylinder device 2042.
041 is swung downward to assume an inclined posture.

The state shown in FIG. 6 is, for example, a size M,
One box (24 pieces) of free tray 4 from the storage conveyor 2021 at the upper right end where the agricultural products of the grade A sorting category are accumulated
Is sent to the box lane 2031.

As described above, in the packing lane 2031 in which the free trays 4 corresponding to one box of the agricultural product P are fed and the packing operation is sequentially performed in a row, the multi-joint type work robot 205 is described. , A box packing operation is performed.

That is, the cardboard box supply / discharge device 7
Empty cardboard box 6 sent to the packing position 704 by
On the other hand, first, the work robot 205 moves the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5 so that the tray pack 801 for 24 balls (pieces) can be picked up by the suction cup.
The arm mechanism is operated by the driving means (not shown) in the posture. At this time, the rotator 807 of the tray pack supply device 8
Operates such that the tray pack 801 for 24 balls (pieces) is located in a state close to the box lane 2031 (the state in FIG. 6). And the tray pack 801
Is moved to the position and posture indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 and inserted into the cardboard box 6 at the packing position 704. Reference numeral 805 denotes a turntable on which each tray pack group is loaded, and 806 denotes a support frame.

As described above, the tray pack (in the above-described state, the tray pack 80 for the size M is placed in the box packing position 704).
1) The cardboard box 6 into which is inserted is brought into a standby state,
In this state, the agricultural product packaging operation by the work robot 205 that transfers the agricultural product P to the box from the free tray 4 containing the agricultural product P stopped in the packaging lane 2031 is started.

The arm mechanism having a plurality of suction cups 20563 is moved to the position and posture shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
Adsorb and pick up.

Next, the work robot 205 for sucking and suspending the picked-up agricultural products P moves each suction cup 20563 to the box packing position by controlling the posture of the arm mechanism, and in the course of this movement, the pantograph mechanism. By the operation of (not shown), the adjacent spacing of the suction cups 20563 in a row is changed to a state suitable for packing. The empty free tray 4 from which the agricultural product P has been picked up is sent out to the return conveyor 51 with the stopper mechanism 2034 retracted. The free tray 4 on which the subsequent agricultural products P are placed is placed in the box lane 20.
It is moved to the position 31 and stopped by the stopper mechanism 2034 that has returned, and waits for the next packing. Then, the working robot 205 in which the space between the suction cups 20563 is widened
Thereby, the boxing work of the agricultural products P in the second row is performed. The above operation is performed in a continuous manner for four rows as shown in FIG. 7 in this example, whereby the packing operation for one box is completed, and the completed box 6 is transferred from the discharge conveyor 705 to the product transfer conveyor. It is transported to a predetermined product accumulation place via 706.

The packing operation is performed on the next box 6. That is, supply of the empty box 6 to the boxing position 704, feeding of a predetermined number of the free trays 4 on which the agricultural products P are loaded from the storage conveyor 202 selected to the boxing lane 2031, predetermined tray packs (801 to 801). A series of operations of 804) fitting into the box 6 and picking up and packing the agricultural products line by line are performed. At this time, when packing is performed on an agricultural product having a size of L, packing is performed in an array pattern of 5 × 4 rows using the tray pack 803. Therefore, the adjacent interval of the plurality of suction cups 20563 is changed. And by moving the entire row of suction cups 20563 in the row direction at a distance corresponding to the staggered pitch, the boxes can be packed one by one in the same manner as described above.

After completion of the packing of M, if a state (packing unit number) where L can be packed is detected according to the pool condition on the storage conveyor, a tray signal supply device is provided by a switching signal output from a control device (not shown). 8 rotator 80
7 drives the tray pack 802 for L into the box lane 2
031, and the agricultural products are boxed in the same manner as described above.

