JP7776167B2 - packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

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

Conventionally, a packaging device such as that described in Patent Document 1 below is known.

This conventional packaging device is equipped with a support that can be placed in a first state (loading position) or a second state (delivery position) by rotating around a pivot point (support shaft). In the first state, this support supports the produce in the loading position, but in the second state, it has a dish-shaped support portion that is cross-shaped in plan view and delivers the packaged produce.

JP 2012-25426 A

However, with the conventional packaging device described above, the pivot point of the support is located directly below the center point of the support section in a side view when the support section is in the first position, which means that the produce is susceptible to impacts and may be damaged when being sent out from the support section.

The present invention was developed in consideration of these points, and aims to provide a packaging device that can prevent damage to agricultural produce.

The packaging device of the present invention is a packaging device for packaging agricultural produce in a packaging sheet, and includes a support body that can be placed in at least a first state and a second state by rotation about a rotation fulcrum, and has a support portion that supports the agricultural produce in the first state and delivers the agricultural produce in the second state, and a rotation drive means for rotating the support body about the rotation fulcrum, wherein the rotation fulcrum is located on the opposite side to the delivery side of the center point of the support portion in a side view when the support body is in the first state, and the support body rotates to the first state based on the contraction action of the rotation drive means and rotates to the second state based on the extension action of the rotation drive means.

The packaging device according to the present invention is a packaging device for packaging agricultural produce in a packaging sheet, comprising: 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 body mounted on the second lifting body so as to be able to rotate about a pivot point, which is set to at least a first state and a second state by rotation about the pivot point, and which has a support part that supports the agricultural produce in the first state but delivers the agricultural produce in the second state; and a support body mounted on the first lifting body so as to be able to rotate and deliver the agricultural produce supported by the support part. The device comprises a holder that holds the support, a first rotation drive means that rotates the support about the rotation fulcrum relative to the second lifting body, and a second rotation drive means that rotates the holder relative to the first lifting body. When the support is in the first state, the rotation fulcrum is located on the opposite side to the feed-out side from the center point of the support part in a side view. The support rotates to the first state based on the contraction action of the first rotation drive means, and rotates to the second state based on the extension action of the first rotation drive means.

This invention can prevent damage to 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 the main part of the packaging device (in a state where the first lifting body is in a raised position). FIG. 2 is a front view of the main part of the packaging device (with the first lifting body in the lowered position). 3 is a view showing a first lifting and lowering drive means of the packaging device. FIG. (a) is a rear view of the main parts of the packaging device (when the second lifting body is in the lower position), and (b) is a rear view of the main parts of the packaging device (when the second lifting body is in the upper position). FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the packaging device. FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. 10 . FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. 11 . FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. 12. 13, and FIG. 14B is an explanatory diagram of a comparative example.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 14.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a packaging device. This packaging device 1 is a lettuce packaging machine (vegetable packaging machine) that packages spherical agricultural produce W, such as lettuce, using, for example, a rectangular packaging sheet S of a predetermined size.

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

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

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

A rectangular upper supply opening 13 is formed in 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 in the support plate 14 opposite the upper supply opening 13, and a portion (the outer peripheral portion) of this lower supply opening 15 is covered in an openable and closable manner by multiple 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 that allows an operator to manually supply agricultural produce W from above into the device body 11.

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

A rectangular surplus portion discharge outlet 20 is formed on the right plate 19 of the device main 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 main body 11. The device main body 11 is also provided with a manual operation switch 21, a setting panel 22, etc.

As shown in Figure 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 toward 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 heat 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 outlet 20, a sheet drawing unit 28 that draws the continuous sheet from the sheet roll onto the support plate 14, and a sheet cutting unit 29 that cuts the continuous sheet drawn by the sheet drawing unit 28 to obtain a packaging sheet S of a specified size.

