JP3418063B2 - Crop supply device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a crop supply system provided with a conveying mechanism for laterally feeding a spherical crop and a feeding mechanism for picking up a crop sent to a predetermined position by the carrying mechanism and sending it to a processing device. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the above-mentioned agricultural product supply apparatus, the transport mechanism is composed of an endless conveyor which circulates and rotates, and a plurality of holding portions for holding the spherical agricultural products are formed on the agricultural product mounting surface of this endless conveyor. However, the holding unit is provided with position detection means for detecting that the predetermined position has been reached, and the position detection means is configured such that, when the holding unit reaches the predetermined position, the endless conveyor is in the process of being conveyed. The detected part positioned in the upward position at the set position was provided for each holding part on the endless conveyor, and the position sensor for detecting that the detected part was located at the set position was provided.

[0003]

According to the above configuration, since the detected part is in the upward posture when detected by the position sensor, the detected part is covered with leaves of a crop or foreign matter. , It may be difficult to detect it.

An object of the present invention is to reliably detect a detected part located at a set position and to accurately detect that a holding part for holding a spherical crop reaches a predetermined position. .

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

[Structure] The characteristic structure of the invention according to claim 1 is, in the agricultural product supply apparatus described at the beginning, the transport mechanism is configured by an endless conveyor that circulates and rotates, and the spherical shape is provided on the agricultural product mounting surface of the endless conveyor. Forming a plurality of holding units for holding the agricultural products of, the position detecting means for detecting that the holding unit has reached the predetermined position is provided, to configure the position detecting means, the holding unit is at the predetermined position. When it reaches, the detected portion located in the downward position at the set position during the return stroke of the endless conveyor is provided for each holding portion on the endless conveyor, and the detected portion is located at the set position. A position sensor for detecting is detected.

A feature of the invention according to claim 2 is that, in the invention according to claim 1, each holding portion is also used as each detected portion, and a predetermined holding portion is located at the set position. The detection target holding unit is configured to detect that the holding unit has reached the predetermined position.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a holding sensor for detecting whether or not there is an agricultural product is provided in a holding portion on the transport path side of the endless conveyor. It is detected by the presence / absence sensor that a crop is present in the holding section that is sent to a predetermined position, and,
When it is detected by the position sensor that the holding unit for holding the agricultural products has reached the predetermined position, a control means for controlling the feeding mechanism to operate based on the detection results of both sensors is provided. There is something.

[Operation] According to the structure of claim 1, even if leaves or foreign substances of the agricultural product are caught on the detected portion in the conveying process of the endless conveyor, the detected portion is endless at the detected setting position. Since the conveyor is on the return stroke and is in a downward posture, the position sensor detects when the leaves and foreign substances of the crop have fallen.

According to the structure of claim 2, in addition to the same effect as that of the structure of claim 1, each holding portion is also used as each detected portion, and a predetermined holding portion is provided. Is configured to detect that the holding portion to be detected has reached the predetermined position based on the fact that it is located at the set position, it is not necessary to newly provide a detected portion, and the structure is simplified. It is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the same actions as the actions according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, it is possible that agricultural products are present in the holding portion sent to the predetermined position. When it is detected by the presence / absence sensor, and the position sensor detects that the holding unit holding the agricultural product has reached the predetermined position, the control unit takes out the feeding mechanism based on the detection results of both sensors. Activate. As a result, for example, even though there is no agricultural product in the holding section that is sent to the predetermined position, the sending mechanism does not operate based on the detection result of the position sensor, and wasteful operation of the sending mechanism is avoided. it can.

[Effect] Therefore, according to the configuration of claim 1, it is possible to accurately detect that the holding portion has reached the predetermined position.

According to the structure of claim 2, in addition to the same effects as the effects of the structure of claim 1, the structure can be made compact, and
It was possible to improve economic efficiency.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the same operation as that of the first or second aspect of the present invention can be achieved, and the workability can be improved.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a belt conveyor 1 (an example of a transport mechanism) that laterally feeds lettuce supplied by an operator, and the lettuce that has been sent to a predetermined take-out position A by this belt conveyor 1 is taken out, A robot hand 4 feeding the lettuce packaging device 2 (an example of a processing device) located on the lateral outside of the conveyor 1 into a lettuce inlet 3
A lettuce supply device is configured by providing (an example of a feeding mechanism) and a control device 5 (an example of control means) that controls the belt conveyor 1, the lettuce packaging device 2, and the robot hand 4.

As shown in FIG. 11, on the lettuce-mounting surface of the belt conveyor 1, a plurality of lettuce-holding projecting members 6 are formed into a plurality of concentric rings having different diameters in plan view.
The (corresponding to the holding portion) is made of a rubber material so that the outer protruding member 6 is taller than the inner protruding member 6, and the center position of the lettuce can be determined and held regardless of the diameter of the lettuce. The smaller diameter lettuce is supported by the inner protruding member 6, and the larger diameter lettuce is supported by the outer protruding member 6.
The cross mark 7 is formed on the protruding member 6 as an index for visually determining the placement direction of the lettuce. The conveyor frame 8 of the belt conveyor 1 is formed such that both ends in the conveyor direction are formed into a U-shaped cross-section with an opening on the inner side in the width direction, and a wire harness 9 for various controls is passed through a recess along the conveyor direction. (See FIGS. 9 and 11), the contact between the rotating conveyor belt 10 and the wire harness 9 is avoided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lettuce packaging device 2 is a device for receiving lettuce from a lettuce inlet 3 formed at a receiving position at the center of the upper surface and packaging it with a transparent packaging sheet. The side walls 36A, 37A on the upper end side are formed to be wider than the side walls 36B, 37B on the lower end side in a side view (as viewed in the transport direction of the belt conveyor 1), and the side walls 36A, 37A on the upper end side and the lower end side Side wall 36
B and 37B, a pair of inclined side walls 36C, which spread upward between B and 37B,
It is formed at 37C.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the support frame 12 of the robot hand 4 is detachably attached and fixed to the main body portion 2A of the packaging device 2 from above. The support frame 12 includes the side wall 3 on the upper end side of the pair of outer side portions 36 and 37 of the main body portion 2A of the packaging device 2 facing each other.
6A, 37A to the inclined side walls 36C, 37C, and a pair of first vertical frame members 19 that individually abut from the lateral outer side, and two round pipes that connect the upper end portions of both first vertical frame members 19 to each other. And a second frame member 20 made of steel, and a screw mechanism 21 is provided between the end of one of the first vertical frame members 19 and the second frame member 20 to allow them to approach and separate from each other. The fixing of the support frame 12 to the main body portion 2A is performed by tightening the tightening bolts 21A of the screw mechanism 21 so as to fix both the first vertical frame members 1
9 are attracted to each other, and both outside portions 36 of the main body portion 2A,
It is carried out by separately pressing and fixing to 37.

The robot hand 4 will be described in detail. The support frame 12 supports the support box 13, and the support box 13 supports the swing arm 14 so as to swing about the first swing axis X. The first electric motor M1 for swinging and driving the swing arm 14 is provided in the support box 13, and the finger support member 15 provided on the swing end side of the swing arm 14 includes six soft rubber finger portions. 16 is suspended and supported, and as the swing arm 14 is swung, the finger portion 16 draws an arc locus R while keeping the downward posture, and the lettuce take-out position A and the lettuce throw-in position B (see FIG. 1) are formed. A posture holding mechanism 17 for holding the posture of the finger portion 16 is provided so as to reciprocate between them.

The posture holding mechanism 17 is composed of the swing arm 14
Of the auxiliary swing arm 18 which is swingably supported around the second swing axis Y on the upper side of the first swing axis X by the support box 13 along the swing arm 14. The one end side and the other end side of the finger support member 15 are provided at the swing end portion, and the finger support member 15 is connected to the first swing axis X and the second swing shaft core X.
The finger support members 15 are pivotally connected to each other in a state parallel to the virtual vertical line L connecting the swing axis Y, and the finger support members 15 are parallel to the virtual vertical line L as the swing arm 14 swings. The parallel quadruple link mechanism is configured to reciprocate between the lettuce take-out position A and the lettuce input position B in such a posture. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 14, a transparent cover 39 having an upper and lower opening that covers a movable portion such as the reciprocating finger support member 15 is supported by the second frame member 20 so as to be openable and closable. (In FIG. 1 and the like, the cover 39 is omitted in order to make the internal structure easy to understand).

The finger portion 16 is made of a rubber tube having a closed distal end portion and an open proximal end portion, and the proximal end side thereof is externally fitted and mounted on the finger support pipe 11. The back side is formed into a bellows shape 16a at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction, and the lettuce is grasped and operated by supplying and discharging air from the compressor 29 through the opening on the base end side.

The finger support member 15 is formed by connecting an umbrella-shaped finger holding portion 15B to the lower end of a vertical pipe member 15A. The finger holding mechanism 22 (corresponding to a finger opening diameter change adjusting mechanism) provided in the finger holding portion 15B will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in (a) and (b), the finger holding portion 1
The bottom of 5B is formed on the fixed disc 24, and the fixed disc 24
6 is provided with a rotating disk 23 concentrically and rotatably around a central axis at a space above, and six curved first elongated holes 25 dispersed in the rotating disk 23 and formed in a spiral shape, Six straight second elongated holes 26 radially formed in the fixed disc 24
The finger support pipes 11 are individually inserted through the corresponding ones, and the finger support pipes 11 are located between the rotating disc 23 and the fixed disc 24 to prevent the finger portions 16 from moving up and down. Flange part 27
Are formed and configured. That is, the base end side of the finger portion 16 is supported on the circumference equally spaced from the center position (center of the fixed disc). Then, a second electric motor M2 (see FIG. 3) that rotates the rotary disk 23 in the forward and reverse directions through the operation wire 28 is provided, and the second electric motor M2 is driven to fix each finger support pipe 11. While being guided by the second elongated hole 26 of the disc 24, the rotating disc 2
It is configured to be pushed and pulled in the radial direction by the third elongated hole 25 of No. 3 and to be moved in the radial direction with reference to the center positions of both discs, so that the initial opening diameter of the finger portion 16 can be changed and adjusted.

As shown in FIG. 12, a pneumatically actuated vertical piston mechanism 30 is provided at the center of the finger holding portion 15B, and a lettuce push-out pad 30b is provided at the tip of the piston rod 30a, so that the finger portion is provided. The lettuce gripped by 16 is pushed out to the input port 3 of the packaging device 2 in the gripped state. The lettuce push-out pad 30b is detachably attached with a water-absorbent paper 31 for absorbing moisture oozing out from the cut portion of the lettuce to prevent the packaging sheet from being soiled.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, an outer diameter measuring sensor 32 for measuring the outer diameter of the lettuce conveyed by the belt conveyor 1 is provided on both sides of the belt conveyor 1 on the conveyance side from the take-out position A. Provided on the side wall 33, based on the detection result of the outer diameter measuring sensor 32, the initial opening diameter of the finger portion 16 becomes a diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the lettuce measured by the outer diameter measuring sensor 32, The controller 5 is configured to control the second electric motor M2 of the finger holding mechanism 22. The outer diameter measuring sensor 32 has a plurality of sensing units, each of which includes a light emitter 32A and a light receiver 32B, which detects the presence of lettuce when a light beam is blocked, and is arranged in parallel in the transport direction so that the light beam is blocked. It is configured to measure the outside diameter of lettuce. The light emitter 32A and the light receiver 32 are provided between the sensing units adjacent to each other.
B is located on the opposite side to prevent the light from the adjacent light projector 32A from entering the light receiver 32B.

As shown in FIG. 9, when a predetermined projecting member 6 is located at the take-out position A, each adjacent projecting member 6 is positioned at the starting end side of the return stroke of the belt conveyor 1 by the preceding projecting member 6. The projection member 6 is arranged so as to be positioned downward in C, and the light beam is blocked at the front end of the projection member 6 positioned downward in the set position C, so that the projection member 6
Position sensor 34 for detecting that the vehicle is located at the set position C
Is provided to detect that the predetermined protruding member 6 has reached the take-out position A. The position sensor 34 and each of the projecting members 6 as the detected portion constitute a position detecting means. In addition, separately from each protruding member 6,
A detected portion may be provided for each protruding member 6 (in the present embodiment, each protruding member 6 also serves as each detected portion as described above).

