JPH10236642A - Feed-merging device for pans on which agricultural products are placed - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To match a difference in speed between the sorting process of a single line where the line can be moved and increased in speed by mechanization and multiple lines in an agricultural product feeding process which depends upon man power. SOLUTION: A feed-merging device comprises a feed conveyor 52 for feeding agricultural products of which two lines drives uniformly and synchronously for the transportation of pans and of which end part is interlocked with a sorting conveyor 1, the sorting conveyor 1 of one line which feeds pans at a speed twice that of the feed conveyor 52, and a guide means which transfers pans from each feed conveyor 52 to the sorting conveyor 1. Also each feed conveyor 52 is provided with rails 521 to haul and feed the pans at specified intervals, and the rails 521 of the feed conveyor of two lines are set with their phase shifted by 1/2 pitch.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to apples, persimmons, pears,
A transport device used for a produce sorting device that sorts and sorts and packs a saucer (free tray) on which agricultural products such as tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, and watermelons are placed, more specifically, a saucer transported by a plurality of transport means. The present invention relates to a transfer and merging device for receiving trays to be merged with the conveying means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an agricultural product sorting apparatus that sorts and sorts agricultural products used in a fruit sorting place, etc., generally uses the agricultural products on a sorting conveyor that measures and detects information (eg, grade, class, etc.) for sorting agricultural products. The step of supplying (), the step of measuring the sorting information on the sorting conveyor (), the sorting by judging the sorting based on the sorting information obtained by the measurement, and branching the sorting by sorting while transporting the agricultural products on the sorting conveyor. Sorting process in which the agricultural products of the corresponding sorting category are sent to a number of connected branch conveyors (), and packaging process () where the sent agricultural products of each sorting category are packed at the end of each branch conveyor (). It is configured to be sorted and packaged.

[0003] In the operation of sorting and sorting agricultural products, the steps from supply of the agricultural products to measurement and sorting are usually provided as one transport line, and this transport line is provided via a single transport conveyor or transit section. It is formed of a plurality of conveyers connected in series.

[0004] By the way, in the sorting of agricultural products, class elements such as weight and size are often used for sorting together with class elements such as color and presence or absence of flaws. It is not easy to measure automatically. For this reason, many grade elements are graded by visual judgment of the operator, and the agricultural products are manually placed on the transport line provided for each grade by the operator (Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-5029). Reference).

[0005] However, providing a large number of transfer lines for each grade has the problem that the equipment is duplicated and the cost increases, and the agricultural products brought to the fruit sorting place are not evenly distributed in each sorting section. In general, a distribution state similar to a normal distribution is shown, so that not all of the transport lines provided for each grade are used efficiently. For this reason, the average efficiency (utilization rate) of each transport line in the entire facility is low, and it is not possible to sufficiently exert the capabilities of each device or the like as compared with the investment cost, and there is a problem that the efficiency is systematic. .

As a method of solving such a problem, a single-row multi-grade transport system in which agricultural products of a plurality of grades are mixed and transported on one transport line has been considered. Several different types of single-stage multi-grade transfer systems are considered. The reason why the types are relatively diversified in the single-stage multi-grade transport system is as follows.

[0007] One of the reasons is that a grade is inspected by a worker, that is, a task of extracting and judging grade information from agricultural products is performed by an operator, or a recently developed optical measurement technique or image processing by a computer. There is a difference in whether it is performed by mechanization or automation using technology or the like. Another reason is a difference in the format in which the content (information) of the grade obtained by inspection (measurement) is used. In the latter case, the information use format is different, in order to use the grade information of the inspection results for sorting work, the information is displayed by a switch etc. provided on the tray itself or displayed at the position where the tray is placed on the conveyor This classification is used in the sorting process (usually referred to as “tracking”). Unlike these, the individualized marker (bar code, etc.) provided on the saucer is linked to the information on the classification, for example, by using a computer. In a sorting step, the information is read out from the memory using the individualized indicator of the tray and the corresponding grade information is used.
189380, JP-A-3-229676,
JP-A-4-322778, etc.).

An example of a specific apparatus configuration using the above-mentioned prior art is, for example, a method in which a grade is determined by visual judgment by an operator, and a grade element displayed by tracking the tray or switching a switch. An apparatus in which a means for detecting is provided in the sorting step and used for sorting work can be cited. In addition, as a method of linking the personalized indicator of the saucer and the information of the grade, the individual means of the saucer can be used. An apparatus in which a means for detecting the chemical label is provided in the sorting step and used for the sorting operation can be mentioned.

According to the single-stage multi-grade transport system,
Since there is no need to provide a transport line for each grade, there is no equipment duplication, and the utilization rate of the transport line is improved, which is advantageous.

[0010] However, in the agricultural product sorting apparatus, recently, rapid processing by increasing the speed of the processing, improvement of the processing efficiency, and the like have been demanded, and reduction of the equipment cost by improving the processing capacity of the apparatus has been demanded. Although the above-described multi-level transfer system is an advantageous system for realizing this, there is a demand for further improvement of the capacity and the like.

Considering the agricultural product sorting apparatus in view of the above, it is generally found that the above-described multi-grade transport method is adopted in the sorting and sorting of agricultural products composed of the above-mentioned steps (1) and (2) in the packaging processing. Excellent in terms of effective use,
In addition, it is effective to improve the process of sending the agricultural products for which the sorting information has been measured (including visual observation) to a predetermined sorting section while placing them on a saucer and transporting them. There is a problem that high speed cannot be realized.

[0012] For example, many elements of the class judgment have to rely on the visual judgment based on the experience of the operator, although the technology capable of high-speed measurement has been advanced, and for this reason, many elements have to be used. Part of the above-mentioned agricultural product supply process or sorting information measurement (detection) process is mechanized,
In many cases, automation is difficult and high-speed processing cannot be performed. For example, in the case of using a scratch on agricultural products as a grading element, it is not technically easy to measure the entire surface of the agricultural product placed on a saucer by optical means, so it often relies on the visual judgment of workers. There are limitations. In addition, depending on the type of agricultural products, it is not easy to mechanize the operation of placing watermelon and other items brought into the fruit sorting area on a saucer one by one. For this reason, the supply of agricultural products still depends on the manual work of the operator, and thus there is a limit to the manual processing as described above. The problem with speeding up these manual tasks is that
This is more remarkable when a tray is tracked on a transport line to display a grade.

Therefore, even if a single-stage multi-grade transfer system is adopted in the transfer line, if it is not easy to realize high-speed processing in the preceding step, it is not possible to realize a high-speed apparatus as a whole. As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to increase the number of workers in the process, but even in the case of simply loading agricultural products on the saucer, the moving speed of the transport line should be, for example, 5 or 6 pieces per second in front of the worker. Actually, increasing the speed so that the tray passes at a speed exceeds the ability of the worker in the first place. According to the experience of the present inventors, it is 1 to 1 per second.
It is difficult to work beyond the limit of about three.

[0014]

From these facts, in order to improve the performance of the whole agricultural product sorting apparatus and the processing efficiency, it is difficult to achieve the above-mentioned steps in which the high-speed processing is difficult and a part in which the high-speed processing is difficult. There has been a demand for a problem of adapting the measurement of the sorting element to a high-speed process. Some of the elements in which high-speed processing is difficult in the case of using a measuring device include, for example, those having a complicated shape and requiring a long time for image processing and a long time for determination of scratches.

The present inventors propose the present invention in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. Specifically, for example, a conveyor constituting a transport line in the above-mentioned process is provided for each sorting section. It is possible to make the moving speed of the tray passing through the position where the tray is sent out to the branch conveyor at 5, 6 or more per second, while in the process and some processes, the moving speed of the tray is set by the operator. An object of the present invention is to provide a tray combining / conveying device which is devised so that the number of operable or measurable items can be reduced to about 1 to 3 per second.

