JP7616657B2 - Packaging Equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a packaging device that packages agricultural produce in a packaging sheet.

Conventionally, for example, a packaging device as described in Patent Document 1 below is known.

This conventional packaging device is equipped with a support body for supporting the crops, and front and rear holding arms that hold the crops supported by the support body. The front and rear holding arms have cushioning material such as rubber sponge attached to their upper ends that perform the holding function, and are biased to swing in the holding direction by torsion springs fitted to the front and rear support shafts.

JP 2012-25426 A

However, in the conventional packaging devices described above, the positional relationship between the support and the holder is fixed, so there is a risk that they may not be able to handle agricultural products of different sizes or numbers, for example.

The present invention has been developed in consideration of these points, and aims to provide a packaging device that can appropriately handle agricultural products.

The packaging device according to the present invention is a packaging device that packages agricultural produce in a packaging sheet, and includes a support that supports the agricultural produce and a holder that holds the agricultural produce supported by the support, and at least one of the support and the holder can be raised and lowered relative to the other.

The packaging device according to the present invention is a packaging device that packages agricultural products in a packaging sheet, and includes a support that supports the agricultural products, a holder that holds the agricultural products supported by the support, and a lifting drive means that raises and lowers at least one of the support and the holder relative to the other.

Furthermore, the packaging device according to the present invention is a packaging device for packaging agricultural products in a packaging sheet, and includes a first lifting body, a second lifting body mounted on the first lifting body so as to be able to rise and fall, a support mounted on the second lifting body and supporting the agricultural product, a holder mounted on the first lifting body and holding the agricultural product supported by the support, and a lifting drive means for raising and lowering the support relative to the holder by raising and lowering the second lifting body relative to the first lifting body.

The present invention allows for appropriate handling of agricultural crops.

1 is a front perspective view of a packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the packaging device (with the first lifting body in the raised position). FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the packaging device (with the first lifting body in the lowered position). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first lifting and lowering drive means of the packaging device. (a) is a rear view of the main parts of the packaging device (when the second lifting body is in a lower position), and (b) is a rear view of the main parts of the packaging device (when the second lifting body is in an upper position). FIG. FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the packaging device. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram continuing from FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. 12. 14A is an explanatory diagram continuing from FIG. 13, and FIG. 14B is an explanatory diagram of a comparative example. 13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams for the case where the size of the crop is small. 13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams for the case where the size of the crop is large. 13A is an explanatory diagram for a case where the number of agricultural products is large, and FIG. 13B is an explanatory diagram for a case where the number of agricultural products is small.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 16.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a packaging device, which is a lettuce packaging machine (vegetable packaging machine) that uses, for example, a rectangular packaging sheet S of a specified dimension to package a spherical agricultural product W, such as lettuce.

In other words, the packaging device 1 packages agricultural produce W that is manually supplied to the inside from the supply port 2 by an operator in a packaging sheet S, and then discharges the packaged agricultural produce W to the outside from the discharge port 3.

The packaging sheet S that encases and covers the entire outer surface of the agricultural produce (packaged item) W to be packaged is a transparent sheet (film) made of synthetic resin, obtained, for example, by cutting a sheet roll (not shown) to a specified size. The sheet roll is a long continuous sheet wound into a roll and is placed on the roll setting table 4.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the packaging device 1 has a box-shaped device body 11 with an approximately rectangular parallelepiped outer shape.

A rectangular upper supply opening 13 is formed on the upper plate 12 of the device body 11. A horizontal support plate 14 is provided below the upper plate 12 to support the unfolded packaging sheet S in a resting state. A circular lower supply opening 15 is formed on the support plate 14 facing the upper supply opening 13, and a part (the part on the outer periphery) of the lower supply opening 15 is covered in an openable and closable manner by a plurality of elastic resin plates 16 that can be elastically deformed. The upper supply opening 13 and the lower supply opening 15 form a supply opening 2 through which an operator manually supplies agricultural products W from above into the device body 11.

A rectangular discharge outlet 3 is formed on the rear plate 18 of the device body 11. From this discharge outlet 3, the packaged agricultural produce W wrapped in the packaging sheet S is discharged outside the device body 11. The agricultural produce W discharged from the discharge outlet 3 is transported to the next process by a transport means such as a conveyor. Also, for example, the agricultural produce W discharged from the discharge outlet 3 may be stored in a container.

