JP7613733B2 - Food lump separation and conveying device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for separating and transporting food blocks that separates and transports a large number of food block pieces to a container such as a lunch box and fills the container with only the required number of pieces.

Previously, packing various types of prepared foods into designated containers such as lunch boxes required a production line that required lining up multiple containers and manually placing each type of prepared food one by one, a labor-intensive process.

In recent years, the task of filling large quantities of food containers with chunks of food, which relies on such human wave tactics, has gradually been mechanized, evolving into a form of work in which, for example, a robotic mechanism is used to pick individual ingredients from containers separated by type of food using gripping claws, move them to containers, and store them in lunchboxes.

However, the basic working method is the same: each ingredient is grasped with the hand tip mechanism (see Patent Document 1) or skewered and then moved to the container and filled.

JP 2019-118999 A

However, with the gripping mechanism described in Patent Document 1, there were frequent cases of mechanical mishandling, such as damage to the block of food material caused by the movement of the hand during the work process of gripping and moving the block of food material, failure to grip and move the block of food material accurately, or dropping the food material from a high position during movement, resulting in a lack of reliability in the mechanical packing work of the block of food material.

Furthermore, since the action of gripping the block of food material is a very delicate task, it is difficult to speed up this action, resulting in low work efficiency.
Furthermore, delicate control of the gripping motion requires precise electrical control of complex mechanisms, resulting in problems such as complicated assembly and high maintenance costs.

There was a need to develop a transport device that could minimize manpower and quickly transport only the required number of food blocks to containers such as lunch boxes.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an individual separation and conveying device that is configured to disperse clustered food blocks into individual food blocks using multiple conveying belts, convey each food block to a container position, and finally drop each block from the belts and pack it into the container as a single block.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the individual separation and conveying device of the present invention is characterized by comprising a storage case that stores a collection of various irregularly shaped food blocks, an inclined belt section that is arranged with an endless belt arranged in an ascending incline and with partition walls formed at a height below the standard height of the food blocks being conveyed and erected at regular intervals on the belt surface, a horizontal conveying belt section that is arranged with a belt body arranged horizontally below the inclined top of the inclined belt section so as to be perpendicular to the operating direction of the inclined belt section and with partition bodies erected at regular intervals on the belt surface, so that the food blocks are separated into individual pieces by the partition bodies and can be conveyed horizontally, and a terminal drop belt section that is arranged at the end of the horizontal conveying belt section and is further configured to drop and convey individual food blocks to the food block storage section by controlling the conveying speed of the horizontal conveying belt section.

In addition, controlling the conveying speed of the terminal drop belt section in comparison with that of the horizontal conveying belt section means that the conveying speed of the terminal drop belt section is faster than that of the horizontal conveying belt section, and this configuration also has its own characteristics.

Another feature is that the belt body is arranged horizontally and multiple horizontal conveying belt sections are arranged in parallel, with partitions erected on the surface separating the individual blocks of food material so that they can be conveyed horizontally. Each belt body is actuated to separate the clustered blocks of food material, allowing the individual blocks of food material to be dropped and discharged from multiple final drop belt sections.

According to the invention of claim 1, the device is composed of a storage case that stores a crowd of various irregularly shaped food blocks, an inclined belt section that is arranged in an ascending incline and has partition walls formed at a height below the standard height of the transported food blocks and erected at regular intervals on the belt surface, a horizontal conveying belt section that is arranged laterally perpendicular to the operating direction of the inclined belt section below the inclined top of the inclined belt section and has partitions erected at regular intervals on the belt surface, and is configured to separate the food blocks into individual pieces for horizontal conveyance by the partitions, and a final drop belt section that is arranged at the end of the horizontal conveying belt section and is further configured to drop and convey individual food blocks to the food block storage section by controlling the conveying speed of the horizontal conveying belt section. This has the effect of gradually separating the food blocks stored in large quantities in the storage case from the crowding state into individual pieces by the conveying operation of each belt section and dropping and discharging them as individual pieces from the final drop belt section, thereby making it possible to fill only the required number of pieces into the container.