It is to be noted that, although different from the countermeasure for the above-mentioned problem, it has been proposed to connect a plurality of supply conveyors to one transport conveyor (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-8307).
No. 1). This does not solve the problem that if multiple workers supply agricultural products side by side on one supply conveyor, there is a problem that workers on the downstream side have to wait until empty trays flow. It is assumed that.

However, in this proposal, although the inconvenience when a plurality of workers are lined up can be solved, the transfer line in the above-mentioned process can be operated at a high speed while the working speed of the above-mentioned process is maintained at a level that can be handled by actual workers. Since there is no recognition of the problem of securing the transfer, it is necessary to wait for timing on the supply conveyor side to transfer the trays from multiple supply conveyors that move at a low speed to a single conveyor that moves at a high speed. However, only a configuration that is suitable for increasing the merging efficiency is not disclosed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the state of the art as described above, and has as its object to provide a tray combining / conveying apparatus capable of increasing the processing speed of an agricultural product sorting apparatus and thus improving the processing capacity. It is.

Another object of the present invention is to realize a high-speed processing by improving the capability of the agricultural product sorting apparatus, and a sorting step (for example, the above-mentioned step) in which the speed of moving a line is relatively easy by mechanization and automation, and The problem that there is a difference in the speed of the line movement from the agricultural product supply and measurement process (for example, the above process and the like) where it is difficult to speed up the movement of the line because of the dependence on the manual work and the ability to cope with high-speed processing
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tray-conveying / merging device which can be adapted with maximum efficiency.

Still another object of the present invention is to reduce the installation space for the agricultural product sorting device, to improve the utilization efficiency of the equipment, and to provide an inexpensive device as a whole.

[0021]

The above object is achieved by the invention of a device for transporting and joining trays used in an agricultural product sorting device according to the claims of the present invention.

[0022] The invention of the tray transport merging apparatus according to claim 1 of the present application is a single high-speed transport conveyor for transporting a tray on which agricultural products are loaded, and a plurality of rows are driven at a constant speed synchronously to transport the respective trays.
A plurality of low-speed conveyors whose end portions are linked to the high-speed conveyor so that the trays can be transferred to the high-speed conveyor, and tray transfer guide means for guiding the transfer of the trays from the end of each low-speed conveyor to the high-speed conveyor. A tray consolidation device for transferring the tray while continuously driving the high-speed transport conveyor and the low-speed transport conveyor to merge and transport the trays on the high-speed transport conveyor, wherein the low-speed transport conveyor includes: In addition to having a tray transport support portion for transporting the trays at a constant pitch in the transport direction, the transport speed of the one high-speed transport conveyor is set to be approximately several times or more than that of the low-speed conveyor, and each of the plurality of It is characterized in that the pitch phase of the tray conveying support portions of the low-speed conveyors is shifted in the conveying direction by a fraction of the number of the low-speed conveyors. In general, the number of low-speed conveyors is preferably two or three in many cases, but is not limited. In addition, as for a combination of one high-speed conveyor and a plurality of low-speed conveyors, a plurality of these combinations can be installed according to the scale of the sorting place.

The high-speed conveyor having the above-mentioned structure is, for example, a conveyor having the function specified in the second aspect of the present invention, that is, a conveyor having a plurality of branch lines connected according to sorting categories while conveying a tray on which agricultural products are placed. As a representative example. This is because, after measuring the information of the sorting element for determining the sorting category, the sorting category determining process can be promptly performed by using a computer, and the branch line (such as a branch conveyor or the like) connected for the sorting category is used. )
To speed up the work of sending the corresponding agricultural products to
This is because it is possible to cope with the problem by using an apparatus capable of high-speed processing, such as mechanization and automation, which is proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 278848. However, the converging side (high-speed conveying conveyor) conveyor of the conveying merging apparatus of the present invention is not limited to this.

Further, the low-speed conveyor having the above-mentioned configuration may be a conveyor which requires operations during which high-speed processing is not easy to be performed during transportation, for example, a line for manually loading agricultural products as specified in the invention of claim 3 or 4. A typical example is a conveyor for supplying agricultural products that conveys a saucer, or a conveyor that manually displays the grade of agricultural products by tracking. However, the present invention is not limited to these. In short, in any case of manual processing or mechanized processing work, it is suitable to set the transfer speed relatively slow as compared with the processing work of the high-speed transfer conveyor described above. That are subjected to the above-mentioned process.

In the above-mentioned configuration, each low-speed conveyor has a tray transport support portion for transporting the trays at a constant pitch in the transport direction. Here, the “pan receiving and transporting portion” is not particularly limited as long as it is suitable for transporting the receiving tray on a conveyor surface having a moving surface, for example, and may have any configuration. However, a preferred configuration is the configuration specified in claim 9, that is, a cross bar in the conveyance direction is extended on the conveyance surface of the conveyor, and the cross bar is engaged with the pan to catch the pan in the conveyor conveyance direction. And the type of transporting by entrainment.

Further, the plurality of low-speed conveyors are driven at a constant speed and synchronously, so that the pitch phase of the tray conveying support portion is
Each conveyor has a characteristic that it is set so as to be shifted in the transport direction by a fraction of the number of low-speed conveyors linked to one high-speed conveyor (for example, は in the case of two low-speed conveyors). Having a configuration. In this way, for example, the front-back distance between the trays that have moved from the two low-speed transport conveyors to the one high-speed transport conveyor becomes the pitch phase shift. The fact that the deviation amount is “1/1” does not mean that it should exactly match the mathematical value, but it is sufficient that the deviation amount is approximately that numerical value. The deviation of the pitch phase between the low-speed conveyors can be permissible as long as it does not hinder the merging.

Further, the above configuration has a characteristic configuration in which the transport speed of a single high-speed transport conveyor is set to be several times or more the speed of a plurality of synchronously driven low-speed conveyors. The speed ratio between the high-speed conveyor and the low-speed conveyor is the same as that of the low-speed conveyor. If the distance between the trays on the high-speed conveyor is wider, the speed ratio should be within the range where the merging is possible if the distance between the trays on the high-speed conveyor is narrower. It may be less than twice. The term "approximately several times" the speed ratio includes these cases.

According to the invention having the above structure, the trays can be joined onto the high-speed conveyor without waiting for timing while continuously driving the low-speed conveyors. Is achieved.

[0029] Further, since the speed ratio between the high-speed conveyor and the low-speed conveyor can be increased, the high-speed conveyor can perform high-speed processing with high capability, and the low-speed conveyor can process at a low speed corresponding to the processing operation. Can be.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in each of the above-mentioned inventions, there is provided a tray transport supporting portion for transporting the trays at a constant pitch in the transport direction between each low-speed transport conveyor and one high-speed transport conveyor. And a relay conveyor that relays the transfer of the tray from the low-speed conveyor to the high-speed conveyor is provided, and the transfer speed of the transfer relay is set to the speed between the low-speed conveyor and the high-speed conveyor. And

According to the present invention, it is effective to smoothly transfer the tray when the speed difference between the low-speed conveyor and the high-speed conveyor is large.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the pitch phase of the tray carrying support portion between the plurality of transfer relay conveyors is defined as:
It is characterized in that these transfer relay conveyors are provided shifted by a fraction of the number of lines.

According to the present invention, the transfer from each low-speed conveyor to the high-speed conveyor can be performed reliably and more smoothly.

