JPH07204587A - Fruit sorting device for spherical vegetables and fruits - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To minimize falling impact of spherical vegetables and fruits and most adequately sort fruits of thin pericarps by forming a conveyor means for transporting the vegetables and fruits as divided transporting and receiving plate bodies composed of small-width receiving pieces which are laterally opposed to each other and are freely turnable and opening these receiving pieces downward like French doors in specific positions. CONSTITUTION:A rotary solenoid of a control mechanism 12 operates to trigger actuating piece parts of lever detaining mechanisms at the base ends of one or plural pieces of the receiving pieces 5, 5 for directly receiving the spherical vegetables and fruits among the right and left receiving pieces 5, 5 groups of the divided transporting and receiving plate bodies 7. The detaining mechanism, therefore, turn around central fulcrum axes and turn detaining pins at the front end upward. The detaining pins are then disengaged from the engaging step parts of the receiving pieces 5 and the receiving pieces 5 hand down successively while sliding falling guide rods. Namely, the right and left receiving pieces 5, 5 operate to open like the French doors and the vegetables and fruits placed thereon fall gradually until the vegetables and fruits are discharged to a drawing out conveyor 13 facing downward.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

This invention relates to citrus fruits such as mandarin oranges and spherical (lumpy) fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, pumpkins and watermelons.
The present invention relates to a spherical fruit and vegetable sorting apparatus which measures the outer diameter and the like in units of individual pieces and sorts and sorts each grade or class based on the measured value.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, the apparatus for selecting spherical fruits and vegetables, which is used in a mandarin orange picking field, has been modernized with the development of computers, and the grades (or grades) such as S, M, L ...
The selection of each is also measured for each unit (light ray type, camera, etc.), and the value is calculated to determine the equal rank, and the selection signal is synchronized with the transfer speed of the conveyor on which the spherical fruits and vegetables are placed. When the conveyor reaches a predetermined position, the output is made, and the discharging means provided at the side of the conveyor drops the spherical fruits and vegetables and feeds them to a predetermined fruit selection / drawing conveyor.

In this case, a simple belt conveyor is used as the conveyor means, and the discharge means of the blow-off device with an air nozzle provided at the side portion at a predetermined position of the conveyor is combined, high-pressure air is blown onto the spherical fruits and vegetables to drop to the side. Type, or a type in which the shape of the conveyor itself is a saucer structure and the saucer is inclined and discharged at a predetermined position, or a small width slat-shaped receiving plate having a concave portion for receiving fruits and vegetables is formed in the center of the shape of the conveyor itself. A type in which a large number of plates are supported on one side and the slat-shaped receiving plate is released at a predetermined position by releasing the locking of the locking mechanism at the base end to hang down and rotate (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-24551). (See) is known.

[0004]

However, when the discharge of fruits and vegetables from the above-mentioned conveyor is blown off by air, a blow mark is left on the fruits and vegetables skin, and the impact on the pulling conveyor arranged orthogonally downward is large, and the compressor is also large. There are drawbacks such as noise. Further, if the saucer on which one unit is placed is inclined and discharged at a predetermined position, the structure of the saucer itself becomes complicated, and it is not suitable for a device that continuously discharges a large amount of fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, when sorting fruits with a conveyor of a large number of slat-shaped receiving plates, the slat-shaped receiving plate itself is a one-sided support structure in which the base end is attached to an attachment that is attached to the side surface of the running chain. In order to mount it, the length of a single slat-shaped support plate must be set long, and the range of rotation in which the slat-shaped support plate hangs around the pivot point becomes large. Therefore, it is necessary to allow at least the entire length of the slat-shaped receiving plate to be spaced from the pull-out conveyor arranged orthogonally below the conveyor, which inevitably results in a large drop distance and a large drop impact. One of the defects of the slat-shaped support plate of one-sided support type is that it is difficult to get on the slat-shaped support plate in a stable manner, and the swing at the time of getting in during transportation is not stopped and the slat-shaped support plate jumps in the middle. It was Moreover, the single-support type has a limited supporting power and is suitable for small-sized spherical fruits and vegetables such as mandarin oranges, but is not suitable for large-sized fruits and vegetables such as pumpkin and watermelon.

