JPS5927236B2 - Automatic flower sorting machine - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an automatic flower sorting machine, and more specifically, it automatically detects the length, weight, etc. of flowers, and sorts and groups a large number of flowers according to each type. Regarding flower sorting machines.

It takes a lot of effort and time to manually sort out a large number of flowers with different lengths, weights, etc., but the present invention aims to automate this work so that it can be done efficiently and in a small amount of installation space. This is what I did.

The gist of the present invention is to provide a first conveyance means for feeding flowers, a flower alignment adjustment means incorporated in the first conveyance means, and a flower alignment means located at the rear end of the first conveyance means to temporarily transfer flowers. an intermediate conveying means relaying to the intermediate conveying means; a position adjusting means incorporated in the intermediate conveying means; a sorting means associated with the intermediate conveying means and/or the first conveying means; a second conveyance means constituted by a plurality of sorting conveyance means arranged in a planar or three-dimensional manner to guide the rear end to each independent take-out section and a supporting conveyance means arranged in parallel to the sorting conveyance means; There is an automatic flower sorting machine comprising a sorting means and a plurality of grasping parts for gripping flowers in response.

That is, the first conveying means uses, for example, a rotary belt conveyor or a rotary turntable to allow the worker to transport a large number of flowers at once.
The flowers are placed one by one at regular intervals, and the flowers are sequentially fed to the next intermediate conveyance means.

The intermediate conveying means receives the flowers sent from the first conveying means and feeds them to the next second conveying means, and in the meantime, the length and weight of the flowers are determined by the sorting means associated with the intermediate conveying means. The size, shape, color, etc. are detected, and the position adjustment means adjusts and moves the flower so that it takes an accurate position with respect to the second conveyance means.

The second conveying means receives the flowers from the intermediate conveying means, and separates the flowers by length or by weight at the same time as the length, that is, further sorts the flowers of the same length by weight, and sends them to a plurality of take-out sections. This is a device in which a plurality of rows of sorting and conveying means in the form of a rotary belt conveyor equipped with a grasping portion for grasping flowers are arranged in a planar or three-dimensionally intersecting manner.

The details of the present invention will be explained based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. A is a first conveying means using a rotary belt conveyor etc. Preferably, the surface of the belt is particularly soft to prevent damage to the flowers. .

(3) is a cutter that is provided as necessary to cut the stem of the flower to an appropriate length when the flower is too long. Two of them are arranged above and below at a constant interval, and the stem of the flower is inserted between the two, and the stem is cut between them by the blade installed inside the cutter 1.

Reference numeral 2 indicates a stem alignment guide, and reference numeral 3 indicates a tip alignment guide, both of which are arranged using a rotary belt conveyor to correspond to the cutter 1.The stem alignment guide 2 first aligns the lower ends of the stems of the flowers 10, and then aligns the tips. After the petals of the flowers 10 are aligned with an alignment guide 3, the stems that are too long are cut off.

The intermediate conveying means B shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 1.4 and 5 uses a receiving part 4 with an open top surface, and the receiving part 4 has two receiving parts each having a comb tooth shape at the bottom. The pieces 5 and 6 are arranged to face each other, and the lower comb tooth-like portions of both pieces are temporarily engaged with each other and then separated.

That is, one of the pieces 5 of the receiver (left side in Figures 4 and 5) is a rotating type, and the other 6 is a non-rotating type, and the piece 5 of the rotating type receiver is fixed at a fixed point as shown in Figure 4. It rotates as a whole without tilting in the same position as the center, and temporarily the rotating type receiver engages with piece 5 as if scooping piece 6 from below, and then separates. This is what I did.

In the bearing shown in the embodiment, if the part 4 is further detailed, the bearings 7, 7
The non-rotating type holder fixes the piece 6 on the upper surface of the flower 10 via a weighing unit 11 which detects the weight of the flower 10 on a rotating fixed shaft 8 supported at both ends. A rotating shaft 9 having a fixed shaft 5 fixed thereon is arranged parallel to the fixed shaft 8, and a gear 12 is temporarily mounted on the fixed shaft 8 so that the pieces 5 and 6 are engaged with each other. The rotary sleeve 13 is loosely fitted onto the rotary sleeve 13, and the slide body 14 is fitted onto the rotary sleeve 13, with a key (not shown) interposed between the slide body 14 and the rotary sleeve 13. There is one slide in the axial direction of the rotating sleeve 13, and a push/pull ring 15 is fitted around the outer periphery of the slide body 14 so that it can rotate relative to the slide body 14 but does not move laterally. Furthermore, a driving belt 16 is attached to the rotating sleeve 13.

On the other hand, a rotating gear 17 having the same gear ratio and the same diameter as the fixed gear 12 and a drive bearing 18 are fitted onto the rotating shaft 9, and a key (not shown) is interposed between the gear 17 and the rotating shaft 9. 1. Both 17 and 18 are rotatable and integral with each other via a bearing 19 so that they cannot separate from each other. together with rotating gear 17 and fixed gear 12
are connected by a chain belt 20, and the drive bearing 18 and rotating sleeve 13 are connected by a crank 21 integrally connected to these 18 and 13.

Further, a bearing 22 such as a thrust bearing is fitted onto the rotary shaft 9, and the bearing 22 can rotate solely by the force of the rotary shaft 9, and both sides are at an angle of 9°22 in the axial direction of the rotary shaft 9. move in unison.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a supporting iron, one end of which is integrally provided at right angles to the fixed shaft 8, and the other end through which the rotating shaft 9 is loosely inserted.

Reference numeral 24 denotes an operating portion of the position adjustment means, which pushes and pulls the push/pull lever 25 integrally connected to the push/pull ring 15 by operation of a pulse motor, oil/pneumatic cylinder, or the like.

Therefore, by driving the drive belt 16 continuously or intermittently, the bearing part 4 keeps the fixed shaft 8 in the fixed state 1, and the rotary sleeve 13 rotates, and together with the drive bearing 18, the rotary shaft 9 moves to the fixed shaft 8. As shown in Fig. 4, the rotary receiver rotates clockwise as if it were scooping up the piece 6 from below.
Moreover, the rotating gear 17 and the fixed gear 12 are connected to the chain 2.
Since they are connected at 0, the rotating shaft 9 rotates the fixed shaft 8 once during one rotation, and therefore the receiving piece 5 rotates without changing its initial position or tilting.

Further, after the pieces 5 and 6 have been disengaged, if the push/pull lever 25 of the operating section 24 is pushed in the direction of the arrow 26 in FIG. 22 pushes and pulls the pivot shaft 9 in the direction of the arrow 27, so that the pivotable receiver piece 5 can move in the arrow direction 27 independently of the non-rotating receiver piece 6.

The one shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is just one embodiment, and an appropriate number of cranks 28 as shown by imaginary lines similar to the crank 21 are extended from the rotating sleeve 13 to create a new and separate rotating shaft 9. By adding , it is possible to make the pieces 5 of a plurality of receivers rotate around the piece 6 of one receiver.

Furthermore, although the one shown in Fig. 4 rotates clockwise, the rotary bone rotates piece 5 counterclockwise, and the receiver engages and separates pieces 5 and 6. Naturally, it is also possible to move the receiver part 4 in the direction of the arrow 27, and in addition to moving only the rotary bone piece 5, the receiver can also move the pieces 5 and 6 together.

The position adjusting means is incorporated in the intermediate conveying means B and adjusts and moves the flower 10 so as to take an accurate position with respect to the second conveying means C. As mentioned above, the pivot shaft 9 can be moved horizontally to move the receiving piece 5 in the direction of the arrow 27 in FIG.
Alternatively, the receiver may move the pieces 5 and 6 together, or furthermore, a grip portion (not shown) may be provided in the receiver portion 4, and the flower within the receiver portion 4 may be grabbed by the grip portion, and only the flower may be held in the receiver portion 4. The position can be adjusted by moving it within the interior.

The sorting means E uses a length sensor 29 such as an optical sensor using a phototube, a limit switch type sensor, or a video camera 30 to measure the length of the flower, and a weight sensor 11 such as a differential transformer type weighing unit to measure the flower shape.・Color the video camera 3
0, and after inputting the detection signal to the control panel 47, the control panel 47 sends a command signal necessary for sorting the flowers to various places, ie, the position adjustment means D, the second conveyance means C to be described later, etc. Although not shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1, a video camera may be placed above the first conveyance means A,
A length sensor 29 is set between the conveyance means A and the intermediate conveyance means B, and a weight sensor 11 such as a weighing unit is incorporated in the lower part of the receiver piece 6 of the receiver section 4.

What is shown in FIG. 2 is another embodiment of the intermediate conveying means B, in which a weighing conveying means 31 using a rotary belt conveyor or the like is arranged below the rear end of the first conveying means A. A weight sensor 11 such as a weighing unit is placed at the bottom of the weighing unit, a length sensor 29 is placed between the first conveying means A and the weighing conveying means 31, and a video camera 30 is installed above the weighing conveying means 31 as necessary. At the same time, a conveying means 32, which is a position adjustment means, is arranged below the rear end of the measuring conveying means 31, and further below the conveying means 32, the fixed bone of the receiving part 4 is arranged in a comb-tooth shape substantially similar to the piece 6. The receiver has pieces 33 arranged thereon.

The conveying means 32 for position adjustment, as shown in the figure, rotates two rotary conveyor belts in the directions of arrows 34 and 34 to spread them out, and the flowers 10 fall from the spread part onto the receiving piece 33. It was designed so that

The second conveyance means C has a plurality of sorting conveyance means 35 in the form of a rotary belt conveyor in which a plurality of grasping parts 34 for grasping flowers are provided at regular intervals, arranged in a plurality of rows in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional crosswise manner, and each sorting conveyance means A take-out part 36 is located at the rear end of the means 35, and petals or stems of flowers are placed in parallel with the group of sorting and conveying means 35, preferably using a rotary belt conveyor with a soft surface. A supporting conveying means 37 is arranged so as not to damage the sorting conveying means 35, and a small supporting conveying means 38 is positioned parallel to the diagonal part of each sorting conveying means 35, and the conveying means 38 can be moved as needed. From the means 37 to the small conveyance means 38
A flower lifting roller 39 is arranged so that the petal part is placed on the small conveying means 38 after it is slightly raised above the surface of the conveying means 37 so that the petal part can be smoothly transferred to the surface of the conveying means 37.

The grasping section 34 provided in the sorting and conveying means 35 selectively grasps the flower stem and guides the flower to the extracting section 36, and then releases the grasped flower. A fixed hook 40 that is fixed to the sorting and conveying means 35 and receives flowers and a rotating hook 41 are pivoted, and an operating lever 42, such as a T-shaped lever, is connected to the pivoted end of the rotating hook 41, and a toggle is connected to the rotating hook 41. One end of a spring 43 that performs the action is attached to the end of the lever 42, and the other end is attached to the fixing hook 40.

44 is a movable cam, such as an electromagnetic magnet operated type, which is attached to a fixed part such as a stand (not shown) separately from the sorting and conveying means 35;
The rotary hook 4 is movable in and out of the lever 42.
1, the cam 41 protrudes and appears, touches the end of the lever 42 to raise the rotating hook 41 from the horizontal position, and the toggle action spring 43 moves the rotating hook 4
1 elastically closes and holds the flower 10 with both hooks 40 and 41.
, and the fixed cam 45 attached to a fixed part (not shown) near the rear end of the sorting and conveying means 35 hits the end of the lever 42 in the upright state and rotates the rotating hook 41 in the opposite direction to return to the original horizontal state. I'm trying to restore it.

The take-out section 36 is located independently at the rear end of each of the plurality of sorting and conveying means 35, and receives the flowers that are sorted and sent. Preferably, when a certain number of flowers have been accumulated, the take-out section 36 36
The flowers can be taken out by binding them with tape or the like using a binding means 46 provided in the flower holder.

The structure of the present invention is as described above, in which an operator located near the front end of the first conveying means A places the flowers 10 one by one on the means A at a constant interval and with the petals in the same direction. When the flowers are placed side by side, they are transported one by one to the intermediate transport means B.

In this case, if an alignment adjusting means consisting of rotary alignment guides 2, 3 and cutter 1 is provided, the lower ends of the stems are aligned, and then the petals are aligned, and the flower 10 is moved to the first conveying means A. Alignment takes place without twisting or deviation on the top, and stems that are too long to fit in the cutter 1 are cut off.