[0034] The invention of claim 7 of the present application is characterized in that at least one of the low-speed conveyors or transfer relay conveyors has a curved conveying path for changing a horizontal interval between a plurality of low-speed conveyors. And

According to the present invention, the degree of freedom in designing a peripheral device provided along the low-speed conveyor, for example, an installation layout of a device for measuring (detecting) sorting information of agricultural products and the like can be increased.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in each of the above-mentioned inventions, the tray transfer guide means for guiding the transfer of the tray is installed obliquely in the conveying direction of the conveyor from the low-speed conveyor to the high-speed conveyor. To engage the saucer,
It is a guide rail that shifts the conveyed tray horizontally and horizontally along with the conveyance.

According to the present invention, the guide means for transferring the receiving tray can be formed by a relatively simple structure of a fixed rail.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in each of the above-mentioned inventions, the tray transport support portion for transporting the trays at a constant pitch is provided with a tray-transporting tray extending vertically formed from the conveyor transport surface and extending in the lateral direction of transport. Characterized by a crosspiece.

According to the present invention, the tray transfer support provided on the low-speed transfer conveyor and, if necessary, the relay conveyor can be formed with a simple structure called a crosspiece.

The invention according to claim 10 of the present application is characterized in that the crosspiece is provided with at least one positioning means for the tray which determines the horizontal position of the conveyor by engaging the tray unevenly. .

According to the present invention, the grade of the agricultural product placed on the tray can be displayed by tracking according to the loading position in the horizontal direction on the conveyor, and the loading position is appropriately detected by a detecting means such as a camera, so that the grade information can be displayed. Can be converted into an electric signal and taken into a control device for sorting agricultural products.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in each of the above-mentioned inventions, there is provided means for measuring an agricultural product sorting element along any one of the high-speed conveyor, the low-speed conveyor, and the transfer relay conveyor. And

According to the present invention, the measuring device employed as the imaging device and / or the internal inspection device for agricultural products can be installed along an appropriate conveyor in consideration of the speed of the measuring operation of the agricultural product selection element. it can. That is, in the case where the sorting element used for sorting is, for example, an imaging device capable of high-speed processing, if the imaging device is not arranged on the low-speed conveyor but arranged on a single high-speed conveyor, only one device is needed. Economical.

A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in each of the above-mentioned inventions, the tray has unique information such as a bar code for identification.

According to the present invention, the measurement information (sorting information) obtained by the measuring device employed as the above-described image pickup device or the internal inspection device for agricultural products, or the grade displayed by tracking on the low-speed conveyor. Information (sorting information), identification information of the specific saucer on which this information is placed,
It can be converted into electric signals and taken into the control device for agricultural product sorting.At the later stage of sorting work, by detecting only the identification information of the saucer, the sorting information of the agricultural products listed on this or this sorting information The sorting classification information determined based on this can be extracted, which is effective for high-speed sorting.

[0046]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a part of a sorting place (a path from measurement for sorting of agricultural products to packing) equipped with a sorting and packaging apparatus for agricultural products according to the present invention. The sorting and packaging apparatus is roughly divided into a supply / gradation sorting section for agricultural products (processing section of the above-described process), and a sorting sorting section for discharging the agricultural products determined to be graded to the storage conveyor of each sorting section. (Processing unit of the above-described process) and a box-packaging unit (box of the above-described process) for packing a group (the number of packaging units) of agricultural products sent from the storage conveyor of each sorting section to the box-standby position. Processing unit).

In the present embodiment, the work efficiency of these three parts can be reduced at a relatively low speed which requires visual judgment by the operator by providing the agricultural product supply / gradation sorting section as a two-section conveyor. In the sorting section, the trays (hereinafter referred to as "free trays") conveyed by the two-stage supply / equal-class sorting section are joined to a single conveyor to ensure high-speed and efficient mechanical work. In this way, in order to achieve high-speed processing and to efficiently operate a large number of boxing devices in the boxing and packaging section, the free trays 4 can be joined or transferred at an appropriate time.

The above-mentioned agricultural product supply / equivalent class sorting section is shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3 and transfers the free tray 4 returned by the return conveyor 51 onto a transport conveyor 52 which is a low-speed transport conveyor. , The worker 50
The agricultural products are picked up from the receiving conveyor 57 for randomly transporting the agricultural products brought to the fruit sorting place, and the agricultural products are placed on the free tray 4. At this time, in this example, the grades (excellent, excellent, excellent, A , B, C, etc.) and visually determine the position of the free tray 4 at the center, right, and left sides of the conveyor 52 (positions P _C ,
(P _R , P _L ) is moved to a predetermined position so that tracking indicates that it is any of the three classes.

The conveyor 52 of this embodiment is a conveyer provided with bars 521 at regular intervals in the carrying direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the center of the bar 521 in the left-right direction is a circular plane. The free tray 4 is provided with a notch 5211 that can be engaged with the free tray 4 in a shallow and uneven manner, and the free tray 4 is engaged with the bar 521 at each of the left and right positions and the notch 5211 at the center position to accurately display the tracking display. It is configured so that the free tray 4 can be positioned stably so that the free tray 4 can be positioned. The pitching screw 5 having a spiral groove provided at the end of the return conveyor 51
The number 11 allows one free tray 4 to be inserted into each square separated by the crosspiece 521.

The conveyor 52 is provided with an opposing link 581 of a pair of parallel link chains 58 that rotate endlessly.
By arranging the plate 59 therebetween, a substantially continuous conveyor conveying surface suitable for conveying and supporting the free tray 4 is formed. A cover 582 covers the link chain 58 and also serves as a side edge frame of the conveyor conveyance surface.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a tracking detection device such as a photoelectric sensor provided for detecting the position state (tracking state) of the free tray 4, for detecting the grade of the agricultural product from the tracking position of the free tray 4 on which the product is placed. belongs to.

In this example, the free tray 4 after the tracking is detected is moved in a line by a tapered rail 522 and passed through the image pickup device 54. The imaging device 54 is for imaging the appearance of agricultural products using a color camera, a sensor camera, or the like, and classifying or classifying each agricultural product by an appropriate calculation method.

Reference numeral 55 denotes a bar code reader which reads different identification marks, for example, bar codes, displayed on the free tray 4 one by one.

As described above, the identification information (individualization information) of a specific free tray 4 is detected by a bar code.
In addition, sorting information required for the grade and rank of the agricultural product placed on the specific free tray 4, for example, information detected by the tracking detection device 53 or the imaging device 54 is converted into an electric signal and sent to a computer (not shown). It is determined and recorded whether the agricultural product on the specific free tray 4 belongs to which classification class of the equal rank, or recorded as the classification result information of the determination result. This recording information is used as information for discharging the free tray 4 from the sorting conveyor 1 described later to the storage conveyor.

Next, the merging mechanism 56 is used to transfer the free trays 4 on the two conveyors 52 to one sorting conveyor (high-speed conveyor) 1 for high-speed transfer and transfer and merge them. Will be described.

That is, at the end side of the conveyor 52 of the agricultural product supply / equivalent class sorting section of the present example, the two conveyors 52 run in parallel at a predetermined interval, and both of the bars 521 It is provided so that it is driven (conveyed) with a ピ ッ チ pitch phase shifted in the conveying direction. Then, the sorting tray 1 is disposed in the middle of the two transporting conveyors 52 and provided as a high-speed transporting conveyor that is provided to transfer at approximately twice the speed. The inclined rails 562 and 562 serving as transfer guide means are arranged so that the free tray 4 is moved laterally to join.

The transfer relay conveyor 561 serves to smoothly perform transfer transfer when the speed ratio between the transport conveyor 52 and the sorting conveyor 1 is large. In addition, the transfer speed is set to an intermediate speed between the transport conveyor 52 and the sorting conveyor 1. Also, a transfer relay conveyor 561 provided corresponding to each transport conveyor 52.
Are set in such a manner that the bars 5611 provided thereon are provided with a phase shift of 1/2 pitch from each other in the conveying direction, and the free tray 4 can be transferred between the bars 5611 of the conveying conveyor 52 and the bars 5611. .

