JPS62667B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a seaweed sorting device, and more specifically, to a seaweed sorting device that automatically sorts seaweed that is transported in a flat spread state by a main conveyor according to its quality grade. The invention relates to a sorting device for seaweed.

Nori is classified into several grades based on its quality, i.e. its color, seaweed, and shape, which is usually called ``deki.'' Traditionally, this kind of sorting into this grade was done by inspectors visually.
Each piece was sorted into its grade by the inspector. However, in such manual sorting work, there is a limit to the sorting speed, and it is impossible to sufficiently subdivide the grades.

For example, even if we only look at the quality of the shape called ``done'', there are various factors such as the size and number of holes, chips and tears, and even width and length. To be more specific, there are various criteria for this judgment, such as a method of sorting by the maximum value of holes, a method of sorting by the number of holes larger than an arbitrarily set hole diameter, or a method of sorting by percentage instead of number. etc,
There are many methods, and the combination of these methods often results in dozens of grades to be sorted.

When sorting seaweed into multiple grades, its color tone and gloss can be determined using a color difference meter or a gloss meter, and "doneness" can be determined using hard and software technologies such as optical shape measuring means and microcomputers. By using a measurement information processing system, it is possible to associate each piece of seaweed with a specific grade.

However, the problem here is, once each sheet of seaweed has been assigned a grade, how exactly should the seaweed be sorted? This is because seaweed is in the form of a thin sheet, has a large surface area, and is lightweight, so there is a major problem in that it is very difficult to handle if separated one by one. For this reason, up until now, no device has been developed for automatically sorting seaweed one by one.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the actual state of the prior art as described above, and its purpose is to sort seaweed that is conveyed one by one according to its quality identification information. To provide a seaweed sorting device that can automatically sort seaweed at high speed.

The present invention, which can achieve such objects, has a main transport conveyor that has a ventilated endless belt and is provided with a suction path having a suction port along the belt, and that sucks and transfers the seaweed in a flat spread state. , a sorting conveyor arranged so as to intersect with each other at a certain interval above the main conveyor, and a sorting conveyor extending almost directly above from the main conveyor side to the sorting conveyor side at the center of the intersection position. It is equipped with a transfer mechanism that generates an updraft and can freely control the generation and stop of the updraft, and by the operation of generating and stopping the updraft by the transfer mechanism, the seaweed to be sorted is transferred from the main transport conveyor to the sorting conveyor. This is a laver sorting device configured to be transferred to the side of the main conveyor.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of a seaweed sorting device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof. The seaweed sorting device according to the present invention includes:
A main transport conveyor 3 that transports seaweed 2 in a flat spread state using an endless belt 1, and a sorting conveyor 4 that is disposed above the main transport conveyor 3 so as to intersect with each other at almost right angles with a gap therebetween. and a transfer mechanism that generates an upward airflow from the main conveyor 3 side toward the sorting conveyor 4 side at the intersecting position thereof, and can freely control the generation and stop of the upward airflow.

Here, even if there is only one sorting conveyor 4, it is possible to perform three kinds of sorting, ie left, right, lateral, and straight, but when there are many grades to be sorted, the number of sorts required for one main conveyor 3 can be reduced as shown in the figure. Install multiple units in parallel as required. Although the transfer mechanism is not clearly shown in FIG. 1, it will be explained in detail in FIGS. 2 and subsequent figures. With this device,
The nori to be sorted is transferred from the main conveyor to the sorting conveyor by the generation/stop operation of the upward air current by the transfer mechanism, and then transferred to the side of the main conveyor by the sorting conveyor and sorted.

Now, the main conveyor 3 is rotatably supported by first and second main rollers 6 and 7, which are rotatably attached to both left and right ends of the pedestal 5, and a plurality of sub rollers 8. It has a seamless, endless, net-like endless belt 1. This endless belt 1 is stretched by a tension adjustment mechanism 9 so that the tension is approximately constant. A driving chain 10 is attached to a first sprocket 11 attached to the same shaft as the first roller 6, and a first sprocket 11 attached integrally to the rotating shaft of a motor 12 provided inside the right side of the pedestal 5. The rotation of the motor 12 rotates the first main roller 6 via the drive chain 10, thereby causing the endless belt 1 to loop in the direction shown by the arrow. It has started to move in a shape. Further, a horizontal holder is provided between the two main rollers 6 and 7 so that the endless belt 1 runs without slack. In this embodiment, the horizontal holding body has a structure in which three horizontal holding guide members 15a and 15b extending parallel to the longitudinal direction of the main transport conveyor 3 are arranged on the upper surface of the planar support body 14. These three horizontal holding guide members 15a, 15b are
It is shaped like a hollow round pipe (of course, it can also be shaped like a square pipe), and an appropriate gap is formed around the periphery so that the entire lower surface of the endless belt 1 does not come into close contact with the horizontal holder. Performs the function of maintaining the level. The central horizontal holding guide member 15a has a large number of suction ports 16 on its upper surface.
It has a structure in which a is perforated, and the inside thereof constitutes a part of the suction path, and is configured to be constantly sucked and exhausted. As a result, the seaweed 2 transferred on the endless belt 1 is attracted and fixed on the endless belt 1 even at high transfer speeds, and is prevented from scattering or shifting its position. There is. Note that such a suction mechanism is not formed in the horizontal holding guide members 15b at both ends. Of course, it is also possible to provide a suction mechanism on the horizontal holding guide members 15b on both sides to attract the seaweed over a wide area, but it is less likely that the seaweed will curl or shift its position if it is sucked only in the center. be.

Next, one or more sorting conveyors 4 (eight in the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) are arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction of the main transport conveyor 3. This sorting conveyor 4 is suspended from the top surface of the pedestal 5,
As mentioned above, the endless belt 1 of the main conveyor 3
It is arranged with a slight gap between it and the upper surface of. This gap can be adjusted by means of the mounting bolts 19 which are suspended and fixed. Now, this sorting conveyor 4 has a structure in which an endless belt 21 is hung between two rollers 20, and although not shown, one roller is connected to a motor via a forward/reverse clutch. . In other words, the endless belt 21 can be instantaneously rotated in either forward or reverse direction from a stopped state by the operation of the clutch. In this embodiment, the endless belt 21 of the sorting conveyor 4 also has a net-like structure with good air permeability. This is because if the endless belt is made of a material or has a structure with good air permeability, the air between the transferred seaweed and the endless belt 21 will quickly escape, and the seaweed will likely adhere to it.

The transfer mechanism has the following configuration. As mentioned above, this transfer mechanism creates an upward airflow from the main conveyor 3 side to the sorting conveyor 4 side at the intersection of the main conveyor 3 and the sorting conveyor 4, and controls the generation and stopping of the upward airflow. It has a flexible structure. Specifically, in this embodiment, at the intersection position, compressed air blow-off ports 30 formed in the plane support plate 14 attached to the pedestal 5 and the central horizontal holding guide member 15a, respectively, communicate with the blow-off ports 30. The compressed air supply path 31 is composed of a compressed air supply path 31, an electromagnetic valve 32 provided in the middle thereof, and a compressed air source such as an air compressor (not shown). In FIG. 3, the holes indicated by circles are the air suction ports 16, and the holes indicated by triangles are the compressed air blow-off ports 30. As is clear from the figure, the compressed air is blown up from a substantially central position directly below the sorting conveyor 4. Therefore, a part of the air outlet is opened through the central horizontal holding guide member 15a, and the planar support plate 1 near the periphery thereof is opened.
4 also has a blow-up port. By turning on and off the electromagnetic valve 32, the blow-up flow (upward flow) of compressed air is started and stopped at a substantially central position directly below the sorting conveyor.

Further, a gear-shaped rotor 40 is attached to the rotating shaft of the second main roller 7 in the main conveyor 3, and a light emitting element 41 is mounted on the gear-shaped rotor 40 so as to sandwich the gear-shaped portion.
and the light-receiving element 42 are located facing each other, and constitute a moving distance detection system of the endless belt 1. The rotor 40 rotates in accordance with the rotation of the second main roller 7, and light from the light emitting element 41 to the light receiving element 42 is transmitted to the rotor 40.
By counting the number of times that light is blocked by the gear-shaped portion, the moving distance of the endless web belt 1 can be detected even if the rotational speed of the motor 12 fluctuates. Although not shown in FIG. 2, optical sensors are provided in front of the sorting conveyor 4 in the transport direction of the main conveyor 3, and the position of the passing seaweed is detected by the optical sensor. I'm starting to be able to do it.

The operation of the seaweed sorting device having such a configuration is as follows. The seaweed 2 to be sorted is sent one by one from the upstream side of the main transport conveyor 3, and is transported on the endless belt 1 in a flat spread state. At this time, the endless belt 1 has a net-like breathable structure as described above, and as shown in detail in FIG. The seaweed 2 that is moved while being held horizontally and is placed on it is attracted by the suction port 16 formed in the central horizontal holding guide member 15a, so that it does not float up or down. The object is transported while being held in a fixed position. The determination signal from the quality identification device located upstream of this device determines which sorting conveyor is to be driven for the transported seaweed.
When the seaweed reaches just below the appropriate sorting conveyor, the transfer mechanism is activated. That is, the electromagnetic valve 32 opens and compressed air is injected upward from the blow-up port 30, and the rising airflow transfers the seaweed from the main conveyor 3 side to the sorting conveyor 4 side. The situation is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. First, the center portion of the seaweed 2 is pushed up by the blowing up of compressed air from the blowing port 30. At this time, as described above, the entire lower surface of the endless belt 1 is not in close contact with the flat support plate 14, and since most of the gap exists due to the interposition of the horizontal holding guide members 15a and 15b, the end of the seaweed 2 is endless belt 1
The seaweed 2 moves upward smoothly without coming into close contact with the seaweed 2, and since the seaweed 2 is blown up at its center, it moves straight upward without losing its posture. As shown in FIG. 5B, the center of the seaweed 2 first touches the endless belt 2 of the sorting conveyor 4.
Touches the bottom surface. Thereafter, the peripheral portions are also pressed against the lower surface of the endless belt 21 one after another. At this time, since the endless belt 21 is made of a material with good air permeability and has a gap formed behind it,
As the seaweed 2 rises, the seaweed 2 and the endless belt 21
The air between the seaweed 2 and
It is pressed against the bottom surface of the In such a state, the forward/reverse clutch operates as described above, and the endless belt 21 suddenly rotates in one direction (a specific direction according to the discrimination signal), and the nori that is in close contact with the endless belt 21 is imaginary. It is thrown in a certain direction as shown by the line. This is how the seaweed is sorted.

Figure 6 shows more detailed control operations of this device.
This will be explained using FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 6, in actual use, there is a quality identification device 50 upstream of this device for measuring the quality of seaweed. Then, the seaweed that has been determined there through the quality identification device 50 is transported as is to this device. Now, assume that the determination result of the seaweed 2 that is currently being determined directly below the quality identification device 50 is that it is to be sorted by the sorting conveyor 4a. At this time, it takes a certain period of time T for the seaweed 2 located right below the quality identification device 50 to reach the place right below the sorting conveyor 4a. As previously mentioned, a clock pulse proportional to the conveyor speed is produced by the endless belt travel distance detection system in conjunction with the second main roller 7 of the main transport conveyor 3. Assuming that the endless belt 1 moves a distance d between the clock pulse generated from the light receiving element 42 and the next clock pulse, and that the distance from the quality identification device 50 to the sorting conveyor 4a is D,
The target sorting conveyor position is reached at the D/dth clock pulse. Therefore, when the determination signal reaches the sorting conveyor 4a by the shift register or the like, the shift register signal S can be generated from the shift register.
The first timer is activated by this shift register signal S to generate a first timer signal _T1 having a variable pulse width. On the other hand, an optical sensor 51 is provided in front of each sorting conveyor, so that the passage of the seaweed 2 can be detected and the position of the seaweed can be confirmed. And the first
The timer signal _T1 is synchronized with the end of the photo signal P indicating the presence and passage of seaweed to ensure that the seaweed has passed and to ensure that the position of the seaweed is aligned with the center of the sorting conveyor 4a.
Then, the second timer is activated by the synchronization signal, and the sorting operation is performed within the period of the second timer signal _T2 . That is, the solenoid valve 32 for blowing up compressed air is operated, and the forward/reverse clutch is operated. In this way, the seaweed determined by the quality identification device 50 is sorted by driving a desired sorting conveyor in accordance with the determination signal.

Although the most preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to a sorting device having such a structure, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. It is. For example, regarding the main conveyor, a net-shaped endless belt is used, but a structure in which a plurality of narrow endless belts are arranged side by side may be used. As for the sorting conveyor, only one sorting conveyor may be incorporated into one main conveyor. This is because when sorting in multiple stages, it is sufficient to arrange a large number of devices in series. Of course, it is more efficient to arrange several to more than ten devices in parallel to one main transport conveyor, and further arrange them in series as needed, as in the embodiment described above. Moreover, this sorting conveyor may rotate only in one direction. but,
If the structure of this embodiment is such that it can rotate in both directions, it can be sorted to both sides, so it is possible to sort two types with one device, which is preferable in terms of space saving. Regarding the transfer mechanism, in this example compressed air is blown up from below, but it is also possible to create an upward air current by suctioning from the sorting conveyor side to suck up and transfer the seaweed. It is also possible to use a combination of blowing up from the transport conveyor side and sucking up from the sorting conveyor side. Furthermore, if a sorting conveyor is used to suck up the seaweed, by making the sorting conveyor long, it becomes possible to transport the sorted seaweed as is over a considerable distance. As mentioned above, various other changes can be made to the main conveyor, the sorting conveyor, the transfer mechanism, etc.

Since the present invention is a seaweed sorting device configured as described above, it is possible to automatically sort transported seaweed that has been identified by a quality identification device at high speed, accurately, and without damaging the seaweed. It can produce extremely excellent effects. In addition, in the present invention, the main transport conveyor has a ventilated structure, and a suction path with suction ports arranged along it is provided to adsorb and transport the seaweed, which is light and thin and difficult to handle. , it can be stably held in a fixed position without shifting or scattering, enabling high-speed transfer, and high-speed sorting is possible because sorting does not involve mechanical movement and can be done only by starting and stopping upward airflow. It's also effective.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of a seaweed sorting device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view showing a specific example thereof, Fig. 3 is a plan view thereof, and Fig. 4 shows the transport situation of seaweed. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams showing the transfer status of seaweed from the main conveyor side to the sorting conveyor side. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the control operation of this device, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation. This is a time chart. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Endless belt, 2... Seaweed, 3... Main conveyor, 4... Sorting conveyor, 6... First main roller, 7... Second main roller, 10... Drive chain, 12... Motor, 15a, 15b ...Horizontal holding guide member, 16...Suction port, 20...Roller, 21...Endless belt, 30...Compressed air outlet, 31...Compressed air supply path, 32...Solenoid valve, 40...Gear-shaped rotor, 41...Light emitting element, 42... Light receiving element, 50
...Quality identification device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A main transport conveyor that has a ventilated endless belt and is provided with a suction path having a suction port along the belt, and that sucks and transfers the seaweed in a flat spread state, and a ventilated endless belt. The sorting conveyors are arranged so as to intersect with each other at a certain interval above the main conveyor, and the sorting conveyor is arranged so as to intersect with each other at a certain interval. It is equipped with a transfer mechanism that generates an updraft and can freely control the generation and stop of the updraft, and by the operation of generating and stopping the updraft by the transfer mechanism, the seaweed to be sorted is transferred from the main transport conveyor to the sorting conveyor. A sorting device for seaweed, characterized in that the seaweed is transferred to the side of a main conveyor. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein one or more sorting conveyors are arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction of the main transport conveyor. 3. The sorting conveyor has a structure that allows it to start and stop in either the forward or reverse direction, and distributes the transferred seaweed to be sorted to both sides of the main conveyor. 2. The device according to item 2 or item 2. 4. A patent claim in which the transfer mechanism is equipped with a compressed air outlet located below the endless belt of the main conveyor, a compressed air supply path communicating with the outlet, and an on-off valve provided in the middle of the air outlet. The device according to item 1, item 2, or item 3. 5. The main transport conveyor has an endless belt in the form of a net, and the lower surface of the endless belt is in contact with only a portion of the horizontal holding guide members extending parallel to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor, so that the endless belt is horizontally held without sagging. Apparatus according to claim 1, as claimed.