JPH0468996B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for sorting fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, melons, peaches, etc., in which water is used as a means for transporting fruits and vegetables.

[Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Conventionally, as a fruit sorting facility using water, there is one in which a water damper device having a water tank is disposed in a cargo receiving section. This device uses a conveyor etc. to pull up the fruits to be sorted into the water tank and supply them to the fruit sorting line.In addition to being used as a washing and sorting device for root vegetables such as carrots, It is also used in the department's apple sorting facility.

All of the above-mentioned products are used to wash away soil stains from received selected fruits at the receiving section, but they are also used to prevent damage from rolling impact when discharging them from the carry-on container. Yes, the selected fruits are taken up from the aquarium by an inclined conveyor.
After undergoing pre-processing processes such as washing, brushing, draining and drying, the fruit is sorted and packaged using equipment similar to normal fruit sorting facilities that do not use water tanks.

Therefore, damage such as bruises and rolling scratches occurs at various parts of the fruit sorting process, particularly in the part from the fruit sorting machine to the part where the fruit is discharged into different grades and packed into boxes, and there is a drawback that it is impossible to prevent such damage.

On the other hand, fruits and vegetables (hereinafter simply referred to as fruits and vegetables)
The market is demanding the shipment of tastier, higher-quality varieties and fully ripened products, reflecting consumption trends.However, although these higher-quality varieties and ripened products are delicious, they are easily perishable, so they cannot be shipped conventionally using transportation means such as belt conveyors. Since fruit sorting machines are not used and a lot of manpower is required, large-scale processing is not possible. Furthermore, ripe products tend to overheat as they ripen and do not have a long shelf life, so they have the disadvantage of being limited to short-distance markets, and the current situation is that consumer demands are not being met. It is desired to develop a method and apparatus for processing high-quality fruits in large quantities.

[Object of the Invention] As described above, the object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for sorting fruits and vegetables that enable the shipment of high-quality, fully ripe fruits in large quantities that meet consumer demands.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and the feature of the method is that fruits and vegetables to be supplied to a hydro damper are connected to the hydro damper. At the same time, the water tank is divided into a plurality of rows in the width direction, and the fruits and vegetables are sorted by grade and fed into a waterway using a conveyor. The fruits and vegetables are lifted out of the waterway and transported by grade, and then drained. The fruits and vegetables are drained and transported by grade. During transportation, the size of the fruits and vegetables is measured by a measuring device, and based on the results, the class of the fruits and vegetables is determined by a calculation device. The fruits and vegetables that have been graded and conveyed according to grade are discharged onto a water conveyor according to grade from the corresponding discharge position on the conveyance path, and the fruits and vegetables are sorted.

In addition, the features of the device include a hydro damper through which fruits and vegetables are supplied into the water, and a water tank connected to the hydro damper in which water flows in a predetermined direction, which is divided into multiple rows in the width direction. a transfer means forming a waterway for transporting fruits and vegetables by grade; a draining means for pulling up and draining the fruits and vegetables conveyed by the conveyance path of the transporting means from the waterway by grade; and separating the drained fruits and vegetables by grade. a sorting means for measuring the size of the fruits and vegetables midway through each conveyance path to determine their class, and discharging the fruits and vegetables for which the class has been determined from the corresponding discharge position according to the grade; It is characterized by comprising a correspondingly provided water conveyor that receives fruits and vegetables discharged from the discharge position and carries them out in a predetermined direction.

[Embodiment] The drawings showing one embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a receiving conveyor, which continuously supplies containers containing fruits and vegetables (hereinafter referred to as containers) to the hydro damper 2. An empty container carry-out conveyor 3 is attached to the hydro damper 2, and fruits and vegetables are supplied into the water and empty containers are carried out of the machine.

4 is a water tank 4 as a transfer means connected to the hydro damper 2, and a grade manual sorting section 5.
, a pool section 6 , and an alignment supply section 7 . Although not shown in the drawings, this water tank 4 is combined with a water supply device, a circulation pump, etc., and the water in the hydro damper 2 is transferred to the grade manual sorting section 5, the pool section 6,
It is adapted to flow into the alignment supply section 7.