As described above, the two conveyors 5
The free tray 4 on which the agricultural product on which the sorting element for determining the equal-grade sorting section is detected is placed on the inclined rail 562 while being transported by the transport conveyor 52, and is moved along the inclined direction. And transfer to the sorting conveyor 1. And the rail 5 of the conveyor 52 on both sides
21 are shifted by 1/2 pitch in the conveying direction, they are efficiently aligned at equal intervals on the sorting conveyor 1 and merged, and are transferred to the sorting sorting section at a high speed set in the sorting conveyor 1. Sent.

Next, the sorting / sorting section of the sorting / packaging apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

In the agricultural product sorting / packaging apparatus of this embodiment, the above-mentioned transport / conveyor 52 of the agricultural product supply / equal grade sorting section is provided in two sections, and the two articles (two series) are supplied and sent out from the equal grade sorting section. Two sets of sorting conveyors 1 that join and transport the free trays 4 are provided in a vertically separated and stacked manner as a box packing line, and the free tray 4 is supplied to one box packing device from the upper and lower box packing lines. (See FIG. 5). The configuration of the present example is extremely suitable for a case where an efficient working mode is adopted corresponding to a practically suitable workable speed.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which this is actually applied will be described and clarified.

As shown in FIG. 5, the free tray 4 on which the agricultural products whose sorting has been determined by the agricultural product supply / equal class sorting section is transported by the upper and lower two-stage sorting conveyors 1, 1 while being moved in the horizontal direction. Conveyor 202 branched and connected to
To (n Article of the upper and lower the same number of 202 ₁ to 202 _n in this example),
For each sorting category, the free tray 4 on which agricultural products of the corresponding sorting category are placed is discharged.

In the present embodiment, the storage conveyor 202 described above is used.
The four upper and lower four lines form a group (group), forming a branch boxing line 2 linked to one boxing standby position of the boxing and packaging section. In the example shown in the figure, eight sets of these branching and packing lines 2 are linked to the boxing standby position of the sorting and packaging apparatus, and the other branching and packing lines 2 (3 located on the upper side in FIG. 1). Line) is linked to a box packing standby position for manual packing work by an operator, or a branch box packing line that does not pack boxes. The branch boxing line having the box standby position for manual packing can be provided by a worker in a timely manner in the case of a sorting section having only a small number of agricultural products. Agricultural products that cannot be shipped as extraordinary products do not need to be packed in a box, so they may be discharged to a non-boxed line (one line located at the top in FIG. 1).

Hereinafter, one set of branch boxing lines 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, but the other sets have the same configuration except that the arrangement pattern of the boxing is different.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the above-mentioned branch box line 2 constituting the sorting section is generally provided with upper and lower discharge devices 201, 201 for discharging the free tray 4 from the upper and lower sorting conveyors 1, respectively. Upper and lower storage conveyors 202, 202 for storing the discharged free tray 4, a box standby position 2
A tray sending device 204 sends the free tray 4 from the upper and lower storage conveyors 202 to the tray 03.

The discharging device 201 is, for example, disclosed in
-278848, can be configured using the sorting and discharging apparatus disclosed in
1 are provided independently of each other. Further, in this example, the storage conveyor 202 of two lanes (two lines) is operated by one discharge device.
(2021, 2022 in FIG. 6). That is, the discharge device 201 has a large number of electromagnetic attraction portions 2012 at equal intervals along the circumferential direction inside the outer peripheral portion, and a turntable 2011 that rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
One exciting means 2013 for exciting the electromagnetic attraction portion 2012 of the rotary table 2011 at a predetermined fixed position to attract and turn the free tray 4 to discharge the free tray 4 from above, and the two-lane storage conveyor as described above. In order to distribute the free tray 4 to 2021 and 2022, it comprises excitation canceling means 2014 and 2015 of the electromagnetic attraction unit 2012 fixedly provided at two predetermined positions.

With the above configuration, for example, an agricultural product whose classification is determined to be of the same class (for example, the size of the class is L and the class is A) is stored in the storage conveyor 20 set to the classification.
When passing through the position of the discharging device 201 having the magnetic head 2, the exciting means 2013 is excited by a command from a control means (not shown) such as a computer, so that the corresponding free tray 4 has an electromagnetic attracting portion 2012. Rotary table 2
011 and is turned laterally and discharged from the sorting conveyor 1 in accordance with the rotation of the turntable 2011. Then, one of the excitation release means 2014 and 2015 is operated by a command from the control means to release the suction, and the discharged free tray 4 is sent to one of the two lanes 2021 and 2022.

In this example, the operation of selecting the agricultural products of a specific sorting category by the predetermined discharging device 201 and discharging the selected agricultural products to the corresponding storage conveyor 202 is performed as follows. That is, by reading a unique sign (bar code) of the free tray by a bar code reader 5 (see FIG. 1) arranged upstream of the sorting conveyor 1, sorting of agricultural products recorded in a one-to-one relationship with the sign is performed. Detected, and the transfer distance (or time) from the arrangement position of the barcode reader 5 to the discharge device corresponding to the storage conveyor 202 of the corresponding sorting section is determined in correspondence with the movement amount of the sorting conveyor from an encoder device or the like. It is determined based on the number of pulses to be output, and is activated when the corresponding free tray 4 passes through the discharge device 201 portion.

In this example, for example, the discharge device 201 shown on the right side of FIG. 6 is connected to the free tray 4 on which the agricultural products P having the size M and the sorting category A are placed on the two storage conveyors 2.
02, and the discharge device 201 on the left side
Can be installed on the two storage conveyors 202 so as to discharge the agricultural products P in the sorting section of the size L and the class A, but this is the same for all the storage conveyors 202 of one branching boxing line 2. Assortment categories or all different assortment categories can be used, and the selection can be determined as necessary according to the distribution ratio of the assortment categories of the agricultural products to be processed.

Next, the storage conveyor 202 will be described. The storage conveyor 202 is constituted by a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, or the like, and is configured to convey the discharged free tray 4 to the downstream side. Also,
As described above, two lanes 2 for one discharge device 201
The lanes 2021 and 2022 are provided so as to accumulate the free trays 4 in a line.
A stopper mechanism 2023 for stopping the free tray 4 is disposed at the transfer end position. The stopper mechanism 2023 normally acts to stop the conveyance of the free tray 4, and for example, the number of free trays accumulated by a sensor (not shown) is accumulated in a predetermined number of packaging units (the number to be packed in one box in a box packing operation). Is detected, the state is switched to a state in which conveyance is allowed based on a command from a control means (not shown) in accordance with the progress of the subsequent packing operation, and the predetermined number of free trays 4 are moved to the packing standby position 2.
03, and after the predetermined number of feeds, the stopper mechanism 2023 is returned to the transport stop state so as to stop feeding the subsequent free tray 4 again. Such a stopper mechanism 2023 can be configured by combining, for example, a stopper plate and a cylinder device.

The above-described discharge device 201 and storage conveyor 2
02 is provided independently for the upper and lower sorting conveyors 1, 1. Therefore, in the configuration of this example, in one branch boxing line 2, the storage conveyor 202 has four vertical lines each, and the discharge device 201 has the vertical line. In each case.

Next, the box packaging unit will be described. The box packaging unit of the present embodiment includes a box packing standby position 203 for agricultural products, a switchable tray sending device 204 for sending agricultural products from the storage conveyor 202 to the box packing standby position 203, and a box packing device 205 for performing box packing work. , And peripheral devices related thereto.

The above-mentioned box standby position 203 holds a predetermined number of free trays 4 sent from any one of lanes of a plurality (eight in this example) of storage conveyors 202 included in one branching boxing line 2. It is provided as a packing lane 2031 that is arranged in a line for packing and stands by for packing. In addition, a switchable tray delivery device 204 for delivering agricultural products is provided with a four-way swinging delivery conveyor 2041 (FIG. 5) for sending a free tray 4 from any one of the storage conveyors 202 to the box lane 2031. ), And an air cylinder device 2042 for each lane for swinging these delivery conveyors 2041, and a free tray 4 delivered from the four storage conveyors 202 via the delivery conveyor 2041 to the box lane 2031. And a relay conveyer 2043 extending in a direction perpendicular to the direction. Each air cylinder device 2042
Before sending out a group of free trays 4 from one of the storage conveyors 202 forming a pair vertically, the stopper mechanism 2023 is switched to a state allowing the conveyance, and the shaft on the relay conveyor 2043 side is switched. 204
4 is oscillated about the sending conveyor 2041 up and down, and the corresponding storage conveyor 202 and the box lane 2031 are moved.
Are switched so as to have a continuous relationship (either directly or via the relay conveyor 2043).

FIG. 6 shows a state in which when the 24 free trays 4 in the number of boxed packaging units are stacked on the storage conveyor 2021 on the right side of FIG. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the delivery tray 2041 shown in FIG. 5 is set in an inclined position in which it is swung downward, and the number of free trays 4 in the number of boxed packaging units is sent out from the lower storage conveyor 202.

The predetermined number of free trays 4 sent out from the predetermined storage conveyer 202 by the tray feeding device 204 described above are sent onto the box lane 2031 and the stopper mechanism 2034 provided at the tip of the box lane 2031.
, And is put into a box standby state. The stopper mechanism 2034 can be configured in the same manner as the stopper mechanism 2023, and is switched to a state in which conveyance is allowed at the time of completion of picking up of agricultural products (or at the point in time when picking up does not interfere with picking up), and the empty free tray 4 is turned off. Is sent to the return conveyor 51, and after a predetermined number is sent out, the subsequent free tray 4 is returned to a state where it is stopped again.
The end of the return conveyor 51 is connected to the transport conveyor 52 shown in FIGS.

Next, a work robot as the box packing device 205 will be described.

This box packing device 205 of the present embodiment is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, the robot is configured as a work robot having a vertical multi-joint type arm mechanism (hereinafter referred to as “work robot 205”), and is arranged and waited in a line in a box lane 2031 at the box waiting position 203. The farm products P are picked up from a predetermined number of free trays 4 and the tray packs 801 to
804 is operated so as to be sequentially packed one by one into the cardboard box 6 fitted and inserted. In the sorting and packaging apparatus of the present example, for example, when the agricultural products P having the size L are packed in a box, they are packed into 5 × 4 rows (20 in total).
When the agricultural products P of the size M are packed in boxes, 6 × 4 rows (total 24) are packed, so that the pick-up cups of the work robot 205 can cope with different pick-up numbers. Those that are not involved in the pick-up are provided so that they can be evacuated to the evacuation position.

That is, the working robot 205 of the present example
As shown in FIGS. 5, 7, and 8, a root link mechanism 205 that performs parallelogram link motion from the main body 2051
2 is extended, and a tip link mechanism 2053 that performs parallelogram link motion is connected to a tip of the root link mechanism 2052 via a hinge that allows rotation about a horizontal axis,
Further, a suction cup holder 2054 is connected to the end of this end link mechanism 2053 via a bracket 2055, and the arm mechanism constituted by these link mechanisms allows the bracket 2055 to always maintain a horizontal posture, up, down, front and back. You can move to.

The bracket 2055 is shown in FIGS.
As described in detail, the pair of guides 20552 provided on the bracket bottom plate 20551 are slidably movably in the horizontal direction with the rail 20541 provided on the upper surface of the suction cup holder 2054, so that the suction cup holder 205
7 is movably suspended in the YY direction in FIG. 7, and the piston rod 20543 of the air cylinder device 20542 assembled on the upper surface of the suction cup holder 2054 is connected to the bracket bottom plate 20551 so that suction is performed. The Y of the cup holder 2054 and the bracket 2055
The position in the −Y direction can be determined.

The suction cup holder 2054 is provided at its lower part, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
Cup holder 2056 at one end fixed so as not to move in the direction
Moving cup suspensions 2 slidingly fitted to rails 20545 provided on the lower surface of the robot so as to be movable in the YY direction.
057 are provided so as to hang the air cylinder devices 20561 and 20571 having piston rods 20562 and 20572 which are driven up and down. At the lower end of the piston rods 20562, 20572, suction cups 20563, 20573 are provided. As the suction cup, a known suction cup having a flexible bellows for enhancing the adhesion to the agricultural product to be picked up can be used.

Each of the suction cups 20563 and 20573 is
The air pipe 2058 connects to a blower (not shown).

Further, a pantograph mechanism 20547 driven by a servomotor 20546 is provided as an interval changing means in the above seven cup hanging bodies, and the moving cups which are sequentially adjacent to each other with the fixed cup hanging body 2056 as a reference. The interval between the hanging bodies 2057 can be changed.
That is, details of the interval changing means are shown in FIGS.
0, the horizontal position of the fixed cup hanging body 2056 and the horizontal position of the moving cup hanging body 2057 at the farthest position from the fixed cup hanging body 2056 are moved by the servomotor 20546. Pantograph mechanism 2054
By performing the equalization by 7, the interval change and the equalization are achieved.

Hereinafter, peripheral devices and the like provided in the sorting and packaging apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a supply / discharge device for the cardboard box 6. The empty box 6 conveyed by the empty box conveyor 701 is pushed into the empty box descending device 703 by the pusher 702 at a predetermined timing. After being lowered, it is sent to the packing position 704 along the arrow shown in FIGS. Further, the cardboard box 6 in which the packing of the agricultural products P has been completed is lowered from the boxing position 704 to an ejection conveyor 705 by an elevator (not shown), and is conveyed to a predetermined product accumulation place by the product conveyance conveyor 706.

[0086] This example of the packaging operation of the agricultural products P in the box by the sorting and packaging apparatus having the above configuration will be described below.

At the agricultural product supply / grade classification section, while the agricultural product is placed on the free tray 4 and transported by the transport conveyor 52, the above-described grade selection by tracking, the grade selection by the imaging device 54, and the detection of the identification mark are performed. The free tray 4 has two transport conveyors 52 arranged side by side.
Are merged by the merging mechanism 56 and transferred to the sorting conveyor 1.

In this example, the structure of the (supply / equivalent class sorting section) → (sorting conveyor 1) is provided in two lines in this example, and the two sorting conveyors 1, 1 are vertically separated and stacked. Has been extended.

The free tray 4 on which the agricultural products P whose sorting has been determined by the equal-class sorting is transferred by the upper and lower two-stage sorting conveyors 1, while the discharge device 201 of FIG.
Storage conveyor 202 designated as a predetermined sorting category by
Is sent to and accumulated. The stopper mechanism 20 disposed at the end of each of these storage conveyors 202
Reference numeral 23 denotes a state in which the free tray 4 is stopped.

The number of free trays 4 accumulated in each storage conveyor 202 in this way is counted by a sensor (not shown), and when one box is packed in one cardboard box 6, the number of free trays is reduced. Equipment (work robot) 205
Is in a receivable state (a state in which the packaging operation can be performed), the stopper mechanism 2023 at the end thereof is retracted, and the packaging lane 2 is transported via the delivery conveyor 2041.
The free tray 4 for one box is sent until 031. At this time, among the four upper and lower storage conveyors 202 belonging to one branch / box line 2, the storage conveyor 202 from which the delivery is to be performed is determined by, for example, each storage conveyor 2.
Based on information detected from a sensor camera (not shown) provided for each 02, computer control of the free tray accumulation state, difference in accumulation speed, and the like is performed so that the packing process can be efficiently performed. Good. And in the case of sending out from the upper storage conveyor 202,
Outgoing conveyor 2 continuous to the corresponding storage conveyor 202
041 is in a horizontal posture, and in the case of sending out from the lower storage conveyor 202, the delivery conveyor 2 which is continuous with the storage conveyor 202 concerned by the operation of the air cylinder device 2042.
041 is swung downward to assume an inclined posture.

The state shown in FIG. 6 is, for example, a size M,
One box (24 pieces) of free tray 4 from storage conveyor 2021 at the upper right end where agricultural products of grade A sorting category are accumulated
Is sent to the box lane 2031.

As described above, in the packing lane 2031 in which the free trays 4 corresponding to one box of the agricultural products P are fed and the packing operation is sequentially performed in a row, the boxes by the multi-joint type work robot 205 are used. A filling operation is performed.

That is, the cardboard box supply / discharge device 7
Empty cardboard box 6 sent to the packing position 704 by
On the other hand, first, the work robot 205 moves the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5 so that the tray pack 801 for 24 balls (pieces) can be picked up by the suction cup.
The arm mechanism is operated by the driving means (not shown) in the posture. At this time, the rotator 807 of the tray pack supply device 8
Operates such that the tray pack 801 for 24 balls (pieces) is located in a state close to the box lane 2031 (the state in FIG. 6). Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the distance between the cup hanging bodies 2056 and 2057 is narrowed so that the tray pack 801 is picked up by six cup hanging bodies.
This is to ensure that the tray pack is picked up.
Then, the picked up tray pack 801 is attached to the work robot 2
The arm mechanism 05 is moved to the position / posture indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 and inserted into the cardboard box 6 at the packing position 704. Reference numeral 805 denotes a turntable on which each tray pack group is loaded, and 806 denotes a support frame.

As described above, the tray pack (in the above state, the tray pack 80 for the size M is placed at the box packing position 704).
1) The cardboard box 6 into which is inserted is brought into a standby state,
In this state, the agricultural products P stopped in the packing lane 2031
The agricultural product boxing operation by the operation robot 205 for transferring the agricultural product P from the free tray 4 into the box is started. In this case, since the work robot 205 of this example has a total of seven cup hanging bodies (one fixed cup hanging body 2056 and six movable cup hanging bodies 2057), the agricultural products to be suspended and picked up are collected. Since there are six Ps, the cup suspension is extra by one. Therefore, the air cylinder device 205 of the movable cup suspension 2057 farthest from the fixed cup suspension 2056
The suction cup 20573 of 71 is retracted upward from the position where it operates for normal transfer of agricultural products by suction from the ventilation pipe 20548, so that it is not involved in operations such as picking up and transferring agricultural products P. This state is shown in FIG. Further, six free trays 4 in which each cup hanging body 2056 and 2057 are stopped in the box lane 2031 are provided.
The positions and intervals suitable for picking up and lifting the agricultural product P on the table are given by the operation of the air cylinder device 20542 and the operation of the pantograph mechanism 20547.

The arm mechanism having the six cup hanging bodies controlled in this manner is moved to the position and posture shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5, and the suction cups 20563 and 20573 absorb six agricultural products P in one row. And pick up.

Next, the work robot 205 for sucking and suspending the picked-up agricultural products P moves the cup hanging bodies 2056 and 2057 to the box packing position by controlling the posture of the arm mechanism. Pantograph mechanism 20
By the operation of 547, a row of cup hanging bodies 2056, 205
7 is changed to a state suitable for packing. Agricultural products P
The empty free tray 4 from which is taken up is
034 is withdrawn and sent to the return conveyor 51. Then, the free tray 4 on which the succeeding agricultural product P is loaded is transferred to the box lane 2031 and stopped by the stopper mechanism 2034 that has returned, and waits for the next box packing.
Then, the packing operation of the agricultural products P in the second row is performed by the work robot 205 in which the adjacent distance between the cup hanging bodies is widened as shown in FIG. The above operation is performed in a continuous manner for four rows as shown in FIG. 12 in this example, thereby completing the packing operation for one box. The completed box 6 is transferred from the discharge conveyor 705 to the product transfer conveyor. It is transported to a predetermined product accumulation place via 706.

The box packing operation is performed on the next box 6. That is, the supply of the empty box 6 to the packing position 704, the feeding of a predetermined number of the free trays 4 on which the agricultural products P are loaded from the storage conveyor 202 selected to the packing lane 2031, and the predetermined tray packs (801 to 804) A series of operations such as insertion into the box 6 and picking up and packing the agricultural products line by line are performed. At this time, when packing is performed on agricultural products having a size of L, packing is performed using a tray pack 803 in an array pattern of 5 × 4 rows. The body 2057 is also the cup hanging body 20 at the left end.
It is necessary to evacuate to the same evacuation state as 57,
In addition, although the packing state of the agricultural products is staggered and the degree of change in the adjacent interval of the cup hanging body is different, according to the apparatus of this example,
In these change controls, the second cup hanging body 2057 from the left can be retracted only by operating the air cylinder device 20571, and the suction pattern can also be changed by operating the air cylinder device 20542 line by line for changing the arrangement pattern. This can be performed very simply by moving the cup holder 2054 in the YY direction in FIG. 7 and adjusting the operation of the pantograph mechanism 20547.

After the packing of M is completed, when a state (packing unit number) where L can be packed is detected according to the pool condition on the storage conveyor, a tray signal supply device is provided by a switching signal output from a controller (not shown). 8 rotator 80
7 drives the tray pack 802 for L into the box lane 2
031, and the agricultural products are boxed in the same manner as described above.

In the above example, the case where the arrangement pattern of boxes is 20 balls (pieces) and the case of 24 balls (pieces) are described, but the arrangement pattern of box packing is not limited to these. Further, the type of box arrangement pattern that one work robot 205 handles may be one or more different from the drawing, and for example, four types (18 balls, 20
Balls, 24 balls, and 28 balls), four types of tray packs 801 to 804 are used in the tray pack supply device 8.
Can be implemented by being configured to be stacked. Further, this arrangement pattern can be various numbers of boxes and arrangement patterns as exemplified in FIG. 13, for example, and any of these arrangement patterns is shown in FIG. The work robot 205 having the seven cup hanging bodies in a row can be used in common.

In the agricultural product sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment described above, the worker grades the agricultural products (in this example, three grades) with respect to the free tray 4 conveyed at a relatively low speed in the two conveyors 52. ) Is visually determined, and while placing the produce on the free tray 4, the position of the free tray 4 on the transport surface is moved to one of three positions of right, left, and center, and the grade is displayed by tracking. Can be sent as an electrical signal to a control device that determines the sorting category as sorting information, together with, for example, bar code reading information attached to the free tray 4 as indicated by. Further, in the above example, imaging and the like can be performed during the low-speed conveyance. Therefore, measurement processing of sorting elements that are difficult to process at high speed, supply of agricultural products that are difficult to process at high speed by workers, visual judgment and tracking of grades, etc. should be performed at a relatively low speed suitable for the work and measurement processing speed. Can be. In addition,
In the drawing, the imaging device 54 is a
(Low-speed conveyor)
This arrangement is not limited, and when the sorting element employed for sorting can be processed at high speed by the imaging device, the imaging device can be arranged on the sorting conveyor 1. In this way, the number of imaging devices is one per selection line. Further, although not shown, an internal inspection device that takes a relatively long time is arranged on a transport conveyor 52 that conveys at a low speed, and a visual inspection device such as a camera that can perform high-speed processing is arranged on a sorting conveyor 1 that performs high-speed processing. It is also possible to construct an effective layout in terms of both cost and sorting accuracy.

