JPH0578490B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention is applicable to collections of fruits and vegetables (hereinafter simply referred to as "fruits"), shipping places, etc. The present invention relates to a fruit arranging device for arranging a large number of fruits, which are supplied from a conveyor or the like for transporting fruits toward a fruit sorting section or a sorting conveyor, into a plurality of rows, which are supplied more to the center than to the left and right sides.

[Prior art] Conventionally, as this type of alignment device, the
The one described in Microfilm No. 6153 (Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-110620) is known.

In the above-mentioned known method, the same number (3) of individually vibrating supply troughs as the number of rows to be aligned are arranged in parallel, and the inlet end of each supply trough is connected to a flat surface to supply the supply from an upstream supply table. Allow the potatoes to accumulate on the flat side of each feed trough,
When too much water accumulates, the supply trough is stopped, and the potatoes are dispersed and arranged in the hopes that they will roll from the flat surface of the stopped supply trough onto the vibrating flat surface of the supply trough. .

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, since the above-mentioned known device uses a plurality of supply troughs equal in number to the number of rows to be arranged, the cost of the device is not only high but also its structure is complicated. The problem was that it was complicated.

In addition, the above-mentioned known method is based on the expectation that the potato will roll from the flat surface of the stopped supply trough onto the flat surface of the vibrating supply trough. Potatoes that have accumulated and stopped often do not roll, and there is a problem in that it is not possible to disperse (diffuse) the potatoes so that they are evenly arranged in each row.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the cost of the device is low, the structure is simple, and it is possible to disperse (diffuse) so that the devices are evenly aligned in each column. The purpose of this invention is to provide a fruit arranging device that can arrange fruits.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention takes the following technical means to achieve the above object.

That is, the present invention is an arranging device that arranges a large number of fruits, which are relatively more supplied to the central part than to the left and right sides, into a predetermined plurality of rows while conveying them using a diaphragm, and sequentially from the entrance side to the exit side. , a spreading section with a flat upper surface, a flat conveying section similar to the flat top surface, and an alignment section partitioned into a plurality of predetermined rows are arranged on a single diaphragm, and the spreading section has a large number of parts for accelerating and conveying the fruits in the traveling direction. An accelerating member consisting of an elastic protrusion is stretched to form a conveyance surface, and the conveyance surface is formed in a shape that is approximately symmetrical in plan view and gradually becomes narrower as it progresses downstream. The structure of the fruit arranging device is characterized in that the fruit arranging device is slightly higher than the conveying surface of the conveying section.

[Example] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the vibrate feeder as an alignment device of the present invention uses a vibration generator 2 provided on a base 1 to generate a single diaphragm 4 via a leaf spring 3. It has a structure that vibrates,
As shown in FIG. 9, a large number of fruits 100, which are relatively more supplied to the central portion of the conveying surface of the diaphragm 4 than to the left and right sides, are conveyed by the vibration of the diaphragm 4 and arranged in a plurality of predetermined rows. This is to align them. As shown most clearly in FIG. 2, on the upper surface of the diaphragm 4, there are countless elastic bodies that are inclined at a certain angle in the direction of travel (from the inlet side 42 to the outlet side 45) with respect to the vertical line. An accelerating member 41 consisting of a protrusion is stretched to form a conveying surface, and the vibration of the vibration plate 4 causes the elastic protrusion to move the fruit 100 in the traveling direction.
It is now possible to transport at an accelerated pace.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 5 denotes a frame, which supports the base 1 via a vibration isolating member 6 that absorbs vibrations of the base 1.

The diaphragm 4 is provided with a diffusion conveyance section 43 extending a predetermined length from the inlet side 42 and having a flat top surface, and an alignment section 44 in which a plurality of alignment conveyance paths 441 are formed on the exit side 45 following this. There is. The diffusion conveyance section 43 is disposed on the inlet side 42 of the diaphragm 4, and has a shape that is almost symmetrical in plan view and that gradually becomes narrower toward the downstream side (triangular in the illustrated example). Diffusion section 431 having a surface
and a conveyance section 43 having a flat conveyance surface that follows the conveyance surface of the diffusion section 431 with a step slightly lower than the conveyance surface of the diffusion section 431.
It consists of 2.

It is preferable that the difference in level between the conveyance surface of the diffusion section 431 and the conveyance surface of the conveyance section 432 is determined according to the type, size, and shape of the fruit 100.