As shown in Figures 4 to 9, the receiving section 25 comprises a guide body 30 erected on the bottom 17 of the device main 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 rotatable on the second lifting body 32 about a left-right central rotation axis (rotation fulcrum) L1 and supports the underside of the crop W from below via the packaging sheet S, and a pair of left and right holding bodies (sandwiching bodies) 34 that are rotatable on the first lifting body 31 about a front-to-rear rotation axis (rotation fulcrum) L2 and hold (sandwich) the left and right sides of the crop W supported by the support body 33 from the left and right via the packaging sheet S.

The receiving section 25 also includes a first lifting/lowering drive means 36 that raises and lowers the first lifting body 31 relative to the guide body 30, a second lifting/lowering drive means 37 that raises and lowers the second lifting body 32 relative to the first lifting body 31, a first rotation drive means 38 that rotates the support body 33 about the rotation center axis L1 relative to the second lifting body 32, and a second rotation drive means 39 that rotates (opens and closes) the left and right holding bodies 34 about the rotation center axis L2 relative to the first lifting 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 a vertically elongated round bar that guides the cylindrical portion 41 of the first lifting body 31, and a vertically elongated U-frame-shaped second guide member 52 that guides the roller portion 42 of the first lifting body 31.

The first lifting/lowering 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 are spaced apart and facing each other, and the tension of the chain 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 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 crops W by the rotation of the chain in the other direction based on power from the motor 55 (see Figure 5).

Here, the raised position is a predetermined fixed position regardless of the size of the crop W. On the other hand, the lowered position is an arbitrary position determined according to the size of the crop W (a corresponding lowered position corresponding to the size of the crop). 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) that is a detection means for detecting the crop W. The control means 50 controls each drive source (motor, air cylinder, etc.) based on information from sensors, switches, etc.

As shown in Figure 7, etc., the second lifting body 32 has multiple guided portions 65 that can be raised and lowered and are guided by multiple guide portions 44 (e.g., two on the left and right) of the first lifting body 31, and the upper ends of these vertically elongated, rod-shaped guided portions 65 are attached to a horizontal base plate portion 66.

The second lifting body 32 also 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 this U-shaped frame 67 so that it can rotate about the central rotation axis L1. The U-shaped frame 67 is elastically supported by a buffer spring 68, which acts as a buffer means for absorbing impact on the crops W when they are placed on the support 33 (when the crops are set on the support), and a guide pin 69 inside this buffer spring 68 is slidably inserted into a cylindrical buffer guide 70.

The second lifting/lowering drive means 37 has a lifting/lowering cylinder (drive source) 71, which is an extendable and retractable fluid pressure cylinder. In other words, the second lifting/lowering drive means 37 is composed only of the lifting/lowering cylinder 71. The lifting/lowering cylinder 71 has a cylinder body 72 attached to the first lifting 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 body 32.

The second lifting body 32 is lowered to a lower position relative to the first lifting body 31 by the retraction 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, the second lifting body 31 can be raised and lowered relative to the first lifting body 31 to accommodate crops W of different sizes, i.e., the larger crops W shown in FIG. 7(a) and the smaller crops W shown in FIG. 7(b), and this allows the support body 33 to be raised and lowered between an upper position and a lower position relative to the holder 34.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the holder (clamp) 34 can be placed in an open position (where no produce is clamped) or a closed position (where the produce is clamped from both sides) by rotating about the central axis of rotation L2 relative to the first lifting body 31.

In other words, the pair of holders 34 are closed by synchronous movement toward each other (closing operation) based on rotation about the central rotation axis L2, and are open by synchronous movement away from each other (opening operation) based on rotation about the central rotation axis L2.

The holder 34 has an L-shaped arm 76 rotatably mounted on the first lifting body 31 around the central rotation axis L2, a holder 77 attached to the upper tip of the arm 76 and contacting the side of the produce W via the packaging sheet S when the holder 34 is closed to hold the side, and a roller 78 attached to the base of the lower end of the arm 76 and contacting 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 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 produce via the packaging sheet).

