JPH0333394B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <<Industrial Application Field>> The present invention deals with articles to be sorted, such as asparagus, by determining dimensions such as length, thickness, color, etc.
The present invention relates to an article transport and sorting device that can sort articles into a desired number of grades based on the quality of shape, etc., as sorting factors.

<<Prior Art>> Asparagus has already been selected according to its size and classified into grades based on this selection.

However, this sorting method is only based on human vision, which not only requires a great deal of effort and time, but also relies on vision, which causes variations in the sorting process and requires a large number of selections. It became difficult to classify them into 10th grade, and once they were classified as 10th grade, it became impossible to classify them.

In response, automatic food sorting machines have already been proposed and implemented in various ways, but for example, in a type that uses a bucket conveyor,
There is no equipment to rationally open and close the bucket, which is a key part of food sorting.

<<Problems to be Solved by the Invention>> The present invention has been studied in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems.Asparagus, etc., are placed individually in a bucket of a bucket conveyor and transferred, and during this transfer, The length, thickness, color, shape, etc. of each asparagus are measured using a camera, etc., and this is input into an electric controller. A number of actuators are fixedly installed so that when asparagus whose dimensions, etc. have been measured are transferred while being placed on a bucket, they can be operated within a predetermined dimensional range commensurate with the measured dimensions of the asparagus. A specific actuator is actuated by a command signal output from the controller, and this actuation causes the bucket to be pressed down, causing the asparagus etc. placed on it to fall;
One purpose is to be able to sort and collect asparagus of a predetermined grade depending on the location where the actuator is located, and to be able to mechanically and efficiently sort asparagus without variation even in a large number of grades. Another purpose is to rationally open and close the bucket.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the intended purpose of the apparatus for transporting and sorting goods such as asparagus according to the present invention, the main body of the apparatus is equipped with a horizontally running bucket conveyor that can be freely driven. an article supply section that sequentially supplies the articles to be sorted one by one to the bucket conveyor, and a measurement section using a camera or the like that sequentially measures the required sorting elements of each article to be sorted, which is located at the upper starting end of the bucket conveyor; A controller for receiving input from the measuring section is provided, and a plurality of actuators are provided at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the bucket conveyor in correspondence with the bucket conveyor, and the bucket of the bucket conveyor is , a base along the longitudinal direction of the bucket conveyor;
An opening/closing mounting plate having a fulcrum on the front side of the base body and opening the rear end side corresponding to the rear side in the traveling direction of the bucket conveyor, and a magnet for attracting the base body and the opening/closing mounting plate to each other. , and when an article to be sorted is placed on the opening/closing loading plate, the opening/closing loading plate is adsorbed and held on the base side via the magnet, and the bucket tray of the bucket conveyor is held. However, when the articles to be sorted by the bucket conveyor are placed on the opening/closing placement plate and transferred to the position of the specific actuator corresponding to the measurement value of the said article by the measuring section, the above-mentioned By pushing the actuator actuated by a command signal output from the controller based on the measured value, the attraction of the magnet is released and the opening/closing mounting plate can be rotated and lowered, and the bucket is moved to the bucket conveyor. When it is transferred from the upper side to the lower side, the opening/closing mounting plate in the lowered state falls and rotates due to its own weight, and the opening/closing mounting plate is attracted and held on the base body by the magnet, and the bucket conveyor Directly below the upper side, a plurality of sorting containers are arranged so as to be able to receive the articles to be sorted that fall from the bucket which is rotated and lowered by the opening/closing placement plate.

≪Operation≫ From the goods supply section to the bucket conveyor in operation,
When the articles to be sorted, such as asparagus, are provided, one article to be sorted is placed on each bucket of the bucket conveyor.

As a result, asparagus, etc. will be transferred one after another in a predetermined direction, but first, one
A single article to be sorted is measured by a measuring section using a camera, etc., for dimensions such as length and thickness, as well as necessary sorting factors such as color and form, and the output from the measuring section is is input into the controller, and the number of asparagus and the measured value are stored.

On the other hand, a specific actuator among the plurality of actuators is activated in response to a command signal from the controller, and this operation pushes the bucket cart loaded with the articles to be sorted and transported. Asparagus, etc. placed on the machine are dropped by the operation,
The asparagus will be received in a sorting container prepared directly below, but in this case each actuator will be activated by the controller only when the sorting element such as the length of the asparagus, etc. is within a predetermined size range. Therefore, when passing the first actuator, that actuator does not operate, but when passing through this and passing through the number of actuators, the asparagus is When it falls, it is time to move, and asparagus etc. are sorted into grades for each actuator.

<<Example>> The present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in the overall configuration by a and b in the figure, the main body 1 of the apparatus includes a bucket conveyor 2 which can be moved horizontally by a motor (not shown).
are provided, and 3, 3... in the figure are the device main body 1
The figure shows a large number of buckets installed in the width direction of the container and successively adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction.

Further, on the left side of the apparatus main body 1, at the upper starting end 2a of the bucket conveyor 2, there is attached an article supply section 4 for supplying articles to be sorted, such as asparagus, one by one to the buckets 3, 3, . . . has been
In the figure, reference numeral 5 indicates a vibrating feeder attached to the article supply section 4 for feeding the articles to be sorted one by one.

On the right side, which is the preceding side of the article supply section 4,
A measuring unit 6 is provided which can sequentially measure desired sorting factors such as length, thickness, weight, form, color, etc. of the articles to be sorted placed on the buckets 3, 3... , the illustrated measuring section 6 is equipped with a camera room 6a.

Next, an electric controller 7 is fixedly installed in the apparatus main body 1 in the vicinity of the measuring section 6, and input signals related to the measured values of each article to be sorted by the measuring section 6 are introduced and stored in the controller 7. Based on this, a command signal is sent to actuators 8, 8, etc., which will be described later, in a timely manner, and by the predetermined operation of the actuators 8, 8, etc., a predetermined bucket 3 can be pushed.

A desired plurality of actuators 8, 8... are fixedly installed on the main body 1 of the apparatus at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction. They are arranged in rows at positions where the buckets 3 can be pushed.

Further, directly below the upper side of the bucket conveyor 2, as clearly shown in FIG. The articles to be sorted on the buckets 3, 3... pushed by the actuation of the children 8, 8... fall and fall into the respective sorting containers 9, 9...
10 in the figure.
indicates a container for the lowest grade products adjacent to the main body 1 of the apparatus for storing the products to be sorted discharged from the upper end 2b of the bucket conveyor 2.

Now, an example of the configuration of the bucket carts 3, 3... in the bucket conveyor 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2a, b, 3, 4, and 5. Two guide rails 2 are provided in the longitudinal direction of the device main body 1 as shown in Fig. 2.
Chains 2d, 2d driven by a motor (not shown) run and rotate by c, 2c, but between the chains 2d, 2d, buckets 3, 3... are secured with screws. It is straddled continuously by

The bucket carts 3, 3 have a planar U-shaped base 3a fixed by the above-mentioned screws, and an upper end portion 2b of the bucket conveyor 2 arranged at the center thereof.
It consists of an opening/closing mounting plate 3b which is located on the side and is pivotally connected to the opening/closing mounting plate 3b by a shaft pin 2e so as to be freely rotatable in the vertical direction.

Furthermore, at both longitudinal ends of the base body 3a,
Permanent magnets 3c, 3c are fixedly installed so as to protrude to the back surface, and 3d in the figure is a mounting plate on which the permanent magnet 3c is fixed, and is fixed to the base body 3a with screws 3e, and 3f is a mounting plate on which the permanent magnet 3c is fixedly installed. It is an elastic ring made of rubber or the like that is fixed to the outer periphery of the permanent magnet 3c, and prevents the permanent magnet 3c from directly hitting a mating member and making noise during adsorption, which will be described later.

On the other hand, magnetic attraction plates 3g, 3g are attached to the upper surface side of both longitudinal ends of the opening/closing mounting plate 3b.
By being attracted by the permanent magnets 3c and 3c of a, the bucket 3 is held in a normal state as a rectangular flat plate as a whole, and in this state, the bucket 3 is held by the rubber etc. planted on the opening/closing mounting plate 3b. On the mounting plate 3h,
Objects to be sorted, such as asparagus, can be placed thereon. In the illustrated example, in order to prevent the objects to be sorted from moving unintentionally, both ends of the opening/closing placement plate 3b in the width direction are made high. A receiving groove 3i is formed in the center, and 3j in the figure indicates its mounting screw.

Further, in the bucket bag 3, a triangular pusher 3k is pivotally attached to the shaft pin 2e, and the height gradually increases toward the locking portion 3l protruding from the free end side of the pusher 3k. A push-down inclined surface 3m formed as shown in FIG.
In the normal state where b is attracted to the base 3a by the permanent magnets 3c, 3c as described above, a bottom portion 3n supported on the upper surface of the opening/closing mounting plate 3b is formed, and thereby the pusher 3k is held in a protruding state from the base body 3a in the above normal state, and the opening/closing mounting plate 3b is rotated and lowered in the direction of arrow A against the magnetic force, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. At this time, the pressing down 3k is caused by the locking member 3l locking into the protrusion 3d' provided on the mounting plate 3d.
Further rotational descent is prevented, and as will be described later, the pusher 3k is pressed down by operating the actuators 8, 8, . . . .

Next, regarding the actuators 8, 8, FIGS.
In the illustrated embodiment, in detail, a case 8a attached to the device main body 1 includes an induction motor 8b and a micro electromagnetic clutch 8c whose rotation is transmitted via a transmission gear. However, the output shaft 8d of the clutch 8c has an operating rotation arm 8.
e is pivotally mounted, and an actuating roller 8f is rotatably supported at its tip, and a return spring 8g is stretched between the base end of the actuating rotating arm 8e and the case 8a. There is.

Now, when a command signal is input from the controller 7 to the micro electromagnetic clutch 8c, the clutch is actuated, and the rotation of the induction motor 8b is transmitted to the actuating rotating arm 8e for a predetermined instant. The operating rotary arm 8e, which has rotated in the direction of arrow B in Fig. 7, rotates against the elasticity of the return spring 8g until it hits the stopper 8h protruding from the case 8a, and is maintained in the upright state as shown in the figure. At this time, the operation of the bucket conveyor 2 causes the bucket 3 to advance as shown by arrow C in FIG. A surface of 3 m will come into contact.

As a result, the pusher 3k is moved to the operating roller 8.
f, and as a result, the opening/closing mounting plate 3b pivotally connected to the base body 3a is pulled away from the state of attraction by the permanent magnet 3c, and is placed in the state shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. Therefore, at this time, the opening/closing mounting plate 3b
The articles to be sorted on the receiving seat 3h lose their receiving bodies and fall.

Here, in the illustrated example of FIG. 5, a push-down plate 3e is fixed to the opening/closing mounting plate 3b, which stands perpendicularly to the pin 2e side thereof, and a push-down plate 3e is fixed to the base body 3a. Also, a partition plate 3p made of rubber or the like is erected in a tapered state parallel to the push-down plate 3e, and furthermore, in the same figure, at the upper end of the partition plate 3p, there is a bucket plate 3 installed next to the partition plate 3p. An inverted triangular auxiliary member 3p' is attached to the side, so that the objects to be sorted on the bucket 3 do not intrude into the subsequent adjacent bucket.

Next, in order to use the above embodiment, the bucket conveyor 2 is operated to transport the upper buckets 3, 3... to the right as shown by arrow C in FIG. The vibrating feeder 5 into which the articles to be sorted, such as In this way, the articles to be sorted are delivered to the buckets 3, 3, etc. one by one.
Regarding the opening/closing mounting plate 3b of..., its mounting seat 3h
It will be placed in the receiving groove 3i in.

These articles to be sorted pass through the measuring section 6 one after another by the operation of the bucket conveyor 2, but here, necessary sorting elements such as size and shape are checked in the camera room 6a.
When the measured value is introduced into the controller 7, the measured value of the item to be sorted is stored.

The articles to be sorted that have been measured in this manner are further transferred in the advancing direction of the conveyor while being placed on the buckets 3, 3..., but then the above-mentioned actuators 8, 8... are installed. The vehicle will be transported sequentially through the areas where the vehicle is located.

By the way, the above-mentioned actuators 8, 8... correspond to the sorting elements based on the diameter of asparagus, etc., and the actuators 8, 8. It is actuated by a command signal, and the next actuator is actuated upon the arrival of an article to be sorted whose diameter is larger than bφ and smaller than cφ.

Therefore, the fact that the diameter size is a selection factor as described above means that when a sufficiently thick piece of asparagus, etc. arrives at the first actuator 8, a command signal is issued from the controller 7, and the said actuator is is activated,
As described above, as a result of this operation, the opening/closing mounting plate 3b of the bucket 3 rotates and descends, and the asparagus, etc. are received in the sorting container 9 directly below it.
If the asparagus, etc. is thinner than aφ to bφ, the first bucket 3 will not operate, and in this case, it will be placed on the bucket 3 and proceed to the next stage actuator 8. Become.

In this way, the controller 7 operates the specific actuator 8 corresponding to the measured value based on the known measured value of the article to be sorted which has been measured in the number of arrivals. , the sorted articles that are sorted into the corresponding containers 9, 9... and fall down, and for which none of the actuators 8, 8... are actuated are treated as non-standard articles and transferred to the upper end portion 2b of the bucket conveyor 2. and will be put into the container 10 for the lowest grade products.

The operation of the actuators 8, 8, . . . described above is achieved by transmitting the rotation of the induction motor 8b to the output shaft 8d for a predetermined period of time when the micro electromagnetic clutch 8c receives a command signal from the controller 7. By rotating the operating arm 8c against the elasticity of the return spring 8a, the seventh
As shown in the figure, the actuating roller 8f is held in the vertical position where it hits the stopper 8h, and the operating roller 8f is in the lowest position.

In this state, the bucket 3 of the bucket conveyor 2 moves in the direction of arrow C in FIG.
m will be pressed, and this will cause pusher 3k to press.
At this time, the opening/closing mounting plate 3b of the bucket 3 is pushed down, and as shown by the arrow B in FIG. , it is released from the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 3c and rotates downward to be in a suspended state.

As a result, the objects to be sorted that had been placed on the placement seat 3h of the opening/closing placement plate 3b fall and are received in the sorting container 9 placed at the corresponding lower level. Return spring 8g
Due to the restoring force, the actuating roller 8f returns to a state where it does not press against the pusher 3k.

The opening/closing mounting plate 3b has also been opened and is now in a suspended state.
When rotating from the upper end end 2b of the bucket conveyor 2 to the lower end, it is reversed and attracted to the base body 3a by the permanent magnet 3c, and is in a closed reversed state as shown in FIG. 2b. , the lower side will be transported.

In addition, if the push-down plate 3e is provided as described above when opening by rotating and lowering the above-mentioned opening/closing mounting plate 3b,
Since the articles to be sorted can be forcibly pushed down, the opening/closing mounting plate 3b, which was once in a hanging state as shown by the dashed line in FIG. Obstacles such as involuntary obstruction of the fall of the object will be prevented.

In addition, the partition plate 3p is designed to prevent materials to be sorted from being transferred to adjacent buckets when being supplied to the buckets 3, 3, . In this case, by including an auxiliary member 3p' as shown in the illustrated example, the effect can be made even more reliable.

≪Effects of the Invention≫ As explained above, when the article transport sorting device according to the present invention is used, the work of sorting articles with different dimensions, such as asparagus, into many grades can be performed using a bucket without relying on workers. This can be achieved automatically and with high reliability through the conveyor and each component installed in connection with it.
Moreover, each bucket provided on the bucket conveyor has a base body along the longitudinal direction of the bucket conveyor and a fulcrum on the front side of the base body, and opens the rear end side corresponding to the rear side in the traveling direction of the bucket conveyor. Since it is composed of an opening/closing mounting plate and a magnet for attracting these bases and the opening/closing mounting plate to each other,
Even if the attraction of the magnet is released by pushing the actuator when opening/closing the loading plate, when the bucket is transferred from the upper side of the bucket conveyor to the lower side,
The opening/closing mounting plate is automatically closed without requiring any special mechanism or operation, and therefore the bucket can be opened and closed by rational means.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1A and 1B are a plan view and a front view, respectively, of an article transporting and sorting device according to the present invention, and FIGS.
b is a partial plan view schematically showing the attachment point of the actuator of the same device, and a schematic front view thereof, respectively; FIG. 3 is a partial plan view showing the bucket conveyor of the same device; FIG. 5 is a side view schematically showing the operation of the bucket with a part cut away, FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing the actuator of the same device, and FIG. 7 is the same as that shown in FIG. FIG. 1...Equipment body, 2...Bucket conveyor, 2
a... Upper starting end of bucket conveyor, 2b...
Upper end of bucket conveyor, 3...bucket, 3a...base, 3b...opening/closing mounting plate, 3c...
... Permanent magnet, 4 ... Article supply section, 6 ... Measurement section,
7... Controller, 8... Operator, 9... Sorting container.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The main body of the device, which is provided with a horizontally running bucket conveyor that can be freely driven, includes an article supplying section located at the upper starting end of the bucket conveyor and for supplying the articles to be sorted one by one to the bucket, and A measurement section using a camera or the like that sequentially measures the required sorting elements of the sorted articles, and a controller that receives input from the measurement section are provided, and in correspondence with the bucket conveyor, an interval is provided in the longitudinal direction of the bucket conveyor. The bucket conveyor has a base body along the longitudinal direction of the bucket conveyor, and a fulcrum on the front side of the base body, which corresponds to the rear in the traveling direction of the bucket conveyor. The apparatus is equipped with an opening/closing mounting plate whose rear end side is opened, and a magnet for attracting the base body and the opening/closing mounting plate to each other, and an article to be sorted is placed on the opening/closing mounting plate. In this case, the opening/closing placement plate is adsorbed and held on the base side via the magnet, and the bucket of the bucket conveyor places the articles to be sorted on the bucket conveyor on the opening/closing placement plate. When the article to be sorted is transferred to the position of the specific actuator corresponding to the measured value by the measuring section, the actuator is pushed by a command signal output from the controller based on the measured value. Due to the movement, the attraction of the magnet is released and the opening/closing placing plate can rotate and descend freely, and when the bucket is transferred from the upper side of the bucket conveyor to the lower side, the opening/closing placing plate in the lowered state is It falls and rotates due to its own weight, and the opening/closing mounting plate is attracted and held on the base by the magnet,
Further, a plurality of sorting containers are arranged directly below the upper side of the bucket conveyor so as to be able to receive the articles to be sorted that fall from the bucket which is rotated and lowered by the opening/closing loading plate. Equipment for transporting and sorting products such as asparagus.