That is, for fruits that are close to spherical, it is preferable to have fewer steps to reduce rolling, and for fruits that are a little longer, such as kiwi fruits, to have slightly more steps to increase the diffusion effect of the steps.

In addition, the shape of the conveying surface of the diffusion section 431 in plan view may be a shape that is approximately symmetrical on the left and right and gradually becomes narrower as it progresses toward the downstream side, for example, a substantially semicircular shape with an apex on the downstream side or approximately on the left and right sides. It can also be formed into a trapezoid (both not shown) that is symmetrical and has a short side on the downstream side.

Note that here, the fruit 100 is
The operation of the diffusion section 431 will be explained with reference to FIG. 14, which schematically shows how the particles are transported.

The fruit 100 supplied onto the conveying surface of the spreading section 431 is accelerated in the traveling direction by the numerous elastic protrusions of the accelerating member 41 due to the vibration of the diaphragm 4, and conveyed to the position A, further traveling straight (arrow A). However, the diffusion section 43
The conveying surface of No. 1 is approximately symmetrical in plan view, and has a shape that gradually becomes narrower toward the downstream side, and is slightly higher than the conveying surface of the conveying section 432, so that the conveying surface of No. 1 is After going straight from position B to position C, a part of the fruit 100 gradually comes off the conveying surface of the spreading section 431, and the fruit 100 moves straight from the spreading section 431 with respect to the center line in the traveling direction. The center part side is accelerated more strongly by the elastic protrusion than the side part side, and as a result, as shown by arrow B, it curves slightly toward the side and reaches the position C. When the fruit 100 is transferred from the position C onto the conveying surface of the conveying section 432, since there is a step, the fruit 100 further rolls slightly to the side and moves onto the conveying surface of the conveying section 432.
32 (arrow C).

In this way, a relatively large number of fruits 100 are supplied to the central portion of the conveying surface of the spreading section 431 rather than to the left and right sides thereof, and the fruits 100 are distributed approximately evenly in the left and right direction to the conveying section 431.
It is conveyed onto the conveyance surface of No.2.

In the alignment section 44, as shown in FIG. 4, the conveyance surface of the plurality of alignment conveyance paths 441 is slightly lower than the conveyance surface of the conveyance path 432. This alignment section 44
As shown in FIG. 6, a predetermined plurality of rows of alignment conveyance paths 441 are formed by dividing the fruit by partitions 442 with a width corresponding to the size of one fruit 100.

This partition 442 is sized to fit into the gap created at the bottom between rows of adjacent fruits 100,
Same level (height) as the conveyance surface of the conveyance section 432
or can be formed at a slightly lower level.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the alignment conveyance path 441 may be provided with steps in the form of steps descending from the conveyance surface of the conveyance section 432.

Furthermore, the alignment conveyance path 441 has a V-shape (FIG. 7) or a U-shape (FIG. 8), which is different from the planar shape shown in FIG. 6.
In this case, the partition 442 can be omitted.

With the above configuration, a large number of fruits 100 that have been supplied from the previous process to the central portion of the conveying surface of the spreading section 431 in a relatively larger quantity than to both left and right sides are transferred from the conveying surface of the spreading section 431 to the conveying section as described above. When transferred onto the conveyance surface of the conveyance unit 432, the particles are spread laterally and conveyed substantially evenly in the left and right direction onto the conveyance surface of the conveyance section 432. The fruits 100 transported on the transport surface of the transport section 432 are transported through a predetermined plurality of aligned transport paths 441.
are conveyed and arranged in a line evenly to each of them.

9 to 13 show examples of automatically packing fruits using the sorting device 20 of the present invention.

In the figure, 7 is a fruit sorting conveyor, and fruit 10
The weight or shape of fruit 100 is measured to determine the class, and the determined fruits 100 are discharged from a predetermined sorting/discharging section 71 according to class.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a drawer conveyor, which is provided in the sorting and discharging section 71 of the same class of each row, penetrating the inside of the fruit sorting conveyor 7, and conveys the fruits 100 discharged from each row to the outside of the fruit sorting conveyor 7. It's becoming like that.

The exit side 81 of this drawer conveyor 8 is connected to the arranging device 20 of the present invention, and at the end of the arranging conveyance path 441 on the exit side 45 of the arranging device 20, the fruit 100 sent from the arranging conveyance path 441 is directed downward. A constant input device 9 is provided to input the constant number.

The constant feeding device 9 includes bearings 92 provided on both left and right sides of a tray pack conveyor 10, which will be described later.
and a rotating shaft 93 supported by the bearing 92;
It consists of a receiving plate 91 attached to the rotating shaft 93 and a rotation mechanism that rotates the receiving plate 91 around the rotating shaft 93. A predetermined plurality of saucers are formed by corresponding partitions 911, respectively.

The rotation mechanism for rotating the receiving plate 91 is a rotation shaft 93.
A rotating arm 94 is fixed to one end of the rotating arm 94, and a cylinder 95 is connected to the rotating arm 94, so that the receiving plate 91 is rotated by the operation of the cylinder 95.

The cylinder 9 serves as a mechanism for rotating the receiving plate 91.
5 was used, but other driving devices such as motors and solenoids may also be used.

A fruit detection sensor (not shown) is provided above each tray of the receiving plate 91 to detect the presence or absence of fruit 100, and is configured to detect the fruit 100 transferred from each alignment conveyance path 44 to each tray. It's summery. When the delivery of the fruit 100 to each tray on the receiving plate 91 is completed, the cylinder 9 is sent via a control circuit (not shown) by a signal from each fruit detection sensor.
5 is activated to rotate the receiving plate 91 downward.

The tray pack transport conveyor 10 is provided below the drawer conveyor 8 and passes through the fruit sorting conveyor 7, and further passes below the constant feeding device 9 and has a transport path for at least two tray packs 11 beyond that. It is provided.

As the tray pack conveyor 10, a conveyor such as a driven roller conveyor or a chain conveyor with a top plate is used.

Reference numerals 101a...f are stop devices for temporarily stopping the tray packs 11 on the tray pack conveyor 10, and the abutting portions are connected to the tray packs etc. by means of air cylinders, solenoids, etc. It has become more common to appear.

This stop device 101 is designed to stop the tray packs 11 for each row based on the first row of holes in the tray packs 11 being transported, and is provided at a predetermined distance apart according to the hole row spacing of each tray pack 11. It is being

12 is a brake device which uses an air cylinder, solenoid, etc. to brake the following tray pack 1 in order to create an appropriate gap between the rear end of the preceding tray pack 11 and the front end of the following tray pack 11.
1 from the side to temporarily stop it.

The operation of packing fruit 100 using the apparatus configured as described above will be explained. Empty tray packs 11 conveyed by tray pack conveyor 10 are placed on standby by a stop device 101a so that the holes in the first row of tray packs 11 face the loading position of constant loading device 9. Almost at the same time as waiting, the sensor 131 detects the presence or absence of the tray pack 11.

On the other hand, a large number of fruits 100 that are discharged and conveyed onto the drawer conveyor 8 and are supplied on the conveying surface of the spreading section 431 of the sorting device 20 in a relatively larger amount in the center than on both sides are transported by the spreading section 431. As described above, the particles of the constant feeding device 9 are distributed and transported almost evenly in the left and right direction from above onto the transport surface of the transport unit 432, and as they are transported, they are evenly aligned on each alignment transport path 441, so that the constant feeding device 9 One piece is supplied to each tray on the receiving plate 91.

In the constant input device 9, the receiving plate 91
When 100 fruits are supplied to each saucer,
Each fruit 10 is detected by each fruit detection sensor (not shown).
0 is detected, and this output signal and said sensor 1
31, the cylinder 95 is actuated to rotate the receiving plate 91 downward, and a plurality of fruits 100 are
are put into each hole in the first row of the tray pack 11.

The receiving plate 91 that has finished feeding immediately returns to its original position and receives the fruit 100 supplied from each alignment conveyance path 441 in the same manner as described above. Simultaneously with the return operation of the receiving plate 91, the abutting portion of the stop device 101a is lowered to release the stop of the tray pack 11. As a result, the tray pack 11 filled with fruits 100 in the first row advances until it stops at the next stop device 101b, and the holes in the second row are exposed to the loading position. When the receiving plate 91 receives a predetermined number of fruits 100 in the same manner as described above, it rotates downward to input the fruits 100 into the holes in the second row.

From now on, repeat this operation in the same way, and
As shown in the figure, when the last row of holes in the tray pack 11 faces the insertion position of the fruit 100, the tray pack 11 is stopped by a stop device 101f.
At the same time, the brake device 12 is actuated by the output signal from the sensor 132 provided immediately before the stop device 101f and the output signal from the sensor 133, thereby stopping the preceding tray pack 11 and the following tray pack 1.
1, the subsequent tray pack 11 is temporarily stopped.

The sensor 133 detects the presence or absence of the following tray pack 11 when the tray pack 11 is stopped by the stop device 101f, and if there is no following tray pack 11, it is not detected and the operation of the brake device 12 is stopped.

The sensor 134 also detects the tray pack 11 in which each hole is filled with fruits 100, as shown in FIG.
It is provided to detect the tray pack 11 when the rear end has finished passing over the stop device 101a, and the output signal causes the stop device 101a to be detected.
operates and the abutting part rises. At the same time, the brake device 12 releases the stoppage of the tray pack 11, and the subsequent tray pack 11 is advanced to the stop device 101a, waiting to be inserted into the first row of holes.

On the other hand, stop devices 101b, c, d, e, f
is tray pack 11 filled with 100 fruits.
As the rear end passes, the tray returns sequentially and enters the initial state where it waits for the next tray pack 11 to be sent. When the next tray pack 11 is sent, the operation is repeated in the same manner as described above.

In this way, the fruits 100 are placed one after another into the tray packs 11 that are continuously sent, and packing is performed.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the present invention, a diffusion section, a conveyance section, and an alignment section divided into a plurality of predetermined rows are arranged in a single diaphragm in sequence from the inlet side to the outlet side, and A large number of fruits, which are supplied comparatively more to the central part than to the left and right sides, are received on the spreading part, and the spreading part is stretched by an accelerating member consisting of countless elastic protrusions for accelerating and conveying the fruits in the traveling direction. The conveying surface is formed in a shape that is approximately (almost) symmetrical in plan view and gradually becomes narrower toward the downstream side, and the conveying surface of the conveying section is Therefore, a large number of fruits being conveyed on the conveying surface of the dispersing section gradually come off the conveying surface of the dispersing section and transfer onto the conveying surface of the conveying section. Until just before, it is diffused laterally by the elastic protrusions, and furthermore, when transferring from the conveyance surface of the diffusion section to the conveyance surface of the conveyance section, it rolls slightly further to the side due to the step and is diffused. It has the effect of being able to spread a large number of fruits almost evenly in the left and right direction on the conveying surface of the conveying section and evenly aligning them in each row of the arranging section, and moreover, evenly aligning them in each row. Since this is done using a single diaphragm instead of a plurality of diaphragms, the cost of the device is low and the structure is simple.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of essential parts of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line B-B of Fig. 1. 5 is a partial detailed view showing another embodiment of the alignment section, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 2, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are other embodiments of the alignment conveyance path. An explanatory diagram showing an example, FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a main part showing a fruit packing facility using the sorting device of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a front view of FIG. 9, and FIG. 11 is a plan view of FIG. 9. Figures 12 and 13 are front views for explaining the operation of the tray pack, etc.;
FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing how fruits are transported in the spreading section. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Base, 2... Vibration generator, 3... Leaf spring, 4... Vibration plate, 5... Frame, 6... Vibration isolation member, 7... Fruit sorting conveyor, 8... Drawer conveyor, 9 ...Constant input device, 10...Tray pack conveyor, 11...Tray pack, 12...
Brake device, 20...Alignment device, 41...Acceleration member, 42...Inlet side, 43...Diffusion conveyance section, 4
4... Alignment part, 45... Outlet side, 71... Discharge part, 81... Outlet side, 91... Reception plate, 92... Bearing, 93... Rotating shaft, 94... Rotating arm, 95
... Cylinder, 100 ... Fruit, 101 ... Stop device, 131 ... Sensor, 132 ... Sensor, 133 ... Sensor, 134 ... Sensor, 431 ... Diffusion section, 432 ... Conveyance section, 44
1... Alignment conveyance path, 442... Partition, 911...
…partition.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A sorting device that arranges a large number of fruits, which are relatively more supplied to the center than to the left and right sides, into a predetermined plurality of rows while conveying them using a diaphragm, and which spreads fruits with a flat top surface sequentially from the entrance side to the exit side. A flat conveyance section and an alignment section partitioned into a plurality of predetermined rows are arranged on a single diaphragm, and the spreading section consists of numerous elastic protrusions for accelerating and conveying the fruit in the traveling direction. An acceleration member is stretched to form a conveying surface,
The conveying surface is formed in a shape that is substantially symmetrical in plan view, gradually becoming narrower toward the downstream side, and is slightly higher than the conveying surface of the conveying section. alignment device.