JP7458636B2 - Shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device that removes and separates deposits from the surface of shellfish - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device that can remove attachments from the surface of shellfish and separate the removed attachments from the shellfish.

Various foreign substances adhere to the surface of cultured shellfish shells during the culture process. Examples of deposits on cultured shellfish include mud dirt, seaweed such as kelp and wakame, and living organisms such as Kasanekanza and Shibarn. These deposits need to be removed regularly to prevent growth inhibition of cultured shellfish and reduction in commercial value.

In the cultivation of scallops, during the growth process, sorting by size and cleaning and washing of deposits on the surface of the scallops are repeated. The premise is that cleaning and washing of deposits is carried out at the stage when the scallop has grown and its shell has become strong enough to withstand cleaning and washing (usually, the size is larger than 7 cm to 8 cm). The applicant has proposed the devices described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 as devices for cleaning and washing deposits at such a growth stage. Another method is to clean and wash the surface of the scallop by applying high-pressure water to the scallop.

By the way, in the ear-hanging culture of scallops, automatic drilling machines that automatically drill holes in scallops for ear-hanging have become widespread. Ear hanging work is carried out from March to June, and the size of scallops during this period is approximately 5 cm to 7 cm. The scallops used for ear-hanging are harvested around the summer of the previous year, and reach a size of about 2 to 3 cm by October of the same year. Previously, scallops of this size did not have to be cleaned, as they had few deposits such as snails and barnacles attached to them. However, in recent years, it has been speculated that organisms begin to attach to scallops when they reach a size of about 2 to 3 cm, based on the state of attachment of organisms before the ear-hanging process. The deposits can barely be seen with the naked eye, but by the time the ear-hanging process is carried out, they grow to a size that makes it impossible to feed the scallop into an automatic piercer. Grown Kanzaki and barnacles are firmly attached to the surface of the shellfish and are difficult to remove.

Before earhanging, fishermen manually scrape off the deposits using small machetes or knives, but the number of scallops that require earhanging is now in the millions. There are many fishermen involved, making the work extremely labor-intensive. It is conceivable to clean and wash deposits on the surface of shellfish using the devices and methods using high-pressure water proposed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, but these devices and methods are not suitable for cleaning or washing deposits on the surface of shellfish with a size of 7 cm or more. It is intended for shellfish, and is not intended to be used for scallops during the ear-hanging period. In addition, small scallops have thin shells and can easily crack even when a small amount of force is applied to them, so if these devices or methods are used forcibly, the scallop shells may be damaged and the product value may decline. be.

JP 2013-233494 A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-202089

The present invention removes strong adherents such as Kasanekandashi and barnacles, which are difficult to remove once they have grown, without damaging the shells at an early stage after they have attached to the shellfish, and sorts them out from the shellfish. An object of the present invention is to provide a shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device that can clean and sort the surface of shellfish.

The present invention provides a shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device that removes deposits from the surface of shellfish and separates the removed deposits from shellfish. The shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device includes a brush screw and a sorting plate disposed opposite to the side surface of the brush screw. The brush screw has a rotating core and a plurality of flexible brush members arranged generally spirally on the surface of the core. The sorting plate has an inner surface disposed at a position facing some of the plurality of brush members and a plurality of through holes, and the shape of the inner surface is formed by the entire tips of some of the plurality of brush members. corresponds to the shape of the surface to be For example, the shape of the surface formed by the entire tips of multiple brush members of the same length planted in a cylindrical core body is cylindrical, and the inner surface of the sorting plate corresponds to a part of the cylindrical shape. It may have a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape. The brush screw and the sorting plate are arranged in such a positional relationship that the brush members press the shellfish against the inner surface without damaging the shellfish on the inner surface.

In one embodiment, the positional relationship between the brush screw and the sorting plate is preferably adjustable between a state in which the tips of the plurality of brush members are separated from the inner surface and a state in which they are in contact with the inner surface.

In one embodiment, the sorting plate is preferably formed by bending a flexible plate-like body. In one embodiment, the sorting plate can be replaced with another sorting plate having different sizes of the plurality of through holes.

In one embodiment, the shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device preferably further includes a water spraying section above the brush screw and the sorting plate.

According to the present invention, it is possible to remove deposits such as snails and barnacles that attach to shellfish when their shells are weak and soft, grow while sharing the shell, and become difficult to remove as they grow larger, at the initial stage of attachment. , can be separated from shellfish. Since the removal and separation of deposits can be carried out continuously, it is possible to process large quantities of shellfish. In addition, since the sorting plate can be easily replaced, it is easy to adjust the sorting plate to the size of the deposits and shellfish.

