JP2019093355A - Article sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an article sorting device 1 which has a small installation area and a high sorting capacity.SOLUTION: Agricultural products V on an article loading tool 2 are so determined as to be five kinds of equal rank after inspection in an inspection area B. Sorting rails 17A to 17E are so located on an upper side of a conveyor 9C as to be inclined according to five kinds of equal rank, fork conveyors 6A of five in total, which take out the agricultural products V from the article loading tool 2, are located above take-out parts 17b (apices) thereof. When the article loading tool 2 is carried into a sorting area C, a changeover component 20 for the sorting rails 17A to 17E, which are corresponding to the equal rank of the agricultural products V on the article loading tool 2, is operated. Thus, the article loading tool 2 is floated by a lifter 19, and is moved to the take-out part 17b while being lifted along a lifting ramp 17a of a relevant sorting rail. At the take-out part 17b, the agricultural products V on the article loading tool 2 are taken out by the fork conveyors 6A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus, and more particularly to an article sorting apparatus suitable for sorting long produce such as cucumber and eggplant according to the quality and the like.

Conventionally, there is known an article sorting apparatus in which equal rank inspection such as quality is performed while conveying long produce such as cucumber and eggplant, and then sorting is performed according to the difference in rank (for example, Patent Document 1) ).
In the article sorting apparatus of Patent Document 1, in order to enhance sorting efficiency, produce is transported in a state where the longitudinal direction of the produce is orthogonal to the transport direction, and the produce after sorting is also pooled in the same state There is.

Patent No. 2706041

By the way, in the article sorting apparatus of the above-mentioned patent documents 1, a plurality of sorting rails (carried vegetables transfer conveyance body 6, belt conveyor 50) are arranged in the adjacent position of a conveyance conveyor, and the plurality of sorting rails are on the same plane. Since it arrange | positions, there existed a problem that the installation area of a articles | goods sorting apparatus increased.

In view of the circumstances described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of article placement tools for placing articles, transport means for transporting each article placement tool, and a plurality of articles placed on each article placement tool have a plurality of qualities. A plurality of stages are disposed above and below the transport path of the transport means corresponding to the plurality of quality categories, and determination means for determining which one of the categories belongs to, and from above the article placement tool The article loading device has a takeout means for taking out an article and a plurality of guide members disposed along the vertical direction corresponding to each takeout means, and the article placement tool is separated from the transport means to position the takeout means along the guide member. And guiding means for guiding up to
Each of the article placement tools is characterized in that it is introduced to any of the guide members of the guide means in accordance with the quality class determined by the determination means.

  According to such a configuration, since the takeout means and the guide means are disposed above the transport path, it is possible to provide an article sorting apparatus having a small installation area and high sorting ability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The top view which shows one Example of this invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main part of FIG. 1 along the transport direction. The enlarged view of the principal part of FIG. Sectional drawing of the waist part in alignment with the IV-IV line of FIG. Fig.5 (a) is an enlarged view of the principal part of FIG. 4, FIG.5 (b) is a right view of Fig.5 (a). Fig.6 (a) is a top view of the article mounting tool of FIG. 1, FIG.6 (b) is a front view of an article mounting tool. Fig.7 (a) is an enlarged view of the principal part of FIG. 2, FIG.7 (b) is a top view of the principal part of Fig.7 (a). The enlarged view of the principal part of FIG. FIG. 9A is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 2, FIG. 9A shows a state in which the cam follower passes below the connection, and FIG. 9B shows a state in which the cam follower rolls on the connection .

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In FIG. 1 to FIG. 2, 1 is an article sorting apparatus for sorting long produce V (for example, cucumber) according to difference in rank. The transport apparatus 3 includes transport means 3 for transporting the article placement tool 2 on which the produce V is placed to the downstream side in the transport direction. While the transport means 3 is traveling in the direction of the arrow, workers M1 and M2 sequentially place long produce V (cucumber) on each article placement tool 2 (tray) at the supply position A at the upstream end of the transport direction. Then, each article placement tool 2 on which the produce V is placed is first transported to the inspection area B, and the inspection means 4 inspects the appearance and weight of the produce V, and thereafter, on each article placement tool 2 The agricultural produce V is determined by the control means 8 to be in the same rank (i to ho) of five quality categories. Thereafter, the produce V on each of the article placement tools 2 is sorted into five equal classes according to the determination result by the control means 8 in the sorting area C on the adjacent downstream side.
As will be described in detail later, in the present embodiment, the guiding means 5 disposed in the sorting area C has a height of 5 steps corresponding to the equal rank on the upper side of the conveying means 3 with the produce V on the article placing tool 2 Are to be sorted out. Then, the produce V on the article placement tool 2 is sequentially taken out of the article placement tool 2 by the respective fork conveyors 6A as the taking-out means 6 according to the difference in rank, and thereafter, the adjacent downstream of each fork conveyor 6A. It is made to pool by each pool conveyor 7 arranged at the side. In other words, the agricultural products V sorted into equal ranks are pooled on the five stages of the pool conveyor 7, and then, at the boxing position D, workers M3 and M4 perform the agricultural products V on the respective pool conveyors 7 by the workers M3 and M4. They are taken out and packed in cardboard boxes according to their rank.
The article sorting apparatus 1 transports the article placing tools 2 on which the produce V is placed to the downstream side in the transport direction, the appearance inspection mechanism 4A and the weight inspection mechanism 4B sequentially disposed in the inspection area B. Inspection means 4 consisting of: guiding means 5 arranged in the sorting area C adjacent to the inspection means 4 on the downstream side; picking means 6 and pool conveyor 7 sequentially arranged from the sorting area C to the adjacent downstream side thereof; Based on the inspection result of the inspection means 4, while determining the produce V on each article mounting tool 2 into five equal ranks, according to the determination result, the guidance route of the article mounting tool 2 on the guiding means 5 side And control means 8 for switching control.

