JPS6241952B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for capping mushroom culture bottles.

The process of artificially cultivating mushrooms such as enoki mushrooms is to first create a culture medium by mixing rice bran and sawdust appropriately, fill it in a culture bottle, cap it, and heat sterilize it. After sterilization, remove the cap and inoculate the seed fungus. The normal process is to cap the mushrooms again and culture them, and once the mycelia are fully grown, remove the cap, scrape out the dead sterilization, and grow the mushrooms in this state. Therefore, it is necessary to attach the cap to the culture bottle containing the culture medium twice, and the capping operation is essential in the sterilization process and the mycelium growth process. Conventionally, this type of plugging work has been done by hand, but as mass artificial cultivation of mushrooms becomes widespread, there is a desire for a large-scale plugging method using mechanical means. In particular, since many people engaged in mushroom cultivation are part-time farmers and do not have large factories, such equipment is required to be as compact as possible.

In view of this, the present invention aims to provide a compact cap mounting device that can quickly and reliably cap a large number of culture bottles and that requires as little installation space as possible.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a main body of a cap mounting device, and this cap mounting device 1 is composed of three parts: a sequential cap feeding means 2, a cap orientation means 3, and a cap mounting means 4. The progressive feeding means 2 includes a hopper 5 and a lifter 6.
The rear wall 7 of the hopper 5 is inclined backward at the top, and a chain 8 having vertical shafts is loaded inside the rear wall 7 so as to be freely rotatable by a motor 9. The chain 8 is provided with a plurality of conveyor bars 11 along the rear wall 7 on the ascending side, the tips of which are close to the side wall 10 of the hopper 5 and are spaced appropriately apart from the base end thereof. The lifter 6 is constructed by: The chain 8 and the conveying bar 11 on the descending side are covered with a plate 12, and only the conveying bar 11 on the ascending side is exposed inside the hopper 5. 13 is
It is a guide cylinder attached to the hopper 5 and carries out the cap A in a vertical position, and the upper opening 13a is a guide cylinder attached to the hopper 5.
1, and a lower opening 13b opens toward a conveyor of a cap orienting means 3, which will be described later.

The cap orienting means 3 is for the purpose of aligning the caps A guided by the progressive feeding means 2 in a constant horizontal position, and is arranged so that the caps A guided by the progressive feeding means 2 are aligned in a certain direction in a horizontal position. a guide 18, which is provided on the conveyor 14 and consists of a guide plate 16 and a guide bar 17, which guides the cap A in a vertical position, and the guide bar 17 supports the cap A at a height equal to or higher than the diameter level;
A sensor 19 such as a phototube is installed in the middle of the guide path of the guide 18 and detects in which direction the opening of the cap A passing through is facing. If it is detected that the top plate 20 of cap A is facing in the direction of the sensor 19, the output signal will cause the cap A to pass through the guide 18. It consists of a solenoid 21 in contact with the solenoid 21, and a guide plate 22 that guides the cap A, which has passed through the guide 18, onto the conveyor 14 horizontally with the opening 15 facing upward. Reference numeral 23 denotes a protection plate, which is used to prevent cap A from falling out of the conveyor 14 when cap A guided by the solenoid 21 comes into contact with the sensor 19 with the top plate 20 side facing the side. It is something. Information board 22, 2
2 is continuous with the guide 18 and has a feeding tip inclined in the horizontal direction. 24 is an upper window provided on the guide plate 16, and the tip of the sensor 19 faces here.
A bar 26 of the solenoid 21 faces the lower window 25 so as to be movable forward and backward.

