JPH0376885B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a mushroom inoculum inoculation device, and more particularly to an inoculation device that can successively inoculate mushroom inoculum while a mushroom cultivation bottle is housed in a container. .

(Conventional technology) In the artificial cultivation of mushrooms such as enoki mushrooms,
A cultivation bottle filled with a culture medium is used, and seed bacteria is inoculated into this cultivation bottle for cultivation.

In actual cultivation, each step from seed inoculation (inoculation) to growth is sequentially completed and harvested, and a large number of cultivation bottles are used, depending on the scale of cultivation.

By the way, the above-mentioned inoculation with the starter bacteria is a work that must be performed for each cultivation bottle, and therefore, the work of inoculating a large number of cultivation bottles with the starter bacteria requires a great deal of labor, and it is desired to improve the workability.

In the conventional inoculation process, the cultivation bottles are held one by one and inoculated from an inoculation machine, but in order to automate this inoculation process, the applicant has already developed an inoculation device that can automatically inoculate the plants. , in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-41731 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-42802. Both of the contents shown above are related to the cap attaching/detaching device, which is designed to automate the attachment/detachment of the cap of the cultivation bottle during inoculation, thereby facilitating automatic inoculation work. It's the same thing.

In this automatic seeding machine, when cultivation bottles are fed one by one, the caps are automatically taken off, the seed bacteria are dropped into the cultivation bottles, and then the caps are attached again and the cultivation bottles are carried out to the exit side. It is something that

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) Regarding the inoculation of mushrooms such as enoki mushrooms, as mentioned above, an inoculation machine that can automatically inoculate can be used to achieve extremely efficient inoculation of about 2000 mushrooms per hour. I was able to work. However, with this inoculating machine, cultivation bottles still need to be grown manually.
There is the complication of having to take each book out of the container and feed it into the inoculation machine.

Usually, in mushroom cultivation, 16 or 12
The work is carried out in units of containers containing arranged cultivation bottles, and if the inoculation process can be carried out in units of containers, it is possible to significantly improve the work efficiency. Therefore, there has been a strong demand for a device that can inoculate the entire container containing the cultivation bottle.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a mushroom seed inoculation device that can automatically inoculate a cultivation bottle by sending the cultivation bottle while it is housed in a container. There is something to do.

(Means for solving the problems) In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, the following configuration is provided.

That is, on the transfer route of the mushroom cultivation bottle, a detachment part for attaching and detaching the cap of the mushroom cultivation bottle;
In a mushroom inoculation device equipped with a starter inoculation mechanism that inoculates the cultivation bottles from which the caps have been removed, a container in which the mushroom cultivation bottles are arranged and stored is placed at one end of the early starter inoculation mechanism. A carry-in conveyor 14 is provided which sequentially and intermittently feeds each row of cultivation bottles by a fixed length, and the carry-in conveyor 1
4. Grasp the cultivation bottles housed in the container being transferred one row at a time, lift them above the container, and place them on the supply conveyor 18 that transports the cultivation bottles in a direction perpendicular to the carry-in conveyor 14. A bottle take-out mechanism 17 is provided, and the cultivation bottle is taken out by the cultivation bottle take-out mechanism 17 and the empty container is transferred forward,
A carry-out conveyor 16 is provided that sequentially and intermittently feeds the culture bottles by one row width at a fixed length, and the seed inoculator 26
A cultivation bottle storage mechanism 34 is provided for storing cultivation bottles inoculated with seed bacteria by a seed inoculation mechanism such as the above in the same number of cultivation bottles as the number of cultivation bottles stored in one row of containers in the container on the carry-out conveyor 16. It is characterized by

(effect) Next, we will discuss the effect.

By placing the container containing the cultivation bottles on the carry-in conveyor 14, the containers are intermittently transported one row wide of the cultivation bottles, and the take-out mechanism 17 is driven in accordance with the transport of the containers, and the cultivation bottles are transported. The supply conveyor 1 one by one in the container
Transferred to 8th. Next, the cultivation bottles are inoculated with a starter by a starter inoculating mechanism such as a starter inoculator 26 on the transport path of the supply conveyor 18, and then
The transport conveyor 1 is moved by the storage mechanism 34 for cultivation bottles.
The containers are transferred one row at a time to a container that is transferred one row at a time on the 6th floor.

(Embodiments) Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The inoculum inoculation device according to the present invention is roughly divided into a mechanism for taking out cultivation bottles housed in a container, a mechanism for inoculating the inoculum into the taken out cultivation bottles, and a mechanism for rearranging and storing the cultivation bottles inoculated with the inoculum in the container. It consists of a mechanism. FIG. 1 is a plan view mainly showing a transfer conveyor for transporting cultivation bottles and containers, and details of the cultivation bottle removal mechanism, main bacteria inoculation mechanism, and storage mechanism will be described later.

In the figure, 10 is a frame body to which each member is attached, and on one end side of this frame body 10, four round bar-shaped rollers 12, which are approximately the same length as one side of a rectangular container, are arranged parallel to each other at a predetermined interval. It is mounted on the shaft.

