JPS63125114A - Automatic egg feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention automatically takes out an egg support plate containing eggs from an egg transport container by pushing up a push-up pin.
This invention relates to an automatic egg feeding device that supplies eggs to a subsequent egg sorting and packaging device.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, when an egg support plate containing eggs was taken out from an egg transport container, it was taken out manually by an operator or by pulling up with a take-out device.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional device as described above, as shown in FIG.
There are almost no gaps, and even when taking out the eggs using the gaps provided for taking out, the eggs are transported by taking out the stacked egg support plates one by one as shown in Figure 8. As one approaches the bottom of the container, removal becomes increasingly difficult, and with a series of successive automated devices, this process is often troublesome and interrupted. By the way, there is a device that automatically packs fruits into cardboard boxes as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-19045, but since this device is a device for boxing, there is no need for the egg support plate itself and the support seat of the egg support plate. The bottom cannot be used to take out the egg support plates stacked in an egg transport container in a state where they are stacked and engaged with each other using the housed eggs.

(Means for Solving the Problems) Therefore, in view of the above problems, in the present invention, the egg support plates stacked in an egg transport container having a plurality of through holes on the bottom are sequentially taken out and egg sorting is carried out. At the bottom of the grip for the egg support plate, which can be moved in any direction when feeding the packaging device,
At this position, the push-up bins are simultaneously raised through a plurality of through holes in the container, and the uppermost egg support plate is grasped by the gripping portion, and then pushed up. The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic egg feeding device characterized in that after lowering the bottle ten times or raising the gripping portion, the gripping portion is moved to supply eggs to an egg sorting and packaging device. . Moreover, as a practical example, the automatic egg feeding apparatus includes a gripping part for the egg support plate that can be rotated by 90 degrees in a plane.

(Implementation PA) One embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings. This embodiment is particularly illustrated in FIG. This describes egg support plates stacked one on top of the other in a rotated state.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the automatic feeding device of this embodiment includes a supply container 6 into which the container 1 for transporting eggs is conveyed, a discharge conveyor 7 which discharges the empty container 1, A lift device 4 (shown in FIG. 3) that pushes up the egg support plates 2 stacked in the container 1, a gripping device 8 that grips and transfers the egg support plates 2 that have been pushed up, and the gripping device 8. Egg support plate 2 placed on it
A conveyor 9 that transports the eggs 3 housed in the storage device to a transfer device (not shown) for transferring the eggs 3 housed in the storage device to a subsequent sorting and packaging device.
and the egg support plate 2 provided on the way of the conveyor 9.
It consists of a direction changing device for rotating 0 degrees, and each device and the relationship between each device are configured as follows. That is, the supply conveyor 6 has a first stopper in order to cause the container 1 to wait at a standby position located at the end of the supply conveyor 6 in response to a detection signal from the first phototube 6a that informs that the container 1 has been supplied. 6b, and by eliminating the egg support plate 2 in the container 1,
When the first stopper 6b is released, the discharge conveyor 7 connected to the end of the supply conveyor 6 discharges the liquid. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the standby position of the supply conveyor 6 is a roller conveyor 6d, and a lift device 4 is installed below the roller conveyor 6d at the standby position, and a lift device 4 is installed at the lower part of the roller conveyor 6d at the standby position. In order to raise two rows of egg support plates 2 at the same time, the container 1
A push-up pin 4a of the lift device 4 is provided in the through-hole 1& such that the push-up pin 4a of the lift device 4 is vertically raised. When the push-up bottle 4a is pushed out to the maximum, the last egg support plate 2
is the height at which the push-up bottle 4 should be gripped.
The initial position of the push-up bottle 4a is defined as the height at which point a is pulled out from the through hole 1a. In the standby position, a second phototube 6c for detecting whether or not the egg support plate 2 is coming out from the opening 1b of the container 1 is located near the opening 1b at a higher position than the container 1 on the supply conveyor 6. It is installation. Above the standby position is a gripping position of a gripping device 8 for gripping and transferring the egg support plate 2 pushed up, and the supply conveyor 6
A conveyor 9 that moves in two rows parallel to each other at right angles to the withdrawal direction of the conveyor 9, is parallel to the supply conveyor 6, and is provided so that its conveyance surface is approximately the same height as the container 1 that is waiting on the supply conveyor 6. In contrast, a stop position is provided as the end point of the other end of the gripping device 8. The egg support plate 2 is transferred onto the conveyor 9 by reciprocating between the stop position and the gripping position. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a chain 8b is passed to the sprockets 8a on both sides of the gripping device 8, and the chain 8b has a box-shaped gripping portion approximately the size of the egg support plate 2. 8c is attached, and the two gripping parts 8C are arranged to reciprocate between the standby position and the stop position by reciprocating motion G. As shown in FIG. 4, L-shaped claw pieces 8d for grasping the egg support plate 2 are provided at the center of the other opposing two sides opposite to the two sides connected by the chain 8b of the gripping portion 8C. The claws 8d are pivoted, with the claws 8e inside, and fall perpendicular to each of the two opposing sides so that they can grip the egg support plate 2 that has risen from just below the first gripping position. , is provided so as to be freely rotatable up and down with the vertical plane as the circumferential plane, centering on the contact point between the L-shaped air piece 8d and each side. And L-shaped wind piece 8
Since the back of the claw portion 8C of d is formed in an arc shape, the side 2d of the rising egg support plate 2 slides on this arc-shaped surface while contacting the claw portion 8e of the L-shaped wind piece 8d. is locked. Also, the other end 8 protruding from the upper part of the grip part of the L-shaped air piece 8d
f is connected to an intermediate arm 8h whose one end is pivoted to the other end 8r of the claw piece 8d and which freely rotates parallel to the horizontal plane of the gripping part 8C, and the other end of this intermediate arm 8h is attached to the upper surface of the gripping part 8c. The pulse motor 8g fixed at the center is pivoted to one point at each target position on the rotational circumference -F. Therefore, the connecting arm 8 connecting these two points on the rotational circumference
1 is the diameter of this circumference, and by rotating, each intermediate arm 8h makes a reciprocating movement, and the claw part 8 of the L-shaped wind piece 8d
eThis will encourage opening and closing. That is, since the pulse motor 8g rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow, the two intermediate arms 8h are pulled apart and reciprocated as shown in FIGS. do. In addition, when the pulse motor 8g is turned on, it only rotates from position (a) to position (c) at a maximum angle of approximately 90 degrees, and when it is not energized, it rotates in the opposite direction to the arrow direction due to the magnetism of the magnet. I'm being held back.

Therefore, when the pulse motor 8g is in the OFF state, the claw portion 8e of the bent claw piece 8d is engaged with the side edge 2d of the gripped egg support plate 2.

The egg support plate 2 gripped by the gripping device 8 and released at the stop position opposite to the standby position is placed on the conveyor 9 for transport to the subsequent transfer device. By the way, the gripping device 8
The opening of the egg support plate 2 is carried out with a time difference,
The egg support plate 2 conveyed first is opened first. and,
In order to equalize the number of rows of chicken eggs accommodated on the egg support plate 2, the direction changing device on the conveyor 9 is activated when the egg support plate 2 that has been conveyed is to be rotated by 90 degrees. When the two egg support plates 2 placed to change the orientation of the egg support plates 2 are conveyed, the direction changing device detects the second egg support plate 2 that has been conveyed. Second stoppers 1 for stopping the egg support plate 2 on both sides in front of the direction change position in order to wait the egg support plate 2 according to a signal from the phototube 10a.
It has 0b. Also, the corner of the egg support plate 2 being conveyed comes into contact with the protruding side wall plate 10d, and with the corner as the center,
As shown in FIG. 1-(B), the side wall plate 10d is pivoted by a solenoid valve 10e so as to rotate in the direction of arrow E, and is provided so as to be able to protrude using the other end as a fulcrum. Since the egg support plate 2 rotates in the direction of the arrow E around the corner that abuts the side wall plate 10d, the egg support plate 2 rotates around the diagonal line of the egg support plate 2 as a radius. The corner and its surroundings protrude and transfer to the high-speed conveyor 11 which is conveying parallel to the conveyor 9 and at a higher speed than the conveyor 9.

When it is confirmed by the third phototube 10e that a part of the second egg support plate 2 has come out from the high-speed conveyor 11, the side wall plate 10d comes down again and both sides of it are It will be lined up in a straight line with the side wall of.

The operation of the automatic egg feeding device with the above configuration will be explained. (6
The egg support plate 2 containing 30 chicken eggs 3 in rows x 5) is
Egg transport containers 1 stacked in rows and stacked in five stages each are placed on a supply conveyor 6 and transported in the direction of arrow A. When the supply conveyor 6 reaches the standby position at the end, the first stopper 6b is actuated by a signal from the first phototube 6a indicating that the container 1 for transporting and photographing eggs has been detected, and the conveyor 6 returns to the standby position. make it stop.

When the egg transport container 1 stops, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, eight push-up pins 4a from the lift device 4 at the lower part of the standby position move 4 of each of the egg support plates 2 arranged in two rows. It rises through a through hole 1a made so as to come into contact with the corner. Then, the egg support plate 2 pushed up by the push-up pin 4a pushes out the claw part 8e of the L-shaped claw piece 8d of the grip part 8c waiting at the upper part of the standby position, and spreads the egg support plate 2 ( 2) Each sheet is gripped. When the egg support plate 2 is gripped, the limit switch 8g as a stopper rotates in the direction of the arrow from the state in which it is in contact with the intermediate arm 8h, and releases the state in which it has once been in contact with the intermediate arm 8h. Upon receiving the release signal from the limit switch 8g and confirming that the uppermost egg support plate 2 has been gripped, the push-up pin 4a of the lift device 4 is lowered. and the second
The egg support plate 2 is stopped by a signal from the phototube 6c indicating that the egg support plate 2 has been lowered. That is, after gripping the upper egg support plate 2, by lowering the push-up pin 4a of the lift device 4, the stacked egg supports are engaged with each other due to the irregularities of the upper and lower egg support plates 2 and the shape of the eggs 3. The plate 2 can be easily removed. Similarly, the drive motor (not shown) of the gripping device 8 is operated by a signal from the second phototube 6c, and the gripping portion 8c that grips the egg support plate 2 is transferred to a stopping position on the conveyor 9. do.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 4-(A), the egg support plate 2 gripped by the L-shaped claw pieces 8d of the gripping portion 8c is inserted into the side recess of the egg support plate 2. 2e, the intermediate arm 8h on the upper surface of the gripping portion 8c is in contact with a limit switch 8j serving as a stopper, and at this time, the limit switch 8j is in an ON state. Further, as shown in FIG. 4-(B), when the L-shaped claw piece 8d is engaged with and gripped by the other side 2d of the egg support plate 2, the intermediate arm 8h is It is not in contact with the limit switch 8j and is in the OFF state. Further, the cursor-shaped claw piece 8d is connected to the side recess 2e of the egg support plate 2.
When the eggs 3 are held in the egg support plate 2 by engagement with the egg support plate 2, the number of rows of chicken eggs 3 is 5, and the claws 8d are engaged with the other side 2d of the egg support plate 2. When the eggs 3 are held together, the eggs 3 housed in the egg support plate 2 are conveyed in six rows. Therefore, when the transport conveyor 9 is transferred to the stop position, the limit switch 8j is ON, but the O
Whether or not to operate the direction changing device on the conveyor 9 is determined depending on whether the FF is FF or not. 8d is engaged with and gripped by the side recess 2e of the egg support plate 2, and the transferred egg support plate 2 must be rotated 90 degrees.
When it stops at the stop position, the pulse motor -81? is activated, and the gripped egg support plate 2 is released by rotating approximately 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 4-(c).

At this time, the egg support plates 2 arranged in two rows are opened first, and the egg support plates 2 that follow are opened after a gap. When the egg support plate 2 is transferred to the stop position of the conveyor 9, if the limit switch 8j is ON, the direction change device is activated and the third phototube 10a counts the egg support plates 2 being conveyed. . Then, by energizing the solenoid valve 10c, the side wall plate 10d is pushed out.