The cap mounting means 4 is attached to the alignment plate 2 of the cap A.
7, a fixed rubber roller 29 provided in front of the lower end 28 of this alignment plate 27, and a conveyor 32 provided below these for conveying a plurality of culture bottles 31 placed in a container 30. Following the receiving surface 33 which inverts and receives the caps A falling from the conveyor 14 of the transfer means 3, there is a guide frame 34 that sorts the caps A into a plurality of rows, and a guide frame 34 that partially protrudes the caps A from the lower end 28 of the guide frame 34 to prevent the caps A from falling downward. and a stopper 35 for preventing the caps A from sliding downwardly in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction of the conveyor 14 of the cap orienting means 3, and is installed in an inclined manner so as to surround the caps below the conveyor 14,
In addition, when the culture bottle 31 containing the container 30 passes the lower end 28 of the alignment plate 27, the conveyor 32 of the cap capping means 4 moves the mouth edge 36 of the culture bottle 31 into the container 30.
However, the cap A protruding from the lower end 28 of the alignment plate 27 is lifted slightly upward to release the lock from the stopper 35, and the fixed rubber roller 29 is installed at an appropriate interval so as to engage with the stopper 35. It is installed at a position where its circumferential surface contacts the lip 36 of the culture bottle 31 containing the container 30 passing through and presses it downward.

The lowest cap A from the lower end 28 of the alignment plate 27
When a part of the alignment plate 27 is made to protrude, the lower end 28 of the alignment plate 27
It is preferable to cut out the space between the guide frames 34 in an arc shape.
A protrusion is provided on the side of the guide frame 34 of the cap A so that the cap A is not prevented from moving upward, but is released from its stop by upward or horizontal movement. Furthermore, the lower end 28 of the alignment plate 27 is arranged so that the lowest cap A is elastically engaged with the culture bottle 31 when the culture bottle 31 passes the lower end 28 of the alignment plate 27.
A support rod 37 is bridged over the guide frame 34 of
Attach the plate spring 38 downward to the culture bottle 31.
It is desirable to elastically press the upward movement of the cap A due to the progress of the cap A.

Since the present invention is configured as described above,
First, the hopper 5 is filled with a large amount of cap A, and the lifter 6 is driven. The rear wall 7 of the hopper 5 is inclined backward as it goes upward, and only the conveyor bar 11 on the rising side is exposed inside the hopper 5 and moves upward along this rear wall 7, so that the cap A is , are sequentially moved upward by the transport bar 11. Furthermore, since the tip of the conveyor bar 11 is close to the side wall 10 and is inclined downwardly toward the side wall 10, the cap A leans against and slides against the rear wall 7, and the peripheral wall of the cap is pressed against the hopper 5. side wall 10 of
It is raised while sliding in contact with. The guide tube 13 is
An upper opening 13a is provided in the side wall 10 on the moving path of the cap A.
Since cap A is attached to hopper 5 with a The caps are discharged from the lower opening 13b onto the conveyor 14 of the cap orienting means 3 in a vertical position.

On the conveyor 14, a guide 18 consisting of a guide plate 16 and a guide bar 17 is provided on the path of the cap A carried out from the guide tube 13, so that the cap A is placed in a vertical position, that is, the opening 15 is oriented horizontally. It is conveyed on the conveyor 14 while being squeezed between the guide plate 16 and the guide bar 17 in the facing state. In this state, the cap A does not have the same orientation of its opening 15. However, in the middle of this guide 18, there is a sensor 1 that determines the opening direction of the cap A.
9 is provided, and this sensor 19 is connected to the cap A.
shines light on the top plate 20 of the sensor to determine whether the aperture 15 is facing the sensor 19 side or not. If the aperture 15 is facing the sensor 19 side, the light is allowed to pass through and is facing the opposite side and the top plate 20 is close to the sensor 19,
In response to this signal, the solenoid 221 is driven, and the bar 26 comes into contact with the lower part of the cap A which is about to pass through the lower window 25 of the guide plate 16. As a result, the cap A passes under the guide bar 17 and is discharged onto the conveyor 14 with the opening 15 facing upward. On the other hand, the cap A that has passed through the guide 18 is placed horizontally on the conveyor 14 with the opening 15 facing upward by a guide plate 22 connected to the guide 18, and is transported. Thus, all the caps A are placed horizontally on the conveyor 14 with their openings 15 facing upward.

The cap A that has reached the end of the conveyor 14 falls onto the receiving surface 33 of the alignment plate 27 of the cap crowning means 4 provided below the conveyor. At this time, since the alignment plate 27 of the caps A is inclined with the lower end 28 lowered from the carry-out side to the carry-in side of the conveyor 14, the caps A falling onto the receiving surface 33 are not reversed. That is, the opening 15 is directed downward. A guide frame 34 for sorting the caps A into multiple rows is provided below the receiving surface 33 of the alignment plate 27.
4 and slide downward with the opening 15 facing downward. Guide frame 3 at the lower end 28 of the alignment plate 27
Since stoppers 35 are provided on both sides of the cap A, the cap A that is guided first stops with a part of it facing outward from the lower end 28. In this way, once the caps A are inserted in a row into the guide path that is successively narrowed by the guide frame 34, the conveyor 32 is driven to transport the culture bottles 31 containing the containers 30 below the alignment plate 27. . conveyor 3
2 and the lowest cap A protruding from the end 28 of the alignment plate 27.
6 lifts cap A up and presses stopper 35.
Since it is adjusted to disengage and engage with this, first, the culture bottle 3 located in the front in the transport direction
1 engages while lifting the lowest cap A. At this time, the stopper 35 only prevents the cap A from sliding downward, and does not affect the upward or horizontal movement of the cap A, so that the cap A is aligned with the movement of the culture bottle 31. It is removed from the plate 27. Also, at this time, the leaf spring 38
If the top plate 20 of cap A is pressed down, the engagement between the two will be strengthened, and even if cap A escapes from alignment plate 15, it can be expected that it will not come off easily. In this way, when the culture bottle 31 is further transported with the cap A incompletely plugged, the alignment plate 27 is placed on the transport path of the culture bottle 31.
Subsequently, a fixed rubber roller 29 is provided, and this roller 29 presses the cap A downward, so that the cap A is completely attached to the culture bottle 31. When the lowest cap A escapes from the alignment plate 27, the next cap A is pushed to the lower end 28 by its own weight.
A part of the cap A is made to protrude and moved downward, and all the caps A are attached to the culture bottles 31 in the container 30 in the same manner.

As described above, in the present invention, the cap A is moved upward by the cap sequential feeding means 2, and is sent onto the conveyor of the orienting means 3 connected to this via the guide tube 13. Since the capping means 4 including the alignment plate 27 is provided in a downwardly enclosed manner, the area of the facility is small, and not only can the factory site be used effectively, but also a large amount of caps can be capped continuously. Moreover, it can be done quickly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view of the device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a right side view of the hopper portion, Fig. 3 is a front view showing a state in which a part of the hopper in Fig. 2 is cut along the indicated line, and Fig. 4 is a partial plan view showing the cap alignment means, FIG. 5 is a side view with the protective plate and cap shown in FIG. 4 omitted, FIG. 6 is a partial oblique view showing the relationship between the sensor, solenoid, and guide, and FIG. The figure is a state diagram showing the movement of the caps falling onto the alignment plate, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the alignment plate, and FIG. 9 is a partial side view showing the cap attached state. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Cap mounting device, 2... Cap sequential feeding means, 3... Cap orienting means, 4... Cap crowning means, 5... Hopper, 6... Lifter, 13
... Guide tube, 14 ... Conveyor, 15 ... Opening,
18...Guide, 19...Sensor, 20...Top plate, 21...Solenoid, 27...Alignment plate, 28
... lower end, 29 ... fixed rubber roller, 31 ... culture bottle, 32 ... conveyor, 35 ... stopper.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cap sequential feeding means that moves the caps upward from inside the hopper and sequentially guides the caps out in a vertical position; It consists of a guide means equipped with a sensor that determines the direction of the conveyor, and for caps facing a certain direction, a solenoid is brought into contact with the cap while it passes through the guide means, and the cap is tilted upward, and for caps facing another direction, the cap is tilted upward. A cap orienting means for allowing the cap to pass through the guide means and gradually tilting it onto the conveyor with its opening facing upward; and a cap orienting means for reversing the cap that falls from the end of the conveyor, which is opposite to the conveying direction of the conveyor. An inclined alignment plate that allows the caps to slide down in a direction to arrange them in multiple rows and hold a part of the lowest cap protruding from the lower end of the alignment plate; A cap crowning device consisting of another conveyor provided at a position where the cap held at the lowest position engages with the rim of the culture bottle, and a fixed roller that presses the cap engaged with the culture bottle downward. A mushroom culture bottle mounting device characterized by comprising: