JP3443277B2 - Crop sorting equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for selecting agricultural products, and more particularly to an improvement of a recovery unit for recovering selected agricultural products.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Taking a sorting device for sorting agricultural products based on size as an example, a sensor system for measuring the size of agricultural products has been conventionally used in this type of device, and S based on the measurement result of this sensor system. , M, L size and other selected crops are sent to a plurality of collection positions corresponding to the size, and storage containers such as resin trays are arranged at each collection position. By doing so, the selected crops are often collected in this storage container.

[0003]

Considering a sorting apparatus for sorting lettuce on the basis of size, lettuce is likely to be uneven in size depending on harvest time or growing conditions, and the lettuce thus harvested may be unbalanced. It may include only items larger than L size. In such a case, lettuce may be collected only in a specific collecting section of the sorting apparatus, and the tray of the collecting section may become full in a short time, and there is room for improvement.

Therefore, it is conceivable to provide the recovery unit with a sufficient capacity, but this leads to an increase in the size of the entire apparatus, and there is room for improvement in this respect as well.

An object of the present invention is to configure a device which does not cause the recovery section to be filled up in a short time even if many agricultural products are sent to a specific recovery section without increasing the size. .

[0006]

The first feature (claim 1) of the present invention is to measure the size or weight of agricultural products by a measuring mechanism, and to measure the size of the agricultural products thus measured by a sorting member. Or one of multiple routes corresponding to the weight
By selecting one and sending it to the end of each of the multiple routes.
In addition to collecting the crops in the collection space provided,
The space is divided by adjacent separation walls, and the separation walls are separated from each other in order to change the volume of the recovery space .
It is configured so that its position can be adjusted in the opposite direction , and its action and effect are as follows.

A second feature of the present invention (claim 2) is that in claim 1, the separating walls whose positions are adjustable in opposite directions are adjacent to each other.
The vertical wall member that constitutes the recovery space together with the separating wall
Is vertically pivotally supported around the vertical axis,
The swinging end side of the separation wall faces in the opposite direction by swinging left and right around the core
Change the capacity of the collection space by moving the position to
It is configured as described above, and its action and effect are as follows.

A third feature of the present invention (claim 3) is that in the structure according to claim 1 or 2, the movement of the separation wall is prevented.
And a fixing mechanism that can be switched to a state in which the movement is allowed . The action and effect are as follows.

[Operation] According to the first feature described above, for example, when a large number of particles of a specific size are included when sorting based on size, separation of the recovery unit corresponding to that size is performed. By moving the wall laterally, the capacity of the recovery part increases, and as a result, the time until the recovery part becomes full can be extended. That is, in the present invention, the capacity of all the recovery units is not increased, but the capacity of the adjacent recovery unit is reduced by adjusting the separation wall of the required recovery unit, but the capacity of the required recovery unit is reduced. The capacity can be sufficiently increased to reduce the frequency of the work for the worker to take out the agricultural products from the recovery unit during the work.

According to the second feature, the capacity of the recovery portion can be changed by adding a member having a structure such as a hinge. For example, a rail, a roller or the like is used to advance the separation wall straight. The number of parts is small and the operation can be made smooth compared to the case where it is slidable.

According to the third feature described above, when the separating wall is moved during use to set the capacity of the collecting portion to a required value, the moving of the separating wall is prevented by the fixing mechanism, so that the stored crops are stored. Even if pressure is applied, the volume is maintained.

[Effects of the Invention] Therefore, even if a large number of agricultural products are sent to a specific collecting unit, the collecting unit is configured so that the collecting unit does not become full in a short time without increasing the size. It is (Claim 1). Further, the capacity of the recovery part can be changed with a simple structure (claim 2), and the capacity is maintained after the capacity of the recovery part is changed (claim 3).

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a conveyor mechanism C in an inclined posture that receives a package lettuce Q sent from a lettuce packaging machine P that packages lettuce, which is an example of agricultural products, and raises it to a predetermined height, and this conveyor mechanism C The contact-type measuring mechanism M for measuring the size of the package lettuce Q sent by and the package lettuce Q lifted to the upper end of the conveyor mechanism C are increased in size by rolling or sliding using their own weight based on the measurement result of the measuring mechanism M. And a collecting mechanism R for collecting at a predetermined position corresponding to the size of the packaging lettuce.