Specifically, when food blocks are transported from the inclined belt section to the horizontal transport belt section, only those that are supported so that they are directly caught by the partition walls erected on the belt surface of the inclined belt section are transported, while those that are not supported roll downwards, so that food blocks that were in a crowded state can be transported in a horizontal line in the operating direction.

Next, the horizontal conveying belt section has its belt body arranged horizontally so as to be perpendicular to the operating direction of the inclined belt section of the previous process, so that the flow direction of the food blocks conveyed in a horizontal line on the inclined belt section can be changed by approximately 90 degrees, and they can be conveyed in a state where they are aligned in a front-to-back line in the operating direction.

According to the invention of claim 2, the conveying speed of the terminal drop belt section is set to be faster than that of the horizontal conveying belt section. This allows the distance between the food blocks that are closely aligned in a line to be increased when the food blocks are delivered to the terminal drop belt section, making it possible to separate the food blocks individually when they are dropped and discharged.

According to the present invention, by arranging a plurality of belts of the lateral conveying belt section and a plurality of terminal drop belt sections in parallel, the block of food material can be conveyed and discharged simultaneously by a plurality of lanes, thereby improving the conveying efficiency.

1 is a perspective view showing an entire individual separating and conveying device of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing details of the individual separating and conveying device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view showing each transport mechanism of the individual separating and transporting device of the present invention with various covers etc. removed. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing each transport mechanism of the individual separating and transporting device of the present invention with various covers etc. removed. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of the individual separation device of the present invention. 5A to 5C are schematic explanatory views showing the movement of block of food material on the inner wall and the block of food material supply belt section of the individual separating and conveying device of the present invention. 5A to 5C are schematic explanatory diagrams showing the movement of the block of food material on the inclined belt section of the individual separating and conveying device of the present invention. 5A to 5C are schematic explanatory diagrams showing the movement of the block of food material on the lateral conveying belt section and the terminal dropping belt section of the individual separating and conveying device of the present invention.

The gist of this invention is that it is composed of a storage case for storing a collection of various irregularly shaped food blocks, an inclined belt section comprising an endless belt arranged in an ascending incline and with partition walls formed at a height approximately below the standard height of the food blocks being transported and erected at regular intervals on the belt surface, a horizontal conveying belt section in which the belt body is arranged horizontally below the inclined top of the inclined belt section so as to be perpendicular to the operating direction of the inclined belt section and partitions are erected at regular intervals on the belt surface, so that the partitions separate the food blocks into individual pieces for horizontal transport, and a terminal drop belt section arranged at the end of the horizontal conveying belt section and further configured to drop and transport individual food blocks to the food block storage section by controlling the transport speed of the horizontal conveying belt section.

In addition, controlling the conveying speed of the terminal drop belt section in comparison with that of the horizontal conveying belt section means that the conveying speed of the terminal drop belt section is faster than that of the horizontal conveying belt section, and this configuration also has its own characteristics.

Another feature is that the belt body is arranged horizontally and multiple horizontal conveying belt sections are arranged in parallel, with partitions erected on the surface separating the individual blocks of food material so that they can be conveyed horizontally. Each belt body is actuated to separate the clustered blocks of food material, allowing the individual blocks of food material to be dropped and discharged from multiple final drop belt sections.

[1. Overall configuration of the individual separation and transport device]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an apparatus for individually separating and conveying block of food material according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.
Fig. 1 to Fig. 4 are diagrams for explaining the configuration of an individual separating and conveying device for block of food ingredients according to the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an overall view of the device, Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing the details of the main parts of the device for individual separating and conveying block of food ingredients, Fig. 3 is a perspective view with various cover members removed to expose the respective belt parts, and Fig. 4 is a plan view with various cover members removed to expose the respective belt parts. Fig. 7 is a schematic explanatory view showing the state of conveying block of food ingredients by each belt part.

As shown in FIG. 1, the individual separating and conveying device M for food blocks F according to the present invention is installed in parallel adjacent to the direction of flow of the belt conveyor C along which containers T such as lunch boxes are conveyed.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the main components of the individual separation and conveying device M are a storage case 1 that can store a large amount of food blocks F, such as fried chicken or meatballs, in a crowded state, an inclined belt section 2 that is arranged in an ascending incline and allows the food blocks F to be conveyed in a horizontal line in the flow direction, a horizontal conveying belt section 3 that is arranged perpendicular to the flow direction of the inclined belt section 2 and conveys the food blocks F conveyed in a horizontal line by the inclined belt section 2 in a front-to-back line, and a terminal drop belt section 4 that is arranged at the end so as to have the same flow direction as the horizontal conveying belt section 3, is set to a speed faster than the conveying speed of the horizontal conveying belt section 3, conveys the food blocks in a front-to-back line while maintaining a certain distance between them, and drops and conveys them individually to the container T or the food block storage section 63, which is the landing point of the food blocks F in the filling assistance mechanism 62 described later.

The above-mentioned components are integrally installed on a stand 61 as shown in FIG.
The stand 61 has all the components installed as a single unit on the top plate, and its lower space is divided into two, upper and lower. The first level from the bottom houses an electrical unit 64 which is responsible for the electrical control of the entire individual separation and conveying device M, and the second level houses an operation panel 65 which is used for actual operation and drive adjustment, including a power button, touch panel, and emergency stop button.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the storage case 1 for storing block of food material F is arranged parallel to the flow direction of the belt conveyor C that transports the container T, and has an approximately rectangular cylindrical appearance with an inner wall 11 that tapers downward.
In addition, a food block supply belt section 12 that rotates in a direction parallel to the flow direction of the belt conveyor C is arranged at the bottom of the storage case 1, and the wall surface located on the flow direction side of the belt main body 121 is provided with a supply port 13 that has a gap from the top surface of the belt main body 121 to a height approximately the same as the height of the food block F.

The food block supply belt section 12 comprises an endless belt main body 121 suspended between two pulleys 122, 122' provided at the conveying start and end sides of the food block supply belt section 12, and a plurality of conveying auxiliary bodies 123 erected on the surface of the belt main body 121 at predetermined intervals with a width approximately the same as that of the belt main body 121.
In addition, both or either one of the two pulleys 122 (122') is connected to a drive unit (not shown) within a drive unit cover 66 installed to the side of the storage case 1.

As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the inclined belt section 2 flows in the same direction as the food block supply belt section 12, has its starting end below the end of the food block supply belt section 12, and is arranged in an upward inclination with a portion overlapping.

The inclined belt section 2 is configured to include an endless belt body 21 suspended between two pulleys 22, 22' provided at the conveying start and end sides of the inclined belt section 2, a plurality of partition walls 23 erected at predetermined intervals on the surface of the belt body 21, left and right fall prevention walls 24, 24' erected on both side edges of the belt body 21, and a fall prevention wall 25 interposed between the left and right fall prevention walls 24, 24' at the start side of the belt body 21 and integrated with them.
Also, similar to the food block supply belt section 12, both or either one of the two pulleys 22, 22' is connected to a drive section (not shown) within a drive section cover 66 installed next to the storage case 1.

As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the horizontal conveying belt section 3 is located below the end of the inclined belt section 2 and is arranged horizontally with its flow direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the inclined belt section 2.

The horizontal conveying belt section 3 is configured to include two pulleys 32, 32' provided at two locations on the conveying start and end sides of the horizontal conveying belt section 3, a tension pulley 33 positioned below between the two pulleys 32, 32', and 33, an endless belt body 31 suspended on each of the pulleys 32, 32' and 33, a plurality of partitions 34 erected on the surface of the belt body 31 at predetermined intervals and with a width approximately the same as that of the belt body 31, and left and right fall prevention walls 35, 35' erected on the left and right edges of the belt body 31.
In addition, both or either one of the two pulleys 32, 32' provided at the start and end of the conveying is connected to a drive unit (not shown) within a drive unit cover 66 installed below the inclined belt section 2.

The horizontal transport belt section 3 may be configured to have a plurality of belt bodies 31 arranged in parallel, and in this embodiment, two belt bodies 31 are arranged in parallel to provide two transport lanes.
Of the two lanes arranged in parallel, the lane on the inclined belt section 2 side is referred to as a first lane 31a, and the other is referred to as a second lane 31b.

When arranging a plurality of belt bodies 31 in parallel, it is preferable that the belt bodies 31 are arranged in a step-like manner, that is, in a lower position from the first lane 31a to the second lane 31b as they move away from the inclined belt portion 2.
Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a plurality of, for example, rod-shaped distribution rods 36 that are bent at an angle in a dogleg shape above the first lane between the first lane 31a and the second lane 31b.

As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the terminal drop belt section 4 is arranged horizontally in the same flow direction as the horizontal conveying belt section 3 so as to be connected to the terminal end of the horizontal conveying belt section 3, and the terminal end of the terminal drop belt section 4 is arranged so as to be located above the belt conveyor C.
The terminal drop belt section 4 is controlled in comparison with the conveying speed of the lateral conveying belt section 3 and is set to a conveying speed faster than the conveying speed of the lateral conveying belt section 3 .

The terminal drop belt section 4 is configured to include an endless belt body 41 suspended on two pulleys 42, 42' and 43, the two pulleys 42, 42' being provided at two locations on the conveying start and end sides of the terminal drop belt section 4, and a tension pulley 43 being positioned below between the two pulleys 42, 42', the multiple partitions 44 erected on the surface of the belt body 41 at predetermined intervals and with a width approximately the same as that of the belt body 41, left and right drop prevention walls 45 erected on the left and right edges of the belt body 41, and a filling auxiliary wall 46 installed at the end of the belt body 41.
In addition, both or either one of the two pulleys 42, 42' provided at the start and end of the conveying is connected to a drive unit (not shown) within a drive unit cover 66 installed below the inclined belt section 2.

When multiple belt bodies 31 of the horizontal conveyor belt section 3 are arranged in parallel, the terminal drop belt section 4 is increased in number to correspond to the number of lanes. In this embodiment, the horizontal conveyor belt section 3 has two lanes, a first lane 31a and a second lane 31b, so the terminal drop belt section 4 is also configured with two lanes.

In this embodiment, a filling assist mechanism 62 is provided below the end of the final drop belt section 4 to assist in placing the block of food F in the container T.
This filling assist mechanism 62 is configured with an assisting cylinder having a tapered shape with a narrow tip that can freely move up and down between the final falling belt section 4 and the container T, and descends toward the container T as the block of food F falls, thereby enabling accurate plating and preventing the block of food from rolling off due to the impact of the fall.
However, the filling assist mechanism 62 may simply be a cylindrical guide member that does not reciprocate, and since the end of the terminal drop belt portion 4 is directly above the container T, this is not an essential component.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, this embodiment includes a supply instruction detection unit 51, a leading distance detection unit 52, and a falling number detection unit 53 for controlling the operation of each of the components described above.

The supply instruction detection unit 51 is disposed above the starting end side of the lateral transport belt unit 3 .
The supply instruction detection unit 51 irradiates a laser from the starting end to the terminal end of the horizontal transport belt unit 3 , i.e., toward the block of food F being transported on the belt body 31 .
The distance from the laser reflected by the block of food F to the block of food F, i.e., the rearmost block of food F in a line conveyed by the horizontal conveyor belt section 3, is calculated.

If the calculated distance is greater than a predetermined distance, an instruction to operate is sent to the food block supply belt section 12 and the inclined belt section 2, and the food block F is supplied to the horizontal conveyor belt section 3.

The leading distance detection unit 52 is disposed above the end of the terminal falling belt portion 4 .
The leading distance detection unit 52 irradiates a laser from the trailing end side to the starting end side of the final drop belt unit 4 , i.e., toward the block of food F being transported on the horizontal transport belt unit 3 .
The distance from the laser reflected by the block of food F to the block of food F, that is, the distance to the block of food F at the leading position in the front-to-back line conveyed by the horizontal conveyor belt section 3, is calculated.

The system determines whether the calculated distance is closer between the block of food F on the first lane 31a or the block of food F on the second lane 31b, and operates only the lane that is closer to the required number of block of food F to be placed in the container T, and drops and transports the last block of food F.

The falling number detection unit 53 is installed above the end of the final falling belt unit 4 .
The falling number detection unit 53 irradiates a laser from above the end of the final falling belt portion 4 downward.
In this way, the laser irradiated when the block of food material F is dropped and conveyed from the final drop belt section 4 to the block of food material storage section 63 is temporarily blocked, and the number of block of food material F that has actually been dropped and conveyed is calculated.

By calculating the number of pieces, the required number of pieces are dropped and transported reliably, and at the same time, an instruction is given to the leading distance detection unit 52 described above to determine the last piece.
[2. Transport procedure of the individual separation transport device]
Next, the transport procedure of the individual separating and transporting device will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Fig. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the individual separating device for food blocks according to the present invention. Also, Figs. 6 to 8 are schematic diagrams illustrating the movement of the food block at each belt section, with Fig. 6 showing the movement of the food block at the inner wall and the food block supply mechanism, Fig. 7 showing the movement of the food block at the inclined belt section, and Fig. 8 showing the movement of the food block at the horizontal conveyor belt section and the final drop belt section.

As shown in FIG. 5, the movement of the individual separation and conveying device M of the present invention for conveying the block of food F to the container T mainly consists of a storage and supply step S1 in which the block of food F is stored and supplied to the inclined belt section 2, an inclined conveying step S2 in which the block of food F is conveyed to the horizontal conveying belt section 3 by the inclined belt section 2, a horizontal conveying step S3 in which the block of food F is conveyed to the terminal drop belt section 4 by the horizontal conveying belt section 3, and a drop-in step S4 in which the terminal drop belt section 4 drops the block of food F into the container T.

The storage and supply step S1 is a step in which an operator puts food blocks F into a storage case 1, where the food blocks F are stored and supplied to the inclined belt section 2, which is the next transport step, and consists of a food block storage step S1-1 in which the food blocks F are stored in a clustered state and a food block discharge step S1-2 in which the food blocks F are supplied to the inclined belt section 2.
The speed of the block of food material supplying belt section 12, which supplies the block of food material F to the inclined belt section 2, in the block of food material discharge step S1-2 is defined as T1.

The block of food material storing step S1-1 is a step in which a large number of blocks of food material F are put in by an operator through the upper opening of the storage case 1 and stored in a clustered state.
At this time, the storage state of the food block F in the storage case 1 is as shown in Figure 6 (a), and the large amount of food block F that is introduced is stored in a clustered state by being accumulated at approximately the center of the food block supply belt section 12 due to the tapered inner wall 11 of the storage case 1.

The block of food material discharge step S1-2 is a step in which the block of food material F stored in a clustered state in the block of food material storage step S1-1 is supplied to the inclined belt section 2, which is the next process.
As shown in FIG. 6, the block of food material is conveyed by the block of food material supply belt section 12 toward a supply port 13 provided for discharge onto the inclined belt section 2 .

As shown in FIG. 6(b), the supply port 13 is approximately the same height as the block of food F, so that when the block of food F is discharged, the block of food F piled up in a cluster is prevented from being discharged by the inner wall 11 at the top of the supply port 13.
In other words, when actually discharging, the food ingredients F are not discharged in a stacked state, and the number of food ingredients F supplied to the inclined belt section 2 at one time is limited, so that a large amount of food ingredients F is not supplied onto the inclined belt section 2 at one time.

