JP4101960B2 - Tray for cultivation bottle and cultivation bin handling mechanism - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is used for a cultivation bin handling mechanism used for arranging and transporting a plurality of cultivation bins in cultivation of crops using cultivation bins (or cultivation bins) such as mushroom cultivation, and such a mechanism. It relates to a tray for cultivation bottles.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In order to artificially cultivate mushrooms such as enoki mushrooms, cultivation bottles made of plastic or the like having a diameter of about 60 mm, a body diameter of about 90 mm, and a height of about 175 mm are generally used. In mushroom cultivation using cultivation bottles, pretreatment such as washing of cultivation bottles, filling of cultivation bottles with medium and sterilization of cultivation bottles is performed first, and then mushroom fungi are inoculated into the medium. After that, intermediate treatments such as leveling the surface of the medium, scraping the fungus, and wrapping paper around the cultivation bottle (wrapping the paper around the mouth of the cultivation bottle so that the shape of the mushroom is arranged) are performed in a timely manner. Final processing is performed, such as removing the wrapping paper from the paper and cutting the mushrooms. In such a cultivation process, in order to efficiently transport and manage a large number of cultivation bins in the intermediate operation and subsequent operations, a plurality of cultivation bins are arranged and arranged in a dedicated tray as a set. Each of the above operations are performed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Of the series of operations described above, automation using a machine has been advanced for pretreatment and inoculation of bacteria in a medium, but automation for intermediate treatment and final treatment has not progressed, and even today it relies on human power. It is the actual situation. One of the reasons why the automation of the intermediate process and the final process does not proceed in this way is that these processes are performed in a state where a plurality of cultivation bins are accommodated in the tray as described above. That is, since the cultivation bins accommodated in the tray are in close contact with each other, for example, in order to cause the machine to perform an operation of grasping and taking out the cultivation bins one by one, an expensive machine capable of complicated operations is required. Become. In particular, when the mushrooms grow and cover the upper part of the cultivation bottle, it is difficult to grip and remove the cultivation bottles one by one without damaging the mushrooms with a machine. The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide a cultivation bin tray and a cultivation bin handling mechanism that facilitates the automation of crop cultivation using cultivation bins. Is to provide.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The tray for cultivation bins according to the present invention made to solve the above problems is a tray for accommodating a plurality of cultivation bins in an aligned arrangement, and the bottom surface thereof has a pattern corresponding to the arrangement pattern of the cultivation bins. In the pattern of the opening, the cultivation bins accommodated in the tray are arranged one by one or a predetermined number of one set, and the one or one set of cultivation bins in the tray is positioned. Regardless, it is characterized in that it is determined so that it can be pushed up through the opening by the same push-up mechanism.
[0005]
Further, the cultivation bin handling mechanism according to the present invention is a cultivation bin handling mechanism for handling the cultivation bin accommodated in the cultivation bin tray configured as described above.
Bin push-up parts for pushing up the cultivation bins arranged in the tray through the opening by a predetermined number,
Drive means for driving the bin push-up component in the vertical direction;
Tray support means for supporting the tray directly above the bin push-up component without concealing the bottom surface of the tray;
It is characterized by providing.
[0006]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In general, the cultivation bin tray is made of a material that is light and easy to process (for example, resin). However, in order to reduce the amount of the material used, an opening is often provided on the bottom or side of the tray. The cultivation bin tray according to the present invention is characterized by the pattern of the openings provided on the bottom surface as described above.
[0007]
That is, in the conventional cultivation bin tray, an opening is provided on the bottom surface simply for the purpose of reducing the amount of material used, and the pattern is determined irrespective of the arrangement pattern of the cultivation bins in the tray. It had been.