The grade manual sorting section 5 is provided with partitions 501 for dividing the water tank 4 into multiple rows in the width direction.
Fruits and vegetables are transported by grade through these divided waterways. At the entrance of this waterway, fruits and vegetables transported by the water flow are placed in a side waterway 5.
A guide 502 is provided to guide the user to 03.

In this grade manual sorting section 5, the number of rows of waterways is set depending on the processing capacity and the number of grades to be sorted. Flowing fruits and vegetables are divided into waterways 503, 503 on both sides. Then, conveyor 50 is placed in 503 on both sides of the waterway.
4 is provided, and as shown in Fig. 2, the incoming fruits and vegetables are scooped up from the water surface and transported horizontally for a predetermined distance, and then lowered back into the water so that they are carried by the water current. The central portion blocked by the guide 502 and from which fruits and vegetables do not flow in, that is, the portion sandwiched between the conveyors 504 on both sides, forms waterways 505 and 506 that are partitioned into one or more sections and carry selected grades of fruits and vegetables, As shown in FIG. 3, when there are multiple columns, the grade is designated for each column.

In the grading manual sorting section 5, an operator picks up fruits and vegetables transported through the side waterways 503, 503, visually inspects them, determines their grade, and sorts them into predetermined graded waterways.

The pool section 6 is provided to transport the fruits and vegetables graded by the manual grading section 5 to the next process and to absorb uneven supply, and is an extension of the waterway partitioned by the manual grading section 5. However, the width is not necessarily the same as that of the manual grading section 5, and depending on the grade ratio of fruits and vegetables, each channel width is appropriately expanded and inflated to form a large pool of fruits and vegetables in each channel. has been done.

In addition, if the grading manual sorting section 5 and the fruit sorting conveyor 8 described later cannot be arranged on the same straight line,
The pool portion 6 can be laid out as appropriate by curving it or the like.

The alignment supply section 7 is formed by gradually narrowing the width of the downstream portion of the pool section 6 so that fruits and vegetables are lined up in a line in the traveling direction for each waterway.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a water draining means provided after the aligned supply section 7, which extends the fruit sorting conveyor 8 described later to the upstream side and arranges its inlet part (driven section) 801 in the water of the aligned supply section 7. At the same time, a drainer blower device 901 is provided at a predetermined position above the conveyance path of the fruit sorting conveyor 8, and is configured to remove water droplets attached to fruits and vegetables pulled up from the water during conveyance.
Incidentally, the conveyor for pulling up fruits and vegetables from the water in the alignment and supply section 7 can also be configured by using another lifting conveyor 8a without extending the fruit sorting conveyor 8, as shown in FIG.

This draining device means 9 not only simply blows air to drain water, but also, for example, in the case of fruits and vegetables such as peaches, before draining the fruits and vegetables, a heated water shower device (not shown) is used to spray warm water at around 52 degrees Celsius onto the surface of the fruits and vegetables. After taking a hot bath for a short period of time to sterilize the rotting disease bacteria (spores) such as gray rot that adhere to the outer surface of fruits and vegetables,
In some cases, the structure is such that water droplets are removed by blowing cold air.

A water receiver 10 is provided below the conveyor of the water draining means 9, and the removed water is transferred to the downstream end 40 of the water tank 4.
A portion of the wastewater is drained by flowing it into the gutter 11 together with the overflow water from the drain 1, and a portion is collected by a circulation pump (not shown) and used for circulation.

When a hot water shower device (not shown) is used, the gutter 11 is generally configured to separate overflow water and hot water shower/drain removal water so that they can be collected separately.

Next, a sorting means for sorting the drained fruits and vegetables into grades and classes will be explained. This selection method is
A fruit sorting conveyor 8 that conveys fruits and vegetables by grade; a measuring section 12 that is provided along the conveyance path of this fruit sorting conveyor 8 and measures the size of fruits and vegetables being conveyed;
It consists of an arithmetic device (not shown) that determines the class based on the measured results and outputs a sorting signal, and a sorting section 16 that discharges the fruit according to grade and class from the conveyance path of the fruit sorting conveyor 8.

The fruit sorting conveyor 8 is, for example, a conveyor with a saucer, a belt conveyor, or the like, and is configured to be able to discharge fruits and vegetables on the conveyor at a predetermined discharge position.

The measuring section 12 includes a shape measuring device 1 using a sensor camera 14 and an illumination device 15 as shown in FIG.
3. In addition, this measuring section includes a weight measuring device 122 using an electronic scale 121 as shown in FIG.
can also be configured.

This shape measuring device 13 and weight measuring device 122
A known one can be used. Furthermore, the arithmetic device (not shown) calculates the measured value, determines the class based on the magnitude thereof, and outputs a sorting signal for each class, and is a known one.

The sorting unit 16 includes a discharge actuation device 161 (sixth one) that discharges fruits and vegetables from the fruit sorting conveyor 8 to a predetermined discharge position according to the number of sorting by grade and class.
7), and the discharge actuating device 161 is activated by the sorting signal outputted from the arithmetic unit (not shown) and sent in synchronization with the progress of fruits and vegetables on the fruit sorting conveyor 8. Fruits and vegetables are discharged by falling from the fruit sorting conveyor.

Since the discharge actuating device 161 is used by being assembled to the fruit sorting conveyor 8,
The same known one is used.

Reference numeral 162 denotes a water conveyor, in which water tanks are provided for each grade below where each discharge operating device 161 is arranged, and fruits and vegetables sorted and discharged from the fruit sorting conveyor 8 are carried to the outside of the fruit sorting conveyor 8 by a water stream. Configure it so that it is pooled.

Reference numeral 163 denotes a gate, which is provided at each exit of the water conveyor 162 for each grade class with a low sorting distribution rate. At each outlet of this water conveyor 162, a supply water channel 17 is provided.
The fruit and vegetables pooled on the water conveyor 162 are sent to the supply waterway 17 by opening and closing the gate 163.

Water conveyors 162 for each classification class with a high sorting distribution rate may be further extended and provided with a supply waterway 17a without providing a gate 163.

The water conveyor 162 and the supply waterway 1
7 and 17a are constructed so that water flows in a predetermined direction using a water supply device and a circulation pump (both not shown).

The water conveyor 162 and the supply waterway 1
The water streams 7 and 17a are preferably controlled to a low temperature by providing a cooling device (not shown) as part of the water supply/circulation process.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a boxing supply conveyor, which has an inlet section (driven section) 181 submerged in the water supply channels 17 and 17a, pulls up the fruits and vegetables from the water, passes through a draining step 19, extends them further, and conveys them to the boxing section 22. Configure it as follows.

As the boxing supply conveyor 18, a net conveyor, a bar conveyor, a roller conveyor, etc. having a width equal to or slightly narrower than the width of the boxing container can be used, and the extension portion 182 after the draining step 19 is thin. It is preferable that fruits and vegetables are conveyed side by side in the width direction.

Reference numeral 19 is a draining step, in which a blower 191 is installed above the boxing supply conveyor 18, and the fruit and vegetables on the conveying surface are blown with air to blow off water droplets and drained.

A water receiving gutter 20 is provided at the bottom of the boxing conveyor 18 in this draining step 19, and the water removed by the wind is flowed into the gutter 21 together with the overflow water from the downstream ends 171 of the supply channels 17, 17a, and some of the waste water is removed. Drain the water and use a circulation pump to circulate the rest.

22 is a boxing section, and a boxing conveyor 23 facing the boxing containers 221 is provided at the lower end of the boxing supply conveyor 18 to sequentially transport the boxing containers 221.

The boxing conveyor 23 is adapted to slowly convey fruits and vegetables at a speed that fills a container 221 with fruits and vegetables depending on the amount of fruits and vegetables supplied.

This boxing is not a completely automatic boxing, but a semi-automatic boxing device that manually rearranges the fruits and vegetables in the container 221 in a fixed position, and also slightly corrects the number of items to be boxed.

Therefore, the exact number of boxes is not supplied into the container 221 from the tip of the boxing supply conveyor 18, and there may be some variation.

Further, although not shown, a piece counting device and a shutter or a conveyor stop control circuit are provided at the tip of the boxing supply conveyor 18, and the cartoning conveyor 23 is configured to move in increments in synchronization with the piece counter to automatically pack a predetermined amount into boxes. You can also.

At the rear end 231 of the boxing conveyor 23,
An empty box supply conveyor 24 and an automatic box distribution device 25 are provided, and an empty container 232 is pushed out and supplied to a rear end portion 231 every time the boxing conveyor 23 completes boxing and sends out the box.

The empty box supply conveyor 24 has the rear end portions 231 of the cartoning conveyors 23, 23 corresponding to each other along the conveyance path, and an automatic box distribution device 25 is provided on the opposite side to move the empty containers 232 to the empty box supply conveyor. It is accumulated on 24.

When a container 232 waiting at the rear end 231 of the boxing conveyor 23 is sent forward and becomes empty, the automatic box distribution device 25 detects this using a detector (light source switch box).
(not shown) and pushes out and supplies only one container 232 accumulated on the empty box supply conveyor 24 to the rear end 231 of the cartoning conveyor 23.

This empty box automatic box distribution device 25 is not limited to the method using an air cylinder, and may use other known methods.

The empty box supply conveyor 24 and the automatic box distribution device 25
is the lower draining process 1 of the boxing supply conveyor 18
The layout is arranged so that the installation space is not too large by installing it closer to the 9 side.

The containers 233 that have been packed are transferred to a packing machine 27 by a product conveyor 26 connected to the tip of the boxing conveyor 23, stacked in two or three tiers, banded and packed, and then transported to a product storage area or shipping stack.

In addition, in FIG. 1, at the entrance of the grade manual sorting section 5, a side waterway 50 is connected by a watershed type guide 502.
3,503, but if the scale of the facility is small and the number of sorting grades is small,
A guide is formed to guide fruits and vegetables only into one side waterway, and a conveyor 50 is placed underwater in the one side waterway.
4, and the following steps are preferably made to correspond to this number of columns.

The present invention has been described above based on the drawings, but all matters contained in the above description and the attached drawings are examples of implementation, and are not intended to limit the invention, and do not fall within the scope of the claims. Other different embodiments may be used as long as the content is as described.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the product sorting method and apparatus of the present invention transport received fruits and vegetables by the water flow in a water tank, and sort the fruits and vegetables by grade into a waterway divided into multiple rows in the width direction. The fruits and vegetables are sorted and supplied, and while they are being conveyed by grade through this waterway, they are taken up from the waterway by a conveyor and drained. After the draining process, the size of the fruits and vegetables is measured by a measuring device, and based on this size, they are transferred to the water conveyor according to grade and class. By softening the impact with water during each operation such as feeding, transporting, and discharging fruits and vegetables, it is possible to sort even high-quality ripe fruits that are particularly susceptible to spoilage in large quantities.

In particular, the line for sorting and transporting fruits and vegetables by grade is a waterway (conventionally a conveyor), so there is no damage to fruits and vegetables due to sorting, and in addition, the line for sorting and transporting fruits and vegetables by grade and class is a water conveyor (conventionally a conveyor). Since the fruits and vegetables are discharged onto a conveyor (conveyor), there is no damage to fruits and vegetables due to falling, and it is highly effective in sorting ripe fruits and soft, high-grade fruits without damaging them.

Further, since the discharged fruits and vegetables are transferred to the discharge position using a water conveyor, the fruits and vegetables can be washed, pesticide stains are removed, and fresh fruits and vegetables can be provided.

Furthermore, since a water conveyor system is used, fruits and vegetables can be pre-cooled, which has the effect of suppressing the progress of ripeness (overheating) of fully ripened fruits.

Furthermore, even if there is uneven supply due to unbalanced grade ratios, etc., the fruits and vegetables can be pooled in the water tank, and the pulsations and unevenness in fruits and vegetables are absorbed, allowing efficient feeding to the fruit sorting conveyor. can improve efficiency.