A rectangular surplus portion discharge outlet 20 is formed on the right plate 19 of the device body 11. The surplus portion S1 of the packaging sheet S is discharged from this surplus portion discharge outlet 20 to the outside of the device body 11.

The device body 11 is provided with, for example, a manual operation switch 21 and a setting panel 22. The manual operation switch 21 has a number of operation parts that are operated by an operator, one of which is an operation part 23 for adjusting the vertical position that is operated by the operator when adjusting the vertical position (vertical position) of the support 33 relative to the holder 34 according to the crops W, i.e., for example, according to the size and number of the crops.

The setting panel 22 also has a number of operation units operated by the worker, one of which is a mode switching operation unit 24 operated by the worker when switching the mode related to the holder 34. In other words, by operating the mode switching operation unit 24, the worker can selectively switch between a holder use mode (single packaging mode) in which the holder 34 is activated to hold the crop (single crop) W on the support 33, and a holder non-use mode (multiple packaging mode) in which the holder 34 is not activated and does not hold the crop (multiple crops) W on the support 33.

As shown in FIG. 3, the packaging device 1 also includes a receiving section 25 that receives the agricultural produce W from the supply port 2 via the packaging sheet S and sends the packaged agricultural produce W to the discharge port 3, and a sliding section 26 that slides toward the unpackaged agricultural produce W received by the receiving section 25 to perform a predetermined process such as thermal welding.

The packaging device 1 further includes an air injection unit 27 that injects compressed air onto the excess portion S1 of the packaging sheet S so that the excess portion S1 is discharged from the excess portion discharge port 20, a sheet pull-out unit 28 that pulls out the continuous sheet from the sheet roll onto the support plate 14, and a sheet cutting unit 29 that cuts the continuous sheet pulled out by the sheet pull-out unit 28 to obtain a packaging sheet S of a specified size.

As shown in Figs. 4 to 9, the receiving section 25 includes a guide body 30 erected on the bottom 17 of the device body 11, a first lifting body 31 that can be raised and lowered and is guided by the guide body 30, a second lifting body 32 that can be raised and lowered on the first lifting body 31, a support body 33 that is rotatably mounted on the second lifting body 32 around a left-right central axis of rotation (rotation fulcrum) L1 and supports the underside of the crop W in a placed state from below via the packaging sheet S, and a pair of left and right holding bodies (clamping bodies) 34 that are rotatably mounted on the first lifting body 31 around a front-rear central axis of rotation (rotation fulcrum) L2 and hold (clamp) the left and right sides of the crop W supported by the support body 33 from both left and right sides via the packaging sheet S.

The receiving section 25 also includes a first lifting and lowering drive means 36 for raising and lowering the first lifting body 31 relative to the guide body 30, a second lifting and lowering drive means 37 for raising and lowering the second lifting body 32 relative to the first lifting and lowering body 31, a first rotation drive means 38 for rotating the support body 33 about the rotation center axis L1 relative to the second lifting and lowering body 32, and a second rotation drive means 39 for rotating (opening and closing) the left and right holding bodies 34 about the rotation center axis L2 relative to the first lifting and lowering body 31.

The guide body 30 that guides the first lifting body 31 in the up-down direction has a first guide member 51 that is elongated in the up-down direction and has a round bar shape that guides the cylindrical portion 41 of the first lifting body 31, and a second guide member 52 that is elongated in the up-down direction and has a U-shaped frame shape that guides the roller portion 42 of the first lifting body 31.

The first lifting drive means 36 has a motor (drive source) 55 and an endless chain 56 that rotates based on the power from the motor 55. The chain 56 is stretched over upper and lower sprockets 57 that face each other at a distance, and the tension of the chain 56 can be adjusted by a tension adjustment means 58. The tension adjustment means 58 has a tightener 60 that can rotate around a support shaft 59, and the lower sprocket 57 is attached to the tip of the tightener 60. A connecting rod 61 is connected to the base end of the tightener 60, and this connecting rod 61 is biased upward by an adjustment spring 62. In addition, an attachment plate 63 is attached midway along the chain 56, and the attachment part 43 of the first lifting body 31 is attached to this attachment plate 63.

The first lifting body 31 is raised to a raised position relative to the guide body 30 by the rotation of the chain 56 in one direction based on the power from the motor 55 (see Figure 4), and is lowered to a lowered position relative to the guide body 30 according to the size (height) of the crop W by the rotation of the chain in the other direction based on the power from the motor 55 (see Figure 5).

Here, the raised position is a fixed position that is determined in advance, regardless of the size of the crop W. On the other hand, the lowered position is an arbitrary position (a corresponding lowered position corresponding to the size of the crop) that is determined according to the size of the crop W. That is, for example, the control means 50 determines the lowered position according to the size of the crop W based on information from a sensor (not shown), which is a detection means for detecting the crop W. The control means 50 controls each driving source (motor, air cylinder, etc.) based on information from sensors, switches, etc.

As shown in FIG. 7 etc., the second lifting body 32 has a plurality of guided parts 65 that can be raised and lowered and are guided by a plurality of guiding parts 44 (e.g., two on the left and right) of the first lifting body 31, and the upper ends of these rod-shaped guided parts 65 that are elongated in the vertical direction are attached to a horizontal base plate part 66.

The second lifting body 32 has a U-shaped frame 67 that can move up and down relative to the base plate 66, and the support 33 is attached to the U-shaped frame 67 so that it can rotate about the central axis of rotation L1. The U-shaped frame 67 is elastically supported by a buffer spring 68, which is a buffer means for absorbing the impact on the crops W when the crops W are placed on the support 33 (when the crops are set on the support), and a guide pin 69 on the inside of the buffer spring 68 is slidably inserted into a cylindrical buffer guide 70.

The second lifting and lowering drive means 37 has a lifting and lowering cylinder (drive source) 71, which is an expandable and contractible fluid pressure cylinder. In other words, the second lifting and lowering drive means 37 is composed only of the lifting and lowering cylinder 71. The lifting and lowering cylinder 71 has a cylinder body 72 attached to the first lifting and lowering body 31, and a rod 73 that moves in and out of the cylinder body 72. The tip of the rod 73 is attached to the base plate portion 66 of the second lifting and lowering body 32.

The second lifting body 32 is lowered to a lower position relative to the first lifting body 31 by the contraction of the lifting cylinder 71 (see FIG. 7(a)), and is raised to an upper position relative to the first lifting body 31 by the extension of the lifting cylinder 71 (see FIG. 7(b)).

In other words, in the packaging device 1, at least one of the support body 33 and the holder 34, i.e., for example, the support body 33, can be raised and lowered relative to the other holder 34 so that the packaging device 1 can handle crops W of different sizes.

As shown in FIG. 7(a), in the case of a large crop W (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "WB"), that is, when the size of a single crop W supported by the support portion 91 is large, the second lifting body 32 supporting the support body 33 is set to a lower position by the lifting cylinder 71 of the second lifting drive means 37. In other words, when supporting a large crop WB, the support body 33 is lowered relative to the holder 34 by the contraction action of the lifting cylinder 71 and set to a lower position.

Also, as shown in FIG. 7(b), in the case of a small crop W (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "WS") that is a crop different in size from the first crop, that is, when the size of one crop W supported by the support portion 91 is small, the second lifting body 32 supporting the support body 33 is set to the upper position by the lifting cylinder 71 of the second lifting drive means 37. In other words, when supporting a smaller crop WS, the support body 33 is raised relative to the holder 34 by the extension action of the lifting cylinder 71 and set to the upper position.

In this way, in the packaging device 1, the support 33 can be raised and lowered between an upper position and a lower position relative to the holding body 34 so as to accommodate crops W of different sizes. In other words, the vertical position of the support 33 (the vertical position of the second lifting body on which the support is provided) can be adjusted according to the crop W. The vertical position of the support 33 relative to the holding body 34 can be switched by operating the operating part 23 of the manual operation switch 21, for example.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the holding body (clamping body) 34 can be opened (not clamping the crop) or closed (clamping the crop from both sides) by rotating about the central axis L2 of rotation relative to the first lifting body 31.