On the other hand, the free tray 4 on the two-row conveyor 52 can be transferred to the sorting conveyor 1 for high-speed conveyance via the merging mechanism 56 and aligned and merged at equal intervals. A large number of free trays 4 can be sorted and processed at a high speed with respect to a box packaging unit in which a large number of trays are installed, so that the processing capacity of the entire apparatus can be increased.

In addition, the transport merging apparatus constituted by the merging mechanism 56 of this embodiment can transfer each conveyor continuously from the two conveyors to the one sorting conveyor without waiting for timing for the transfer. This is extremely excellent in that it can be performed with maximum efficiency while being driven.

Embodiment 2 The conveying / merging apparatus of the free tray 4 of this example shown in FIG. 14 is different from that of the above-described embodiment 1 in the following points, but the other configuration is the same, so that it is the same. The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

The feature of this example is that the two-row conveyor 52,
The transfer relay conveyors 61, 61 for relaying the transfer when the free tray 4 conveyed by 52 is merged with the single sorting conveyor 1, are provided with symmetric curved transfer paths 611, 61.
1 and the guide rails 622 are provided along both sides of the width of the transfer surface of the relay conveyor 61 having the curved transfer path. Note that these two conveyors 52 are driven synchronously in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and both bars 621
/ 2 pitch phases are shifted.

That is, the start end 612 of the relay conveyor 61 forms a straight path running parallel to the end of the conveyor 52, and the end 613 forms a straight path running parallel to the start of the sorting conveyor 1. Provided, these starting ends 6
12 and an intermediate portion between the end portion 613 and the curved conveying path 611.
Is provided. In the relay conveyor 61 of the present example, the bars 6 at a constant pitch rising from the conveyor conveyance surface are also provided.
21 are provided, and the crosspiece 621 is located on the left and right
Are shifted in phase by ず れ pitch in the transport direction. The transfer speed of the relay conveyor 61 is set to an intermediate value between the transfer conveyor 52 and the sorting conveyor 1.

The guide rail 622 is connected to the relay conveyor 6.
The first and second end portions 612 and 613 are provided at an angle with respect to the transport direction in order to shift the width of the free tray 4 in the horizontal direction and transfer between the conveyors as in the first embodiment. In the middle of the transport section, the free tray 4 is provided along both sides of the transport surface along the transport direction to prevent the free tray 4 from falling off the transport surface.

According to the transport merging apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the interval between the two transport conveyors 52 can be increased by the relay conveyor 61 having the curved transport path, and therefore, as shown in FIG. The installation conveyor 57 is installed on both sides of the strip conveyor 52, and a work space for workers to work from both sides can be secured, or the necessary equipment installation space can be easily secured. It becomes easy to design.

Embodiment 3 The present embodiment shown in FIG. 15 is composed of a total of three conveying conveyors 63 to 65, which are two outer conveying conveyors 63 and 65 with a cross, and one intermediate conveying conveyor 64 with a cross. Relay conveyors 632, 64 on one sorting conveyor 1 respectively
2 shows a transfer / merging device that moves the free tray 4 via 2,652 to align and merge. Note that the three conveyers 63 to 65 with a crosspiece are driven synchronously, and are installed such that the phases of the crosspieces 631, 641, 651 are shifted by 1/3 pitch in the conveyance direction.

[0109] The structure for the confluence of the conveyance of the free tray 4 in the above structure will be described below together with the transfer operation.

First, an intermediate intermediate conveyor 64 is
The free tray 4 is provided so as to linearly transfer the free tray 4 to the terminal end of the sorting conveyor 1 via the first relay conveyor 642, and the outer conveyors 63 and 65 have curved conveying paths respectively. Conveyer 63 having an end straight path running in parallel with the start end of the sorting conveyor 1
2, 652 to the sorting conveyor 1
It is provided to transfer. The transfer speed of these relay conveyors 632 to 652 is set to an intermediate speed between the sorting conveyor 1 and the transfer conveyors 63 to 65.
Further, the free trays 633, 643, 653 for free tray entrainment provided standing up from the conveyor surface are provided with a phase shifted by ３ pitch in the conveyance direction (transfer direction of the sorting conveyor) between the relay conveyors.

Reference numerals 634, 644, and 654 denote guide rails which serve both as transfer guides and transport guides. Each rail rides the free tray 4 on the relay conveyors 632 to 652 from above the transport conveyors 63 to 65 at the start end. The guide rails 634, 654 provided along the relay conveyors 632, 652 on both sides extend inclining with respect to the transport direction so as to be moved.
The free tray 4 extends from 2,652 to the sorting conveyor 1 so as to be inclined with respect to the transport direction. In addition, the guide rails 634 and 654 are provided along the relay conveyors 632 and 652 along the relay conveyors 632 and 652 so as to prevent the free tray 4 from dropping off the transport surface.

According to the free-tray conveying / merging apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the three conveyors 63 to 65 and the one sorting conveyor 1 are continuously driven (continuously transported) while the three conveyors 63 to 65 are continuously driven. The free tray 4 can be transferred to the upper side to be aligned and merged at equal intervals, and the merger takes a speed ratio between the sorting conveyor and the transport conveyor that is larger (3/2 times) than in the first and second embodiments. As a result, low-speed processing in a manual operation process can be more effectively realized in comparison with high-speed processing in a sorting process.

[0113]

According to the invention of the tray transfer / merging device described in each claim of the present application, in a process in which high-speed processing is difficult, for example, in a manual process, about 1 to 3 trays per second can be operated by an operator. The transfer speed can be set, and on the other hand, it is possible to solve both demands of a process capable of high-speed processing, for example, a high-speed processing in a sorting step capable of processing at 5, 6 or more per second. In addition, there is an effect that it is possible to provide an agricultural product sorting apparatus having high processing ability and processing efficiency of the entire agricultural product sorting apparatus.

Further, according to the present invention, the tray is not stopped to wait for the timing for transfer,
It is possible to provide a transfer and merging device for a tray that can merge with maximum efficiency while continuously driving both the transfer source conveyor and the transfer destination conveyor.

Further, the installation space for the agricultural product sorting device can be reduced, the utilization efficiency of the equipment can be improved, and a low-cost device can be provided.

[0116] In addition to the above effects, the following effects are further obtained.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the speed ratio between the high-speed conveyor and the low-speed conveyor can be made larger (about three times or more in the third case) than in the case of the two-stage, so that the high-speed conveyor has a high speed. Processing can be performed, and the low-speed conveyor can process at a lower speed corresponding to the processing operation.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the speed difference between the low-speed conveyor and the high-speed conveyor is large, the transfer of the tray can be performed smoothly.