Furthermore, since an openable/closeable gate is provided at the end of the water conveyor, fruits and vegetables of the same grade but different grades conveyed by each water conveyor can be transferred to one water conveyor by switching the gate. In other words, by sharing one cartoning conveyor, the number of cartoning conveyors can be reduced to about 1/2, which is less than the number of sorting grades and classes, reducing equipment costs and making each cartoning conveyor more effective. The effect of being able to operate it is great.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings all show embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an overall plan view, FIG. 2 is a side explanatory view of the manual grade sorting section, FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the manual grade sorting section, and FIG. The figure is a side explanatory view from the alignment supply section to the measurement section, FIG. 5 is a side explanatory view from the alignment supply section to the measurement section showing another embodiment different from FIG. 4, and FIG.
The figure is a side explanatory view from the sorting section to the boxing section, and FIG. 7 is a perspective explanatory view of the sorting section of the shape measurement fruit sorting conveyor (only one row is shown). 1... Receiving conveyor, 2... Hydro damper,
3...Empty container unloading conveyor, 4...Water tank, 40
1... Downstream end, 5... Grade manual sorting section, 501... Partition, 502... Guide, 503... Side waterway, 504
...Conveyor, 505,506...Waterway, 6...Pool section, 7...Alignment supply section, 8...Fruit sorting conveyor, 801
... Entrance part (driven part), 8a... Pulling conveyor,
9... Drainage processing means, 901... Drainage blower device,
10...Water receiver, 11...Gutter, 12...Measuring part, 121...
Electronic scale, 122... Weight measuring device, 13... Shape measuring device, 14... Sensor camera, 15... Lighting device,
16... Sorting section, 161... Discharge actuation device, 162
...Water conveyor, 163...Gate, 17,
17a... Supply water channel, 171... Downstream end, 18... Boxing supply conveyor, 181... Inlet part (driven part),
182...Extension part, 19...Draining process, 191...
Blower, 20... Water receiving gutter, 21... Gutter, 22... Boxing section, 221... Boxing container, 23... Boxing conveyor, 231... Rear end section, 232, 233... Container, 2
4...Empty box supply conveyor, 25...Automatic box distribution device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. The fruits and vegetables supplied to the hydro damper are fed into a water tank connected to the hydro damper and in which water flows in a predetermined direction, and the water tank is divided into a plurality of rows in the width direction. The fruits and vegetables that are classified and supplied separately and transported by grade in the waterway are lifted up from the waterway and transported by grade using a conveyor and drained, and the fruits and vegetables that are drained and transported by grade are measured during transportation. A device measures the size of fruits and vegetables, a calculation device determines the class of the fruits and vegetables based on this result, and the fruits and vegetables that have been determined by class are transported by grade from the corresponding discharge position on the conveyance path into water. A method for sorting fruits and vegetables, characterized by discharging the fruits and vegetables onto a conveyor. 2. The method for sorting fruits and vegetables according to claim 1, wherein the draining process includes showering the fruits and vegetables pulled up from the waterway with hot water and then blowing cold air onto them. 3. The fruit and vegetable sorting method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the water conveyor uses water that is controlled at a predetermined temperature. 4. A hydro damper through which fruits and vegetables are supplied into the water, and a water tank connected to the hydro damper through which water flows in a predetermined direction are divided into multiple rows in the width direction to create a waterway for transporting fruits and vegetables by grade. The formed transfer means, the draining means for pulling up and draining the vegetables and fruits conveyed by the conveyance path of the transfer means from the waterway by grade, and draining the fruits and vegetables in the middle of each conveyance path for conveying the drained fruits and vegetables by grade, respectively. a sorting means for measuring the size of the fruits and vegetables to determine the class, and discharging the fruits and vegetables according to the class from the corresponding discharge position according to the grade; and the sorting means is provided corresponding to each discharge position,
A fruit and vegetable sorting device comprising a water conveyor that receives fruits and vegetables discharged from the discharge position and carries them out in a predetermined direction. 5. The transfer means has a conveyor in a predetermined waterway on the upstream side thereof, which pulls up the fruits and vegetables in the water and returns them back into the water, and the width of the waterway on the downstream side of this conveyor is set to a predetermined length according to the grade ratio of the fruits and vegetables. 5. The fruit and vegetable sorting device according to claim 4, characterized in that the fruit and vegetable sorting device is formed in a straight line. 6. Claims 4 or 5, characterized in that the water-draining means comprises a hot water shower device that bathes the fruits and vegetables in a hot bath, and a blower device that removes water droplets on the surface of the fruits and vegetables after the hot bath. The mentioned fruit and vegetable sorting device. 7. The fruit and vegetable sorting device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the water conveyor has an openable/closeable gate at its terminal end.