In view of the above situation, the present invention solves the above problems by receiving conveyor means for mounting spherical fruits and vegetables by receiving piece pieces attached to a pair of left and right running chains and discharging the two pieces in a double door shape. The object of the present invention is to provide a device for selecting spherical fruits and vegetables.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the spherical fruits and vegetables to be aligned and fed in a single row are calculated in equal grades by a camera type sorter or the like for sorting grades and grades, and transferred based on the equal grade values. In a fruit sorter that sorts appropriately during a stroke and discharges to a predetermined drawer conveyor, conveyor means for transferring spherical fruits and vegetables, and support pieces at fixed intervals on the side surfaces of a pair of traveling chains laid on both sides of the conveyor path. A plurality of small-width receiving piece pieces having one-sided mounting surfaces whose base ends are pivotally attached to each supporting piece are provided in a projecting manner, and a split type conveying receiving plate body formed by the left and right receiving piece pieces is formed. The transport receiving plate is connected in series, and the locking mechanism attached to the base end of each receiving piece is pivoted downward in a double-door manner interlocking with a control mechanism that operates based on the signal of the equal class value. It is free and a suitable number On the lower surface of the piece piece, a drop guide rod is installed which is inclined toward the transfer direction, slides on the drop guide rod, and the receiving piece piece is gradually rotated to hang down, and the spherical fruits and vegetables on the mounting surface are vertically installed downwards. It is designed to be guided to a conveyor.

Further, in this case, the receiving piece is one in which a horizontal synthetic buffer material made of soft synthetic resin is attached to the mounting surface.

[0008]

As described above, the rotatable small-width receiving piece is provided with the conveyor means for supplying the spherical fruits and vegetables in a line at an appropriate interval so as to be opposed to a large number of supporting pieces attached to the pair of traveling chains. Due to the configuration of a split type carrier receiving plate consisting of one group, when the spherical fruits and vegetables that have been transferred through the camera type equal class sorting machine reach a predetermined position (sorting position), control by the signal of the equal class value The locking mechanism interlocking with a control mechanism such as a solenoid is used to unlock a predetermined number of receiving piece pieces, and the overall carrier plate that is a split type is set as a downward facing double door and the spherical fruits and vegetables placed are dropped from the center. Let That is, since the carrier receiving plate on which the spherical fruits and vegetables are placed has a double-split structure with a double door structure, the length (rotation width) of a single receiving piece can be shortened, and the distance from the drawer conveyor facing downward can be shortened accordingly. By setting it shorter, the head can be made smaller, and the drop impact can be reduced accordingly. Of course, since the V-shaped receiving grooves are provided on the one-sided flow-mounting surfaces of the left and right receiving pieces constituting the split type carrier receiving plate, the spherical fruits and vegetables can be stably placed, and the spherical fruits are popped out and dropped due to shaking during transfer. There is no fear of causing. In addition, the transport receiving plate has a sturdy structure that substantially supports both sides, and it is possible to mount large fruits and vegetables (for example, pumpkin). Also, by adopting a soft synthetic resin transverse stirrup cushioning material on the mounting surface, so-called elastic cushioning support can be obtained, and a large ball can also be dealt with.

[0009]

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings of the embodiments.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of a spherical fruit and vegetable selecting apparatus showing one conveying path, and 1 is an unloading path 2 having a predetermined width.
An endless two-way traveling chain laid on both sides of the chain chain chain 1a of each traveling chain 1 at regular intervals.
A support piece body 3 for receiving piece made of synthetic resin, which extends and disposes the pin shaft 1b, is attached to the side surface of the above, and a plurality of mounting arm portions 3a projecting from each of the support piece bodies 3 are directed forward. A small-width receiving piece 5 having a mounting surface 4 that shows a one-sided flow is laterally projected with its base end pivotally attached by a fulcrum shaft 6, respectively, and a pair of left and right receiving pieces with a predetermined interval a interposed therebetween. The division type transfer receiving plate bodies 7 formed of the pieces 5 and 5 are successively arranged to form a conveyor means 8. As shown in the figure, a single support piece 3 is replaced by a small piece 5 of receiving piece.
This is a configuration in which individual pieces are provided (see FIGS. 4 and 5). Reference numeral 9 denotes a lever-type locking mechanism in which a locking pin 9a that locks to an engaging stepped portion 10 formed at the base end of each receiving piece 5 is laterally attached to the tip, and is projected rearward of the base end of the locking mechanism 9. The machine frame 1 is attached to the installed operation piece 9b.
Actuator 12 of rotary type solenoid 12 ', which operates with a control signal of equal rank value, which serves as a control mechanism 12 fixed to one side.
It is configured to contact a. In this case, a single actuator 12a is used to actuate one or a plurality of actuating pieces 9b of the locking mechanism 9.
I try to contact each other at the same time. Further, the mounting position of the solenoid 12 'of the control mechanism 12 is the conveyor means 8
Each of the plurality of drawer conveyors 13 arranged orthogonally facing the carrier portion 8a of each of the plurality of drawer conveyors 13a, 13
Installed at 3 places in the M, S 3 class drawer conveyor,
In addition, a sliding drop guide rod 14 that is inclined downward in the transfer direction is installed at the lower surface positions of both receiving piece pieces 5 and 5 that run between the control mechanism 12 and the pull-out conveyor 13 and engage with the drop guide rod 14. The receiving piece 5 which is disengaged and rotates downward is slid. Reference numeral 15 is a return guide for the receiving piece of the receiving pieces 5, 5 which is moved in a hanging posture and is installed at the lower surface position of the carrier portion 8a near the head portion 8b of the conveyor means 8. The guide piece 15 is used to return the receiving piece piece 5 in transition to the horizontal support position. Also, a soft synthetic resin horizontal stirrup cushioning material 16 is attached to the mounting surface 4 of each receiving piece 5 so that the spherical fruits A to be mounted can be seated well. Reference numeral 17 is a known camera-type equal-grade sorter installed at the base of the conveyor means 8, and the whole configuration thereof serves as a spherical fruit and vegetable sorter.