As shown in FIG. 10, a presence / absence sensor 35 for detecting whether or not lettuce is present on the projecting member 6 at the take-out position A by blocking light rays is provided. When the position sensor 34 detects that the protruding member 6 holding the lettuce has reached the take-out position A, based on the detection results of both sensors,
The control device 5 controls the belt conveyor 1 to stop it, and controls the robot hand 4 to take it out to the finger portion 16 and operate it. When the lettuce is taken out, the belt conveyor 1 starts to convey again.

The operation of the robot hand 4 will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 4, the swing arm 14
Swings to the take-out position A side and stands still. And
The finger portion 16 supplied with the pressurized air bends and grips the lettuce (see FIG. 5). Next, the swing arm 14 swings to the lettuce insertion position B side and stands still (see FIG. 6), the piston mechanism 30 operates, and the lettuce push-out pad 30 moves.
b pushes the lettuce in the gripped state into the input port 3 of the packaging device 2 in the gripped state (see FIG. 7). The lettuce is packed by the packing device 2 and then loaded on the container 38 (see FIG. 8).

[Other Embodiments] The crops are not limited to lettuce, but may be other vegetables or fruits such as cabbage.

The processing device may be a grade discrimination device for discriminating grades such as length and shape of agricultural products or other devices.

The transfer mechanism may be a chain type endless conveyor.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a lettuce supply device and a lettuce packaging device with a cover removed.

[Fig.2] Exploded side view of the robot hand

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing a robot hand and a belt conveyor before gripping lettuce.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view showing a robot hand and a belt conveyor immediately before gripping lettuce.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view showing a robot hand holding a lettuce and a belt conveyor.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a robot hand carrying lettuce to the lettuce packaging device side.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the robot hand during the supply of lettuce to the lettuce packaging device.

FIG. 8 is a view showing lettuce after packaging by the lettuce packaging device.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway front view of a belt conveyor showing various sensors.

FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway plan view of a belt conveyor showing various sensors.

FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional side view of a belt conveyor showing a lettuce holding unit.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing a finger holding portion.

FIG. 13 (a) A cross-sectional plan view showing a finger opening diameter changing adjustment mechanism in a state where the opening diameter of the finger portion is large (b) Changing a finger opening diameter when the opening diameter of the finger portion is small Transverse plan view showing adjustment mechanism

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a lettuce supply device and a lettuce packaging device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Transport mechanism 2 processing equipment 4 Feeding mechanism 6 holding part 34 Position sensor 35 Presence sensor A predetermined position C setting position

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Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A crop supply apparatus comprising: a conveyance mechanism for laterally feeding a spherical crop; and a feeding mechanism for picking up a crop sent to a predetermined position by the conveyance mechanism and sending the crop to a processing apparatus. The transport mechanism is composed of an endless conveyor that circulates and rotates,
On the agricultural product mounting surface of this endless conveyor, a plurality of holding parts for holding the spherical agricultural products are formed, and a position detecting means for detecting that the holding parts have reached the predetermined position is provided,
In the position detecting means, when the holding unit reaches the predetermined position, a detection unit located in a downward position at a setting position during the return stroke of the endless conveyor, each holding unit on the endless conveyor. The agricultural product supply apparatus, which is provided for each of the above-described devices and is provided with a position sensor that detects that the detected portion is located at the set position. 2. Each holding unit is also configured to serve as each detected unit, and it is detected that the holding unit to be detected reaches the predetermined position based on that the predetermined holding unit is located at the set position. The agricultural crop supply apparatus according to claim 1, configured as described above. 3. The presence / absence sensor for detecting whether or not there is a farm product is provided in the holding portion on the transport path side of the endless conveyor, and the presence / absence sensor detects that there is a farm product in the holding portion sent to the predetermined position. When the position sensor detects that the holding unit that holds the agricultural product has reached the predetermined position, the control for controlling the delivery mechanism to be operated based on the detection results of both sensors. The agricultural crop supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising means.