14 is a carry-in conveyor provided in the frame 10 following the rollers 12, and this carry-in conveyor 1
Continuing to 4, unloading conveyors 16 are provided at predetermined intervals. The incoming conveyor 14 and the outgoing conveyor 16 are installed in a line so that the containers are successively transferred. The rollers 12, the carry-in conveyor 14, and the carry-out conveyor 16 are all on the same horizontal plane, and the carry-in conveyor 14 and the carry-out conveyor 16 are both driven to transfer the container toward the other end of the frame 10 (in the direction of the arrow in the figure). Ru.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a supply conveyor provided above the carry-in conveyor 14 on the front end side thereof, with a sufficient distance between the feed conveyor 14 and the carry-in conveyor 14 to allow containers to be transferred on the carry-in conveyor 14. This supply conveyor 18 is provided perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the carry-in conveyor 14 so as to straddle the carry-in conveyor 14,
The width of the supply conveyor 18 is formed to be approximately the same width as the outer diameter of the cultivation bottle.

A cultivation bottle take-out mechanism, which will be described later, is provided on the side of the supply conveyor 18, and this take-out mechanism 17 allows the cultivation bottles stored in the containers on the carry-in conveyor 14 to be transferred to the supply conveyor 18.
Translated above.

At the front end of the supply conveyor 18 in the transport direction,
A disk-shaped rotary plate 20 is provided to be rotationally driven in a clockwise direction. Reference numeral 22 denotes a push rod 22 provided at one end of the rotary plate 20, and the drive arm thereof is provided to reciprocate in parallel with the frame 10. This push rod 22 passes above the rotating plate 20 and is reciprocated in a direction perpendicular to the supply conveyor 18.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a mounting plate that continues on the other end side of the rotary plate 20 in the direction in which the thrust rod 22 is moved forward, and a cultivation bottle whose traveling direction has been changed by the rotary plate 20 is placed thereon. 128a and 128b are mounting plates 2
A limit switch provided on the side of 3 detects that the cultivation bottle is placed on the placement plate 23.

Reference numeral 110 denotes a tilting box provided in front of the above-mentioned placement plate 23, which has a box shape with an open surface facing the reciprocating direction of the push rod 22, and is formed in a size that can accommodate two cultivation bottles. The bottom of the tilting box 110 is provided on the same horizontal plane as the mounting plate 23.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a seed inoculation machine placed on the side of the tilting box 110, and two seed inoculating dishes 126 are provided opposite the bottle openings of the cultivation bottles housed in the tilting box 110. The tilting box 110 is provided so as to be tiltable, and is configured to tilt in the direction of the seed inoculator 26 when inoculating the seed. Incidentally, as will be described later, this tilting box 110 is connected to a cultivation bottle cap attachment/detachment section, and after the cultivation bottle cap is detached, inoculum is inoculated, and then the cap is attached.

28 is a transfer conveyor that extends from the front of the tilting box 110 in parallel to the advancing direction of the carry-in conveyor 14 and transfers the cultivation bottles to the front;
30b are guide plates provided on the sides of the transfer conveyor 28.

From the front end side of the transfer conveyor 28,
The collection conveyor 16 is arranged to straddle the discharge conveyor 16 in a direction perpendicular to the transfer conveyor 28.
is provided. The front ends of the guide plates 30a and 30b are curved inward so as to change the traveling direction of the cultivation bottles from the transfer conveyor 28 to the collection conveyor 32.

Reference numeral 34 denotes a cultivation bottle storage mechanism provided on the side of the collection conveyor 32, which holds the cultivation bottles transferred from the transfer conveyor 28 onto the collection conveyor 32, and is used as a container to be transferred on the carry-out conveyor 16. It is intended to be accommodated in

[Cultivation bottle removal mechanism]

Next, the cultivation bottle take-out mechanism 17 for transferring cultivation bottles from the container on the carry-in conveyor 14 onto the supply conveyor 18 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the take-out mechanism. Second
In the figure, reference numeral 50 denotes cultivation bottles for mushroom cultivation, which are housed in a rectangular container 52 in an array of four vertically and horizontally. The carry-in conveyor 14 is driven to intermittently transfer the container 52 placed on its upper surface by a width equal to the width of one row of cultivation bottles 50 housed in the container 52.

54a and 54b are the loading conveyor 14;
56a and 56b are supported plates 56a and 56b that are pivoted so as to span above the carrying-in conveyor 14. It is a supporting rod. These support rods 56a and 56b
are provided in parallel with an interval approximately equal to the outer diameter of the neck of the cultivation bottle 50. 58a and 58b are gripping members fixed to the support rods 56a and 56b, respectively, corresponding to the arrangement positions of the cultivation bottles, and are used to hold the cultivation bottles 50 accommodated in the container 52.
The cultivation bottles 50 are arranged at predetermined intervals corresponding to the arrangement interval and the diameter of the neck of the cultivation bottle 50.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the cultivation bottles 50 in the first row on the front end side of the container 52 are gripped and lifted.Next, the configuration of the cultivation bottle take-out part will be explained with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 shows one of the take-out sections arranged on the side of the carry-in conveyor 14. As shown in the figure, the gripping member 58a provided on the support rod 56a has its side surface attached to the lower part of the support rod 56a so that the cylindrical neck of the cultivation bottle can be gripped appropriately. A plate-shaped holding member 59a is provided which is formed into an arcuate recessed portion according to the curvature. On the other hand, a gripping member 58b provided at a position opposite to the gripping member 58a has two metal plates fixed to the lower part of the support rod 56b for each cultivation bottle, and the cultivation bottle is attached to the inner surface of the metal plate. A holding member 59b is disposed that comes into contact with the outer surface of the neck portion. This holding member 59b is preferably made of a material such as rubber, which has elasticity and can grip the cultivation bottle without slipping.