The conveying means 3 is composed of three conveyors 9A, 9B, 9C connected in series. That is, the conveyor 9A is disposed at the position of the appearance inspection mechanism 4A in the inspection area B from the supply position A, and the conveyor 9B is disposed corresponding to the weight inspection mechanism 4B on the downstream side. A conveyor 9C is arranged.
The conveyors 9A and 9C have the same configuration, and can convey the article placement tool 2 toward the downstream side in one longitudinal row. The conveyor 9B is composed of a belt conveyor with a built-in weight scale, and the weight of the produce V placed on the article placement tool 2 while the article placement tool 2 is transported on the conveyor 9B is It is supposed to be measured.
The upstream portion of the conveyor 9A on the most upstream side is at the supply position A for supplying the produce V onto each article mounting tool 2, and the supply stand 11 is disposed on one side of the conveyor 9 at the supply position A. At the adjacent position, a loading conveyor 13 for loading the container 12 is disposed.
When the container 12 containing a large number of agricultural products V (cucumber) is carried into the position adjacent to the supply stand 11 by the carry-in conveyor 13, the workers M 1 and M 2 move the container 12 onto the supply stand 11. Then, in a state in which the conveyors 9A to 9C of the transport means 3 are traveling in the arrow direction, the produce M is taken out from the inside of the container 12 by the workers M1 and M2 and placed on the article placement tools 2 of the transport means 3 It will be placed one after another. At this time, the produce V is placed on the article placement tool 2 such that the longitudinal direction thereof is orthogonal to the transport direction of the conveyors 9A to 9C of the transport conveyor 3. The article placing tool 2 on which the produce V is placed in that state is sequentially transported by the transport means 3 from the supply position A to the inspection area B on the downstream side and then to the sorting area C on the downstream side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyor 9C in the sorting area C is provided with a pair of left and right endless chains 14, 14 that are circulated along the transport direction, and the transport direction is extended over the left and right endless chains 14, 14. And a plurality of article placement tools 2 are supported at equal pitches. The upper travel area of endless chain 14 is supported by horizontal upper guide 15A, and the lower travel area is supported by horizontal lower guide 15B.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, in the present embodiment, a set of three supporting members mounted over both the left and right chains 14, 14 rather than connecting the article placement tool 2 to the endless chains 14, 14. The article mounting tool 2 is horizontally supported by the plates 16A to 16C. That is, the bottom portion of the article placement tool 2 is supported by the two support plates 16A and 16B, and the lower portion of the rear surface of the article placement tool 2 is supported by the positioning plate 16C. Thus, the support members 16 consisting of a set of three support plates 16A to 16C are provided at equal pitches in the traveling direction of the endless chains 14 and 14, and the article placement tool 2 is provided on each support member 16 The produce V is placed on the article placement tool 2 placed and placed in that state.
When the motor 18 serving as a driving source of the endless chains 14 is operated by the control means 8, the endless chains 14 are continuously traveled in the direction of the arrow. The tool 2 is transported to the downstream side in the transport direction.
Although the configuration of the conveyor 9C of the guiding means 5 has been described here, the conveyor 9A also has the same configuration as the conveyor 9C.
Since the article placement tools 2 are merely supported by the support members 16 of the conveyor 9, each article placement tool 2 can be lifted apart from the support plates 16A to 16C of the support members 16 .
In the sorting area C, the respective article placement tools 2 are lifted from the support member 16 of the conveyor 9C and separated by the left and right pairs of lifters 19 and transported while rising along the slopes of the sorting rails 17A to 17E in that state. It moves in the direction (see Fig. 2 and Fig. 3). Thereafter, the fork conveyors 6A as taking-out means 6 arranged five on the conveyor 9C are adapted to take out and sort the produce V according to the same rank from the top of the article placing tool 2.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the article placement tool 2 is formed in a substantially prismatic shape, and the longitudinal central portion of the upper surface is raised more than the other portions, and the produce V is held there A recess 2A is formed along the longitudinal direction of the. Further, rectangular notches 2B and 2B orthogonal to the longitudinal direction are formed at two places sandwiching the central portion. Further, at one end of the article placing tool 2, an IC chip (not shown) on which information (such as a unique number) for identifying the article placing tool 2 is recorded is attached.
The article placement tool 2 is supported on the support member 16 so that the longitudinal direction is orthogonal to the transport direction, and the produce V is placed on the article with the longitudinal direction orthogonal to the transport direction. It is placed on the fixture 2. The article placement tool 2 has a recess 2A, and the longitudinal center of the produce V is supported there, so that the produce V does not fall off the article placement tool 2 during transport.
As will be described in detail later, the article placement tool 2 in a state of being lifted from the support member 16 of the conveyor 9C by the pair of left and right lifters 19 is lifted along the rising slopes 17a of the sorting rails 17A to 17E The upstream end of the fork conveyor 6A is inserted into the notches 2B and 2B of the article placement tool 2 when it is moved to the takeout portion 17b (see FIGS. 2 and 6 (b)). . As a result, the produce V is transferred from the article placing tool 2 onto the fork conveyor 6A. That is, the produce V is taken out of the article placing tool 2 by the respective fork conveyors 6A as the taking-out means 6 (see FIGS. 2 and 9).
On the other hand, the article placement tool 2 that has been emptied through the take-out portion 17b is moved downstream in the transport direction while being lowered from the take-out portion 17b along the downward inclined portion 17c at the adjacent position. It is designed to be returned on the original support member 16 before separation.

Before describing the detailed configuration of the guiding means 5, the inspection means 4 and the control means 8 as the premise of the sorting operation will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection means 4 includes an appearance inspection mechanism 4A for inspecting the appearance of the produce V and a weight inspection mechanism 4B for measuring the weight of the produce V. They are on the conveyor 9B in the inspection area B. Are arranged sequentially. The inspection result of the produce V on each article placement tool 2 by the appearance inspection mechanism 4A and the weight inspection mechanism 4B is transmitted to the control means 8 as needed.
An IC reader R1 is provided immediately before the appearance inspection mechanism 4A, and the appearance inspection mechanism 4A reads information (unique number) of the article placement tool 2 by the IC reader R1. Then, the appearance inspection mechanism 4A picks up the produce V on the article placement tool 2 from the upper side of the article placement tool 2 with a camera, and based on the imaging result by the camera, the appearance V of the produce V on the article placement tool 2 The presence or absence, size, and the like of a bend or a scratch are inspected, and the inspection result is linked to the unique number of the article placing device 2.
An IC reader R2 is provided immediately before the weight inspection mechanism 4B, and the weight inspection mechanism 4B reads information (unique number) of the article placement tool 2 by the IC reader R2. Then, the weight inspection mechanism 4B links the weight of the produce V on the article placement tool 2 measured during transport by the transport conveyor 9B to the unique number of the article placement tool 2.
Thus, when the produce V on the article placement tool 2 passes sequentially through the inspection area B by the conveyors 9A and 9B of the transport means 3, the inspection by the appearance inspection mechanism 4A and the weight inspection mechanism 4B is performed The control means 8 as the judging means, based on the inspection result by the appearance inspection mechanism 4A and the weight inspection mechanism 4B, shows five kinds of equal ranks of the produce V on each article placement tool 2 which has become an inspection object It is determined to be a).
The IC reader 3 is disposed at the boundary between the inspection area B and the sorting area C, and the control means 8 controls the unique number of the article placing tool 2 carried into the conveyor 9C and the equivalent class corresponding thereto. It is supposed to be recognized through three. Then, when the produce V on each article placement tool 2 is carried into the sorting area C by the conveyor 9C of the transport means 3, the control means 8 selects one of the sorting based on the determination result read by the IC reader 3. The switching member 20 provided at the position of the upstream end of the rails 17A to 17E is operated. As a result, after the article placement tool 2 is lifted via the pair of left and right lifters 19, the article placement tool 2 is transferred (introduced) onto any of the rising inclined portions 17a of the sorting rails 17A to 17E. (See Figure 2).

Next, the guiding means 5 disposed in the sorting area C will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the guiding means 5 includes a pair of left and right sorting rails 17A to 17E sequentially arranged on the upper side of the conveyor 9C along the transport path of the conveyor 9C and the article placing A plurality of left and right lifters 19 which are moved while being elevated along the sorting rails 17A to 17E in a state where the tool 2 is supported and lifted from the lower side, and the left and right pair of lifters 19 are supported so as to be able to move up and down. And a drive mechanism 21 for circulating and moving along the conveying direction of the conveyor 9.
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the conveyor 9C is horizontally disposed through the frame 22 and a pair of left and right pairs is provided inside the frame 22 and above both sides of the conveyor 9C. A total of five sets of sorting rails 17A to 17E are sequentially arranged. The sorting rails 17A to 17E are provided at equal pitches in the transport direction, and the heights of the takeout portions 17b of the sorting rules 17A to 17E gradually decrease from the upstream side to the downstream side. The sorting rails 17A to 17E are disposed in correspondence with the respective fork conveyors 6A as the taking-out means 6 disposed on the adjacent downstream side thereof.

A pair of upper and lower endless chains 23 are disposed opposite to each other on the left and right sides of the conveyor 9C in the frame 22 with the sorting rails 17A to 17E interposed therebetween. Elevating guides 34 are attached at equal pitches in the traveling direction across endless chains 23, 23 at the upper and lower positions, and lifters 19 are supported by the respective elevating guides 34 so as to be capable of being elevated.
The endless chain 23 at the upper and lower positions extends over the sprockets 25, 25 fitted to the upper and lower ends of the shaft 24A on the upstream side in the transport direction and the sprockets 25, 25 fitted to the upper and lower ends of the shaft 24B on the downstream side in the transport direction. It has been passed. The shaft 24B on the downstream side in the transport direction is interlocked with the drive shaft 27 of the motor 18 via the interlock mechanism 26 (see FIG. 2). The drive shaft 27 is interlocked with the sprockets of the conveyor 9C via a reduction gear 31, a chain 32, and a plurality of sprockets meshed therewith.
The operation of the motor 18 is controlled by the control means 8. When the motor 18 is operated by the control means 8 and the drive shaft 27 is rotated, the conveyor 9C is driven in the direction of the arrow at the same time Endless chains 23, 23 at upper and lower positions on the left and right sides of the mechanism 21 are made to travel in the arrow direction (see FIG. 3).
The distance between the successive support members 16 on the side of the conveyor 9C and the distance between the lifters 19 one after the other in the traveling direction of the endless chain 23 are set to the same dimension.
An encoder 33A is connected to the conveyor 9C, and an encoder 33B for detecting the rotation of the shaft 24A is disposed at a position adjacent to the shaft 24A, and the pulses detected by the encoders 33A and 33B are control means It is supposed to be transmitted to eight. Therefore, when the motor 18 is operated, the control means 8 is moved in the transport direction with the article mounting tool 2 supported and moved by the support member 16 of the conveyor 9C via both the encoders 33A and 33B. The article placement tool 2 is supported and lifted from the support member 16 of the conveyor 9C by the pair of left and right lifters 19 and 19 which are raised in time by matching the timing of the pair of left and right lifters 19 with each other.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the elevation guide 34 has a substantially C-shaped horizontal cross section, and is provided with a guide groove 34A in the vertical direction.
On the lower side adjacent to the endless chain 23 on the upper side, a linear travel guide 35 is horizontally disposed, and a disc 36 is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the shafts 24A and 24B adjacent to both ends thereof. ing. The travel guide 35 and both discs 36 are supported horizontally at the same height.
A guide roller 37 is rotatably attached to the side surface of the upper portion of the lift guide 34, and the guide roller 37 is placed on the traveling guide 34 and the disc 36. The guide roller 37 rolls on the traveling guide 34 in the linear movement section when the endless chain 23 travels, and the guide roller 37 rolls on the disc 36 in the rotation section in which the endless chain 23 is reversed. It is supposed to move.
Thus, when the endless chain 23 travels, the elevating guides 34 are also translated along with the endless chain 23 while being maintained in the vertical direction.
The detection piece 36A for the encoder 33B is fixed to the disc 36 on the shaft 24A side, and when the endless chain 23 travels and the shaft 24A and the disc 36 are rotated, the detection piece 36A is detected by the encoder 33B. It is designed to detect 3A. The control means 8 matches the timing when the left and right lifters 19 support the article mounting tool 2 on the support member 16 of the conveyor 9 based on the detection signal of the detection piece 3A by the encoder 33B. ing.

A block-shaped elevating base 38 is movably attached to a guide groove 34A of the elevating guide 34, and a lifter 19 is horizontally fixed to an upper portion on the inward side of the elevating base 38. The pair of left and right lifters 19 are arranged to face each other at the same height with the conveyor 9C interposed therebetween. A cam follower 41 is attached to the outer side of the pair of left and right lifting bases 38. The cam followers 41 of the lift base 38 are engaged with the levitation rails 42 and then engaged with the sorting rails 17A to 17E, whereby the pair of lifters 19 on the left and the right are raised slope portions 17a of the sorting rails 17A to 17E. It is supposed to be lifted along.
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 5, on the upper surface (mounting surface) of the lifter 19, a pair of front and rear stoppers 19A, 19A orthogonal to the transport direction are formed, and side stoppers 19B along the transport direction are formed. It is formed. When both ends in the longitudinal direction of the article placement tool 2 are supported from the lower side and lifted by the pair of left and right lifters 19, the article placement tool 2 is provided by the front and rear stoppers 19A, 19A of the lifters 19, 19 and the side stopper 19B. But not from the lifters 19, 19.
As described above, since the produce V on each article placement tool 2 is determined by the control means 8 to be one of five equal classes (i to ho) after inspection by the inspection means 4, the control means 8 The article placement device 2 is lifted by the pair of left and right lifters 19 according to the difference in the ranks and then introduced to any of the sorting rails 17A to 17E.
At that time, the article mounting tool 2 is lifted and separated from the support member 16 on the conveyor 9 side by slightly raising the pair of left and right lifters 19 by the levitation rail 42 first, and thereafter, the judgment result of equal rank In response to this, the switching members 20 for the sorting rails 17A to 17E are selectively operated.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the position from the adjacent upstream side of the sorting rail 17A to the adjacent downstream side of the sorting rail 17E and at a position slightly lower than the traveling area on the upper side of the endless chain 14 A pair of levitation rails 42 are arranged horizontally. The sorting rails 17A to 17E are sequentially arranged at equal pitches in the transport direction above the floating rails 42.
When the conveyor 9C is traveled, the endless chain 23 of the drive mechanism 21 is traveled along the transport direction in synchronization with it, so the pair of left and right lifters 19 along the transport direction of the conveyor 9 It is moved cyclically. At this time, the pair of left and right lifters 19 are circularly moved in the transport direction in synchronization with the support members 16 of the lower conveyor 9C.
In this state, when each article placement tool 2 on which the determined graded produce V of the same grade is placed is transported to the sorting area C, first, the cam followers of the pair of left and right lifting bases 38 at the upstream end of the surfacing rail 42 Since 41 is engaged and ascends by a predetermined amount, the pair of left and right lifters 19 provided on the elevating bases 38 are elevated by a predetermined amount. Thereby, the article placement tool 2 is lifted from the support member 16 of the conveyor 9C by the pair of raised left and right lifters 19 at the position of the upstream end of the floating rail 42 (see FIGS. 2 to 4). In the transfer area of the conveyor 9C in which the floating rails 42 are not disposed, as shown in FIG. 4, the lifter 19 is maintained at a height lower than the support member 16 of the conveyor 9C and the article placing tool 2. Be done.

In this manner, each article placement tool 2 is lifted from the support member 16 of the conveyor 9C by the pair of left and right lifters 19 at the position of the upstream end of the levitation rail 42, and thereafter, the endless chain 23 is Along with the traveling, the pair of lifters 2 supporting the article placing tool 2 is conveyed to the adjacent downstream side.
At this time, the control means 8 recognizes the article placing tool 2 and the equal rank of the produce V placed thereon via the IC reader R3, and the control means 8 is for each of the lifted item placing tools 2. According to the difference of the same rank (i to ho) of the produce V on 2), it is determined on which sorting rails 17A to 17E the lifter 19 supporting the article mounting tool 2 is to be transferred. The control means 8 also tracks the position of the article placement tool 2 on the conveyor 9C based on the signals from the encoders 33A, 33B. Then, the article mounting tool 2 lifted by the lifter 19 moved along with the traveling of the endless chain 23 is moved to just before the upstream end of any of the sorting rails 17A to 17E for the corresponding class. And, the control means 8 operates the switching member 20 disposed at the position of the upstream end of the sorting rail. Thus, the lifter 19 is introduced from above the floating rail 42 to the sorting rail adjacent to the switching member 20 via the switching member 20.
As shown in FIG. 8, the switching member 20 as the introduction means can be advanced and retracted in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction by the solenoid 44, and the upper surface of the switching member 20 is inclined ascending the sorting rails 17A to 17E. The guide surface 20A is in accordance with the inclination of the portion 17a.
The operation of the solenoid 44 is controlled by the control means 8. When the solenoid 44 is not operated, the switching member 20 is retracted to the retracted position shifted from the top of the floating rail 42 and the rising inclined portion 17a. There is. A photoelectric sensor 45 is disposed at the position of the switching member 20, and when the switching member 20 is in the retracted position, it is detected by the photoelectric sensor 45, and the detection signal is transmitted to the control means 8. By receiving the detection signal from the photoelectric sensor 45, the control means 8 can recognize that the switching member 20 corresponding to the signal is at the retracted position.
When the article placing tool 2 on which the same grade of the determined agricultural product V is placed moves to the position of the switching member 20 in a state of being lifted by both lifters 19, the control means 8 controls the article placing tool 2 concerned. The solenoid 44 for any of the switching members 20 for the sorting rails 17A to 17E to be sorted is operated for a predetermined time based on the determination result of the equal rank of the produce V above. Thereby, the operated switching member 20 is advanced to connect the upper surface of the floating rail 42 and the lower end of the rising inclined portion 17a of the sorting rails 17A to 17E.
Immediately after this, the pair of left and right lifters 19 supporting the article mounting tool 2 is moved, so the cam followers 41 of the lifters 19 roll the guide surface 20A of the switching member 20 from above the floating rails 42 to sort the rails. It is designed to transfer to the rising slope 17a of 17A to 17E. After this, the article placement tool 2 supported by the pair of lifters 19 on the left and right along the inclination of the rising inclined portion 17a of the sorting rails 17A to 17E is moved in the transport direction while being lifted, and then the takeout portion 17b which becomes the top. It is supposed to be moved to

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the selection rails 17A to 17E are disposed above the pair of left and right floating rails 42. Each of the sorting rails 17A to 17E has a rising inclined portion 17a whose height on the downstream side in the transport direction is gradually increased, a horizontal takeout portion 17b which is the top on the adjacent downstream side, and an adjacent downstream side of the takeout portion 17b. It has a downward slope 17c located at a position where the height gradually decreases, and a connecting portion 17d adjacent to the downward slope 17c on the downstream side.
The connecting portion 17d is swingably attached to the downward inclined portion 17c, and is always urged clockwise in FIG. 9 by a spring (not shown). The height of the take-out portion 17b, which is the top of the sorting rails 17A to 17E, sequentially decreases from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the lower end of the connection portion 17d is located adjacent to the downstream side by the spring It is in a state of polymerization and contact. However, the end of the connection portion 17d of the sorting rail 17E located on the most downstream side is in contact with the upper surface near the downstream end of the floating rail 42.
In addition, a linear push-down guide 47 is disposed in parallel to the upper position adjacent to the descending slope 17c of each of the sorting rails 17A to 17E. When the cam follower 41 on the lifter 19 side is engaged with the rising inclined portion 17a and then raised, the cam follower 41 reaches the takeout portion 17b which becomes the top, and is then moved to the adjacent downstream side along the transport direction. It is pushed down by the guide 47 so as to be lowered along the downward slope 17. Thereafter, the cam follower 41 rolls on the connecting portion 17d to move onto the takeout portion 17b of the sorting rail on the adjacent downstream side (see FIG. 9B).
As shown in FIG. 9A, when the cam follower 41 moves to the downstream side in the transport direction while rolling along the rising inclined portion 17a of the sorting rails 17B to 17E, the spring is moved by the cam follower 41 moved. By pushing up the connection portion 17d against the cam follower 41, the cam follower 41 can be moved onto the take-out portion 17b through the position of the connection portion 17d. A spring (not shown) that biases the connection portion 17d may be omitted.
In the present embodiment, the upward inclined portion 17a and the takeout portion 17b of the sorting rails 17A to 17E serve as a guiding path for guiding the article placement tool 2 supported by the lifter 19 to the position of each fork conveyor 6A. The descending slopes 17c and the connecting portions 17d of the sorting rails 17A to 17E form a recovery path for returning the emptied article placement tool 2 from the lifter 19 to the original support member 16 of the conveyor 9.
In the present embodiment, the takeout portions 17b of the sorting rails 17A to 17E are located at the upper side along the transport path of the conveyor 9 so as to sequentially decrease in height, whereby five types of equal classes (i to ho Selection of produce V can be performed according to.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 9, each fork conveyor 6A as the pickup means 6 is located above the conveyor 9C and from the top of the pickup portion 17b of the sorting rails 17A to 17E to the adjacent downstream side. It is arranged horizontally.
As shown in FIG. 9, the fork conveyor 6A is provided with a pair of left and right belt conveyors 6b provided with pulleys 6a at the tip and narrowed, and the upstream end of the belt conveyor 6b is the article placing portion 2 Is inserted into the notch 2B of the The belt conveyor 6b is driven by a motor (not shown) in the direction of the arrow.
The fork conveyors 6A are arranged such that the heights thereof sequentially become lower corresponding to the heights of the takeout portions 17b of the sorting rails 17A to 17E. The fork conveyors 6A at positions on the downstream side (right side) sequentially from the upstream side (left side) in the transport direction of FIG. 2 correspond to the equal ranks (i to ho) of the determined agricultural products V. Thus, in the present embodiment, five stages of fork conveyors 6 are disposed above the conveyors 9. The basic configuration of the fork conveyor 6 is conventionally known.
When the article placement tool 2 supported by the lifter 19 is moved to the takeout part 17b along the rising slopes 17a of the sorting rails 17A to 17E, the notch of the article placement tool 2 located at the takeout part 17b Since the tip of the fork conveyor 6A (belt conveyor 6b) is inserted into the section 2B, the produce V is taken out of the article placing tool 2 by the traveling fork conveyor 6A and transferred onto the fork conveyor 6A. . That is, the produce V is taken out of the article placement tool 2 onto the fork conveyor 6A. Thus, the produce V is sorted by the fork conveyor 6A according to the difference between the five types of equal ranks (i to ho).
Further, as shown in FIG. 9, pool conveyors 7 are disposed at positions adjacent to the downstream side of the respective fork conveyors 6A (belt conveyors 6b) corresponding to the sorting rails 17A to 17E, respectively. Are to be pooled. The pool conveyor 7 is a belt conveyor which is slightly wider than the length of the produce V. At the downstream end of the transport path of the pool conveyor 7, a sensor (not shown) for detecting the operating state of the fork conveyor 6A is disposed. Then, in accordance with the timing at which the produce V is supplied from the corresponding fork conveyor 6A to the pool conveyor 7, the pool conveyor 7 is intermittently traveled. As a result, the produce V can be pooled on the pool conveyor 7 in a state where the produce V is brought close at a predetermined interval.
Then, the produce V on the pool conveyor 7 of five types of equal ranks (i to ho) is boxed by the workers M3 and M4 at the packing position D in accordance with the difference of the equal classes.
On the other hand, with the lifter 19 supporting the article placement tool 2 that has been emptied through the takeout portion 17b, the cam follower 41 of the lifter 19 engages with the push-down guide 47, and the descent slope 17c and the connecting portion 17d By rolling, they are lowered along their slopes and then move onto the takeout portion 17b of the adjacent downstream sorting rail (see FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b)). . As a result, the lifter 19 supporting the empty article placement tool 2 is sequentially lowered to the support member 16 of the conveyor 9 while being lowered via the takeout portion 17b, the descending inclination portion 17c and the connection portion 17d of the sorting rail adjacent on the downstream side. It moves synchronously and then descends via the downstream end of the levitation rail 42 to a falling end position below the conveyor 9C at its adjacent downstream position. As a result, the empty article placing device 2 supported so far by the lifter 19 is returned to the original separated support member 16 of the conveyor 9C and supported by the support member 16 There is.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the recovery chute 51 is provided at the downstream position of the downstream end of the conveyor 9C in the sorting area C, and the article placement tool 2 is located at the upstream position of the conveyor 9A at the supply position A. A reversing mechanism 52 is disposed to reverse and place the support member 16 on the conveyor 9A. In addition, a recovery conveyor 53 for transporting the empty article placement tool 2 in the inverted state from the position of the recovery chute 51 to the position of the reversing mechanism 52 is disposed.
The recovery conveyor 53 is driven in the arrow direction in synchronization with the conveyors 9A to 9C. In addition, when the recovery conveyor 53 travels, the reversing mechanism 52 is also operated in synchronization with that. The reversing mechanism 52 includes a reversing conveyor 52A, and the article placing tool 2 is reversed by the reversing conveyor 52A and placed on the conveyor 9A.
Therefore, as described above, the article placement tool 2 which is emptied via the sorting rails 17A to 17E and supported on the support member 16 of the conveyor 9C is firstly collected at the downstream end of the conveyor 9C. To be collected. Thereafter, each article placement tool 2 collected by the collection chute 51 is transported to the lower side of the supply position A by the collection conveyor 53 in a state of being inverted, and then inverted by the inversion conveyor 52A of the inversion mechanism 52 and then supplied. It is placed on each support member 16 of the conveyor 9A at the position A.

In the above configuration, while the respective conveyors 9A to 9C of the transport means 3 and the fork conveyors 6A and the recovery conveyors 53 as the take-out means 6 travel, the endless chain 23 of the drive mechanism 21 travels. At the supply position A, workers M1 and M2 sequentially place long produce V (cucumber) on each of the article placement tools 2. Then, each article placement tool 2 on which the produce V is placed is first transported by the transport means 3 to the inspection area B, the appearance and weight of the produce V are examined by the inspection means 4, and then it is determined as the determination means The produce V on each of the article placement tools 2 is determined to be of the five equal classes (i to ho) by the control means 8 of (see FIG. 1).
Thereafter, when each article placement tool 2 is carried into the sorting area C, the left and right lifters 19 are lifted by the levitation rails 42 so that each article placement tool 2 slightly flies up and is downstream in the transport direction It is moved to the side (see FIGS. 2 to 4).
Here, the control means 8 operates one of the switching members 20 (introduction means) of the sorting rails 17A to 17E corresponding to the same rank of the produce V on the article placing tool 2 raised by the lifter 19 concerned. . As a result, the lifter 19 transfers from the activated switching member 20 to, for example, the rising slope 17a of the sorting rail 17A, and the article placement tool 2 supported by the lifter 19 moves up along the rising slope 17a. While being moved along the transport direction, it is moved to the takeout portion 17b.
Then, the fork conveyor 6A corresponding to the takeout portion 17b is inserted into the notch 2B of the article placing tool 2. Therefore, the produce V is taken out of the article placing tool 2 by the running fork conveyor 6A. It is fed to the pool conveyor 7 on the side (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 9).
In this way, when the article placement tool 2 for which the equal rank of the produce V has already been judged is carried in to the sorting area C in this manner, the control means 8 causes the same grade of the produce V on the article placement tool 2 In accordance with the difference in (e), the switching member 20 for the corresponding sorting rails 17A to 17E is operated. As a result, the produce V is sorted into five equal ranks (i to ho) by the sorting rails 17A to 17E and the five fork conveyors 6A of the taking-out means 6 corresponding to them. After this, the agricultural products V pooled on the five pool conveyors 7 in equal ranks are packed in equal ranks by the workers M3 and M4 at the discharge position D.
On the other hand, the lifter 19 supporting the article placement tool 2 that has been emptied by passing through the rising slope 17a, which is the guiding path of the sorting rails 17A to 17E, and the takeout 17b, 17c is returned to the original separated support member 16 of the conveyor 9 via the connection portion 17d and further via the floating rail 42. After that, the empty article placement tool 2 of the support member 16 of the conveyor 9 is collected by the collection chute 51 and then the support member 16 of the conveyor 9 at the supply position A via the collection conveyor 53 and the reversing conveyor 52A of the reversing mechanism 52. It is supposed to be returned to the top.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the fork conveyor 6A as the takeout means 6 has different heights on the conveyance path of the conveyor 9C according to the difference between the five types of equal ranks (i to ho) of the produce V. While arranging, corresponding to it, five sets of sorting rails 17A to 17E are arranged.
In other words, the fork conveyors 6A and the sorting rails 17A to 17E are not two-dimensionally arranged at positions adjacent to the conveyor 9C of the conveyance means 3, and are arranged in multiple stages on the conveyance path of the conveyor 9C. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide the compact article sorting apparatus 1 with high sorting capability without increasing the installation space.