The inclined conveying step S2 comprises a food block receiving step S2-1 for receiving food block F supplied from the storage case 1, a horizontal line conveying step S2-2 for conveying the food block F in a horizontal line by the upwardly inclined belt main body 21, and a food block dropping and discharging step S2-3 for dropping and discharging the food block F from the end of the belt main body 21 toward the horizontal conveying belt section 3 for the next process.
The speed of the inclined belt section 2 in the horizontal single file conveying step S2-2, in which the block of food material F falls and is conveyed onto the horizontal conveying belt section 3, is defined as T2.

The block of food material receiving step S2-1 is a step for receiving the block of food material F discharged from the supply port 13 in the supply belt discharge step S1-2.
The received block of food material F is received at the starting end side of the belt body 21 constituting the inclined belt section 2, i.e., at the foot of the upward incline, and is temporarily held there.

The horizontal single file conveying step S2-2 is a step in which the inclined belt section 2 conveys the block of food material F toward the top of the upward incline, which is the discharge position.
The block of food material F transported up the inclined surface is transported in a horizontal line in the flow direction near the top of the upward incline.

When the inclined belt section 2 first receives the block of food material F from the block of food material supplying belt section 12, the block of food material F is held in a layered state at the bottom portion of the belt body 21 which is in an upward inclination.
Although the food blocks F start being conveyed in a stacked state, because the belt body 21 is in an upwardly inclined state, among the stacked food blocks F, those that exceed the height of the partition wall 23 are left behind at the foot of the upward incline without any support.

The partition wall 23 is erected on the surface of the belt body 21 and has a height equal to or less than the height of approximately one block of food F.
Therefore, at the beginning of the transport on the inclined belt section 2, the block of food F is divided into those that are directly supported by the partition wall 23 and those that are indirectly supported by the directly supported block of food F, as shown in Figure 7 (a).

In the middle of the conveying process of the inclined belt section 2, as shown in FIG. 7(b), a force in the X direction, which is the conveying direction, and a force in the Y direction due to vibration of the belt main body 21 when it is driven act, and the two forces are converted into a force that tends to move in the Z direction.
The block of food F, affected by this force in the Z direction, undergoes a slight rotational motion in the clockwise direction.

Therefore, the block of food F directly supported by the partition wall 23 rotates clockwise on the spot while being transported, but the block of food F indirectly supported by the block of food F directly supported by the partition wall 23 is also influenced by the rotation of the block of food F directly supported by the partition wall 23, and its rotational motion becomes so intense that it cannot withstand the indirect support and rolls off.

As described above, in the inclined belt section 2, the food blocks F other than those directly supported by the partition wall 23 roll down to the foot of the upward slope, so that the food blocks F are aligned horizontally in the flow direction from the middle to the top of the upward slope.

The block of food material dropping and discharging step S2-3 is a step in which the block of food material F, which has been arranged in a single horizontal line in the flow direction by the single horizontal line conveying step S2-2, is dropped from the top of the incline and delivered to the horizontal conveying belt section 3.
The horizontal conveying belt section 3 is located below the terminal end of the inclined belt section 2, and therefore transfers the block of food material F by dropping it from the top of the inclined belt section 2.

The horizontal conveying step S3 is made up of a block of food receiving step S3-1 in which the flow direction of the block of food F that has fallen from the inclined belt section 2 is changed and received, a front-rear single-file conveying step S3-2 in which the block of food F is conveyed horizontally, and a block of food transferring step S3-3 in which the block of food F is transferred to the final falling belt section 4.

The block of food material receiving step S3-1 is a step for receiving the block of food material F discharged from the top of the upward inclination of the inclined belt section 2.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the horizontal transport belt section 3 is disposed below the terminal end of the inclined belt section 2 in a direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the inclined belt section 2.

Therefore, the block of food material F, which is transported by the inclined belt section 2 in a single horizontal line relative to the flow direction, changes its flow direction by 90 degrees.
In other words, whereas the inclined belt section 2 transports the materials in a horizontal line in the flow direction, the horizontal transport belt section 3 changes the transport direction horizontally, so that the materials are transported in a front-to-back line.

In this embodiment, the horizontal conveyor belt section 3 is configured with two conveying lanes, so the drop distance is increased to allow the food block F to easily reach both the first lane 31a and the second lane 31b. However, if there is only one conveying lane, the drop distance can be shortened to allow the food block F to be received from the inclined belt section 2 without disrupting the row.

The front-to-back single-file conveying step S3-2 is a step for conveying the block of food F, which has been placed in a front-to-back single-file state by the block of food receiving step S3-1, sideways.
Here, horizontal means horizontal to the flow direction of the inclined belt section 2. As described above, the horizontal conveying belt section 3 is arranged perpendicular to the flow direction of the inclined belt section 2, and the flow direction is changed by 90 degrees to enable horizontal conveying.

The width of the belt body 31 of the horizontal conveyor belt section 3 is approximately the same as the width of the food block F, so that the food blocks are transported one by one in the flow direction.

The block of food material delivery step S3-3 is a step in which the block of food material F, which has been arranged in a single row in the flow direction by the single row transport step S3-2, is delivered from the end of the horizontal transport belt section 3 to the terminal drop belt section 4.
The terminal drop belt section 4 is disposed at the terminal end of the horizontal transport belt section 3, and the block of food F transported to the terminal end is transferred one by one to the terminal drop belt section for delivery.

The speed of the horizontal conveyor belt unit 3 that forms the operational configuration of each step of the above-mentioned food block receiving step S3-1, horizontal line conveying step S3-2, and food block delivery step S3-3 is T3.

The final drop step S4 is made up of a food block receiving step S4-1 in which the food block F conveyed from the horizontal conveyor belt section 3 is received in a single piece by controlling the belt speed, an individual conveying step S4-2 in which the food block F is conveyed individually, and a food block input step S4-3 in which the food block F is input into the container T.

The block of food material receiving step S4-1 is a step in which the block of food material F is received from the horizontal transport belt section 3.
As shown in FIG. 8, the terminal drop belt section 4 is disposed at the terminal end of the horizontal transport belt section 3, and further, the transport speed is controlled to be faster than that of the horizontal transport belt section 3.
In this embodiment, the conveyor belt 3 is disposed slightly below the conveyor belt 3 .

Therefore, the block of food material F transported by the horizontal conveying belt section 3 in a single file in the flow direction is transported at a speed faster than that of the horizontal conveying belt section 3 when it moves onto the final drop belt section 4, so that the gap between the block of food material F and the following block of food material F becomes wider, and the block of food material F is individually separated while forming a line.
In other words, the speed control of the final drop belt section 4 is configured to increase the distance between the multiple blocks of food material F that are transported in a line from front to back and in close contact with each other on the lateral transport belt section 3 .

In addition, by arranging the final drop belt section 4 slightly below the horizontal conveyor belt section 3, if the food blocks F pile up as they fall from the inclined belt section 2 to the horizontal conveyor belt section 3, not only can the speed be controlled but the stepped arrangement also makes it easier to separate them individually.

The individual conveying step S4-2 is a step in which the block of food material F that has been individually separated in the block of food material receiving step S4-1 is conveyed in a single unit state.
That is, in the food block receiving step S4-1, the speed of the horizontal conveying belt section 3 is controlled to widen the front-to-back distance between multiple food blocks F transported in a single line, thereby separating them individually, and the individually separated food blocks F are transported as individual pieces.
The speed of each belt portion in the individual conveying step S4-2 and the final dropping step S4-3 is set to T4.

The block of food material introduction step S4-3 is a step in which the block of food material F conveyed individually in the individual conveying step S4-2 is introduced into the container T from the terminal end of the final falling belt section 4.
The end of the final drop belt section 4 is located above the block of food material storage section 63 of the container T, and the block of food material is dropped from the end of the final drop belt section 4 into the container T.

In addition, by transporting and dropping the food blocks F as individual pieces in the final drop step S4, the number of pieces can be detected reliably by the drop number detection unit 53, making it possible to feed only the required number of pieces.

By setting the speeds T3 and T4 in each of the above-mentioned steps so that the speed T4 is faster, the front-to-back spacing between multiple blocks of food F transported in a single file can be widened due to the relative speed change between the block of food transfer step S3-3 and the block of food receiving step S4-1, allowing the blocks of food F to be individually separated.
As a result, the block of food F can be transported individually and finally dropped and served one by one at a predetermined position or location, for example, a portion of a lunch box where side dishes are served.

Furthermore, it is desirable that the speeds T1 and T2 are basically the same, and the relationship between the speeds T3 and T4 is not particularly limited.
However, since the food block supply belt section 12 and the inclined belt section 2 are configured to operate intermittently upon instructions from the supply instruction detection section 51, if the speed is too fast, there is a risk that new food block F will be supplied on top of food block F that has not yet flowed when the food block F is transported by the lateral conveying belt section 3, and if the speed is too slow, there is a risk that the feeding of food block F from the terminal drop belt section 4 into the container T will be interrupted, stopping the flow of the belt conveyor C transporting the container T.
Therefore, it is desirable to adjust the speeds T1 and T2 within a range that does not cause excessive supply to the lateral transport belt section 3 and does not stop the flow of the belt conveyor C.

The various effects described above are merely a list of the most favorable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described in the present examples.

Description of the Reference Numerals M: food block separating and conveying device T: container C: belt conveyor F: food block 1: storage case 11: inner wall 12: food block supply belt section 121: belt body 122, 122': pulley 123: conveying auxiliary body 13: supply port 2: inclined belt section 21: belt body 22, 22': pulley 23: partition wall 24, 24': left and right fall prevention walls 25: fall prevention wall 3: horizontal conveying belt section 31: belt body 31a: first lane 31b: second lane 32, 32': pulley 33: tension pulley 34: partition body 35, 35': left and right fall prevention walls 36: sorting rod 4: final fall belt section 41: belt body 42, 42': pulley 43: tension pulley 44: partition body 45, 45' Left and right fall prevention walls 46 Filling auxiliary wall 51 Supply instruction detection section 52 Leading distance detection section 53 Falling number detection section 61 Stand 62 Filling auxiliary mechanism 63 Food block storage section 64 Electrical section 65 Operation panel 66 Drive section cover S1 Storage and supply step S1-1 Food block storage step S1-2 Food block discharge step S2 Inclined conveying step S2-1 Food block receiving step S2-2 Inclined conveying step S2-3 Food block falling and discharging step S3 Horizontal conveying step S3-1 Food block receiving step S3-2 Front and rear single file conveying step S3-3 Food block delivery step S4 Terminal fall step S4-1 Food block delivery step S4-2 Individual conveying step S4-3 Food block input step

Claims (2)

A storage case for storing the food chunks;
an inclined belt section including an endless belt arranged in an upward inclination and having partition walls at regular intervals on the belt surface, the partition walls being formed at a height substantially equal to or less than the standard height of the conveyed block of food;
a horizontal conveying belt section in which a belt body is disposed horizontally below the inclined top of the inclined belt section so as to be perpendicular to the operating direction of the inclined belt section, and partition bodies are erected at regular intervals on the belt surface, so that the partition bodies can separate the block of food into individual blocks and convey them horizontally;
a terminal drop belt section disposed at the end of the horizontal conveying belt section and configured to drop and convey a single block of food material to the block of food material storage section by controlling the conveying speed of the horizontal conveying belt section;
Equipped with
The device for individually separating and conveying block of food material is characterized in that a plurality of horizontal conveying belt sections are arranged in parallel, and each belt body is configured to allow the block of food material to be dropped and discharged from a plurality of final dropping belt sections in a single state . The individual separation and conveying device for food blocks described in claim 1, characterized in that the conveying speed of the terminal drop belt section is controlled in comparison with the conveying speed of the horizontal conveying belt section by making the conveying speed of the terminal drop belt section faster than that of the horizontal conveying belt section.

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