In the above-described example, the case where the arrangement pattern of boxes is 20 balls (pieces) and the case of 24 balls (pieces) are described, but the arrangement pattern of box packing is not limited to these. Further, the type of box arrangement pattern that one work robot 205 handles may be one or more different from the drawing, and for example, four types (18 balls, 20
Balls, 24 balls, and 28 balls), four types of tray packs 801 to 804 are used in the tray pack supply device 8.
Can be implemented by being configured to be stacked. Further, this arrangement pattern can have various numbers of boxes and arrangement patterns as exemplified in FIG. 8, for example, and any of the arrangement patterns shown in FIG. The robot 205 can be used in common.

As described above, the sorting and sorting and the subsequent processes can be performed at a relatively high speed.

In the agricultural product sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment described above, the worker places the grade of the agricultural product (in this example, three stages) on the free tray 4 which is transported at a relatively low speed on the two conveyors 52. Is visually determined, and while the agricultural product is placed on the free tray 4, the position of the free tray 4 on the transport surface is moved to one of three positions of right, left, and center to perform the tracking. The tracking is performed, the grade of the agricultural product displayed by the tracking is detected by the tracking detection device 53, and the information read by the bar code reader 55, which is the bar code reading means attached to the free tray 4, is displayed. The signal is sent as an electric signal to the arithmetic and control unit 9 for determining the sorting category for sorting. At this time, the transporting conveyor 52 on which the tray 4 is transported is linked to the read barcode.
(In this example, A or B) is sent to the arithmetic and control unit 9 together. In this example, imaging and the like can also be performed during the low-speed transport.

In this way, the supply of agricultural products, which is difficult to perform at high speed, such as the work of placing agricultural products on a saucer and the measurement processing of sorting elements, and the visual judgment of the grade and the tracking, which differ depending on the agricultural products to be sorted and sorted, are performed. Processing can be performed at a relatively low speed suitable for the work and measurement processing speed, and the conveyor strip code, which is one of the consignment information, is linked to the bar code and stored in the memory of the arithmetic and control unit 9. Will be done. Although not shown, an internal inspection device that requires a relatively long processing time is arranged on a conveyor 52 that conveys at a low speed, and a visual inspection device such as a camera that can perform high-speed processing is arranged on a sorting conveyor 1 that performs high-speed processing. It is also possible to construct an effective layout in terms of both cost and sorting accuracy.

On the other hand, the free tray 4 on the two conveyors 52 can be transferred via the merging mechanism 56 to the sorting conveyor 1 for high-speed conveyance and aligned and merged at equal intervals. 205), a large number of free trays 4 can be sorted and processed at a high speed in a boxed packaging section in which a large number of units 205 are installed, and the processing capacity of the entire apparatus can be increased.

In addition, the transport merging apparatus constituted by the merging mechanism 56 of the present embodiment can transfer each conveyor continuously from the two conveyors to the one sorting conveyor without waiting for timing for the transfer. This is extremely excellent in that it can be performed with maximum efficiency while being driven.

Further, for example, information on the switching of the consignment input from the consignment switching button to the tabulation device 902 and the arithmetic and control unit 9
By inputting the sorting information linked to the article number of the receiving tray 4 sent from the company, the price corresponding to the sorting information for one consignment accumulated every time the consignment switching is performed can be totaled. The advantage is obtained that the price calculation for evaluation and sorting can be performed without impairing the productivity of the sorting and sorting process, and clearly distinguishing sorting information of different consignments.

Embodiment 2 The agricultural product sorting apparatus of this example shown in FIG. 9 is different from that of the above-described embodiment 1 in the following points, but the other configuration is the same. Are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

This embodiment is characterized in that the two-stage conveyor 52,
A method of joining the free tray 4 conveyed by the conveyor 52 to one sorting conveyor 1 is such that the conveyor 52 is connected to the sorting conveyor 1 at a right angle, and one of the conveyors 52 is empty. Receiving tray 4 on sorting conveyor 1
Is provided so that the receiving tray 4 is transferred from another transport conveyor 52 to the empty portion thereof, and the rest of the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

The two conveyors 52 in this embodiment are driven at the same speed and synchronously.
Since the tray 4 is transferred to a vacant portion at two installation intervals, there is no need to shift the phase in the transport direction.