In the above embodiment, although the article mounting tool 2 is supported by the pair of left and right lifters 19, a single lifter 19 is provided with a chuck as a gripping mechanism, and one side of the article mounting tool 2 is provided. May be configured to hold the
Further, the floating rails 42 in the above embodiment may be omitted, and instead, the shape of the switching member 20 may be changed, and the lifter 19 may be lifted by the changed switching member 20. That is, in this case, the article placing tool 2 is lifted by the lifter 19 from the transport surface of the conveyor 9C and introduced into the sorting rails 17A to 17E.
Moreover, the connection part 17d of classification | selection rails 17A-17E is not an essential structure, You may abbreviate | omit it. In this case, since the cam follower 41 falls freely between the downstream end of the downward inclined portion 17 c and the take-out portion 17 b on the adjacent downstream side, the lifter 19 sharply falls and the article mounting tool 2 becomes the lifter 19. May fall out of the Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to prevent the rapid fall of the lifter 19 by taking measures such as increasing the sliding resistance between the travel guide 34 and the lifter 19.
Further, instead of the fork conveyor 6A as the takeout means 6 in the above embodiment, a parallel link robot or the like may be arranged as the takeout means 6.
Moreover, in the said Example, although the cucumber is assumed as long-term agricultural products V, it may be green onions, a long eggplant, a radish as agricultural products of selection object.
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the workers M3 and M4 manually take out the produce V (cucumber) from the pool conveyor 7 and pack the produce V, but a boxing robot may be arranged instead of the worker.

1. Sorting apparatus 2 .. Article placing tool 3 .. Transport means 5 .. Guide means 6 .. Removal means 6A .. Fork conveyor (extraction means)
8. Control means (determination means)
9A to 9C .. Conveyor (conveying means)
17A to 17E .. Sorting rail (induction member)
V .. Agricultural products

Claims (4)

A plurality of article placement tools for placing articles, a transport means for transporting each article placement tool, and which one of a plurality of quality categories the article placed on each article placement tool belongs to is determined Determining means, taking out means for taking out the articles from the article placing tool, arranged in a plurality of stages along the vertical direction above the conveying path of the conveying means corresponding to the plurality of quality classifications, and taking out means And guiding means for moving the article placement tool away from the transport means and guiding the article placement tool to the position of the take-out means along the guiding member.
An article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each article placement tool is introduced to any one of the guiding members of the guiding means in accordance with the quality category determined by the determining means. The guiding means synchronizes the plurality of guiding members sequentially arranged in the transport path of the transport means, a lifter capable of being engaged with and held by the article placement tool, and the lifter with the article placement tool Moving means for moving along the conveying direction of the conveying means, and introducing means provided at the upstream end of each of the guiding members for introducing the lifter into a predetermined guiding member,
The lifter holding the article placing tool is introduced into the guiding member corresponding to the quality grade by operating the introducing means according to the quality category of the article on the article placing tool, and the lifter moving means The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article placement tool is guided to the position of the takeout means corresponding to the quality class by moving the lifter along the guiding member.   3. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the lifter moving means is constituted by endless conveying means to which a plurality of lifting guides to which the lifter is attached so as to be lifted and lowered are attached. The guiding member is a rising inclined portion for raising the lifter holding the article placing tool, a takeout portion which is located on the adjacent downstream side of the rising inclined portion and which is below the corresponding takeout means, and the taking out A descending slope located on the adjacent downstream side of the section for gradually lowering the lifter,
When the lifter holding the above-mentioned article placing tool is moved up to the take-out portion while moving up in the transport direction along the rising inclined portion of the above-mentioned guiding member, the article is removed from the article placing tool by the corresponding taking-out means It is supposed to be taken out,
In addition, the lifter supporting the article placement tool that has passed through the takeout portion of the induction member and becomes empty passes the downward inclination portion adjacent to the extraction portion and then the downward inclination portion of the adjacent downstream guidance member The apparatus is characterized in that the empty article placement tool is returned from the top of the lifter to the top of the transport means by moving downstream in the transport direction via the lower side and further lowering the lifter to the lower side of the transport means. An article sorting apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3.

Images