1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a shell surface cleaning and sorting device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation and effect of the shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device 1 removes deposits attached to the shells of small-sized scallops from the surface of the shells without damaging the shells, and separates the removed deposits from the scallops. This is a device that makes it possible.

[Configuration of shell surface cleaning and sorting device]
The shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device 1 (hereinafter referred to as device 1) comprises a frame 10, a sorting plate 20 having a substantially U-shaped cross section arranged in the inner space of the frame 10, and a brush screw 30 arranged inside the U-shape of the sorting plate 20. A drive unit 40 is arranged at one end of the frame 10, and the brush screw 30 rotates by the driving force from the drive unit 40. A shellfish input hopper 50 is arranged above the drive unit 40 to hold the scallops to be input inside the U-shape of the sorting plate 20, and a shellfish outlet slider 60 is arranged at the other end of the frame 10 at the outlet of the scallops from which the extraneous matter has been removed. A watering pipe 70 is arranged at the top of the frame 10 to discharge water toward the inside of the U-shape of the sorting plate 20.

The frame 10 has two parallel upper girders 11 and two sorting plate support ribs 12 spaced apart along the length of the upper girders 11. The two sorting plate support ribs 12 are formed in a roughly U-shape, with one end of each connected to the underside of one upper girder 11 and the other end connected to the underside of the other upper girder 11. The sorting plate 20 is placed on the inside of the sorting plate support ribs 12. The number of sorting plate support ribs 12 is not limited to two, and may be any number that can adequately support the load of the sorting plate 20 when the device 1 is in operation.

Each of the two sorting plate receiving ribs 12 has three holes spaced apart in the circumferential direction at the innermost position of its U-shape, and each of the holes has a sorting plate guide. 13 is inserted. The three sorting plate guides 13 guide the sorting plate 20 when the sorting plate 20 is inserted into the apparatus as described later. The number of holes provided in each of the sorting plate receiving ribs 12 and the number of sorting plate guides 13 are not limited to the numbers in this embodiment, and may be 3 as long as there is no problem in guiding the sorting plate 20 during insertion. It may be less or more than one. A sorting plate presser 14 formed in a downward U-shape is attached to each of the upper beams 11 of the frame 10 by a plurality of bolts 14a so as to cover the upper beams 11.

A front plate 15 is provided at the end of the upper beam 11 on the shellfish exit slider 60 side, and a cross beam 16 is provided at the top of the front plate 15 in a direction perpendicular to the upper beam 11. A shaft support plate 17 for supporting the brush screw 30 is attached to the crossbeam 16. The shaft support plate 17 has a shaft hole 17a into which the shaft 32a of the brush screw 30 is inserted. For example, the shaft support plate 17 is provided with a long hole 17b at the connection part with the cross beam 16, and by passing a bolt (not shown) through the long hole 17b and connecting it to the cross beam 16, the position of the shaft hole 17a can be adjusted up or down. It is preferable to be configured so that it can be moved. The crossbeam 16 is further provided with a mounting plate 18 for a sprinkler pipe 70. The frame 10 has four legs 19 that support the upper beam 11 and the front plate 15.

The sorting plate 20 is placed inside the U-shape of the sorting plate support rib 12. The sorting plate 20 is placed so that a certain area below the upper edge 22 is sandwiched between the side of the upper beam 11 and the inner surface of the sorting plate holder 14, and when placed inside the sorting plate support rib 12, it is shaped to follow the U-shape of the sorting plate support rib 12. The sorting plate 20 can be pre-formed into a U-shape, or a flexible flat plate-like body can be bent into a U-shape so that it is placed inside the sorting plate support rib 12. The sorting plate 20 can be made of a resin plate (e.g., polyvinyl chloride resin plate, polyethylene resin plate, etc.), a metal plate (e.g., stainless steel plate, copper plate, galvanized steel plate, etc.), a resin or metal mesh, etc., as long as it is capable of applying appropriate pressure without damaging the scallops, but it is more preferable that it is thin and flexible.

The sorting plate 20 has a plurality of through holes 21 formed to penetrate its inner surface 20a and outer surface 20b. The formed through hole 21 is larger than the deposits to be removed from the surface of the shellfish and smaller than the scallop from which the deposits are removed.The shape of the through hole 21 is not particularly limited, and may be circular, It can be a square, a diamond, etc. In order to accommodate various sizes of deposits and scallops, a plurality of screening plates 20 with different sizes of through holes 21 can be prepared and used while being replaced as necessary.