One end of the support rod 56a is rotatably supported on the inner surface of the support plate 54a, and the other end is rotatably supported on the inner surface of the support plate 54b. Also,
The support rod 56a is fixed to one end of the arm 60 at the end supported by the support plate 54a.
The other end is linked to the support rod rotation arm 62 . The other end of this support rod rotation arm 62 is rotatably supported by the side surface of a gear 64 which is pivotally attached to the inner surface of the lower part of the support plate 54a, and the other end of the support rod rotation arm 62 is rotatably supported by the side surface of a gear 64 that is pivotally attached to the lower inner surface of the support plate 54a. Coaxial support rod rotation arm 6
A roller 65 is pivotally attached to the upper surface of 2.

On the other hand, like the support rod 56a, the support rod 56b is rotatably supported on the inner surfaces of the support plates 54a and 54b, and the end of the support rod 56b is connected to the lever 66.
The lower surface of the other end of the lever 66 is brought into contact with the side surface of the roller 65.

Incidentally, elastic members such as coil springs are disposed on the support rod rotating arm 62 and the lever 66, and the gripping members 58a and 58b are both biased so that their lower ends open outward.

Reference numeral 68 denotes a gear rotation arm whose end is pivotally supported at a position opposite to the roller 65 across the center axis of the gear 64, and 69 is a gear rotation arm whose end is fixed to the support plate 54a and which is attached to the side surface of the gear 64. This is a stopper that extends close to the. The lower surface of the stopper 69 is provided with a notch halfway from the tip of the lower surface so that when the upper end of the gear rotation arm 65 comes into contact with it, the upper end abuts and locks.

The gear rotation arm 68 extends downward of the frame, and its end is linked with one end of a link plate 68a whose central portion is pivotally supported by the horizontal plate 82.
A roller 69 is pivotally supported at the other end of the link plate 68a. Further, reference numeral 70 denotes a lever whose center portion is pivotally supported by a frame body, and the side surface of this lever 70 on one end side is in contact with the side surface of the roller 69, and the other end is attached to an arm 72.
The link is engaged with the end of the This arm 72 extends vertically downward, and its lower end is linked and engaged with the end of a push arm 74 that is pushed and driven by a motor 78.

The pushing arm 74 is a long plate-like member,
The end portion 74a is rotatably attached to the frame, and the link portion side with the arm 72 is always biased vertically upward.

A drive arm 76 is connected to a motor 78 and rotated in a vertical plane, and a roller 77 is pivotally attached to the tip end of the drive arm. When the drive arm 76 is rotated, this roller 77 comes into contact with the upper surface of the contact portion 74a that bulges in an arc shape at the middle part of the upper surface of the push arm 74, and moves the push arm 74 vertically. Push.

Reference numeral 80 denotes a rod whose end is linked and engaged with the tip of the drive arm 76, and the upper end of this rod 80, which extends vertically upward, is on the inner surface of the frame side plate provided below the support plate 54a. It is pivoted to a horizontal plate 82 that slides.

83a and 83b are slide bearings that guide the horizontal plate 82 in the vertical direction, and both ends of the horizontal plate 82 are connected to movable parts of the slide bearings 83a and 83b.

84a and 84b are parallel arms each formed in the shape of a thin flat plate, the lower end of which is connected to the horizontal plate 82.
is rotatably supported by the supporting plate 54, and the upper end thereof is
a Rotatably supported on the outer surface. Reference numeral 86 denotes a horizontal mounting plate that is horizontally supported by the parallel arms 84a, 84b, and the parallel arms 84a, 84b are pivotally supported by the horizontal mounting plate 86. 88 is one parallel arm 84
This is a guide plate fixed on the outer surface of the parallel arm 84b, and is provided so as to protrude toward the other parallel arm 84b, and a roller 90 is pivotally attached to the outer surface of the distal end thereof.

92 is below the gear 64 and the parallel arm 8
4b, and the gear 6
4 and a release plate 92b extending along the circumferential side of the gear 64. The locking portion 92a of this ratchet 92 is always biased toward the circumferential side of the gear 64, allowing the gear 64 to freely rotate clockwise (in the direction of the arrow) in FIG. It is set up so that

FIG. 4 is a side view of the above-mentioned parallel arms 84a, 84b viewed from the back side. In the figure, 94 is a frame side plate, and a cam plate 96 is fixed to the upper edge of this frame side plate 94. The cam plate 96 is a generally L-shaped plate member fixed upside down, and is disposed parallel to the back surfaces of the parallel arms 84a, 84b. The lower surface of the horizontally extending arm of the cam plate 96 is formed into a curved line concave upward. The outer surface of the guide plate 88 is close to the inner surface of the cam plate 96, and the peripheral surface of the roller 90 is located vertically below the cam plate 96.

Although FIGS. 3 and 4 show one of the take-out parts provided on the side of the frame, a mechanism of the same shape as the above-mentioned take-out part is also symmetrically provided on the other side of the frame. On the other side, the gear 64 and the members connected to the gear 64, such as the support rod rotating arm 62, the lever 66, the gear rotating arm 68, the link plate 68a, the arm 72, and the pushing arm 74, are omitted.

Next, the operation of the cultivation bottle take-out mechanism 17 described above will be explained.

The drive arm 76, which is rotatably driven by the motor 78, rotates clockwise in FIG. , the drive arm 76 is in a position where it descends from the horizontal, and as it gradually descends from this position, the parallel arms 84a, 84b descend via the rod 80, guided by the slide bearings 83a, 83b, and at the same time the support plate 54a, 54b and support rods 56a, 5
6b descends.

When starting to take out, the container 52 containing the cultivation bottles is transported by the carry-in conveyor 14 to the above-mentioned take-out position and positioned.
At this time, the support rods 56a, 56b and the gripping member 58
a and 58b are located directly above the cultivation bottle 50, and as the drive arm 76 starts rotating, the gripping members 58a and 58b gradually descend to the neck of the cultivation bottle 50. At this time, the gripping members 58a and 5
8b both extend slightly outward, and the cultivation bottle 50
Avoid contact with bottle openings, etc.

Then, when the drive arm 76 rotates further and the roller 77 comes into contact with the contact portion 74b, the push arm 7
4 is pushed down, the arm 72 connected thereto descends, and the lever 70 is rotated counterclockwise. Since the tip of the lever 70 comes into contact with the circumferential surface of the roller 69, the link plate 68a rotates clockwise, thereby gradually lowering the gear rotation arm 68 and rotating the gear 64 clockwise.

The upper end of the gear rotation arm 68 is in contact with the stopper 69 when the gear 64 starts rotating, and as the gear 64 rotates, the roller 65 moves clockwise, and the lever 66 is pushed up and the support rod 5 is moved.
6b and the gripping member 58b are rotated clockwise by a slight angle. At the same time, the support rod rotation arm 62 is pushed up, and the support rod 56b and the gripping member 58a are slightly rotated in a direction opposite to the clockwise direction via the arm 60. That is, the gripping member 58
The neck portion of the cultivation bottle 50 is gripped from both sides by the portions a and 58b.

When the gear 64 rotates, the ratchet 92 comes into contact with the circumferential side of the gear 64, but does not hinder the rotation of the gear 64, and after the drive arm 76 gets over the contact portion 74b, the latch 92 contacts the locking portion 92a of the ratchet 92. meshes with the gear 64 to prevent the gear 64 from returning, and the cultivation bottle 5
Complete grip of 0.

When the drive arm 76 passes through the lowest point and continues to rotate and begins to rise, the parallel arm 8 is
4a and 84b are pushed up. The parallel arms 84a, 84b are initially pushed vertically upward, but when the roller 90 on the guide plate 88, which rises together with the parallel arm 84a, comes into contact with the curved lower surface of the cam plate 96, the parallel arms 84a, 84b
The driving force for raising the is converted into a lateral force, and the parallel arms 84a, 84b tilt and move in the lateral direction while remaining parallel. That is, 50 cultivation bottles
is lifted from the container while being gripped by the gripping members 58a and 58b, and translated to a position above the supply conveyor 18 located in front.

A release roller 98 is installed on the frame near the rear end of the supply conveyor 18, and the parallel arm 8
4a, 84b are tilted and the cultivation bottle 50 is moved to a predetermined position above the supply conveyor 18, the side surface of the release plate 92b of the ratchet 92 comes into contact with the release roller 98, causing the ratchet 92 to rotate. The engagement between the locking portion 92a and the circumferential surface of the gear 64 is released. As a result, the gear 64 rotates in the opposite direction to the clockwise direction, and the gripping members 58a, 58b
are opened outwards, and the cultivation bottles 50 are connected to the supply conveyor 1.
8. At this time, gear rotation arm 6
The upper end of 8 comes into contact with the locking part of the stopper 69 and returns to the initial position.

Then, the drive arm 76 passes the highest point and starts descending, and the parallel arms 84a, 84b
moves parallel from the supply conveyor 18 toward the container 52, descends, and returns to the starting position.

In addition, photoelectric sensors 100a and 100b are provided on the side of the cultivation bottle take-out portion of the carrying-in conveyor 14, facing parallel to the row of cultivation bottles 50, and detect when the cultivation bottles 50 are taken out from the container 52. Detect. And this photoelectric sensor 10
When removal of the cultivation bottles 50 from the container 52 is detected by 0a and 100b, the carry-in conveyor 14 is driven forward by the width of one row of cultivation bottles 52 arranged in the container 52. .