To explain this action, first, the spherical fruits A such as mandarin oranges fed out in a single-row feeding means (not shown), which is a pre-process, are arranged in a single-row arrangement at appropriate intervals.
It is sequentially placed on the split type carrier receiving plate 7 of the conveyor means 8 which is rotated by the rotation of 9. In this case, since the split-type conveying receiving plate body 7 has the V-shaped receiving groove 18 on the one-sided mounting surfaces 4 and 4 of the receiving piece pieces 5 and 5 which are opposed to each other, the spherical fruit A is stabilized at the center position. Since the mounting surface 4 has a flexible synthetic resin lateral reinforcement cushioning member 16 having an appropriate length and having a proper length, the placing surface 4 can also absorb the vibration of the conveyor itself. Therefore, when the stationary spherical fruits and vegetables A placed on the split type carrier receiving plate 7 passes through the camera type classifier 17, the image is taken by the camera and the image processing is performed by the computer, and this value is appropriately calculated by an arithmetic unit ( The signal of the equal class value calculated by (not shown) is synchronized with the transfer speed of the traveling chain 1 and guided to the solenoid 12 'of the predetermined control mechanism 12 at the other end, and the spherical shape measured by the equal class selector 17 is used. Fruit and vegetables A is solenoid 1
The control is performed when the 2'position is reached.

Here, when the measured spherical fruits and vegetables A reach a position slightly before the drawing conveyor 13 at the predetermined distribution position (selection position), the control mechanisms 12 arranged on both sides of the machine casing 11 are provided.
Of the rotary type solenoid 12 'is activated, the actuator 12a is projected, and the receiving piece pieces 5, 5
Among the five groups, the operation piece portions 9b, 9b of the lever type locking mechanism 9, 9 at the base ends of one or a plurality of receiving piece pieces 5, 5 for directly receiving the spherical fruits A are contacted. Therefore, the locking mechanism 9 uses the central fulcrum shaft 9c as a fulcrum, and rotates against the spring of the spring 20 mounted on the fulcrum shaft 9c to rotate the locking pin 9a at the tip upward. The catch pin 5 which was held in the laterally projecting position by disengaging the catch pin 9a from the engaging step portion 10 of the catch piece 5 that was locked in a falling shape was mounted on the fulcrum shaft 6. Spring 21
It is a rotation that makes the tip downward by the bullet firing. That is, the left and right receiving piece pieces 5, 5 each pivot their tips downward to obtain a so-called double-door opening operation, so that the spherical fruit A placed on the receiving piece pieces 5, 5 falls and faces downward. It is discharged to 13.

In this case, since the mounting surface of the split type carrier receiving plate 7 is formed by the pair of left and right receiving piece pieces 5, 5, the length of the single (one side) receiving piece piece 5 is the same as that of the conventional product. It is set shorter than the one-piece support piece. This means that the installation distance b of the drawer conveyor 13 arranged below can be set to a short distance as long as it separates at least the rotation range (for the length) of the receiving piece 5, and the spherical fruits and vegetables A are It can fall and reduce shock. However, at this time, the rotation of the receiving piece 5 slides on the falling guide rod 14 which is arranged on the lower surface of the receiving piece 5 and which is inclined from the center side of the conveying path to the end of the conveying path and downward in the transfer direction. Since the shinagana hang down one after another, the spherical fruits and vegetables A are not dropped all at once from the placing surface, and the impact is alleviated also from this point. When the receiving piece 5 is rotated, the circular shaft type locking pin 9a of the locking mechanism 9 is rotated around the circular arc portion 10a formed on the edge of the engaging stepped portion 10 at the base end of the receiving piece 5. Since they rotate in contact with each other, the recoil when the receiving piece 5 is rotated is suppressed, and a quiet falling rotation is obtained. The spherical fruits and vegetables A operate only the control mechanism 12 for the pull-out conveyor 13 according to a predetermined equal rank, and perform a drop motion each time. The solenoid 1 that serves as the control mechanism 12
The 2'actuator 12a immediately retracts and stands by after pressing the locking mechanism 9 on the side of the receiving piece.

On the other hand, when the split-type conveying receiving plate 7 having the double-door structure in the hanging posture comes to the end (head) of the conveyor, it is directed toward the center from the side of the conveying path to the lower part of the carrier surface and toward the upper side in the transfer direction. Since the return guide 15 is attached, the lower surface (back surface) of the vertical receiving piece piece 5 of the split type conveying receiving plate body 7 is slidably moved to the return guide 15 and gradually raised in a laterally protruding manner. It returns to the original horizontal horizontal posture and moves to the return section 8c side.

Further, in this case, since the pair of receiving piece pieces 5 and 5 facing each other have a structure in which a predetermined interval a is provided in the middle, the mounting width is expanded and the spherical shape becomes large only by changing the setting of the interval a. You can also place fruits and vegetables easily. That is, it is possible to use a conveyor that can handle a wide variety of fruits and vegetables without changing the size of the receiving piece 5 and easily obtain a wide range of the transport receiving plate 7.

[0016]

As described above, in the apparatus for selecting spherical fruits and vegetables according to the present invention, the conveyor means for transferring the spherical fruits and vegetables is provided with the rotatable small width receiving piece pieces which are opposed to each other as the split type conveying receiving plate body at the predetermined position. Since the double doors are opened downwards, the drawer conveyor facing the bottom of the conveyor should be set at least at a distance separated by the rotation width of the receiving piece on one side. Unlike the setting of a drawer conveyor with a large drop corresponding to a long receiving piece provided with a mounting recess, the drop impact of spherical fruits and vegetables can be minimized. Moreover, this receiving piece does not take a drooping posture instantaneously, but while it slides on the drop guide rod on the lower surface, it gradually turns downwards and drops the spherical fruits and vegetables. Suitable for selecting fruits with thin skin. In addition, the pair of receiving pieces that are opposed to each other have a V-shaped receiving groove in the central portion with the placing surface as a single stream and a horizontal streak-like cushioning material on the placing surface, so that it is easy and easy for spherical fruits and vegetables to get in. It can take a stable posture and can absorb the transfer vibration of the conveyor itself. Further, the advantage of the present invention is that since the receiving pieces are arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other at appropriate intervals, large spherical fruits and vegetables (pumpkin or the like) can be placed by simply changing the spacing. That is, it is sufficient to form a single receiving piece without forming the receiving pieces each having a length according to the spherical fruits and vegetables to be used, which is suitable for mass production, which leads to cost reduction. Play.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a main part of a spherical fruit and vegetable selecting device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of the split type carrier receiving plate in which a part of the receiving piece is hung.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the double-sided opening order of the split type carrier receiving plate.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which spherical fruits and vegetables are dropped due to the double-sided opening of the split type conveyance receiving plate.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a receiving piece.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a receiving piece, a locking mechanism, and a control mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a side view in which the receiving piece is rotated downward.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing an essential part of the operation of the receiving piece and the locking mechanism, and FIG. 10 (A) shows the engagement pin of the lever type locking mechanism engaged with the engaging step of the receiving piece. The state (B) is a state in which the locking pin is disengaged from the engagement step.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Traveling chain 2 Conveying path 3 Supporting piece body 4 Mounting surface 5 Receiving piece piece 7 Divided type conveying receiving plate body 8 Conveyor means 9 Locking mechanism 10 Engaging step portion 12 Control mechanism 13 Pulling conveyor 14 Sliding drop guide rod 16 Horizontal synthetic buffer material 17 made of soft synthetic resin

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location B65G 47/64 7716-3F

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. Grades of spherical fruits and vegetables to be fed in line in one row
Calculate the equal grades with a camera-type sorter that sorts the grades, etc., and transfer the spherical fruits and vegetables with a sorting device that sorts them appropriately during the transfer process based on these equal grade values and discharges them to a specified drawer conveyor. Conveyor means are attached to the side surfaces of a pair of traveling chains laid on both sides of the conveying path, with supporting pieces mounted at regular intervals, and a narrow receiving piece having a one-way mounting surface with the base end pivotally attached to each supporting piece. A plurality of protrusions are provided, and a split type transfer receiving plate body formed by the receiving piece pieces facing each other is connected in series, and the transfer receiving plate body is attached to the base end of each receiving piece piece. The mechanism is interlocked with a control mechanism that operates due to the signal of the equal class value, and is freely pivotable downward in a double-door manner, and is provided on the lower surface of the appropriate number of receiving piece pieces at the rotational position of the transport receiving plate. Install a drop guide rod that tilts toward the transfer direction, and attach it to the drop guide rod. Dynamic and fruit sorting device spherical fruit or vegetable, characterized by gradually spherical fruits or vegetables turning pendent mounting surface 受駒 piece was guided orthogonally placed the drawer conveyor downward. 2. The picking apparatus for spherical fruits and vegetables according to claim 1, wherein the receiving piece has a horizontal surface cushioning material made of soft synthetic resin adhered to the mounting surface.