The lettuce packaging machine P has a packaging base 2 formed on the upper surface of the main body 1 and a packaging roll 3 on the upper surface of the main body. From the packaging roll 3 in a cut state which has been pre-expanded on the packaging base 2 during the packaging operation. The lettuce is dropped onto the upper surface of the packaging sheet of 2 through the opening 2A of the packaging base 2 and the pair of switches 4 and 4 on the upper surface are simultaneously turned on to drive the electric motor (not shown) incorporated therein. At the same time that the lettuce is wrapped in the packaging sheet, the upper portion of the packaging sheet is squeezed, and then the excess sheet on the upper portion is cut and the cut portion is heat-welded or fixed with an adhesive tape, and then the packaging machine is inserted through the chute 5. It is configured so that it is operated so as to be sent out to the outside, and further, in conjunction with this operation, the control for automatically pulling out the next wrapping sheet from the wrapping roll 3 to the wrapping table and cutting it to a predetermined size is performed. To have.

The conveyor mechanism C is a pair of left and right side frames 7 and 7 supported in an oblique posture with respect to the main frame 6.
The endless belt 9 made of a flexible material such as rubber is wound around the rollers 8 and 8 which are rotatably supported at the upper and lower ends,
An electric motor (not shown) for driving one roller 8 is provided, and the endless belt 9 is provided with a pair of locking rods 10, 1.
0 is projected at a plurality of places to make it possible to lift the package lettuce Q wrapped by the lettuce wrapping machine P and the chute 5 of the lettuce wrapping machine P is provided at the lower end position of the conveyor mechanism C.
A receiving rod 11 for receiving the package lettuce Q sent from the container is provided, and a guide rod 12 for sending the package lettuce Q is provided at the upper end position of the conveyor mechanism C.

The measuring mechanism M includes a pair of left and right first swinging members 13 which come into contact with both sides of the packaging lettuce Q sent in a state of being received by the locking rod 10 to obtain the diameter in the width direction of the packaging lettuce Q. The diameter in the feeding direction of the packaging lettuce Q in contact with the lower side in the feeding direction of the packaging lettuce Q at the transport lower position than the first swing member 13, and the diameter in the height direction in contact with the upper surface of the packaging lettuce Q. And a second swinging member 14 configured to also obtain the first swinging member 1 and
3 is provided with a potentiometer-type first sensor S1 for measuring the swing amount of No. 3 and a potentiometer-type second sensor S2 for measuring the swing amount of the second swing member 14. Further, the conveyor mechanism C has a feed rate set so that two or more package lettuce can be lifted within the time (about 7 seconds) required for the lettuce packaging machine P to perform the packaging process.

In the collecting mechanism R, the package lettuce Q is attached to the main body case 15 in the horizontally long posture, for example, the S size, M in the figure.
4 collecting sections T for accommodating four types of package lettuce Q having different sizes such as size, L size, and LL size are arranged in parallel, and are arranged at the center position of the main body case 15 in the left-right direction. Guide rod 1 from the upper end of the conveyor device C
2 is provided with a path switching plate 16 as a sorting member which receives the packaging lettuce Q sent out via 2 and which is sent out in a predetermined direction so as to be rotatable around an axis Y in a vertical posture. The body case 15 has four collecting parts T
A pair of guide surfaces 17, 17 in an inclined posture for guiding the packaging lettuce Q with respect to the ones are formed at both end positions of.

Further, the route switching plate 16 is formed with a guide groove 16A for guiding in the central portion thereof, and is supported by a vertical support shaft 19 supported on a main body frame 18 of the recovery mechanism R. In addition, a switching motor 20 for rotating the support shaft 19 via a chain and a potentiometer-type third sensor S3 for measuring the rotation posture of the support shaft 19 are provided, and four recovery parts are provided. The packaging lettuce Q is dropped directly onto the central two of the T ... and the pair of guide surfaces 1 onto the two of the two ends of the four recovery parts T.
It is configured to send the package lettuce Q via 7, 17.

Further, in the recovery section T, five separating walls 21 are arranged at equal intervals with respect to the vertical wall member 15A of the main body case 15 and are divided into four spaces by the separating walls 21. In addition to forming a recovery space, each separation wall 21 is supported by the vertical wall member 15A via a hinge 22 that is swingable around a vertically oriented axis. As shown in FIG. 2, a stopper 24 as a fixing mechanism is provided so as to be rotatable around a laterally-oriented eccentric shaft 23, and further,
A band member 26 made of a flexible material such as resin or thick cloth is protruded from the swinging end of the separating wall 21 via a holder 25 between the swinging ends of the adjacent separating walls 21. The belt 26 is attached so that the amount thereof can be adjusted, and a swing shaft 27 in a horizontal posture is provided at an intermediate position of the strip 26, and an auxiliary strip 26A is swingably provided around the swing shaft 27. . The separation wall 21 can adjust the capacity of the recovery portion T by swinging about the axis of the hinge 22, and the stopper 2
As shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), the outer peripheral surface 4 is separated from the floor surface F by the rotation about the eccentric shaft 23, and the separation wall 2 is provided.
It is possible to switch between a state in which the rocking of No. 1 is allowed and a state in which the outer peripheral surface of the belt touches the floor surface F to prevent the rocking of the separation wall 21, and the band member 26 is brought into contact with the holder 25. The pulling-out state can be maintained by the frictional force, and the packaging lettuce Q can be taken out along the floor surface F by changing the posture of the auxiliary strip 26A around the swing shaft 27 as shown in FIGS. It has become.