A brush screw 30 is arranged inside the U-shaped sorting plate 20. The brush screw 30 includes a cylindrical core body 31 and a plurality of brush members 33 installed in the core body 31. Each of the plurality of brush members 33 is planted in each of the plurality of brush member holes 31a formed in a spiral shape on the surface of the core body 31 so as to extend approximately the same length in a direction away from the surface of the core body 31. It is being Therefore, the plurality of brush members 33 generally form a spiral (screw) shape as a whole, and the surface formed by the entire tip 33a of the plurality of brush members 33 forms a generally cylindrical shape. The core body 31 has a shaft 32a at one end for supporting the brush screw 30 on the frame 10, and a shaft 32b connected to the rotating shaft 43 of the drive section 40 at the other end.

Each of the brush members 33 is preferably made by bundling together a plurality of resin threads with a diameter of about 1 mm. The resin threads may be made of, for example, nylon, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyester, or other suitable materials, but are not limited thereto. The thickness of each of the brush members 33 (i.e., the outer diameter of the bundle of resin threads) is about 7 mm at the base of the core 31 in the device 1, but is not limited thereto. The length of each of the brush members 33 is preferably such that the tip 33a of the brush member 33 contacts the inner surface 20a of the sorting plate 20, but is not limited thereto. The material, thickness, and length of the brush member 33 are selected to provide optimal conditions according to the magnitude of the pressing force required for the brush member 33 to be applied to the scallops, as described below.

A drive unit 40 is attached to the frame 10 at an end opposite to the front plate 15. The drive unit 40 includes a motor 41, a transmission member 42 that transmits the rotational force of the motor 41, and a rotation shaft 43 that rotates the shaft 32b of the connected brush screw 30. The rotating shaft 43 is connected to the shaft 32b of the brush screw 30.

It is preferable that a shellfish charging hopper 50 for holding scallops to be thrown into the sorting plate 20 is disposed above the drive unit 40 . The shellfish charging hopper 50 has a shellfish holding section 51 surrounded by a wall and an outlet 52 for the scallops to be thrown. At the other end of the frame 10, a shell outlet slider 60 is arranged for the outlet of the scallops from which deposits have been removed.

Preferably, the device 1 includes a sprinkler pipe 70. The sprinkler pipe 70 is attached to a sprinkler pipe mounting plate 18 provided on the crossbeam 16. A plurality of water sprinkling ports 71 are provided on the side of the water sprinkling pipe 70, and water or seawater supplied from a water supply port 72 at one end is discharged from the plurality of water sprinkling ports 71 toward the inside of the sorting plate 20. be done. The released water or seawater causes the deposits removed from the scallops to flow downward through the through holes 21 of the sorting plate 20.

[Method of cleaning and sorting shell surfaces]
Next, a method for removing extraneous matter from the surface of shellfish and separating the shellfish from the extraneous matter using the device 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation and function of the device 1.
The scallop shells S1 with the attached matter F are fed to the shellfish input hopper 50 and are input from the shellfish input hopper 50 to the inside of the sorting plate 20 (FIG. 3(a)). The input scallop shells S1 drop onto the inner surface 20a of the sorting plate 20 and are pushed by the multiple brush members 33 spirally arranged on the rotating brush screw 30, gradually moving in the direction of the shellfish outlet slider 60 (FIG. 3(b)).

The scallop S2 moving on the inner surface 20a of the sorting plate 20 is sandwiched between the brush member 33 and the inner surface 20a of the sorting plate 20 during movement, and is pressed against the sorting plate 20 with moderate pressure by the brush member 33. Being pushed. By being pressed in this way and moving toward the exit while repeatedly turning the front and back sides, friction between the scallop S2 and the sorting plate 20, the through hole 21, the brush member 33, and/or other scallops S2 is reduced. As a result, the attached matter F is peeled off from the shell of the scallop S2 (FIGS. 3(b) and 3(c)).