The take-out parts such as the gripping members 58a and 58b reciprocate as described above to transfer the cultivation bottles 50, and the carry-in conveyor 14 sequentially and intermittently transfers the containers 5.
2, this allows the container 52 to be transferred.
The cultivation bottles 50 housed in are sequentially transferred to the supply conveyor 1
Transferred to 8th. In the embodiment described above, since four cultivation bottles 50 are accommodated in one row of the container 52, four cultivation bottles are transferred in one takeout. In this way, by inserting the cultivation bottle into the carry-in conveyor 14 while still housed in the container 52, the cultivation bottle can be automatically taken out from the container 52 and transferred onto the supply conveyor 18.

[Start inoculation mechanism]

Next, the inoculum inoculation mechanism is shown in Figures 5 and 6.
This will be explained according to the diagram.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the seed inoculation device. In the figure, 18 is the supply conveyor,
The cultivation bottle 50 is transferred in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Reference numeral 20 denotes the rotary plate, and this rotary plate 20 is constantly driven to rotate clockwise when viewed from above.

Reference numeral 110 denotes the tilting box that temporarily stores the cultivation bottles pushed out from above the rotary plate 20 by the push rod 22, and in this embodiment, the tilting box 110 is formed to a size that can accommodate two cultivation bottles. has been done. In addition, the tilting box 110 is formed into a U-shaped box shape in cross section with the side and top surfaces in the direction of transport of the cultivation bottle open, and the upper edge of the side surface of the tilting box 110 is bent inward into an L-shape. The holding portion 110a is formed as a holding portion 110a. When the cultivation bottle is transferred into the tilting box 110, the pressing part 110a is placed in the tilting box 110 so that it comes into contact with the shoulder of the bottle mouth base of the cultivation bottle.
The height of is specified. 110b is the tilting box 11
This is a contact plate having elasticity that is fixed in the longitudinal direction along the inner surface of the tilting box 110, and is biased so that the width of the outlet side is narrower so as to determine the position of the cultivation bottle within the tilting box 110. .

Further, a base frame 112 extends downward from the bottom side edge of the tilting box 110, and the lower end edge of the base frame 112 is fixed to a shaft fixed to the frame body. 113a is a link member whose one end is linked and engaged with the outer surface of the base frame 112, and 113b and 113c are link members that are linked and engaged with the link member 113a. The lower end of the link member 113c is connected to a drive unit (not shown) that drives the link member 113c in the vertical direction.

114 is a cap holder provided above the tilting box 110, and this cap holder 11
A rotating arm 115 is fixed to the upper surface of 4, and the end of the rotating arm 115 is pivotally supported by the frame. 116
is an arm that drives the rotating arm 115 in reverse, and the end of this arm 116 is linked to a push-down rod 117. This push-down rod 11
7 extends vertically downward, and a drive section for pushing down and driving the push-down rod 117 is connected to its lower end. Further, 118 is a push-up rod, which is connected to the rotating arm 115 and connected to the push-up drive section at its vertical lower end.

26 is a seed inoculator installed at a position facing the tilting box 110. Reference numeral 124 designates a seed storage bottle that is fitted and fixed in the upper part of the seed inoculator 26 with the bottle mouth facing downward, and in this embodiment, two bottles are installed in parallel. 126 is the seed culture bottle 1
24, and is formed in a gutter shape so as to introduce the seed bacteria toward the bottle opening of the cultivation bottle housed in the tilting box 110.

128a and 128b are limit switches provided on the sides of the rotating plate 20;
The cultivation bottle on the rotary plate 20 is detected by coming into contact with the outer surface of the cultivation bottle placed thereon.

A limit switch 129 is provided at the base of the seed inoculator 26 on the tilting box 110 side, and when the tilting box 110 is tilted toward the seed inoculator 26 side, the limit switch 129 is pressed and the seed inoculator 2
Drive 6.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the cap attachment/detachment mechanism of the cultivation bottle and the seed inoculator 26. 11 in figure
Reference numeral 9 denotes a fitting claw fixed to the lower surface of the rotating arm 115, which is a rod-shaped angle with an L-shaped cross section so that when a cultivation bottle is fed into the tilting box 110 from the side, the lower part of the side edge of the cap fits into it. is formed. on the other hand,
Reference numeral 120 denotes an engaging claw that is rotatably provided at the tip of the rotating arm 115 opposite to the fitting claw 119, and the lower end of this engaging claw 120 is also bent inward into an L shape. . A lever part 1 is provided on the upper part of the engaging claw 120.
21 are fixed together, and a roller 121a is pivotally supported on the top of the lever portion 121.

A small arm 122 has one end of its upper surface in contact with the roller 121a, and the other end is fixed to the upper surface of the arm 116. 123 is the lever portion 121
It is a coil spring that always urges the to rotate in the opposite direction from the clockwise direction.