According to the invention of claim 6, the transfer from each low-speed conveyor to the high-speed conveyor can be performed more reliably and more smoothly.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is easy to design an installation space and a work space for peripheral devices provided along the low-speed conveyor.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the guide means for transferring the tray can be formed by a relatively simple structure of a fixed rail.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the tray transfer support portion provided on the low-speed transfer conveyor and, if necessary, the relay conveyor can be formed with a simple structure of a bar.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the grade of the agricultural product placed on the tray can be displayed by tracking according to the loading position on the conveyor in the lateral direction of the transport, and detected by detecting means such as a sensor, the electrical information is obtained as the grade information. The signal can be converted into a signal and taken into the control device for agricultural product selection, so that the visual class determination work by the operator can be effectively performed.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the measuring device can be installed along an appropriate conveyor in consideration of the speed of the measuring operation of the agricultural product sorting element. This makes it possible to construct a layout with no waste in cost, and is rational and economical.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the measurement information obtained by the measuring device and the grade information displayed by the tracking are converted into an electric signal together with the identification information of the tray on which the information is placed, and the agricultural product is sorted. In the sorting operation performed in the subsequent stage, the sorting information can be extracted by detecting only the identification information of the tray, which is effective for high-speed sorting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an agricultural product sorting and packaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing details of an agricultural product supply / equivalent class sorting section of the sorting and packaging apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a conveyor for tracking and transporting agricultural products.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conveyer / merging device for a tray on which agricultural products of the first embodiment are placed.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing one of the branching and packing lines of the sorting and sorting section of the sorting and packaging apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a state in which a row of agricultural products in a row are sucked and suspended by a pickup unit having a row of suction cups;

FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a front view showing a state where one tray pack is picked up from a stacked tray pack group by a pick-up means.

11 is a front view showing a state in which a row of spherical fruits and vegetables are sucked and suspended and transferred to a box container by the pickup means of FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining a procedure of transferring a ball-shaped agricultural product in a box container repeatedly by a row in a four-row array pattern by a pick-up means.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an arrangement pattern obtained by transferring a row of ball-shaped fruits and vegetables to a box container by suction and hanging.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing an outline of the configuration of a transfer and merging device for a tray according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an outline of the configuration of a transfer and merging device for a tray according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... sorting conveyor, 2 ... branching boxing line, 4
..Free tray, 5 ... Bar code reader, 6.
..Boxes (cardboard boxes), 7: Supply / discharge device for cardboard boxes, 701: Empty box conveyor, 702 ...
Pusher, 703 ... Empty box lowering device, 704 ...
Boxing position, 705: discharge conveyor, 706: product conveyor, 8: tray pack supply device, 8
01 to 804: Tray pack, 805: Rotating support, 806: Support frame, 807: Rotator, 50
..Workers, 51 ... return conveyors, 511
・ Pitching screw, 52 ・ ・ ・ Conveyor, 5
21 ... crosspiece, 5211 ... notch, 522 ... taper rail, 53 ... tracking detection device, 54
... Imaging device, 55 ... Barcode reader, 56
... Merging mechanism, 561 ... Transfer relay conveyor, 5
611 ... crossbar, 562 ... inclined rail, 57 ...
Incoming conveyor, 58 ... parallel running link chain, 581
... Opposite link, 582 ... Cover, 59 ... Plate, 61 ... Relay conveyor, 611 ... Curve conveying path, 612 ... Start end, 613 ... End end, 62
1 ... crossbar, 622 ... guide rail, 63, 64, 6
5 ... transport conveyor, 631, 641, 651 ...
Crossbar, 632, 642, 652 ... relay conveyor, 63
3, 643, 653 ... crossbar, 634, 644, 654
... Guide rail, 201 ... Ejector, 2011
..Rotary table, 2012...
3 Exciting means, 2014, 2015 Excitation canceling means, 202 (2021, 2022) Storage conveyor, 2023 Stopper mechanism, 203 Packaging standby position, 2031 Box Filled lane, 20311 ...
Belt conveyor, 20312 ... guide wall, 2034
... Stopper mechanism, 204 ... Tray delivery device, 2
041, a delivery conveyor, 2042, an air cylinder device, 2043, a relay conveyor, 2044,
Shaft, 205 ... box packing device (work robot), 2051
... Main body, 2052 ... Root link mechanism, 2053
··· Tip link mechanism, 2054 ··· Suction cup holder, 20541 ··· Rail, 20542 ··· Air cylinder device, 20543 ··· Piston rod, 205
45 ... rail, 20546 ... servo motor, 2
0547 ··· pantograph mechanism, 20548 ··· vent pipe, 2055 ··· bracket, 20551 ··· bracket bottom plate, 20552 ··· guide, 2056 ·
..Fixed cup suspension, 20561 ... air cylinder device, 20562 ... piston rod, 20563 ...
.Suction cup, 2057... Moving cup suspension, 205
71 ... air cylinder device, 20572 ... piston rod, 20573 ... suction cup, 2058 ...
・ Vent pipe.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A single high-speed transport conveyor for transporting a tray on which agricultural products are loaded, and a plurality of strips for transporting the respective trays by driving them at the same speed and at the same time, and having a terminal portion capable of transferring the tray to the high-speed transport conveyor. A plurality of linked low-speed conveyors;
It is equipped with a tray transfer guide means for guiding the transfer of the tray from the end of each low-speed conveyor to the high-speed conveyor, and the tray is transferred while continuously driving the high-speed conveyor and the low-speed conveyor. Wherein the low-speed transport conveyor has a tray transport support portion for transporting the trays at a constant pitch in the transport direction, and the single-row high-speed transport. The conveying speed of the conveyor is set to a value approximately equal to or more than the number of the low-speed conveyors, and the pitch phase of the receiving and supporting portions of the plurality of low-speed conveyors is set to be less than the number of the low-speed conveyors in the conveying direction. A transfer and merging device for receiving trays, which is displaced. 2. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the high-speed conveyor is a sorting conveyor that sends the trays to a plurality of branch lines connected according to sorting while transporting the trays on which the agricultural products are placed. Conveying unit. 3. A low-speed conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the low-speed conveyor has two ends arranged side by side on a horizontal side of a single high-speed conveyor, and a tray for placing agricultural products on the tray. An apparatus for transporting and collecting trays, which is an agricultural product supply conveyor for transportation. 4. The high-speed conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the low-speed conveyor has two ends arranged side by side on a horizontal side of a single high-speed conveyor and ends at a start end of the high-speed conveyor. A conveyer and conveyer for receiving trays, comprising a total of three articles including one connected article, and each of these low-speed transport conveyors is an agricultural product supply conveyor for transporting the trays for placing agricultural products on the trays. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein
Between each low-speed conveyor and one high-speed conveyor,
A transfer relay conveyor that has a tray transfer support portion for transferring the trays at a constant pitch in the transfer direction and that transfers the transfer of the trays from the low-speed transfer conveyor to the high-speed transfer conveyor is provided, and these transfer relay conveyors are provided. A transfer merging device for receiving trays, wherein the transfer speed is set to a speed between a low-speed transfer conveyor and a high-speed transfer conveyor. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein a pitch phase of the receiving and conveying support portions of the plurality of transfer relay conveyors is shifted in the transfer direction by a fraction of the number of the transfer relay conveyors. Tray consolidation device. 7. The receiving tray according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the low-speed conveyors or the transfer relay conveyor has a curved conveying path for changing a horizontal interval between the plurality of low-speed conveyors. Transport consolidation device. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The tray transfer guide means for guiding the transfer of the tray is provided at an angle to the transport direction of the conveyor from the low-speed transport conveyor to the high-speed transport conveyor, engages with the tray, and horizontally shifts the transported tray along with the transport. A conveyer / merging device for a tray, which is a guide rail that is laterally shifted. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A pan transport support for transporting the pan at a constant pitch,
A tray merging and consolidating apparatus comprising a tray for carrying a tray, which extends from the conveyor conveying surface and extends in the horizontal direction of the conveying. 10. The device according to claim 9, wherein the crosspiece has at least one positioning means for determining the position of the tray, which is unevenly engaged with the tray, in the transport direction. 11. A tray according to claim 1, further comprising means for measuring an agricultural product sorting element along any one of a high-speed conveyor, a low-speed conveyor, and a transfer relay conveyor. Transport consolidation device. 12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the means for measuring the sorting element is an imaging device for agricultural products and / or an internal inspection device for agricultural products. 13. The device according to claim 1, wherein the tray has unique information for identification.