In the present embodiment, the measurement of the class elements used to determine the sorting category and the determination of the sorting category, and the sorting and sorting of the agricultural products based on the obtained sorting information are described in the first embodiment.
However, the method for summarizing the sorting information for each consignment for evaluation and sorting differs in that the barcode of the saucer is not used, and this will be described below. Note that the cargo port switching operation and the use of this information can be performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, for example, the bar code of the tray 4 conveyed by the two conveyors 52 is detected by the bar code reader 551 arranged at a predetermined position, Along with the strip codes (A, B, and the like described above) of the transport conveyor 52 that transports the tray, the barcode reader 551 links the barcode of the tray 4 sequentially detected by the barcode reader 551 to link with an arithmetic and control unit (see FIG. (Not shown). After the receiving tray 4 is merged onto the sorting conveyor 1, for example, at a point in time when the transporting conveyor 52 and the sorting conveyor 1 are transported at a constant speed, time management is performed when reaching the imaging device 101 as sorting information measuring means. Or each conveyor 5
In the case of a method in which 2, 1 is driven by a servomotor or the like, by controlling the number of transport steps, in short, each information of the grade information, the bar code information, and the bar code of one saucer (and agricultural products placed thereon) Is linked and stored in the memory of the arithmetic and control unit 9. The sorting information of the agricultural products placed on the individual trays 4 can be determined by the arithmetic and control unit including the class elements measured by the imaging device 101 provided on the sorting conveyor 1.

Therefore, the order of transfer also indicates the transfer conveyor 52A or 52B of the transfer source at the same time. Therefore, by integrating (accumulating) counting the sorting information for each transfer source, the price to the producer can be reduced. The data to be calculated can be obtained. In this example, the sorting is performed using the barcode read by the barcode reader 103 as in the first embodiment.

According to the transport merging apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the two transport conveyors 52 can be arranged on the side of the sorting conveyor 1, and as shown in FIG. Work space is easy to secure,
Further, there is an advantage that the degree of freedom in designing the layout of the entire apparatus is increased, for example, it is easy to secure a necessary apparatus installation space.

In the present embodiment, the loading port information (transfer source conveyor strip information) is linked to the sorting information by a shift method without using a barcode in order to explain the feasibility of this method. However, it is of course possible to use the method of the first embodiment in which the line code is linked to the bar code.

Embodiment 3 The present embodiment shown in FIG. 10 is composed of a total of three conveying conveyors 63 to 65 including two outer conveying conveyors 63 and 65 having two crossings and an intermediate conveying conveyor 64 having one crossing. Relay conveyors 632, 64 on one sorting conveyor 1 respectively
2 shows a transfer / merging device which moves the free tray 4 via the lines 2 and 652 and aligns and merges them. Note that the three conveyers 63 to 65 with a crosspiece are driven synchronously, and are installed such that the phases of the crosspieces 631, 641, 651 are shifted by 1/3 pitch in the conveyance direction.

The arrangement for consolidating the transport of the free tray 4 in the above arrangement will be described below together with the transfer operation.

First, an intermediate intermediate conveyor 64 is
The free tray 4 is provided so as to linearly transfer the free tray 4 to the end portion of the sorting conveyor 1 via the first relay conveyor 642, and the outer conveyors 63 and 65 have curved conveying paths respectively. Conveyor 63 having an end straight path running in parallel with the start end of the sorting conveyor 1
2, 652 to the sorting conveyor 1 via the free tray 4.
It is provided to transfer. The transfer speed of these relay conveyors 632 to 652 is set to an intermediate speed between the sorting conveyor 1 and the transfer conveyors 63 to 65.
The free trays 633, 643, 653 for standing up from the conveyor surface for free tray entrainment conveyance are provided with a phase shift of 1/3 pitch between the respective relay conveyors in the conveyance direction (the conveyance direction of the sorting conveyor). I have.