A seed scraping rod 136 having a T-shaped tip extends from the main body of the seed inoculator 26 inside the seed storage bottle 124, and the seed scraping rod 136 rotates around its axis during seed inoculation. At the same time, the inoculation storage bottle 124 is gradually increased for each seed inoculation.
It is configured to go inside. Further, the seed inoculation dish 126 is rotatably supported on an axis, and is configured to be able to be reversely moved to two positions: a seed receiving position and a seed inoculation position.

Next, the action of the above-mentioned seed inoculation mechanism will be explained.

First, the supply conveyor 18 transports the cultivation bottles 50
are transferred onto the rotary plate 20, and by rotation of the rotary plate 20, the traveling direction of the cultivation bottles 50 is aligned with the supply conveyor 1.
8 is transformed in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle. The cultivation bottle 50 on the rotary plate 20 is waiting for the next inoculum inoculation, and when the inoculum inoculation of the immediately preceding cultivation bottle is completed, the thrust rod 22 is pushed forward and the two on the rotary plate 20 are The cultivation bottle is placed in a tilting box 110.
to be sent within. The tilting box 110 accommodates cultivation bottles that have been inoculated with the inoculum just before, so the push rod 22 is used to move the two cultivation bottles in the tilting box 110 and the two cultivation bottles on the rotary plate 20 together. Four cultivation bottles are pushed at once while their outer surfaces are in contact with each other. Said limit switch 128
a and 128b are used to detect the presence of two cultivation bottles on the front end side of the push rod 22 when the sides of the cultivation bottles come into contact with each other.
If there are no books or only one book, the push rod 22 will not operate. The cultivation bottles that have been inoculated with the inoculum are pushed onto the next conveyor and proceed to the next process.

Since the cultivation bottle is transferred by sliding from the side of the tilting box 110, at this time, the cap side edge of the cultivation bottle is moved by the fitting claw 119.
It is imported by fitting inside. Then, when the push-down rod 117 is pushed down, the arm 11
The front end of the cap 6 is lifted up, and the lever portion 121 is rotated clockwise via the small arm 122, whereby the engaging pawl 120 engages with the side edge of the cap. Then, when the push-down rod 117 further descends, the rotating arm 115 reverses itself using the shaft provided in the frame as a pivot point, and gradually lifts up from the front end side on the engagement claw 120 side, and the cap is released. .
At this time, the shoulder part of the cultivation bottle is the holding part 110a.
Supported by. Escaped Cap 5
0a is held by a fitting claw 119, an engaging claw 120, and a cap holder 114.

Next, the link member 113c is pulled down,
The base frame 112 is pushed and the tilting box 110 is tilted in the direction of the seed inoculator 26. As a result, the cultivation bottle 50 is also tilted, and its mouth is stopped at a position directly below the seed inoculation dish 126. At this time, the tilting box 110
Since the side surface presses the limit switch 129, the tilting movement of the tilting box 110 is sensed, and the seed inoculation dish 126 is turned downward, dropping the seed into the cultivation bottle. This seed inoculation dish 126 receives the inoculum by scraping off the inoculum from the inoculation storage bottle 124 with the inoculum scraping rod 136 in advance at the inoculum receiving position (the position where the inoculum inoculation dish is horizontal), and the inoculum is received in the inoculum inoculation dish 126. In order to efficiently perform
This inoculum scraping operation is performed in advance when transporting the cultivation bottle and when removing the cap.

When the inoculum is inoculated, the link member 113c is driven again to return the tilting box 110 to the vertical position, and then the push-up rod 118 is driven upward, and the rotating arm 115 is rotated clockwise in FIG. The cap is attached.

This completes one inoculation process, and then a new cultivation bottle is transferred into the tilting box 110, and the next inoculum inoculation is performed. In this way, the operations of removing the cap, inoculating the inoculum, and attaching the cap are performed successively, and automatic inoculation of the inoculum is sequentially performed.

In this embodiment, each part such as the tilting box 110 and the seed storage bottle 124 is configured so that two bottles can be inoculated at a time, but the number of seed inoculation units is not limited to two, but three at a time. It is also possible to easily inoculate more than one cultivation bottle with seed bacteria in the same manner as in this example.

[Cultivation bottle storage mechanism]

Next, the cultivation bottle storage mechanism 34 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the cultivation bottle storage mechanism 34. In the figure, reference numeral 16 denotes the carrying-out conveyor, which is made up of a plurality of rollers arranged horizontally in parallel.

150 is a first gripping plate provided on the side of the collecting conveyor 32 in parallel with the collecting conveyor 32; 152 is a first gripping plate provided on both sides of the collecting conveyor 32;
The second grip plate 150 is provided so as to face the
This is the grip plate. 153 is the first gripping plate 15
This is a shielding plate provided at the base end on the transfer conveyor 28 side of 0, and is located above the upper surface of the collection conveyor 32 in the direction orthogonal to the first gripping plate 150, and is wider than the width of the collection conveyor 32. Formed wide. The first gripping plate 150 and the second gripping plate 1
The front ends of the 52 collecting conveyors 32 are connected by a connecting plate 154 at a position above the collecting conveyors 32.

