JPS5951870B2 - Sorting equipment for vegetables etc. - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention is a sorting device that automatically sorts long vegetables such as cucumbers and asparagus according to their size, particularly the length measured along a straight line connecting both ends of the cucumbers, asparagus, etc. Regarding this, the purpose is to return vegetables, etc. (hereinafter referred to as the object to be measured).

) To provide a sorting device which can supply objects to be measured irregularly without adjusting their posture when measuring the length of the object, and which can automatically and continuously perform highly accurate measurements and take out the objects. be. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The sorting device according to the present invention is composed of a conveying section A, a length measuring section B, a control command section C, and a take-out section D.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the right side of Figure 1 will be referred to as the front side, and the left side will be referred to as the rear side, and the right side in the front-rear direction, that is, the front side of Figure 1 will be referred to as the right side, and the opposite side will be referred to as the left side. call.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present sorting device includes a horizontally elongated cubic device main body 1, and a transport section A is configured to transport the object to be measured from the rear end toward the front end along the top surface of the device main body 1. A length measuring section B is attached to approximately the center of the transport path of the transport section A, and a take-out section D is disposed approximately at the front half of the transport path.

Further, a control command section C is mounted on one side of the length measuring section B (on the left side in FIG. 1). The configuration of each part will be explained below. First, to explain the conveyance part A, in the figure, 1 is a main body formed into an oblong cube as mentioned above, and sprockets 2 to 2 are provided in each corner of both the front and rear ends of the main body. 2, two endless conveyor chains 3, 3 are hung in parallel along both left and right inner surfaces of the main body 1, and are driven by a common drive device 4 attached to the front end of the main body 1. They are formed so that they circulate in a vertical plane at a constant speed along the P arrows.

Further, the chains 3, 3 are guided and supported by flat belt-shaped chain rails 5, 5 along the inner surface of the top surface of the main body 1. Reference numeral 6 denotes a large number of packets installed at equal intervals along the front and rear direction between the left and right chains 3, 3 to carry the object to be measured, and the chains 3, 3 and the packets 6 to 6 Therefore, the conveyance belt in the present invention is formed in an endless shape.

Therefore, the packet 6 includes a round bar-shaped packet core 7,
Bucket shafts 8, 8 protrude outward from both ends of the packet core 7, respectively, and the bucket shafts 8 are inserted through the left and right chains 3, 3, and can be rotated by locking means such as E-rings. It is locked. Also, bucket core 7
Chains 3 and 3 are running at both left and right ends.・A bucket arm 9 that tapers in the opposite direction, that is, toward the rear.
A and 9B are respectively attached, and a bucket troller 10 is rotatably pinned to the tip of the bucket arm 9A on the left side. It is rolled on the roller rail 11. On the other hand, a bucket pin 12 is provided protruding from the outer surface of the tip of the right bucket arm 9B. Further, on the bucket core 7, a plurality of bucket fingers 13 to 13 in an inverted shape (the figure shows an example of four) for placing the object to be measured V are arranged rearward. It has a comb-like protrusion. Next, the length measuring section B will be described. Reference numerals 14 and 15 are a light emitting box and a light receiving hook, respectively, which are provided facing each other with the bucket 6 in the vertical direction. The light emitting box 14 has a large number of light emitting elements M to M arranged downwardly at equal intervals along the left and right direction, while the light receiving box 15 has a plurality of light emitting elements M to M arranged facing downward, respectively. Light receiving elements N to N are provided facing upward.

The start and end of the measurement in the length measuring section B is determined by the distance in the front and back direction of the measurement object placement space of each bucket (S shown in Figure 5).
It is regulated by a first limit switch L and a second limit switch L2, which are arranged in parallel on the roller rail 11 adjacent to the rear side of the length measuring section B with a slightly smaller interval. That is, the first limit switch L,
When the bucket roller 10 passes over the bucket roller 1, the light emitting/receiving opening/closing gate G of the length measuring section B is opened, and the bucket roller 1
0 reaches the second limit switch L2 (hereinafter referred to as measurement time), the length measuring section B continues to emit and receive light, and the length of the object v placed on the bucket 6 is measured. can be done. Next, the situation in which the straight line length of a curved cucumber is measured will be explained with reference to FIG. NO. l
-16 light emitting/receiving elements M and N, NO. 4-14 11
The length of the cucumber V is measured as L when the cucumber V is shielded from light.