[0008]
On the other hand, in the cultivation bin tray according to the present invention, in order to be able to push up the cultivation bin one by one or a predetermined number as a set through the opening provided on the bottom surface, the pattern of the opening is It is determined to correspond to the arrangement pattern of the cultivation bin. For example, it is considered that 16 cultivation bins are closely attached and an opening is provided on the bottom surface of a tray that is accommodated in an arrangement pattern of 4 rows and 4 columns. In this case, if the bottom surface of the tray is divided into a total of 16 partial areas in 4 rows and 4 columns corresponding to the arrangement pattern of the cultivation bins, and openings are provided in substantially the same pattern in all the partial areas, they are accommodated in the tray. The bottom surface of any of the cultivation bins that faces the opening of substantially the same pattern. Therefore, if one lifting mechanism including a bottle lifting part having a structure capable of pushing up each cultivation bin through the opening is prepared, the opening of the cultivation bin at any position in the tray can be performed by the lifting mechanism. Can be easily pushed up through.
[0009]
In addition, when dividing a bottom face into partial areas as described above, the number of partial areas does not have to be the same as the number of cultivation bins accommodated. For example, in the tray, when the purpose is to simultaneously push up four cultivation bins in one row by a push-up mechanism, a rectangular region in which the four cultivation bins are arranged is set as one partial region, The bottom surface may be divided into a total of four partial regions.
[0010]
In the above description, openings are provided in substantially the same pattern in all partial areas, but the functional condition that the cultivation bin can be pushed up by the same push-up mechanism in any partial area is satisfied. As long as it is possible, a difference may be appropriately provided in the opening pattern for each partial region. For example, an opening for passing a specific part for holding or pushing up a cultivation bin (for example, a rod body of a bottle holding part in an embodiment described later) of the raising mechanism is a triangle in a partial region, while another Even if the partial area is circular, the difference in shape is not important for the present invention as long as these openings satisfy the functional condition of allowing the parts to pass therethrough. Moreover, about the opening provided in the position which is not related to passage of the said components, the shape can be made arbitrary. As described above, in the tray according to the present invention, for example, for aesthetic processing, for ensuring the strength of the tray, or for identifying the position in the tray, the opening pattern for each partial area corresponds to various purposes. Differences may be provided as appropriate.
[0011]
The cultivation bin handling mechanism which concerns on this invention is a mechanism for handling the cultivation bin accommodated in the tray for cultivation bins comprised as mentioned above. In this mechanism, the bin push-up component can be configured to have, for example, a push-up portion for pushing up the bottom surface of the cultivation bin and a support portion for supporting the cultivation bin from the side surface. According to such a configuration, it is reliably prevented that the cultivation bin becomes unstable and falls during the push-up operation. The tray support means may be configured, for example, such that a pair of opposite side surfaces of the tray are pressed and held from both sides, and the peripheral edge of the bottom surface is lowered without closing the opening provided on the bottom surface of the tray. In order to support the tray stably, a third example is conceivable. It is preferable to adopt the following configuration. As a driving means, a driving mechanism generally used for reciprocating the driven body within a predetermined range may be used.
[0012]
The cultivation bin handling mechanism according to the present invention configured as described above has a simpler structure and is less expensive than the conventional cultivation bin handling mechanism configured to grasp and take out the cultivation bin from above. Can be manufactured.
[0013]
【Example】
1A to 1D are views showing a tray for cultivation bins (hereinafter referred to as a new tray 10) according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a plan view, and (B). Is a front view, (C) is a bottom view, and (D) is a right side view. The rear view of the tray 10 appears symmetrically with the front view, and the left side view appears symmetrically with the right side view. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of an example of a conventional cultivation bin tray (hereinafter referred to as an old tray 12). In addition, the figure drawn with the broken line in FIG.1 and FIG.2 shows arrangement | positioning of the cultivation bin 20 in each tray.
[0014]
First, a configuration common to both trays will be described. Each tray is a container made of a light and easy-to-process material (for example, resin), and its bottom surface has a mesh shape to reduce the amount of material used while ensuring strength. Rib structure is adopted. The size of the tray is determined according to the number of cultivation bins to be accommodated. The two trays are designed to accommodate 16 cultivation bins (4 rows × 4 columns) as shown in the figure, but this is only an example, and the tray capacity is 16 Needless to say, it is not limited to books.
[0015]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the usage state of the tray. Whether this tray is the new tray 10 or the old tray 12, the usage state is substantially the same in appearance. The tray of FIG. 3 accommodates 16 cultivation bins 20 for cultivating mushrooms 21 in an aligned state. A wrapping paper 22 for adjusting the packaging of the mushrooms 21 is wound around the mouth of each cultivation bottle 20. The wrapping paper 22 is a fan-shaped paper piece having fixing tapes 22a and 22b at both ends as shown in FIG.
[0016]
Next, the features of the new tray 10 will be described in comparison with the old tray 12. First, in the old tray 12, the opening pattern formed on the bottom surface is determined irrespective of the size of the cultivation bin and its arrangement pattern. For example, referring to FIG. 2, the opening pattern in the region facing the bottom surface of the cultivation bin 20 a near the corner of the old tray 12 is a region facing the bottom surface of the cultivation bin 20 b near the center of the old tray 12. It can be seen from the fact that it is clearly different from the opening pattern inside.
[0017]
On the other hand, in the new tray 10, the bottom opening pattern is determined based on the size of the cultivation bin 20 and the arrangement pattern thereof. This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the region S5 of FIG. 1C, and shows a partial region 10a on the bottom surface of the new tray 10. FIG. The partial area 10 a is a square area in which the length of one side is substantially equal to the diameter of the cultivation bin 20, and this corresponds to the arrangement area of one cultivation bin 20. In the partial area 10a, eight congruent right isosceles triangular openings 15 are provided. It is clear from FIG. 1A that such an opening pattern is commonly seen not only in the partial area 10a of FIG. 5 but also in any partial area of the bottom surface of the new tray 10. In order to obtain such an opening pattern, the radius of curvature at the four corners is smaller in the new tray 10 than in the old tray 12.
[0018]
The new tray 10 configured as described above is more advantageous than the old tray 12 in configuring a cultivation bin handling mechanism including a cultivation bin tray. This will be described below.
[0019]
As can be seen from FIG. 3, when the mushroom grows, the wrapping paper 22 wound around the mouth of the cultivation bin 20 is expanded and covers the upper portion of the cultivation bin 20, so that the cultivation bin 20 is grasped and taken out from above. The cultivation bin handling mechanism with is not available. On the other hand, for example, a cultivation bin handling mechanism that grasps the cultivation bin 20 from the side and sequentially takes it out can be used. In this case, although the cultivation bin 20 is taken out in order from the outside, once the cultivation bin 20 once taken out is returned to the original place, the cultivation bin arranged on the inside cannot be taken out. For this reason, in order to perform a desired operation | work with respect to all the cultivation bins 20, after taking out the cultivation bin 20 taken to another place, or after taking out the cultivation bin 20, the remaining cultivation bins in a tray A complicated mechanism such as a rearrangement mechanism that sequentially feeds 20 is required. However, if the tray of FIG. 3 is the old tray 12, such a problem is unavoidable. On the other hand, if the tray of FIG. 3 is the new tray 10, a cultivation bin handling mechanism having a completely different configuration as described below can be used.
[0020]
An example of the cultivation bin handling mechanism including the new tray 10 includes a cultivation bin push-up mechanism having a configuration in which the cultivation bins arranged in the new tray 10 are pushed up one by one or a predetermined number from below. An embodiment of such a cultivation bin push-up mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0021]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the entire cultivation bin push-up mechanism of the present embodiment, in which (A) is a side view and (B) is a front view. The cultivation bin push-up mechanism 50 includes a conveyor 51 for conveying the new tray in which the cultivation bin is accommodated in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 6A, a bottle holding component 52 for holding the cultivation bin 20 from below, and a bottle holding. It is mainly composed of a drive unit 53 that drives the component 52 in the vertical direction. The bin holding component 52 is a component formed by standing a plurality of rods 55 on the upper surface of a plate-like substrate 54.
[0022]
FIG. 7 is a view showing a detailed structure of the rod body 55 which is a constituent element of the bin holding part 52. Among these, (A) shows the cultivation bin 20 accommodated in the new tray 10 having four rod bodies 55a to 55a. The top view which shows a mode that it hold | maintained at 55d, (B) is the front view, (C) is a side view of the rod 55, (D) is the front view. As shown in FIGS. 7C and 7D, the rod 55 has a stepped push-up 551 that supports the bottom of the cultivation bin 20 from below, and a claw-shaped support 552 that supports the side of the cultivation bin 20 from the side. Is provided. Four such rods 55 form a set, and the side surface of the cultivation bin 20 is supported from four directions at an angle of approximately 90 degrees by the claw-shaped support portion 552, and pushed up from below by the stepped push-up portion 551 (FIG. 7). (See (A) and (B)).
[0023]
As shown to FIG. 7 (A), the four rod bodies 55a-55d are arrange | positioned so that the four opening 15a-15d provided in the partial area | region 10a where the cultivation bottle 20 is arrange | positioned can each pass simultaneously. ing. Therefore, even if the cultivation bin 20 is accommodated in the new tray 10, the four rod bodies 55a to 55d can hold the cultivation bin 20 from below. And since the opening pattern of the bottom face of the new tray 10 is the same also in the partial area | region corresponding to any cultivation bin 20, it is arrange | positioned as mentioned above also in the cultivation bin 20 also in any partial area | region in the new tray 10. It can be held by the four rod bodies 55a to 55d.
[0024]
In the bin holding component 52 shown in FIG. 6, four cultivation bins 20 can be held at a time by arranging a total of 16 rod bodies 55 on the upper surface of the substrate 54. When the bottle holding component 52 is pushed up by the drive unit 53 in a state where the cultivation bin 20 is held in this manner, the cultivation bin 20 reaches the working space 60 directly above the cultivation bin push-up mechanism 50. In the work space 60, an operator performs a predetermined work (for example, removal of a wrapping paper, mushroom cutting) by hand, or a machine automatically performs the work. When the operation is completed for all the cultivation bins 20 that have been pushed up, the drive unit 53 lowers the bin holding parts 52 to the full, conveys the new tray 10 in the direction of arrow D by the conveyor 51, and the next row of the cultivation bins 20. Is disposed immediately above the bin holding part 52.
[0025]
In the above example, it is assumed that the size of the cultivation bin 20 is constant, but actually the size (diameter) of the cultivation bin is various. Therefore, in the bin holding part 52, it is preferable that the rod body 55 is coupled to the substrate 54 in such a structure that the angle of the rod body 55 can be changed in the direction in which the claw-shaped support portion 552 supports the side surface of the cultivation bin. In this way, the cultivation bin can be reliably held regardless of the size of the cultivation bin.
[0026]
FIG. 8 is a side view showing a modified example of the bin holding component. The bin holding component 52A shown in FIG. 8 has two rows of cultivation bins 20 accommodated in the new tray 10, by standing a total of 32 bars 55 in two rows on the upper surface of the wide substrate 54A. A total of eight can be pushed up at a time. If it does in this way, since work can be advanced simultaneously in two work space 60A and 60B, work efficiency will increase.
[0027]
In addition, it cannot be overemphasized that the Example of the tray for cultivation bins and the cultivation bin handling mechanism which concerns on this invention is not restricted above. For example, in the above embodiment, four rods 55 are used as one set to hold one cultivation bin 20, but three rods 55 are sufficient to hold the cultivation bin 20. is there. In this case, it is preferable that the three rods 55 are arranged so as to support the side surface of the cultivation bin 20 from three directions at an angle of approximately 120 degrees. In this case, the opening pattern provided on the bottom surface of the tray is changed so that the three rod bodies 55 can simultaneously pass through the bottom surface.
[0028]
In the above-described embodiment, one bar 55 performs the two functions of pushing up the bottom surface of the cultivation bin and supporting the side surface. However, these functions can also be realized by separate bars. FIG. 9 shows various examples of such rods. First, in the examples of FIGS. 9A1 and 9A, the side of the cultivation bottle 20 accommodated in the new tray 10 of the above embodiment is shown. While being supported by the four support rods 71A, the four push-up rods 72A are pushed up. Moreover, in the example of FIG. 9 (B1) and (B2), the side surface of the cultivation bin 20 accommodated in the new tray 10B having an opening pattern different from that of the new tray 10 is supported by four support rods 71B. The four push-up rods 72B are pushed up. Moreover, in the example of FIG. 9 (C1) and (C2), the cultivation bin 20 accommodated in the new tray 10C which has another opening pattern is further supported by four supporting rods 71C. Is pushed up by the lifting rod 72C.
[0029]
In addition, each of the above examples discloses a push-up mechanism that pushes up the cultivation bin by bringing the tip of the rod (or the upper end of the step provided on the rod) into contact with the bottom of the cultivation bin. Other cultivation bin handling mechanisms including the tray according to the invention are also conceivable. For example, FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a pair of bin gripping components 80A and 80B having a side gripping portion 81 formed at the upper end so as to be in close contact with the side surface of the cultivation bin. It can be used in combination with such a tray. That is, the bin gripping parts 80A and 80B are inserted into the tray from below through the opening on the bottom surface of the tray, and the side surfaces of the cultivation bins stored therein are gripped and lifted. In this case, an opening having a size and shape is provided on the bottom surface of the tray so that the bin gripping parts 80A and 80B can pass simultaneously and the bottle gripping part gripping operation is not hindered. Needless to say.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIGS. 1A to 1D are views showing a cultivation bin tray according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a bottom view of an example of a conventional cultivation bin tray.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a use state of a tray.
FIG. 4 is a development view of a wrapping paper attached to the opening of the cultivation bottle.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a region S5 in FIG.
6A and 6B are views showing the whole cultivation bin push-up mechanism of the present embodiment.
FIGS. 7A to 7D are diagrams showing a detailed structure of a rod that is a component of a bin holding part.
FIG. 8 is a side view showing a modified example of the bin holding component.
FIGS. 9A to 9C are diagrams showing various examples of rods. FIGS.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a bin gripping component.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Cultivation bin tray 10a ... Partial area 15 ... Opening 20 ... Cultivation bin 50 ... Cultivation bin push-up mechanism 52 ... Bin holding part 53 ... Drive part 55 ... Rod body 551 ... Stepped pushing part 552 ... Claw-like support part

Claims (3)

In a tray for storing a plurality of cultivation bins in an aligned arrangement, an opening is provided on the bottom surface in a pattern corresponding to the arrangement pattern of the cultivation bins, and the pattern of the openings is cultivation that is accommodated in the tray. One bin or a set of a predetermined number of bins, regardless of the position of the one or one set of cultivation bins in the tray, and the raising bin for pushing up the bottom of the cultivation bin and the cultivation bin from the side A cultivation bin tray characterized by being determined so that it can be pushed up through the opening by the same bin push-up component having a support portion for supporting . 2. The tray for cultivation bins according to claim 1, wherein the opening pattern on the bottom surface of the tray is the same in a partial region corresponding to any cultivation bin. In a tray for storing a plurality of cultivation bins in an aligned arrangement, an opening is provided on the bottom surface in a pattern corresponding to the arrangement pattern of the cultivation bins, and the pattern of the openings is cultivation that is accommodated in the tray. It was determined that the bins can be pushed up through the opening by the same push-up mechanism regardless of the position of the one or one set of cultivation bins in the tray, one by one or a set of a predetermined number of bottles. A cultivation bin handling mechanism for handling cultivation bins arranged and arranged in a cultivation bin tray,
Bin push-up parts for pushing up the cultivation bins arranged in the tray through the opening by a predetermined number,
Drive means for driving the bin push-up component in the vertical direction;
Tray support means for supporting the tray directly above the bin push-up component without concealing the bottom surface of the tray;
A cultivation bin handling mechanism , wherein the bin push-up component has a push-up portion for pushing up the bottom surface of the cultivation bin and a support portion for supporting the cultivation bin from the side surface.

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