In other words, the pair of holders 34 are closed by synchronous movement (closing operation) toward each other based on rotation about the central axis L2, and are open by synchronous movement (opening operation) away from each other based on rotation about the central axis L2. Note that the holders 34 operate (actuate) only in the holder use mode.

The holder 34 has an L-shaped arm 76 that is rotatably mounted on the first lifting body 31 around the central axis of rotation L2, a holder 77 that is provided at the tip of the upper end of the arm 76 and that contacts the side of the crop W via the packaging sheet S when the holder 34 is closed to hold the side, and a roller 78 that is provided at the base end of the lower end of the arm 76 and that contacts the roller contact plate 85 of the second rotation drive means 39 when the holder 34 is open.

The holding portion 77 is composed of, for example, a rectangular holding plate 79 and a cushioning material 80 such as a sponge attached to the holding plate 79 so as to cover the surface of the holding plate 79 (at least the surface that comes into contact with the crop via the packaging sheet).

The second rotation drive means 39 has an opening/closing cylinder (drive source) 81, which is an expandable and contractible fluid pressure cylinder. The opening/closing cylinder 81 has a cylinder body 82 attached to the first lifting body 31, and a rod 83 that moves in and out of the cylinder body 82. A roller contact plate 85 is attached to the tip of the rod 83, which lifts the roller part 78 against the biasing force of a closing spring 84, which is a biasing means. The roller contact plate 85 moves up and down while being guided by a guide pin 86 that extends in the vertical direction.

The closing spring 84 for closing the holding body 34 is installed between the first lifting body 31 and the holding body 34. That is, one end of the closing spring 84 is attached to the spring mounting portion 45 of the first lifting body 31, and the other end is attached to the spring mounting portion 46 of the holding body 34.

Then, the holding body 34 rotates about the central axis L2 relative to the first lifting body 31 as the opening/closing cylinder 81 extends to an open state (see FIG. 4), and receives a biasing force (elastic restoring force) from the closing spring 84 as the opening/closing cylinder 81 contracts to cause the holding body 34 to rotate about the central axis L2 relative to the first lifting body 31 based on this biasing force to a closed state (see FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 5, when the holding body 34 is switched from the open state to the closed state, the crops W on the support body 33 are clamped from both the left and right sides by the holding portions (clamping portions) 77 of both holding bodies 34 based on the biasing force of the closing spring 84.

As shown in FIG. 8 etc., the support body (mounting body) 33 is placed in a first state (a supporting state in which the agricultural products are supported from below) and a second state (a sending state in which the agricultural products are sent to the side) by rotating about the central axis L1 of rotation relative to the second lifting body 32.

In other words, the support 33 is placed in a horizontal first state (a state in which agricultural products are placed) by rotating in one direction (forward) about the central axis L1, and is placed in a tilted second state (a state in which agricultural products are discharged) by rotating in the other direction (rearward) about the central axis L1. The rotation angle θ of the support 33 is an angle less than 90 degrees, for example 60 degrees.

In the first state of the support 33, the support 33 supports the underside of the crop W from below in a placed state via the packaging sheet S, but in the second state of the support 33, it has a dish-shaped support part 91 that sends the crop W rearward (sideways) by its own weight, and a downwardly protruding attachment part 92 that protrudes downward from the support part 91. In other words, the support 33 has the attachment part 92 that is attached to the second lifting body 32 so as to be rotatable around the rotation center axis L1, and the support part 91 that is detachably attached to the upper part of the attachment part 92 and supports the underside of the crop W.

The mounting portion 92 has a mounting plate 94 that is detachably attached to the underside of the support portion 91 by a mounting fixture 93. A pair of opposing left and right plates 95 that face each other at a distance protrude downward from both ends of the mounting plate 94. A cylindrical insertion tube 96 that extends in the left-right direction is provided in the center of the front-rear direction of both opposing plates 95.

Then, a bolt 97 is inserted into the insertion tube 96, and a nut 98 is screwed onto the bolt 97, so that the mounting part 92 is attached to the U-shaped frame part 67 of the second lifting body 32 so as to be rotatable about the central axis of rotation L1. The line passing through the axis of the shaft part of this bolt 97 is the central axis of rotation L1.