Also, when cucumber V is placed at the position of the imaginary line, NO.
Eleven light emitting/receiving elements l to 11 are shielded from light, and the length of the cucumber v is similarly measured as L. That is, according to the present device, the measurement can be performed even if the object to be measured is supplied in an irregular manner without adjusting its posture. In addition, S shown in the diagram of Fig. 4 indicates the time period during which the gate of the length measuring section B remains open, and even if the object to be measured V is curved due to this opening period, the straight line connecting both ends of the object V is curved. The length along the line can be measured.

Next, the control command section C will be explained with reference to the block diagram of FIG. Now, in the control command unit C, the final number of light receiving elements blocked by the object to be measured v during the measurement period is stored in the latch 16, and the number is counted by the reader 17.

Further, the reader 17 transmits the number of pulses corresponding to the number of light receiving elements that have been shielded from light to the counter 18, which counts this number of pulses and displays it on the display 19. The output is transmitted to the arithmetic unit 20 in C. In the calculation unit 20, the interface 21 performs several classes (4 stages, 5 classes in this example) 22 preset according to the length of the object to be measured V.
Comparison processing with the values is performed, and it is sequentially determined to which class each object to be measured V, which has been determined by the length measuring section B, is assigned. Furthermore, the output class setting 23 is set in the interface 21 in correspondence with the class setting value.
Accordingly, the object to be measured v, which has been subjected to the class determination process in the arithmetic unit 20, is designated with the corresponding outlet from among the outlets 24 to 24 provided at a plurality of locations (seven locations in this example). An operation command is issued to the same outlet. In this way, one length measurement is completed, and when the next length measurement starts, a set pulse is output from the opening/closing gate G to the latch 16 to prepare for a new length measurement.

Note that when the measured lengths of the objects to be measured V are concentrated in the same class and the corresponding outlet is expected to become full, in order to prevent this, the length of the object to be measured V is set in the outlet class setting 23. It is also possible to set the same class settings 22 overlappingly, and in this case, operation commands are issued equally (for example, alternately) to the plurality of set outlet ports. Finally, the take-out section D will be explained.

Now, as mentioned above, the take-out section D consists of the take-out ports 24 to 24 provided at a plurality of locations (seven locations in this example).
Hereinafter, one of them will be explained. 26 is a base fixed to the lower surface of the right conveyor frame 25 of the conveyor frame 25 supporting the chain rail 5, 27 is the inside of the upper surface of the base 26, and the chain 3 It is a rear support stand located almost directly below the rear pin rail 28, which extends forward on the inner edge of its upper surface and is approximately at the same height as the bucket pin 12 when in the supported state.
is fixed. Furthermore, the rear end of this pin rail 28 is located in a symmetrical position with the tip of the defective part 29 of the bucket troller rail 11, and the bucket troller 10 is located in the defective part 29 of the bucket troller rail 11.
When approaching the bucket, the rotation of the bucket 6 is slid along the rear pin rail 28 and is blocked by the bucket pin 2. 30 is a rear support stand 27
A movable support stand arranged in parallel with the control command unit C
It consists of a rotary solenoid 31 that operates for a predetermined period of time according to an operation command from the rotary solenoid 31, a solenoid lever 32 fixed to the upper surface of the rotary solenoid 31, and a movable pin rail 33 fixed to the left edge of the solenoid lever 32. By the operation, the movable pin rail 33 can be horizontally rotated in the direction of arrow AB in the figure.

The movable pin rail 33 faces the protruding ends of both the rear pin rail 28 and the front pin rail 35 with a gap smaller than the outer diameter of the bucket pin 12. The front support stand 34 is arranged in parallel to the front side of the movable support stand 30 , and has a front pin rail 35 fixed to the inner edge of its upper surface extending in the front-rear direction, and is connected to the rear pin rail 28 and the movable pin rail 33 . It is provided in a straight line. On the other hand, at the front of the defective portion 29 of the roller rail 11, a restoring rail 36 is provided that projects obliquely downward toward the rear for restoring the bucket troller 10 onto the roller rail 11 when the rotary solenoid 31 is activated. There is.

Note that the rear end of the restoration rail 36 is located at a position substantially symmetrical to the center of the front pin rail 35. Next, the effects of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained.

Now, at the rear of the sorting machine main body 1, the objects to be measured V, which have been successively placed at appropriate positions on the bucket finger 13, are first conveyed to the length measuring section B by the rotation of the chains 3, 3. be done.

Then, when a certain bucket 6 reaches the length measuring section B, the bucket troller 10 passes through the first limit switch L1 and opens the opening/closing gate of the length measuring section B, until the bucket troller 10 passes through the second limit switch L2. The measurement is continued for a period of The output port is specified. Therefore, when the bucket carrying the object to be measured on which the above-mentioned information processing has been completed reaches the rail missing portion 29 of the take-out port 24 to which no take-out command has been given, the bucket troller 10 is moved by the left roller rail 11. Although not supported, the bucket pin 12 on the right side is supported by the rear pin rail 28, so that the bucket 6 itself is prevented from rotating.

When the bucket 6 is further conveyed from this state and the bucket pin 12 reaches the movable pin rail 33, an operation command is issued from the control command section C to the rotary solenoid 31, and the movable pin rail 33 is sent via the solenoid lever 32.
is horizontally rotated in the direction of arrow A in the figure. By this rotation of the movable pin rail 33, the support for the bucket 6 is lost, and the bucket 6 is rotated downward (in the direction of arrow C in the figure) about the bucket core 7, and is placed on the bucket finger 13. The placed object to be measured v is dropped and transferred to the carry-out conveyors 37 to 37.
The sorting machine main body 1 is carried out to the right by carrying out means such as the like.
In other words, as explained above, in the device of the present invention, the length measurement performed in the length measuring section is continued over the front and back distance of the object placement space of each bucket, so the instantaneous measurement results in the measurement being shorter than the actual length. Unlike the conventional measurement method, it is possible to measure the actual length even when measuring, for example, a bouncy vegetable bent in an arc shape, and it is also possible to measure the object by feeding it in an irregular shape without adjusting its posture. can do.

Therefore, the object to be measured is not damaged due to alignment, and the effect of the apparatus of the present invention is extremely large. In addition, since the vegetables, etc. are automatically assigned to the corresponding outlet according to the class according to their length, it is possible to sort a large amount of vegetables, etc. in a short time without the need for manpower. This greatly contributes to development.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the entire apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-section schematically showing the arrangement of the light emitting element and the light receiving element in the length measuring section. Figure 3 is a plan view schematically showing the length measurement situation in the length measuring section; Figure 4 is a top view;
The figure is a diagram explaining the timing of length measurement in the length measuring part and the opening and closing of the gate in the take-out part, Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing the vicinity of the take-out port, and Figure 6 is a diagram of the length measurement block in the control command part. be. 3...Chain, 6...Bucket,
13 Bucket finger 1, A... Conveyance section, B.
...Length measurement section, C...Control command section, D...
...Take-out part, V...Object to be measured.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A conveyance unit comprising a plurality of buckets having comb-like locking claws for placing objects to be measured, arranged so as to be rotatable downward on a rotatably driven endless conveyance belt; A plurality of light emitting/receiving elements are arranged in parallel with the buckets in the middle of the conveyance path of the conveyance belt, and the measuring object placement space of each bucket continues from when it reaches the measurement position until it finishes passing through. and a length measuring device formed such that the light emitting and receiving element operates, and a length measuring signal sent from the length measuring device to determine the class of vegetables, etc., and to transmit an extraction signal corresponding to the determined class. and a take-out part formed to open and close the take-out ports in response to a take-out signal transmitted from the control command part and having take-out ports for each class. etc. sorting equipment.