The positional relationship between the brush member 33 of the brush screw 30 and the inner surface 20a of the sorting plate 20 is such that the brush member 33 presses the scallop S2 against the inner surface 20a with an appropriate pressing force without damaging the scallop S2. , is determined. Specifically, the positional relationship between the brush member 33 and the inner surface 20a may be determined such that the tips 33a of the plurality of brushes are located slightly away from the inner surface 20a or are in contact with the inner surface 20a. preferable. When the tip 33a of the brush member 33 is located slightly away from the inner surface 20a, there is a slight gap between the tip 33a and the inner surface 20a, and the size of the gap is determined by the object to remove the deposits F. It is preferable that the thickness is smaller than the thickness of a certain scallop S2. In addition, the term "the tip 33a contacts the inner surface 20a" includes cases where there is no gap between the tip 33a and the inner surface 20a, or when the brush member 33 contacts the inner surface 20a in a slightly bent state. The positional relationship between the brush member 33 and the inner surface 20a of the sorting plate 20 is determined not only by making the length of the brush member 33 appropriate but also by adjusting the position of the shaft support plate 17 that supports the brush screw 30 up and down. It can also be adjusted by moving it to .

By adjusting the positional relationship between the tip 33a of the brush member 33 and the inner surface 20a of the sorting plate 20 as described above and appropriately selecting the material of the sorting plate 20 and the material and thickness of the brush member 33, the brush member The scallop S2 sandwiched between the inner surface 20a and the inner surface 20a is pressed against the sorting plate 20 with an appropriate pressing force, and the deposits F can be effectively removed without damaging the scallop S2. .

The deposits F removed from the scallops S2 are washed away by water or seawater from the water pipe 70 and fall from the through holes 21 of the sorting plate 20. The scallops S2 larger than the through hole 21 are pushed by the rotating brush screw 30 and moved to the end of the sorting plate 20, and then passed through the shell outlet slider 60 as scallops S3 from which the deposits F have been removed. It is discharged (Fig. 3(c)).

The sorting plate 20 can be replaced as follows. First, the bolt 14a is loosened to lift the sorting plate holder 14. This allows the upper edge 22 portion sandwiched between the upper beam 11 and the sorting plate holder 14 to be moved, and the sorting plate 20 is pulled out in the direction of the shell outlet slider 60. Next, another sorting plate 20 is bent into a U-shape as necessary and inserted along the sorting plate guide 13 toward the shell input hopper 50. At this time, the upper edge 22 portion is also inserted between the upper beam 11 and the sorting plate holder 14. Once the sorting plate 20 has been inserted to a specified position, the bolt 14a is tightened to fix the sorting plate 20. The sorting plate 20 moves between the sorting plate support rib 12 and the sorting plate guide 13 and the brush screw 30, so there is no need to remove or adjust the position of the brush screw 30 when replacing it.

1 Shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device 10 Frame 11 Upper girder 12 Sorting plate receiving rib 13 Sorting plate guide 14 Sorting plate presser 14a Bolt 15 Front plate 16 Cross beam 17 Shaft support plate 17a Shaft hole 18 Watering pipe mounting plate 19 Leg 20 Sorting plate 20a Inner surface 20b Outer surface 21 Through hole 22 Upper side 30 Brush screw 31 Core body 31a Brush member hole 32a, 32b Shaft 33 Brush member 33a Tip 40 Drive section 41 Motor 42 Transmission member 43 Rotating shaft 50 Shellfish input hopper 51 Shellfish holding section 52 Shellfish outlet 60 Shellfish outlet slider 70 Watering pipe 71 Watering port 72 Water supply port S1, S2, S3 Scallop F Adhesive matter

Claims (5)

A shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device that removes deposits on the surface of shellfish and separates the removed deposits from shellfish, comprising:
It has a rotating core body and a plurality of flexible brush members arranged generally spirally on the surface of the core body, and the surface formed by the entire tips of the plurality of brush members has a cylindrical shape. a brush screw ;
It has an inner surface disposed at a position facing a portion of the plurality of brush members, and a plurality of through holes, and the inner surface is constituted by the entire tip of the portion of the plurality of brush members. and a sorting plate having a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape corresponding to the shape of the surface,
The brush screw and the sorting plate are arranged in a positional relationship such that the plurality of brush members press the shellfish on the inner surface against the inner surface.
Shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device. The shell surface cleaning and sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the positional relationship between the brush screw and the sorting plate is adjustable between a state in which the tips of the multiple brush members are separated from the inner surface and a state in which they are in contact with the inner surface. The shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sorting plate is formed by bending a flexible plate-like body. The shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the sorting plate is replaceable with another sorting plate in which the plurality of through holes have different sizes. The shellfish surface cleaning and sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising a water sprinkling section above the brush screw and the sorting plate.

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