The tip of the rod 123 of the rotating cylinder 121 is rotatably attached to the front ends of both opposing plates 95 of the mounting portion 92 via mounting means 100. The mounting means 100 is composed of, for example, a bolt 101, a nut 102, and a spacer 103.

The support section 91 supports the crops W from below when the support 33 is in the first state, and sends the crops W rearward when the support 33 is in the second state. It is composed of a dish-shaped support plate (receiving tray) 105 that is cross-shaped when viewed from above, and a cushioning material 106 such as sponge attached to the support plate 105 so as to cover the surface of the support plate 105 (at least the surface that comes into contact with the crops via the packaging sheet). The support plate 105 is removably attached to the upper surface of the attachment plate 94 by attachment fixtures 93.

Here, the support portion 91 is, for example, cross-shaped when viewed from above, and has a rectangular plate-shaped central support portion 107 that supports the center of the underside of the crop W via the packaging sheet S, and rectangular plate-shaped peripheral support portions 108a, 108b that protrude diagonally upward from the four ends (outer edges) of the central support portion 107 on the front, back, left and right sides and support the four peripheral portions of the underside of the crop W located around the center via the packaging sheet S.

The pair of front and rear peripheral support parts 108a are formed larger than the pair of left and right peripheral support parts 108b. The pair of front and rear peripheral support parts 108a are composed of an inclined portion 109 that is inclined relative to the central support part 107, and a tip portion 110 that is parallel to the central support part 107. The pair of left and right peripheral support parts 108b are composed only of an inclined portion 111 that is inclined relative to the central support part 107. As shown in FIG. 8, in the first state of the support body 33, the central support part 107 is positioned along a horizontal plane. On the other hand, in the second state of the support body 33, the inclined portion 109 of the front peripheral support part 108a is positioned along a vertical plane.

The first rotation drive means 38 has a rotation cylinder (drive source) 121, which is an expandable and contractible fluid pressure cylinder. In other words, the first rotation drive means 38 is composed only of the rotation cylinder 121. The rotation cylinder 121 has a cylinder body 122 attached to a cylinder mounting portion 124 of the second lifting body 32, and a rod 123 that moves in and out of the cylinder body 122. The tip of the rod 123 is attached to the mounting portion 92 of the support body 33 via the mounting means 100.

The support 33 rotates about the central axis L1 relative to the second lifting body 32 as the rotating cylinder 121 contracts, entering a first state (support state), and rotates about the central axis L1 relative to the second lifting body 32 as the rotating cylinder 121 expands, entering a second state (sending state).

As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 8, when the support 33 rotates about the central axis of rotation L1 located at a predetermined height to switch from the first state to the second state, the crops W on the support 33 are sent (discharged) onto the conveying section 127 of the conveyor 126, and then the crops W are conveyed by the inclined conveying section 127 toward the discharge port 3.

The transport section 127 of the transport body 126, which receives the agricultural products W from the support 33 and transports them toward the discharge outlet 3, is composed of, for example, a transport plate 128 that is inclined downward at the rear, and a cushioning material 129 such as a sponge attached to the transport plate 128 so as to cover the upper surface of the transport plate 128.

Here, as shown in FIG. 8, in the first state of the support 33, the central axis of rotation (rotation fulcrum) L1 is located on the anti-sending side of the center point (center of the tray) P of the central support part 107 of the support part 91 in a side view, that is, shifted forward from the front-to-rear center position of the central support part 107 in the horizontal position, in a side view of the support 33 in the first state. In other words, the central axis of rotation L1 is located forward (anti-sending side) of a vertical line A that passes through the center (center of gravity position) O of the spherical agricultural product W supported in a placed state by the support part 91.

More specifically, the central axis of rotation L1 is located below the anti-sending side portion (front portion) 107a of the central support portion 107 in a horizontal position when viewed from the side in the first state of the support body 33.

The distance a between the center point P and the rotation center axis L1 (the amount of deviation from the position directly below the center point P) is, for example, 20 mm (see FIG. 14). The center point P and the rotation center axis L1 are located at the same height (including approximately the same height) when viewed from the side of the support body 33 in the second state.

In addition, in FIG. 9, the cushion material 106 of the support body 33 and the cushion material 80 of the holder 34 are omitted. The three cylinders shown in FIG. 9 (the lifting cylinder 71, the opening/closing cylinder 81, and the rotating cylinder 121) are, for example, air cylinders. In FIGS. 5, 7, 15, 16, and 17, the packaging sheet S is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 12, the slide unit 26 has, for example, a slider 131, a clamping plate 132, a cutting blade 133, and a heater 134, as well as blades and a resin plate guide. As shown in FIG. 13, the air injection unit 27 has, for example, a moving frame 136, an air nozzle 137 attached to the moving frame 136, and the like.

Next, the operation of the packaging device 1 will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 10, with the packaging sheet S placed on the support plate 14, the worker presses down on the resin plate 16 with the crops W, causing them to elastically deform once, and then supplies the crops W from the supply port 2 into the packaging device 1 and places them on the support 33.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, the crop W is placed on the support portion 91 of the support 33 with the packaging sheet S wrapped around almost the entire crop W (except for the central portion of the top surface). In this way, one crop W is set on the support portion 91 of the support 33 in the first state.

Then, after both holding bodies 34 are closed from the open state to the closed state and clamp the left and right sides of the crop W from both sides, the first lifting body 31, together with the second lifting body 32 and the support body 33, which rise and fall together with it, descends from the raised position to the lowered position (corresponding lowered position) and stops. As a result, the crop W placed on the support portion 91 of the support body 33 in the first state stops at a packaging position according to its size.

Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the sliding portion 26 slides toward the crop W stopped at the packaging position, and performs thermal welding and cutting while clamping a predetermined portion of the upper side of the packaging sheet S from the front, back, left and right in a position near the top of the crop W. As a result, the crop W stopped at the packaging position is entirely wrapped in the packaging sheet S, and packaging is complete.

After that, as shown in FIG. 13, the excess portion (excess film) S1 of the packaging sheet S is blown off by compressed air from the air injection unit 27 and discharged from the excess portion discharge outlet 20 to the outside of the packaging device 1. In addition, the two holders 34 are returned from the closed state to the open state by the opening operation, and the agricultural product W is released from the clamping by the two holders 34.

Then, as shown in FIG. 14(a), while the first lifting body 31 remains stopped in the lowered position (the second lifting body 32 is also stopped), the support body 33 rotates about the central axis L1 relative to the second lifting body 32 by a rotation angle θ (e.g., 60 degrees), so that the packaged agricultural produce W wrapped in the packaging sheet S is sent out from above the support part 91 of the support body 33, slides down the conveying part 127, and is discharged from the discharge port 3 to the outside of the packaging device 1.

In other words, when the support 33 rotates about the central axis L1 of rotation, which is offset from the center point P by a distance a toward the anti-sending side (the side opposite the sending side, which is the discharge opening side), based only on the extending action of the rotating cylinder 121 of the first rotation drive means 38, and assumes an inclined second state, the packaged agricultural product W is smoothly sent out and transferred so as to slide down from the support part 91 onto the conveying part 127. That is, for example, the agricultural product W transfers from the support part 91 onto the conveying part 127, slides on the upper surface of the conveying part 127, and is discharged from the discharge opening 3.

In contrast, in the comparative example shown in FIG. 14(b), that is, when the pivot axis (pivot fulcrum directly below) L1' is located directly below the center point P, when the support 33 rotates about the pivot axis L1' to enter the inclined second state, the packaged agricultural produce W is released in a tossed manner, and the end of the agricultural produce W on the sending side falls downward and abuts against the upper surface of the conveying section 127, and as a result, for example, as shown in the figure, the agricultural produce W is discharged by rolling on the conveying section 127. For this reason, in the comparative example, the agricultural produce W is susceptible to impacts and may be damaged.

Therefore, according to the packaging device 1, unlike the comparative example shown in FIG. 14(b), the pivot axis L1 of the support 33 is located on the opposite side to the sending side from the center point P of the support part 91 when viewed from the side in the first state of the support 33, so that the agricultural produce W is less likely to receive impact when being sent out from the support part 91, and damage to the agricultural produce W after packaging can be appropriately prevented.

In addition, in the second state of the support 33, the upper end position of the crop W on the support 33 in the second state before being sent out is lower than the upper end position in the comparative example (see FIG. 14), so that the first lifting body 31 stopped in the lowered position does not need to be lowered any further and interference between the crop W and the slide section 26 during sending out can be avoided. This makes it possible to more appropriately prevent damage to the packaged crop W, and also improves the durability of the motor, etc. by omitting the lowering operation of the first lifting body 31.

Furthermore, the support portion 91 of the support 33 has a central support portion 107 that supports the central portion of the underside of the crop W, and multiple (e.g., four) peripheral support portions 108a, 108b that support the peripheral portion of the underside of the crop W that is located around the central portion. Since the central axis L1 of the support 33 is located on the opposite side to the sending side from the center point P of the central support portion 107 in a side view in the first state, damage to the crop W after packaging can be effectively prevented.

Furthermore, since the packaged agricultural produce W is delivered from the support 33 by the rotation of the support 33 based solely on the extending action of the rotating cylinder 121 of the first rotation drive means 38, the durability of the motor, etc. can be improved compared to a configuration in which the support is rotated by, for example, bringing a part of the support that is lowered by a motor into contact with an abutment member to deliver the agricultural produce.

The receiving section 25 also includes a second lifting drive means 37, which is a lifting drive means for raising and lowering the second lifting body 32 relative to the first lifting body 31, thereby raising and lowering the support body 33 relative to the holder 34. The lifting cylinder 71 of the second lifting drive means 37 can be extended and retracted to raise and lower the support body 33 relative to the holder 34, so that the receiving section 25 can appropriately accommodate crops W of different sizes, for example, as shown in Figures 15 and 16.

That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 15(a), in the case of small agricultural crops WS, it is difficult for an operator to set the small agricultural crops WS on the support 33 in a lower position that is more than a predetermined distance away from the lower supply port 15, and even if the operator is able to set the small agricultural crops WS, the holder 34 holds the upper side of the small agricultural crops WS, so there is a risk that the small agricultural crops WS will be damaged, and there is also a risk that the sensor will not detect the small agricultural crops WS.

However, as shown in FIG. 15(b), if the position of the support 33 is changed to the upper position, such a problem does not occur, and the small crop WS can be easily set on the support 33, and the holder 34 can properly hold both sides of the small crop WS, preventing damage to the small crop WS, and the sensor can detect the small crop WS.

For example, as shown in FIG. 16(a), in the case of a large crop WB, the worker can easily set it on the support 33 in the upper position, but because the holder 34 holds the underside of the large crop WB, there is a risk that the large crop WB may be damaged, and there is also a risk that the holder 34 may push the large crop WB upward.

However, as shown in FIG. 16(b), if the position of the support 33 is changed to a lower position, such a problem does not occur, and the holding body 34 can properly hold both sides of the large agricultural product WB, preventing damage to the large agricultural product WB, and allowing the holding body 34 to properly wrap the large agricultural product WB in the wrapping sheet S without pushing the large agricultural product WB upward.

In this way, the packaging device 1 can change the positional relationship between the support body 33 and the holder 34, so it can appropriately accommodate agricultural products W (WS, WB) of different sizes.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 17, this packaging device 1 can also appropriately handle agricultural produce W that is packaged in a single packaging sheet S in a different number of pieces.

In the case of FIG. 17, the holder non-use mode is set. Also, the support part 91' shown in FIG. 17 is different from the support part 91, which is cross-shaped in a plan view, and is a normal dish-like shape, for example, having a circular bottom part 91a and an inverted truncated cone-shaped side part 91b. In other words, when using the packaging device 1 to package multiple agricultural products W with one packaging sheet S, the mode is switched from the holder non-use mode to the holder non-use mode, and the support part 91 is replaced with the support part 91'.

As shown in FIG. 17(a), when the number of crops W exceeds a predetermined number (the maximum number per tier, for example, four), that is, when the number of crops W supported by a normal dish-shaped support portion 91' is five (the first tier is a maximum of four crops, and the second tier is one crop), the support 33 is set to the lower position by the second lifting drive means 37 because the crops are stacked in two tiers.

Also, as shown in FIG. 17(b), when the number of crops W is equal to or less than a predetermined number (the maximum number per tier is, for example, four), that is, when the number of crops W supported by a normal dish-shaped support portion 91' is, for example, four (two or three crops would also be acceptable), the support 33 is set to the upper position by the second lifting and lowering drive means 37.

As a result, the vertical position of the support 33 can be adjusted according to the number of crops W, making it possible to appropriately accommodate different numbers of crops W.

The agricultural produce to be packaged is not limited to lettuce (a round vegetable), but can be, for example, cabbage, melon, apple, etc., and the shape, etc., of the product can be arbitrary.

The cylinder as the driving source is not limited to an air cylinder, which is a fluid pressure cylinder, but may be, for example, a hydraulic cylinder, or a driving source such as a motor may be used instead of the cylinder.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the parts that come into contact with the crops (supporting parts, holding parts, transporting parts, etc.) have a cushioning material, which is an elastic material, to cushion the impact on the crops. However, depending on the type of crop, for example, cushioning material may not be necessary.

In addition, the pivot point (central axis of rotation) of the support is not limited to being located below the anti-send side portion of the central support part when viewed from the side of the support in the first state, but may be located, for example, below a peripheral support part located on the anti-send side among the multiple peripheral support parts, or below the end part on the anti-send side of the support part (the front end part of the support part).

Furthermore, the configuration is not limited to one in which the support can be raised and lowered relative to the holder, and may be, for example, a configuration in which the holder can be raised and lowered relative to the support, or a configuration in which the support and the holder can each be raised and lowered relative to the other.

Furthermore, the support (second lifting body) is not limited to a configuration in which it can be set (adjusted) to only the upper and lower positions (two positions) depending on the size or number of crops, but may be configured to be set (adjusted) to, for example, three or more stepped positions (or any position that is not stepped).

Furthermore, the control means may control the lifting drive means to change the positional relationship between the support and the holder based on information from a detection means that detects the size and number of agricultural products, for example. In other words, the control means may control the lifting drive means based on information regarding the size and number of agricultural products, for example, so that the support is raised and lowered relative to the holder.

Furthermore, the configuration is not limited to one in which the vertical position (upper and lower positions) of the support can be adjusted according to the size and number of crops, and the vertical position of the support can be adjusted according to, for example, the type and shape of the crop.

Although the above describes a packaging device that packages agricultural products, the present invention can be applied to various devices other than packaging devices, such as a conveying device that conveys (sends) items such as goods. In addition, a holder that holds the agricultural products is not necessarily required, and the present invention may be configured without a holder.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Packaging device 31 First lifting body 32 Second lifting body 33 Support body 34 Holding body 37 Second lifting drive means which is a lifting drive means 44 Guiding portion 65 Guided portion S Packaging sheet W Agricultural product

Claims (5)

A packaging device for packaging agricultural produce with a packaging sheet, comprising:
A first lifting body that can be raised and lowered;
A second lifting body provided on the first lifting body so as to be able to rise and fall;
A support provided on the second lifting body for supporting agricultural crops;
a holder provided on the first lifting body and holding the crops supported by the support body;
a lifting drive means for lifting and lowering the second lifting body relative to the first lifting body, thereby lifting and lowering the support body relative to the holder,
a vertical position of the support when the agricultural product is placed on the support with the packaging sheet interposed therebetween can be adjusted by the lifting and lowering drive means in accordance with the agricultural product. The support is
When the size of the agricultural product is large, the lifting drive means sets the lifting device to the lower position,
2. The packaging device according to claim 1 , wherein when the size of the agricultural product is small, the packaging device is set to the upper position by the lifting drive means. The support is
When the number of agricultural products is large, the lifting drive means sets the lifting device to the lower position,
2. The packaging device according to claim 1 , wherein when the number of agricultural products is small, the packaging device is set to the upper position by the lifting drive means. The first lifting body has a plurality of guide parts,
4. The packaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the second lifting body has a plurality of guided portions that are guided by the guiding portion. 5. The packaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the device is switchable between a holder use mode in which the holder holds the crop and a holder non-use mode in which the holder does not hold the crop.

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