Also, for the first egg support plate 2, a stopper 10b
is not activated, and in order not to disturb the conveyance of the egg support plate 2, the egg support plate 2 is conveyed as it is, and the corner of the egg support plate 2 comes into contact with the side wall plate 10d. Rotate in the direction. At the same time, the conveyor 9
The other corner of the egg support plate 2 opposite to the corner is transferred to the high-speed conveyor 11 which is installed adjacent to and parallel to and conveys the eggs at high speed in the same direction, and the eggs are conveyed at high speed in the same direction B. When the third phototube 10a detects the second egg support plate 2, which rotates even more smoothly and is conveyed as a result of being rotated by 90 degrees, the stopper 10b
is activated to stop the second egg support plate 2. After the fourth phototube 10e detects the first egg support plate 2, O
When the state becomes FF, the stopper 10b is released and the second egg support plate 2 that has been stopped is transported. The purpose of this is to provide a pause in order to smoothly change the direction of each egg support plate 2. After the fourth phototube 10e detects the second egg support plate 2, it is turned off, thereby pulling back the side wall plate 10d and releasing the direction changing device. By the way, the limit switch 8j is OFF.
In case F, there is no need to rotate the egg by 90 degrees, the direction changing device does not operate, and the egg support plate 2 placed on the conveyor 9 is conveyed as it is in the direction of arrow B.

The push-up pin 4a of the lift device 5!4 pushes up the last egg support plate 2, and when the egg support plate 2 is gripped, the push-up pin 4a descends as the maximum push-out point is detected. Return to the starting point of 4a. When it is confirmed by a proximity switch (not shown) of the lift device 4 that the push-up pin 4a has come out of the through hole 1a of the container 1, the first stopper 6b is released and the empty container is removed. 1 is delivered to the discharge conveyor 7.

In addition to this embodiment, in another embodiment, the L-shaped claw piece of the grip part grips the egg support plate and then rises to disengage the stacked egg support plates, and also grips the egg support plates arranged in two rows. The height of the stop position after the parts are raised is different, and when the gripped egg support plate needs to be rotated 90 degrees to change the direction, it is rotated together with the gripping part at the stop position, and after changing the direction, the conveyor In this case, there is an advantage that there is no need to wait a second time because the heights when descending onto the transport conveyor are different.

In addition, as another example, when removing and transferring egg support plates stacked by shifting the egg support plates in parallel,
This egg support plate rotation device is not required. As another embodiment, there is an automatic egg feeding device characterized in that after the gripping portion grips the egg support plate, the push-up pin of the lift device is pulled back from the through hole to rotate the egg transport container by 90 degrees.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the automatic egg feeding device of the present invention pushes up the egg support plates stacked in an egg transport container having a through hole in the bottom using a push-up pin through the through hole in the bottom of the container. , by sequentially taking out the egg support plates that have ascended to the container opening and supplying them to the subsequent egg sorting and packaging device, the egg support plates can be easily taken out from the container, and at the same time the egg support plates can be taken out at the time of taking out. This eliminates problems such as mistakes and allows a series of processes to be processed continuously without interruption.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1-(A) is a plan view schematically illustrating the present invention. Fig. 1-(b) is a plan view of the side wall plate, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the gripping device that should be shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a cross section taken along line 1-1 in Fig. 1, viewed from the direction of the arrow. side view. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the movement of the L-shaped claw piece. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the egg transport container, Fig. 6 is a plan view illustrating the through hole in the bottom of the egg transport container, Fig. 7 is a plan view of the egg transport container, and Fig. 8 is a stacked egg transport container. FIG.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A grip for the egg support plate that can be moved in any direction when sequentially taking out the egg support plates stacked in an egg transport container with multiple through holes on the bottom and supplying them to the egg sorting and packaging device. After the container is positioned below, and at this position, the uppermost egg support plate is gripped by the gripping portion by lifting the push-up pin from the plurality of through holes of the container. . An automatic egg feeding device, which feeds eggs to an egg sorting and packaging device by lowering a push-up pin or raising the gripping portion, and then moving the gripping portion. (2) The automatic egg feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the egg support plate gripping portion is rotatable by 90 degrees in a plane.