Numeral 156 is an elastic plate stretched over the inner surfaces of the first gripping plate 150 and the second gripping plate 152, and is provided at a position sandwiching the outer surface of the cultivation bottle.
In the embodiment, two pieces are provided on each of the first grip plate 150 and the second grip plate 152. 15
8 is a protection plate installed on the frame so as to cover the upper side of the first gripping plate 150, and 160 is a limit switch provided to protrude from the inner surface of this protection plate 158. This limit switch 1
60 are provided at equal intervals of four cultivation bottles.

162 is a frame plate provided parallel to the second grip plate 152 and at approximately the same height as the second grip plate 152. This frame plate 162 is supported at both ends by side plates 164 provided vertically,
The lower part of the side plate 164 is connected to a horizontal movement mechanism.

Reference numeral 166 denotes a support arm provided above the frame plate 162 in parallel with the frame plate 162, and reference numeral 167 denotes a push plate formed of an angle having an L-shaped cross section and provided parallel to the support arm 166. A support pole 168 horizontally supports the support arm 166 and the push plate 167. 170 is the support arm 1
Two press rods are provided at a predetermined interval, and are vertically attached to the outer surface of 66 via an elastic material such as a coil spring.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the cultivation bottle storage mechanism 34 described above. As shown in the figure, the container 52 is placed on the discharge conveyor 16 below the collection conveyor 32 and is transported.

Both upper ends of the gripping plate 152 are always urged vertically upward by an elastic member such as a coil spring, and arms extend vertically downward from both ends. It is inserted while being guided by the guide member 172 and is supported slidably. The guide member 172 is a member with an L-shaped side surface, and an L-shaped bent portion is pivotally supported by the side plate 164, and a roller 173 is pivotally attached to the tip of an arm extending horizontally. It comes into contact with the top surface of the frame and rolls. 174 is this roller 1
Reference numeral 73 indicates a step portion provided on the upper surface of the rolling frame, and the front end side of the carry-out conveyor 16 from the step portion 174 is raised by the step difference and is formed horizontally.

A slide bearing 176 supports the lower end of the side plate 164, and the side plate 164 is supported so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. Moreover, 178a is a link member that is linked and engaged with the lower end of the side plate 164, and a link member 178b whose lower end is pivotally supported by the frame body is linked to this link member 178a. 180 is a roller provided in the middle of the link member 178b.

The support pole 168 is attached to the side plate 164 as shown in the figure.
An arm 182 is vertically supported by a frame on the side of the frame and extends vertically downward to push down its lower end.
It is pivoted at the tip of the The base end of the push-down arm 182 is pivotally supported by the frame.

184 is a cam that comes into contact with the link member 178b and the push-down arm 182, and a shaft 184a connected to a drive unit such as a motor is located at an eccentric position of the cam 184.
is provided, and a roller 185 is provided on the distal end side to come into contact with the push-down arm 182. The link member 178b is always biased by an elastic material such as a coil spring so that the roller 180 comes into contact with the side surface of the cam 184, and the push-down arm 18
2 is also biased vertically upward when viewed as an image.

In addition, 186 is a limit switch fixed to the frame body, and is arranged so that the side surface of the container 52 carried out when all the cultivation bottles are stored in the container 52 comes into contact with it.

Next, the operation of the cultivation bottle storage mechanism 34 described above will be explained.

The cultivation bottles that have undergone operations such as predetermined inoculum inoculation are transferred from the transfer conveyor 28 to the collecting conveyor 32, and are transported on the collecting conveyor 32 until the outer surface of the cultivation bottle comes into contact with the connecting plate 154. Since the collecting conveyor 32 is constantly driven, the cultivation bottles that come into contact with the connecting plate 154 will slide on the collecting conveyor 32. The cultivation bottles are sequentially transported by the collection conveyor 32, and the cultivation bottles are retained on the collection conveyor 32 with their outer surfaces abutting each other.

In this way, when the limit switch 160 detects that four cultivation bottles have accumulated on the collection conveyor 32, the drive section is driven and the cam 18
4 starts rotating clockwise in the figure. cam 1
The coarse cotton 84 is attached to the roller 18 on the link member 178b.
0, and as the cam 184 rotates, the link member 178b is rotated clockwise and counterclockwise with the lower end of the link member 178b as the center of rotation.
As a result, the side plate 164 moves forward, and at the same time, the guide member 172, grip plate 152, and first grip plate 150 move forward.

When the guide member 172 moves forward, the roller 173 rides on the stepped portion 174 and tilts slightly clockwise, thereby causing the second grip plate 152 to approach the first grip plate 150. Make sure to pinch the cultivation bottle from both sides.

When the cam 184 further rotates, the side plate 1
64 moves forward, and along with this, the first gripping plate 150 and the second gripping plate 152 are moved forward while holding the cultivation bottle between them. This forward movement distance is the distance by which the cultivation bottle moves from the top of the collecting conveyor 32 to the position where the bottom of the cultivation bottle is separated.

In this state, the first gripping plate 150, the second gripping plate 152, and the side plate 164 all move forward, and the upper edge of the gripping plate 152 is now located below the pressing rod 170, and the cultivation bottle is The cap is located below the push plate 167.