Further, the sorting device is provided with a control device (not shown) for setting the posture of the path switching plate 16 based on the measurement result of the measuring mechanism M, and the control device is the first when the work is performed.
The signal from the sensor S1 is input to the left and right first swing members 1
The widthwise diameter of the packaging lettuce Q is obtained based on the value when the swing amount of 3 reaches the maximum, and then the second sensor S is reached at the timing when the packaging lettuce Q reaches the predetermined position of the conveyor mechanism C.
The signal from 2 is input, and the diameter of the packaging lettuce Q in the front-rear direction (conveying direction of the conveyor mechanism C) is calculated based on the swing amount of the second swing member 14, and the swing amount of the second swing member 14 is calculated. The diameter of the packaging lettuce Q in the height direction (direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveyor mechanism C) is calculated based on the value when the maximum value is reached, and the diameters in the width direction, the front-back direction, and the height direction are calculated. The average value of the diameters is calculated based on the value of, and it is determined whether the size of the packaging lettuce Q belongs to a preset S size, M size, L size, or LL size from the calculation result. The signal from the third sensor S3 is fed back to control the switching motor 20 of the path switching plate 16 to control the package lettuce Q sent from the conveyor mechanism C, and the guide surface 17 for the S size and LL size. Roll Stomach, S size in a state in which the sliding, L
It is sent to the L-size collecting sections T, T, and the M-size and L-size collecting sections are directly dropped from the path switching plate 16 to the M-size and L-size collecting sections T, T, respectively. ing.

As described above, in the present invention, the size of the package lettuce Q fed to the conveyor mechanism C is measured by the measuring mechanism M, and the posture of the path switching plate 16 is changed based on the measurement result, so that the package lettuce Q is changed. It is automatically sent to any of the four types of collecting units T ... Corresponding to the size, and the capacity of the collecting unit T. If the number is large, the volume of the LL-sized collecting unit T is increased while the volume of the other collecting unit T is reduced by setting the posture of the separating wall 21 to increase the lateral extension amount of the separating wall 21. It is possible to increase the capacity in the reduced state.
The stopper 24 can maintain the posture of the separation wall 21, and the capacity of the collecting section T can be adjusted by setting the amount of withdrawal of the band material 26. Further, even when the packaging lettuce Q is taken out from the collecting section 26, an auxiliary band can be obtained. The packaging lettuce Q can be taken out while the floor surface F is rolled by changing the posture of the material 26A.

[Other Embodiments] In addition to the above embodiments, the present invention can also be used to measure the size of agricultural products other than lettuce, such as cabbage and tomato. It can be carried out in the form of sorting according to size, and can also be applied to a system in which a control system is configured to sort agricultural products based on weight.

In the present invention, the measuring means has a specific size,
Alternatively, if it is found that there are many crops of a specific weight, the size or the control that operates the separation wall in the collection part of the crop of that weight in the spreading direction by electrical control. It is also possible to configure with a system.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sorting device.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view of the sorting device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a sorting device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a recovery unit.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a non-acting state and a working state of the stopper.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the auxiliary belt in a closed position and an open position.

[Explanation of symbols]

16 Sorting material 21 Separation wall 24 fixing mechanism M measurement mechanism T recovery department

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A size or weight of a crop is measured by a measuring mechanism, and the crop thus measured is sent out by selecting one of a plurality of routes corresponding to the size or weight by a sorting member. At the end of each of the multiple routes
The crops are collected in the arranged collection space and
The storage space is divided by adjacent separation walls, and the separation walls are separated from each other to change the capacity of the recovery space.
A device for sorting agricultural crops whose position is adjustable in the opposite direction . 2. Separation walls whose positions are adjustable in opposite directions are adjacent to each other.
Pair with the vertical wall member that constitutes the recovery space together with the separating wall in contact with it.
And is pivotally supported to swing left and right around the vertical axis.
Opposite the swing end side of the separation wall by swinging left and right around the axis
Change the capacity of the collection space by moving the position toward
Crop sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein is configured to. 3. A state in which the separation wall is prevented from moving, and
The agricultural crop sorting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a fixing mechanism that can be switched to a movable state .