In the case of the device using the receiver section 4 shown in Figs. In some cases, the receiver falls into the part 4, or in the unengaged open state, the non-rotating receiver falls onto the piece 6 and rests thereon.

In the receiver section 4, the weight of the flower 10 is detected by the weight sensor 11 of the sorting means E, and the length of the flower 10 is detected by the length sensor.

In this case, when it is sufficient to detect only the length, the sorting means E that detects the weight is not necessary.

In addition, it is necessary that only one flower 10 falls onto the receiving section 4, and for this purpose, flowers 10 are not brought close to each other on the first conveying means A, but are always spaced apart from each other at a certain interval to prevent this. This is done mechanically rather than manually or manually.

That is, to perform it mechanically, the receiver is connected to the weight sensor 11 of the sorting means E in the portion 4 or the weight sensor 1 is connected to the weight sensor 1 of the sorting means E.
A weight sensing means (not shown) which operates separately from the first conveying means A is incorporated, and when a plurality of flowers fall onto the receiving part 4, the excess weight is sensed and the first conveying means A is stopped or decelerated;
Alternatively, while the first conveying means A is kept in operation, a restraining body such as a fence (not shown) placed above the rear end of the means A is lowered or otherwise brought close to the first conveying means A to temporarily restrain the following flowers 10. or even sound a buzzer to notify the worker.

The position adjustment means incorporated in the intermediate conveyance means B is for accurately positioning the flower 10 whose length and weight have been detected with respect to the next second conveyance means C. The whole, or the pivotable receiver part 40, moves only the piece 5 left and right in the direction of the arrow 27 in FIG.

In the case of the former case, in which the entire part 4 is moved, that is, the parts 5 and 6 are moved together, the receiver is moved by moving the support base (not shown) on which the entire part 4 is placed and supported in the direction of the arrow 27, and Adjust the position so that the petal part of the petal part is at the petal part conveying means 37 position of the second conveying means C, and the rotatable bone rotates the piece 5 so that the receiver scoops up the flower 10 housed in the part 4. The rotating bone is transferred to piece 5 in a similar manner.

If the latter part 40 of the rotating type holder is to be moved by moving only the piece 5, the holder should be moved after dropping and storing the flower 10 in the part 4. 5 rotates and scoops the flower 10 into the receiver piece 5;
When the pieces 6 are separated from each other, the piece 5 of the rotating bone moves by the pushing and pulling movement of the rotating shaft 9, and the flower 10 is transferred to the second conveying means C.
After this, the rotary bone piece 5 moves in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned direction, and the other receiver moves in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned one, so that it returns to its original position.

The amount of movement of the position adjustment means is determined by the sorting means E, which detects the length of the flower 10 and the position of the flower 10 using a length sensor, and sends a signal to the position adjustment means, so that the petals of the flower are always conveyed. It is placed at the position of means 37,
In this case, depending on the set amount of movement, in addition to accurately aligning the petals of a plurality of flowers, which are a group of approximately equal lengths, it is also possible to accurately align the lower ends of the stems.

Furthermore, in the case of using the intermediate conveying means B shown in Fig. 2,
The flower 10 falls from the first conveyance means A onto the weighing conveyance means 31, and after detecting the length, weight, etc. of the flower, the flower 10 is transferred to a conveyance means for adjusting the flower position, which is arranged perpendicular to the weighing conveyance means 31. 3
2, and the conveyance means 32 rotates a certain distance according to the length of the flower detected by the sorting means E to adjust the position of the flower, and then rotates downward in the direction of the arrow 34.・The expanded flower 10 is dropped onto the fixed type receiver piece 33.

In the second conveyance means C, a plurality of sorting and conveying means 35... are rotating, and the grasping section 34 of the sorting and conveying means 35 corresponding to the length and weight of the flower detected by the sorting means E grasps the flower. It works as expected.

That is, in response to a signal command from the sorting means E, the corresponding movable cam 44 is actuated and protruded, and as shown in FIG. The flowers are conveyed to the respective extracting sections 36 while being placed on the small conveyance means 37 and the small conveyance means 38, and the fixed cam 45 is placed near the rear end of the sorting conveyance means 35.
The rotating hook 41 comes into contact with the actuation lever 42 of the grasping part 34 to release the flower grasping state and become temporarily in the upright state.The rotating hook 41 rotates backward while pushing the flower into the extracting part 36 and returns to the state before activation. to return to.

The number of flowers supplied to the extracting section 36 is counted by a counter means incorporated in relation to the sorting means E, and when a certain number of flowers is reached, the flowers are moved within the extracting section 36 and tied to the binding means 46.
is bound by.

The operating order of the apparatus of the present invention which operates as described above can be summarized using the block diagram in FIG. On the other hand, when detection signals from the length sensor 29 incorporated in the intermediate conveyance means B etc. and the weight sensor 11 of the weighing unit etc. are input to the control panel 41, the position adjustment means is activated. A flower position adjustment movement command 50 and a flower class determination command 51 are issued, and the movable cam 44, such as a magnet-operated type, is operated to selectively grab flowers and count flowers 52 for each class. It will be done.

The flower counting signal 52 is input via an intermediate timing 53 to a counter 55 which is installed in the control panel 47 or separately and has a preset count 54 of the number of flowers to be bundled. A binding command 56 is issued to operate the binding means 46, and the number of binding operations is counted 5.
7 are performed in parallel.

The timing 53 is constant so that the binding means 46 is not activated before the flowers counted by the sorting means E of the intermediate conveyance means B are still on the way to the second conveyance means C and have not been stored in the distal extraction section 36. counter 5 in anticipation of the time delay.
The input signal is sent to 5.

As described above, the present invention is designed to automatically sort a large number of flowers with different lengths, weights, etc., and group them by length or by length and weight, and the sorting is carried out by an intermediate conveyance means. This is quickly carried out by the sorting means E associated with B, the position adjusting means accurately positions the flowers with respect to the second conveying means C, and the second conveying means C selectively conveys the fed flowers. The grasping part 34 of the means 35 securely takes out the receiver, and the petal part conveying means 37 and 38 remove the petal part from the taking part 3 without damaging the petal part.
6 can be sorted and transported.

Moreover, if the arrangement of the sorting and conveying means 35 of the second conveying means C is configured in a three-dimensionally intersecting manner, the required space can be minimized. If the binding means 46 is provided, a consistent flower sorting process can be carried out more efficiently.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the automatic flower sorting machine of the present invention with the intermediate portion omitted; Fig. 2 is a side view of one embodiment of the intermediate conveying means of the automatic flower sorting machine of the present invention; Fig. 3 a), b) and c are grasping A side view explaining the operation of the section,
FIG. 4 is a simplified side view illustrating the operation of the receiver, FIG. 5 is a mechanical plan view of the receiver, and FIG. 6 is a control block diagram illustrating the operation of the automatic flower sorting machine of the present invention. A...first conveyance means, B...intermediate conveyance means, C...
・Second conveyance means, D...Position adjustment means, E...Selection means, 4...Receiver is part, 5...Rotary receiver is one piece, 6...
・The non-rotating type receiver is a piece, 10...Flower, 11...Weight sensor, 29...Length sensor, 30...Video camera, 31...Measuring conveyance means, 32...・Transporting means for position adjustment, 34... Grasping part, 35... Sorting carrying means, 36... Taking out part, 37... Petal part carrying means, 40
...Fixed hook, 41...Rotating hook, 46...
Binding means, 47... control panel.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first conveyance means for feeding flowers, a flower alignment adjustment means incorporated in the first conveyance means, and an intermediate device located at the rear end of the first conveyance means for temporarily relaying the flowers sent. a conveyance means, a position adjustment means incorporated in the intermediate conveyance means, a sorting means associated with the intermediate conveyance means and/or the first conveyance means, and a front end positioned close to the intermediate conveyance means and a rear end independent. A plurality of sorting and conveying means arranged in a planar or three-dimensional manner to lead to each extraction section; a supporting conveying means arranged in parallel with the sorting and conveying means; a supporting conveyance means provided adjacent to the conveyance means;
and a second conveyance means comprising a flower lifting roller;
An automatic flower sorting machine comprising a plurality of grasping parts which are installed in a sorting and conveying means and grip flowers in response to the sorting means.