Reference numerals 634, 644, and 654 denote guide rails serving both as transfer guides and transfer guides. Each of the rails has a free tray 4 from the top of each transfer conveyor 63 to 65 to the relay conveyor 632 to 652 at the start end. The guide rails 634, 654 provided along the relay conveyors 632, 652 on both sides are extended so as to transfer the
2 and 652, the free tray 4 extends to be inclined to the transport direction so as to transfer the free tray 4 to the sorting conveyor 1. In addition, the guide rails 634 and 654 are provided along the relay conveyors 632 and 652 between the start end and the end of the guide rail 634 so as to prevent the free tray 4 from dropping off the transport surface.

According to the free tray transfer merging apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the three conveyors 63 to 65 and the single sorting conveyor 1 are continuously driven (continuously transported) while the sorting conveyors are continuously driven. 1. The free tray 4 can be moved onto the first conveyor 1 and aligned and merged at equal intervals. In the merge, the speed ratio between the sorting conveyor and the conveyor is larger than that of the first and second embodiments (3 times / 2). Times), and the low-speed processing in the manual process can be realized more effectively than the high-speed processing in the sorting process.

[0156]

According to the invention of the agricultural product sorting apparatus described in each claim of the present application, in a process in which high-speed processing is difficult, for example, in a manual process, about 1 to 3 trays per second that can be operated by an operator are transferred. It is possible to solve both demands of a process capable of high-speed processing, for example, a high-speed processing in a sorting process capable of processing 5, 6 or more per second, The effect is obtained that it is possible to provide an agricultural product sorting apparatus having a high processing capacity and processing efficiency of the entire agricultural product sorting apparatus. In addition to this, there is an effect that the cargo port brought into each low-speed transport conveyor can be processed ignoring the mutual cargo port relationship without sorting the agricultural products of different cargo ports to a plurality of low-speed transport conveyors.

For example, as described above, in order to process agricultural products brought into a fruit sorting place with a time lag for each producer (consignment), it is necessary to distribute the agricultural products to all of a plurality of low-speed conveyors. However, such management and operation are complicated, but the apparatus of the present invention can solve such a problem. Also, generally, it is rare that the processing of agricultural products brought into a fruit sorting place in a large container is rarely completed at the same time. Without
In addition, there is an effect that the sorting process can be performed without requiring simultaneous switching of the consignments.

Furthermore, by obtaining the above-mentioned effects, the worker in charge of each low-speed conveyor does not have to completely stop the work for switching the loading port, and also has to stop or restart the work. In addition, since there is no need to pay extra attention than ever before, there is no increase in the burden due to the system change, and the possibility of transporting empty trays does not increase, so that the utilization efficiency of the device as a whole is improved. This has the effect of significantly lowering.

In addition to these effects, effects such as a reduction in equipment costs and a reduction in installation area are achieved as compared with the conventional one which has been excessively installed. Therefore, the proposal of the device of the present invention brings about extremely excellent effects. Things.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, when transferring from a plurality of low-speed conveyors to a single high-speed conveyor, there is no need to stop the tray for waiting for timing, and the transfer source low-speed conveyor and the transfer destination Can be combined with the maximum efficiency while continuously driving all of the high-speed transport conveyors, and further improvement in facility efficiency can be expected.

Further, the calculation of the price to the producer required for sorting can be accurately performed in accordance with the switching of the consignment, and the operation of the consignment switching is simple, and the transfer of one-step multi-grade is possible. A very good advantage is that it can be done quickly without compromising the advantages of the system.

Further, in addition to the above-mentioned effects, the invention of each claim has the following effects.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the transfer of the tray from any one of the plurality of low-speed conveyors can be performed by detecting the information of the transfer-source conveyor. By using the conventional consignment switching method, it is possible to accurately calculate the price for each producer.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the information on the original conveyor strip to which each tray is transferred can be detected using the unique identification mark provided on the tray, so that the information on the consignment of the agricultural product on each tray can be easily detected. be able to.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the information on the conveyor line from which each tray has been transferred can be detected by the shift method, even if the tray is not provided with an identification mark such as a bar code, the agricultural products on each tray can be detected. It is possible to detect consignment information, and it is particularly excellent in adaptability to existing equipment in which a bar code or the like is not provided on a receiving tray.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the agricultural products and the sorting information and the packing information on each saucer correspond one-to-one with an identification mark such as a bar code as an intermediary, sorting and price calculation are performed more accurately. be able to.

According to the sixth or seventh aspect of the present invention, after switching the consignment of each low-speed conveyer, the effect that the next consignment can be quickly conveyed can be obtained.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily provide a configuration for transporting the tray at a constant pitch.

According to the ninth to eleventh aspects of the present invention, the merging from the low-speed conveyor to the high-speed conveyor is quickly performed.
It can be performed smoothly.

According to the twelfth and thirteenth aspects of the present invention, the measuring means can be installed so as to distinguish between a measuring element which is desirably measured at a low speed on the low speed conveyor and a measuring element which can be operated at a high speed on the high speed conveyor. Therefore, the cost of the apparatus can be reduced by using a single means for measuring agricultural products on the high-speed conveyor.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to sort agricultural products for which visual judgment by the operator is required by using a simple method called tracking. realizable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an agricultural product sorting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing details of an agricultural product supply / equivalent class sorting unit of the sorting device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a conveyor for tracking and transporting agricultural products.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a transport merging device for a tray on which agricultural products are placed.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing one of the branching and packing lines of the sorting section of the sorting apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a procedure of transferring a ball-shaped agricultural product in a box container by repeating one row at a time in a four-row array pattern by a pick-up means.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an arrangement pattern obtained by transferring a row of ball-shaped fruits and vegetables to a box container by suction and hanging.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an outline of a configuration of a transfer and merging device for a tray according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the outline of the configuration of a transfer and merging device for a tray according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sorting conveyor 101 ... Imaging device 102 ... Barcode reader 103 ... Barcode reader 2 ... Branching boxing line 4 ... Free tray 6 ... Box (cardboard box) 7・ ・ ・ Supply / discharge device for corrugated cardboard boxes 701 ・ ・ ・ Conveyor for empty boxes 702 ・ ・ ・ Pusher 703 ・ ・ ・ Equipment for lowering empty boxes 704 ・ ・ ・ Packing position 705 ・ ・ ・ Conveyer for discharge 706 ・ ・ ・ Product transfer Conveyor 8 ... Tray pack supply device 801-804 ... Tray pack 805 ... Rotation support 806 ... Support frame 807 ... Rotator 9 ... Calculation control device 901 ... Discharge control Device 902 ・ ・ ・ Counting device 903 ・ ・ ・ Operation console 50 ・ ・ ・ Worker 51 ・ ・ ・ Return conveyor 511 ・ ・ ・ Pitching screw 52 ・ ・ ・ Transport conveyor 521 ··· Bar 5211 ·································································································· 5611 · · · 562 · · · inclined rail 57 · · · retraction conveyor 571 · · · receiving conveyor 58 · · · parallel link chain 581 · · · opposed link 582 · · · cover 59 · · · plate 63, 64 , 65: Conveyor 631, 641, 651 ... Bar 632, 642, 652 ... Relay conveyor 633, 643, 653 ... Bar 634, 644, 654 ... Guide rail 201 ... Discharge Apparatus 2011 ... Rotary table 2012 ... Electromagnetic adsorption section 2013 ... Exciting means 2014, 2015 ... Exciting Release means 202 (2021, 2022) Storage conveyor 2023 Stopper mechanism 203 Packaging standby position 2031 Packaging lane 2034 Stopper mechanism 204 Tray delivery device 2041・ Sending conveyor 2042 ・ ・ ・ Air cylinder device 2043 ・ ・ ・ Relay conveyor 2044 ・ ・ ・ Shaft 205 ・ ・ ・ Packing device (work robot) 2051 ・ ・ ・ Main body 2052 ・ ・ ・ Root link mechanism 2053 ・ ・ ・ Tip link Mechanism 2054: Suction cup holder 20563: Suction cup

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A single high-speed transport conveyor for transporting a tray not connected to a conveyor at a high speed for sorting and sorting agricultural products placed thereon, and each of the trays is transported at a low speed, and a terminal portion is provided at the end thereof. A plurality of low-speed transport conveyors linked to the high-speed transport conveyor so that the trays can be transferred, and an element for determining a sorting category of agricultural products on the trays transported by the high-speed transport conveyor and / or the low-speed transport conveyor. Measuring means for measuring, sorting division determining means for determining a sorting category of each agricultural product based on the element measured by the measuring means, and detecting information on a cargo port of the agricultural product placed on a tray conveyed by the high-speed conveyor. Loading port information detecting means and a tray discharge for discharging the agricultural products conveyed on the high-speed conveyor to the discharge paths prepared corresponding to the respective sorting categories determined above. Means for sorting agricultural products for each cargo port based on cargo port information detected by the cargo port information detecting means. 2. The consignment information detected by the consignment information detecting means according to claim 1, wherein the consignment information detected by the consignment information detecting means indicates a transfer source conveyor strip information indicating which of a plurality of low-speed conveyers the tray on the single high-speed conveyer has shifted. An agricultural product sorting apparatus, characterized in that: 3. The consignment information detecting means according to claim 1, wherein the loading port information detecting means detects a unique identification mark provided on each tray when the tray is transported on the low-speed transport conveyor, and conveys the information on the conveyor strip information indicating each low-speed transport conveyor. Is used in combination with the consignment information storage means for preliminarily linking and storing, and by detecting the identification mark of each tray, the conveyor strip information linked thereto is read out from the storage means. Characteristic agricultural product sorting equipment. 4. The high speed transport conveyor according to claim 1, wherein said loading port information detecting means synchronizes with the transport of each tray having passed through the first position on each low speed transport conveyor to reach a second position defined on the high speed transport conveyor. The conveyor strip information indicating each low-speed transport conveyor is sequentially shifted and sent to the second position so that the information of the conveyor strip from which the tray is transferred can be detected at the second position. An agricultural product sorting device characterized by the following. 5. A cargo port information storage means according to claim 1, wherein said cargo port information detecting means detects a unique identification mark provided on each tray and links and stores the unique identification mark of each agricultural product in advance. An agricultural product sorting apparatus which is used in combination and detects the identification mark of each tray to read out the consignment information linked thereto. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The above-mentioned cargo port information detecting means has a cargo port switching information input means provided for inputting that a preceding cargo port and a subsequent cargo port have been switched, for each of a plurality of low-speed conveyors, Sorting device. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein
In response to the input of the cargo port switching information to the cargo port switching information input means of claim 6, the sorting information totaling means links the totaled sorting information with the cargo port information and outputs it to the storage or price calculation means, An agricultural product sorting apparatus characterized by updating work. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A device for sorting agricultural products, wherein the transfer and joining from a plurality of low-speed conveyors to a high-speed conveyor is performed evenly. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein
An apparatus for sorting agricultural products, wherein the low-speed transport conveyor and the high-speed transport conveyor are provided with transport support portions for transporting and entraining the trays at a constant pitch. 10. The transport support section of a constant pitch provided on a plurality of low-speed transport conveyors according to claim 9, wherein the phase of the plurality of low-speed transport conveyors is shifted in the transport direction by a fraction of the number between the low-speed transport conveyors. A sorting device for agricultural products. 11. The apparatus for sorting agricultural products according to claim 9, wherein the tray-carrying support section provided on each conveyor is a tray-carrying bar extending in a lateral direction of the transport surface. 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the measuring means is arranged to measure an agricultural product conveyed on a low-speed conveyor.
The other is a device for sorting agricultural products, which is arranged for measuring agricultural products conveyed on a high-speed conveyor. 13. The agricultural product sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein all of the measuring means are arranged for measuring agricultural products conveyed on a low-speed conveyor. 14. The low speed conveyor according to claim 12, wherein one of the measuring means for measuring the agricultural products conveyed on the low speed conveyor is placed on the low speed conveyor in a tracking state so as to indicate the grade. An agricultural product sorting apparatus for measuring the grade of the agricultural product by detecting the tracking position of the received tray.