The second rotation drive means 39 has an open/close cylinder (drive source) 81, which is an extendable fluid pressure cylinder. The open/close 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, and lifts the roller portion 78 against the biasing force of a closing spring 84, which serves as a biasing means. The roller contact plate 85 moves up and down while being guided by a guide pin 86 extending in the vertical direction.

The closing spring 84 for closing the holder 34 is installed between the first lifting body 31 and the holder 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 holder 34.

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

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

As shown in Figure 8 and other figures, the support body (placing body) 33 can be placed in a first state (a supporting state in which the crops are supported from below) or a second state (a sending-out state in which the crops are sent out to the side) by rotating about the central axis of rotation L1 relative to the second lifting body 32.

In other words, the support 33 is placed in a horizontal first state (where produce is placed) when rotated in one direction (forward) around the central rotation axis L1, and is placed in a tilted, rearward-sloping second state (where produce is discharged) when rotated in the other direction (rearward) around the central rotation axis L1. The rotation angle θ of the support 33 is an angle less than 90 degrees, for example, 60 degrees.

In its first state, the support 33 supports the underside of the crop W from below via the packaging sheet S, but in its second state, the support 33 has a dish-shaped support portion 91 that sends the crop W rearward (sideways) under its own weight, and a downward-projecting mounting portion 92 that protrudes downward from the support portion 91. In other words, the support 33 has the mounting portion 92 that is rotatably attached to the second lifting body 32 around the central rotation axis L1, and the support portion 91 that is fixed to the upper portion of the mounting portion 92 and supports the underside of the crop W.

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

A bolt 97 is inserted into the insertion tube 96, and a nut 98 is threaded onto the bolt 97, thereby attaching the mounting portion 92 to the U-shaped frame portion 67 of the second lifting body 32 so that it can rotate about the central rotation axis L1. The line passing through the axis of the shaft of the bolt 97 is the central rotation axis L1.

The tip of the rod 123 of the rotary 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, for example, a dish-shaped support plate (receiving tray) 105 that is cross-shaped in plan view, 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).

Here, the support portion 91 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 portions 108a are larger than the pair of left and right peripheral support portions 108b. Each pair of front and rear peripheral support portions 108a is composed of an inclined portion 109 that is inclined relative to the central support portion 107, and a tip portion 110 that is parallel to the central support portion 107. The pair of left and right peripheral support portions 108b is composed only of an inclined portion 111 that is inclined relative to the central support portion 107. As shown in Figure 8, in the first state of the support body 33, the central support portion 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 portion 108a is positioned along a vertical plane.

The first rotation drive means 38 has a rotation cylinder (drive source) 121, which is an extendable and retractable 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 body 33 rotates about the central axis L1 of rotation 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 of rotation relative to the second lifting body 32 as the rotating cylinder 121 extends, entering a second state (delivery state).

As shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 8, when the support 33 rotates around 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 conveying body 126, and then the crops W are transported by the inclined conveying section 127 toward the discharge opening 3.

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

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

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

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 Figure 14). Furthermore, 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.

Note that in Figure 9, the cushion material 106 of the support body 33 and the cushion material 80 of the holder 34 are not shown. The three cylinders shown in Figure 9 (lifting cylinder 71, opening/closing cylinder 81, and rotating cylinder 121) are, for example, air cylinders. The packaging sheet S is not shown in Figures 5 and 7.

As shown in FIG. 12, the slide unit 26 includes, 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 includes, for example, a moving frame 136 and an air nozzle 137 attached to the moving frame 136.

Next, we will explain the operation of the packaging device 1.

As shown in Figure 10, with the packaging sheet S placed on the support plate 14, the worker presses down on the resin plate 16 with the produce W, temporarily elastically deforming it, and then supplies the produce W through the supply port 2 into the packaging device 1 and places it on the support 33.

As shown in Figure 11, the crop W is then placed on the support portion 91 of the support 33 with the packaging sheet S interposed between it and the crop W, with almost the entire crop W (except for the central portion of the top surface) wrapped in the packaging sheet S. In this way, the crop W is set on the support portion 91 of the support 33 in the first state.

Then, after the two holders 34 are closed to clamp the left and right sides of the crop W, 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 appropriate for its size.

Then, as shown in Figure 12, the sliding member 26 slides toward the crop W stopped at the packaging position, clamping a predetermined portion of the packaging sheet S from the front, back, left, and right near the top of the crop W, and performs heat welding and cutting. As a result, the entire crop W stopped at the packaging position is wrapped in the packaging sheet S, completing the packaging process.

Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the excess portion (excess film) S1 of the packaging sheet S is blown away 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. Furthermore, the opening operation of both holders 34 returns them from the closed state to the open state, and the agricultural produce W is released from the clamping of both holders 34.

Then, as shown in Figure 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 relative to the second lifting body 32 by a rotation angle θ (e.g., 60 degrees) around the rotation center axis L1, causing the packaged agricultural produce W wrapped in the packaging sheet S to be sent out from above the support portion 91 of the support body 33, slide down the conveying section 127, and be discharged from the discharge outlet 3 to the outside of the packaging device 1.

In other words, when the support 33 rotates around the central rotation axis L1, which is offset from the center point P by a distance a to the anti-feed side (the side opposite the feed side, which is the discharge opening side), based solely on the extension movement of the rotary cylinder 121 of the first rotary drive means 38, and assumes the inclined second state, the packaged crops W are smoothly sent out and transferred, sliding down from the support section 91 onto the conveying section 127. That is, for example, the crops W transfer from the support section 91 onto the conveying section 127, slide along the top surface of the conveying section 127, and are discharged from the discharge opening 3.

In contrast, in the comparative example shown in Figure 14(b), where the pivot central axis (pivot fulcrum directly below) L1' is located directly below the center point P, when the support body 33 rotates about the pivot central axis L1' to enter the second inclined state, the packaged crops W are thrown out, with the end of the crops W on the delivery side falling downward and coming into contact with the upper surface of the conveying section 127. As a result, for example, as shown, the crops W roll on the conveying section 127 and are discharged. For this reason, in this comparative example, the crops W are susceptible to impacts and may be damaged.

Accordingly, with the packaging device 1 described above, unlike the comparative example shown in Figure 14(b), the pivot axis L1 of the support 33 is located on the opposite side of the center point P of the support portion 91 when viewed from the side in the first state of the support 33. This means that the produce W is less likely to be subjected to impact when being released from the support portion 91, and damage to the produce W after packaging can be appropriately prevented.

Furthermore, when the support body 33 is in the second state, the upper end position of the crops W on the support body 33 in this second state before delivery is lower than the upper end position in the comparative example (see Figure 14). Therefore, the first lifting body 31, which is stopped in the lowered position, does not need to be lowered any further, and interference between the crops W and the slide section 26 during delivery can be avoided. This makes it possible to more appropriately prevent damage to the packaged crops W, and omitting the lowering operation of the first lifting body 31 also improves the durability of the motor, etc.

Furthermore, the support portion 91 of the support body 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. In the first state, the central axis of rotation L1 of the support body 33 is located on the anti-feed side of the center point P of the central support portion 107 in a side view, effectively preventing damage to the packaged crop W.

In addition, the conveying body 126 has a conveying section 127 against whose upper surface the end of the support section 91 on the delivery side abuts when the support body 33 is in the second state, thereby more effectively preventing damage to the agricultural produce W after packaging.

Furthermore, since the packaged crops W are delivered from the support 33 by rotation of the support 33 based solely on the extension of the rotation cylinder 121 of the first rotation drive means 38, the durability of the motor, etc. can be improved compared to configurations in which, for example, a part of the support that is driven down by a motor hits an abutment member, causing the support to rotate and deliver the crops.

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

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

Furthermore, it is preferable that the parts that come into contact with the crops (support parts, holding parts, transport parts, etc.) have cushioning material, which is an elastic material, to absorb impacts on the crops, but cushioning material may not be necessary depending on the type of crop, for example.

Furthermore, the pivot point (central pivot axis) of the support body is not limited to being located below the anti-feed side portion of the central support body when viewed from the side of the support body in the first state. For example, it may be located below a peripheral support body located on the anti-feed side among the multiple peripheral support bodies, or below the anti-feed side end of the support body (front end of the support body).

Note that while the above description concerns a packaging device for packaging agricultural produce, it can also be applied to various devices other than packaging devices, such as conveying devices for conveying (sending) goods and other items.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 packaging device 3 discharge outlet 33 support 38 first rotation drive means as rotation drive means 91 support portion 107 central support portion 107a anti-feed side portion 108a, 108b peripheral support portion 126 conveyance body 127 conveyance portion L1 rotation central axis line as rotation fulcrum P center point S packaging sheet W agricultural produce

Claims (6)

A packaging device for packaging agricultural produce with a packaging sheet,
a support that is set to at least a first state and a second state by rotation about a rotation fulcrum, and has a support part that supports the crop in the first state and delivers the crop in the second state;
a holder that is rotated to at least an open state and a closed state, and that does not hold any crops in the open state but holds the crops supported by the support portion in the closed state;
a biasing means for causing the holder to be in the closed state;
a first rotation driving means for rotating the support body about the rotation fulcrum ;
a second rotation drive means for rotating the holder,
the rotation fulcrum is located on the opposite side to the feed-out side from the center point of the support portion in a side view when the support body is in the first state,
the support member is rotated to the first state based on a contracting operation of the first rotation drive means, and is rotated to the second state based on an extending operation of the first rotation drive means ,
The holding body is rotated to the open state based on the extension operation of the second rotation drive means, and is rotated to the closed state based on the biasing force from the biasing means due to the contraction operation of the second rotation drive means.
A packaging device characterized by: 2. The packaging device according to claim 1, wherein the support body rotates to the second state based only on the extending action of the first rotation drive means. A packaging device for packaging agricultural produce with a packaging sheet,
A first lifting body;
a second lifting body provided on the first lifting body so as to be able to rise and fall;
a support body that is rotatably mounted on the second lifting body around a pivot point, that is set to at least a first state and a second state by rotation around the pivot point, and that has a support part that supports the crop in the first state and delivers the crop in the second state;
a holder rotatably mounted on the first lifting body and configured to hold the crops supported by the support portion;
a first rotation driving means for rotating the support body about the rotation fulcrum relative to the second lifting body;
a second rotation driving means for rotating the holding body relative to the first lifting body;
a first lifting drive means for lifting and lowering the first lifting body;
a second lifting/lowering drive means for lifting/lowering the second lifting/lowering body relative to the first lifting/lowering body,
the rotation fulcrum is located on the opposite side to the feed-out side from the center point of the support portion in a side view when the support body is in the first state,
the support member is rotated to the first state based on a contracting operation of the first rotation drive means, and is rotated to the second state based on an extending operation of the first rotation drive means ,
The first rotation drive means is capable of ascending and descending together with the second ascending and descending body relative to the first ascending and descending body.
A packaging device characterized by: The support body and the second lifting body each have an attachment portion,
the first rotation drive means is composed of only an extendable cylinder rotatably attached to the attachment portion of the second lifting body ,
4. The packaging device according to claim 3, wherein the end of the cylinder is rotatably attached to the attachment portion of the support body . The support portion of the support body is
a central support portion that supports a central portion of the underside of the crop;
a peripheral support portion for supporting a peripheral portion of the underside of the crop that is located around the central portion,
The packaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the pivot point is located on the opposite side to the feeding side of the center point of the central support portion in a side view when the support body is in the first state. The packaging device according to claim 5, wherein the pivot point is located below a portion of the central support portion on the opposite side to the feeding side in a side view when the support body is in the first state.