Then, when the cam 184 rotates further, the cam 1
A roller 180 on 84 abuts the upper surface of the push-down arm 182 and pushes the push-down arm 182 down. With this operation, the support pole 168 starts descending, and the lower end of the press rod 170 first contacts and presses the upper edge of the second gripping plate 152, causing the second gripping plate 152 to move along the guide member 172. and lower it. That is, by lowering the second gripping plate 152, the clamped cultivation bottle is lowered to a position close to the bottom of the container 52.

Then, when the support pole 168 further descends, the push plate 167 comes into contact with the cap of the cultivation bottle, presses the cultivation bottle vertically downward from above, and stores the cultivation bottle on the container 52.

As mentioned above, when the cultivation bottle is pressed, press the pressure rod 1.
After being slightly lowered by 70, it is accommodated in the container 52, so that it can be accommodated quietly in the container 52 without disturbing the culture medium filled in the cultivation bottle.

In addition, the push plate 167 is used to hold the cultivation bottle in the container 52.
When the cap is inserted into the cap, it is configured to be pressed slightly, so that the cap can be pressed again to ensure that the cap is inserted.

When the cultivation bottle is completely stored in the container 52, the cam 184 returns to the position shown in FIG. 8 again.

Note that when the cultivation bottle is housed in the container 52, the first gripping plate 15 is
0 moves forward, so that the shielding plate 153 covers the base end of the collection conveyor 32 and blocks the cultivation bottles from being transferred onto the collection conveyor 32. When the storage of the cultivation bottle is completed, the first gripping plate 150 returns to its original position, and at the same time the shielding plate 1
53 moves and the cultivation bottles are collected again on the conveyor 32
transported above.

In this way, the cultivation bottle can be placed in 5 containers at a time.
2 rows each. The unloading conveyor 1
The container 52, which is transferred over 6, is configured to be intermittently transferred by the width of one row of cultivation bottles each time one row of cultivation bottles is stored. In the case of a container that accommodates the items in rows, the items can be stored in the container in line by performing the storage operation four times in each row from the front end side of the container.

In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment is configured to store four cultivation bottles at a time, the number of cultivation bottles is not particularly limited to four, and the number of cultivation bottles stored in one row of the container can be It may be configured to transfer according to the number of books. Further, the number of containers placed on the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor is not particularly limited.

The present invention has been variously explained above with reference to preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the seed inoculation device of the present invention, as described above, it is possible to automatically inoculate mushroom seeds while the cultivation bottle is housed in the container,
The efficiency of conventional seed inoculation work can be greatly improved. In particular, this device allows continuous seed inoculation to be carried out in an extremely compact configuration by functionally arranging the mechanism for taking out cultivation bottles from the container, inoculating the inoculum, and storing the cultivation bottles after inoculation. This makes it possible. Thereby, the seed inoculation device can be easily installed without requiring a large space.
Further, since each mechanism is simply constructed, it is possible to provide a seed inoculation device that is easy to use and has few failures.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the transfer section of the seed inoculation device according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing the culture bottle take-out mechanism, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing the parallel arms, etc. FIGS. 5 and 6 are a perspective view and an explanatory view showing a seed inoculation mechanism, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are a plan view and a side view showing a cultivation bottle storage mechanism. 14... Carrying in conveyor, 16... Carrying out conveyor, 17... Taking out mechanism, 18... Supply conveyor, 22... Thrust rod, 26... Inoculum inoculator, 28
... Transfer conveyor, 32 ... Collection conveyor, 34
... Storage mechanism, 58a, 58b ... Gripping member, 1
10...Tilt box, 115...Rotating arm, 120
...Engaging claw, 150...First grip plate, 152...
...Second gripping plate, 166...Support arm, 167
... Push plate, 168 ... Support pole, 170 ...
Pressure rod.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A seed inoculation mechanism that is provided on the transfer path of the mushroom cultivation bottle, and includes a detachment section that attaches and detaches the cap of the mushroom cultivation bottle, and a seed inoculator that inoculates the cultivation bottle from which the cap has been removed with the seed bacteria. In the mushroom inoculum inoculation device, a carry-in conveyor is provided at one end of the inoculum inoculation mechanism for intermittently feeding containers in which mushroom cultivation bottles are lined up at a fixed length one by one row by row of cultivation bottles, and the carry-in conveyor Grasp the cultivation bottles housed in the container being transferred one row at a time and lift them above the container, and take out the cultivation bottles placed on a supply conveyor that transfers the cultivation bottles in a direction perpendicular to the carry-in conveyor. A mechanism is provided, and the cultivation bottle is taken out by the cultivation bottle take-out mechanism and the empty container is transported forward, and an unloading conveyor is provided that intermittently feeds the cultivation bottles by a fixed length one row width at a time. and a cultivation bottle storage mechanism for storing the same number of cultivation bottles inoculated with seed bacteria by the seed inoculation mechanism in the container on the carry-out conveyor as the number of cultivation bottles stored in one row of containers. A mushroom inoculum inoculation device characterized by: