JPS6333220A - Automatic packaging boxing method and device for fruit - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] "Industrial Application Field" The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically packaging and packaging fruits and vegetables at a fruit sorting plant for packaging and shipping fruits and vegetables. .

[Conventional technology and problems]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-28930 is known as an apparatus for automatically packing fruits and vegetables (hereinafter simply referred to as fruits). However, the above-mentioned known one is a diversion plate provided diagonally on the conveyance path of the endless belt 55, and a runway (chute) provided on the side of the conveyor.
Press the fruit on top and guide it so that it spreads to the fullest.
Tray packs are sent out from below to the tip of the chute (runway), and the fruit supplied from the tip of the chute fits into the hole in the tray pack, thereby automatically packing the fruit. This is a semi-automatic packing machine that requires auxiliary work, but it has the disadvantage that it cannot be used for high-quality fruits such as 20th century pears and peaches, as they can be damaged when the fruits are pooled or arranged using the pressing method. .

Furthermore, since the fruits are lined up to the full width of the chute and are crushed by subsequent fruits, the side with fewer fruits is not pressed, and only the side with more subsequent fruits is crushed, so the width of multiple rows can be reduced. There was a drawback that it was not possible to pack tray packs uniformly, and corrections had to be made manually.

In particular, on the side that is pushed, it is easy to overfeed, and fruit is pushed out and rides up between the holes in the tray pack, while on the side that is pushed less, many defects such as fruit not filling the holes in the tray pack often occur, so make corrections. Since it is not easy to work with and does not actually save labor, it has not been widely used in Japan and its practical application has been delayed.

On the other hand, in order to solve the above problems, the applicant has developed a method (
JP-A-61-11318 II) was proposed, but the device shown in JP-A-61-11318 has a complicated structure because it uses an automatic arrangement conveyor that distributes the conveyance bodies 52 to the left and right. It has been found that there is a drawback in that the falling distance of the fruit to the tray pack below at the exit cannot be reduced.

Moreover, all of the above-disclosed patents relate to methods and devices for putting fruit into tray packs, but do not disclose a technique for packing tray packs containing fruit into cardboard boxes.

In other words, the tray packs in which fruits are placed are generally made of soft and non-rigid PVC film or styrene, and it is difficult to lift the tray packs into a cardboard box after putting the fruits in them, making it impractical. It was necessary to make improvements to make this possible.

For this reason, when packing soft and easily perishable high-grade fruits such as peaches, a cardboard box is placed on a boxing stand set up outside the receiving box, a tray pack is placed in the cardboard box, and then the fruit is removed from the receiving box. The actual situation is that each product is picked up one by one, placed in a tray pack inside a cardboard box, and then boxed, and the packed cardboard box is carried by a boxing worker onto a product conveyor located at the rear, which requires a lot of labor. Therefore, it is desired to develop a device that automatically sends the packed cardboard boxes to the product conveyor after automatic boxing.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and automatically arranges perishable, soft fruits and high-grade fruits in a predetermined arrangement without causing them to fall and roll, colliding with each other, rubbing against each other, or crushing each other. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method and device for packing and boxing fruits, and automatically sending the packed and boxed product boxes to a product conveyor.

[Structure of the invention]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an automatic fruit packing and cartoning device installed at the exit of a previous process such as a sorting discharge section for each class of a fruit sorting machine or a pull-out belt conveyor for discharging outside the machine from the sorting discharge section. is configured as follows.

Connected to the outlet of the previous process, as a distribution feeding means that swings the tip in the left and right direction using the connection part as a fulcrum,
A lightweight and thin sorting conveyor will be provided.

The empty box supply means containing tray packs includes an empty box conveyor on the side of the fruit sorting machine in a direction parallel to the fruit sorting machine, and an automatic box distribution device that places empty boxes at predetermined positions corresponding to each class sorting and discharge section. and a pack supply device that stacks tray packs upwards for each class and takes out one tray pack from below, feeds empty boxes below the stacked tray packs, places the tray packs in the empty boxes, and then unloads the tray packs. Empty packed boxes are fed to a predetermined position below the sorting conveyor.

Empty boxes containing tray packs is used as an empty box containing tray pack inching means for inchingly feeding empty boxes containing tray packs supplied to a predetermined position below the sorting conveyor by tilting them upward in the same direction as the advancing direction of the sorting conveyor. A conveyor will be provided.

The sorting conveyor is equipped with a fruit detection sensor at its tip, and moves (swings) to the right or left according to the arrangement of holes in the tray pack each time each fruit passes, and sequentially transfers the fruit to the next tray. Configure it to fit into the pack hole.

The conveyor that feeds empty tray packs in increments moves forward by the pinch of the row of tray pack holes at the same time that the sorting conveyor finishes filling all the holes in a horizontal row of tray packs, and then the conveyor distributes the empty boxes in the next row of tray packs. Place the fruits facing the tip of the tray pack and repeatedly fill all the holes in the tray pack and send it out.

A series of operations such as the above-mentioned inching movement of the sorting conveyor and the inching forward movement of the empty box feeding conveyor containing tray packs are controlled by an electronic control device so that the conveyor moves forward in increments and forwards, respectively, according to the arrangement pattern of the holes in the tray pack. Set a pattern in advance.

It is preferable that the sorting conveyor is constructed so that the upper part or both sides of the fruit are lightly and softly wrapped and pressed to prevent the fruit from rolling or being thrown off to the side when the fruit is inched.

A rapid delivery conveyor is provided at the tip of the tray-packed empty box transport conveyor as a means for rapidly sending out packed product boxes.

A lowering device is installed at the tip of the rapid delivery conveyor as an unloading means for lowering product boxes packed with fruit.

The lowering device may be configured to lower product boxes stacked in multiple stages, in which case the drive device lowers the product by one box according to the height of the box each time it is finished filling the boxes, and then stops. The next product box is placed on top of the product box, and the drive device is driven in increments by the signal to lower the product box downward.

At the lower part of the lowering device, a product sending device is provided as a product sending means for receiving the product boxes being lowered and sending them out toward the downward sorting machine of the rapid feeding device.

The tip of the product delivery device is connected to a product conveyor provided in a direction parallel to the fruit sorting machine, and is configured so as to join and convey product boxes sent out from other classes.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, 1 is a fruit sorting conveyor, 2 is a drawer conveyor, 3 is a constant speed conveyor, 4 is a sorting conveyor, 5 is an empty box transport conveyor, 6 is a pack supply device, and 7 is a feeder. The apparatus includes a conveyor for carrying empty packed boxes, 9 a conveyor for carrying empty packed boxes, 10 a rapid feeding device, 11 a lowering device, 12 a product feeding device, and 13 a product conveyor.

A multi-row type fruit sorting conveyor 1 determines the class of fruits and vegetables by measuring their weight or shape, and discharges them from a predetermined sorting/discharging section 101 for each class.

The drawer conveyor 2 receives the fruits 102 sorted and discharged from the sorting and discharging section 101 on a belt conveyor formed in a rough V-shape, centers the fruits 102 in the center, and carries them out of the machine.

The constant speed conveyor 3 is a narrow conveyor that receives the fruits 102 carried out by the drawer conveyor 2 and conveys the fruits while adjusting its speed in accordance with the bag packing capacity.

This conveyor uses relatively small-diameter pulleys to reduce the difference in transfer between the front and rear.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the sorting conveyor 4 has a conveyor 401 which receives and transports the fruit 102, and a conveyor 401 which gently presses the fruit 102 from above and moves at the same speed as the conveyor 401. 7402 is installed in combination with 7402 to the presser conveyor to be transported.

When this holding conveyor 402 swings, the receivers are used to prevent the fruits 102 being conveyed on the conveyor 401 from rolling or being thrown off to the side, so there are other supports than those shown in this embodiment. , for example, the receiver is conveyor 401
It is also possible to use a side heddle, etc., which gently wraps and presses the material from both sides.

As a means of wrapping and holding the belt softly, you can use flocking on the belt surface, flossing short fibers, or attaching fibers in a mop shape.
Or, it is preferable to attach other adhesives or other adhesives.

The sorting conveyor 4 has a starting end 403 connected to the end @31 of the constant speed conveyor 3, and is swingably attached to the upper frame 41 with a fulcrum pin 404.

The tip portion 405 is supported by a slide rail 43 that extends between the side frames 42.

The distal end portion 405 of the conveyor 401 is configured to have a thin frame by reducing the diameter of the pulley so as to reduce the falling distance for throwing the fruit 102 into the tray pack 61.

406 is a small geared motor, and the starting end 403
The drive pulley 407 is built into the frame of the drive pulley 407.

An intermediate shaft 408 is interlocked with one shaft of the driving pulley 407 via a spur gear 409, and the driving pulley 410 of the holding conveyor 402 is rotated at the same speed.

The swinging mechanism for swinging the sorting conveyor 4 left and right is a swinging belt 413 that is stretched across the frame of the conveyor 401 between an idler 411 provided on the side frame 42 and a drive pulley 412. The swing belt 413 is fixed to a part of the tip end 405 of the conveyor.

The drive pulley 412 is rotated by a forward/reverse inching drive motor 415 via a heald 414, thereby inching the sorting conveyor 4 to the left or right.

The oscillating belt 413 is provided with detection marks 417 on both sides of the conveyor 401 that allow a sensor 416 to detect left and right oscillating turning points.

A tip confirmation sensor 41 is provided at the tip of the receiving conveyor 401 to confirm that the article passes and falls.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the empty box transport conveyor 5 is a conveyor that transports empty boxes 51 that are adapted to the size of each class of fruit, and is a chain conveyor with a top plate. A roller conveyor with rollers, etc. is used.

Reference numeral 52 denotes an empty box stopper that appears on the upper surface of the empty box transport conveyor 5, and is attached so as to stop the empty boxes 51 being transported in a position aligned with the pack supply device 6, which will be described later.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a box distribution device, which feeds the empty box 51 stopped by the empty box stopper 52 to a predetermined position below the pack supply device 5.

The box distribution device 53 may be of a pushing type using an air cylinder or the like, or a chain conveyor with an attachment may be installed perpendicular to the traveling direction of the empty box transport conveyor 5 to send out the boxes.

Back (Jj feeding device 6 is provided for each class, and the separation claw 6
A large number of tray packs 61 are stacked on the two sides of No. 2, and the cutting claws 62 and stoppers 63 are made to alternately appear and appear from the bottom of the stacked tray packs 61 one by one. Supplied in box 51.

The delivery device 7 pulls in the empty box 51 pushed out by the box distribution device 53 until it is stopped by a retractable stopper 71, and one tray pack 61 is delivered from the pack supply device 6 above.
After each bag is removed, the bag is sent to the empty bag conveyor 8.

The empty bags carrying conveyor 8 is provided so as to pass through the lower sorting conveyor 1 of the drawer conveyor 2, and the tray pack 61 is connected to the entrance of the conveyor 9 which transports the empty bags in a single motion.
The empty box 51 containing the contents is transported.

The empty box inching conveyor 9 has a tail pulley 9.
1 is connected to the pack-containing empty box transport conveyor 8, and the head boob IJ92 is tilted upward from the tail pulley 91 in the traveling direction, and is attached to a position extending approximately one tray pack 61 from the tip 405 of the sorting conveyor 4.

The packed empty box inching conveyor 9 is constructed using a chain conveyor or the like equipped with a heel conveyor.

The rapid feeding device 10 has a length approximately equivalent to one I-repa sock 61, and the tail boob U100I is placed adjacent to the heel pulley 92 of the bag-containing empty box inching conveyor 9.

As shown in FIG. 3, the empty packed box inching conveyor 9 and the rapid feeding device 10 are provided with an inching feeding motor 93 and a rapid feeding motor 1002, respectively, so that they can be driven independently. The navel pulley 92 of the box inching conveyor 9 and the tail pulley 1001 of the rapid feeder W10 are interlocked via a reversible clutch 94.

That is, when the conveyor 9 for inching empty bags containing bags inches forward, the rapid delivery device 10 is synchronized and inched forward. At this time, the rapid feed motor 1002 is electrically stopped (OFF).

Further, in the rapid feeding device 10, the sensor 1003 detects when the product box 501 containing fruit, which is fed in increments from the bag empty box inching conveyor 9, has been transferred onto the rapid feeding device 10, The rapid delivery motor 1002 is driven to send the product at high speed toward the lowering device 11, which will be described later. When the rapid feeder 10 performs high-speed feeding, the reversible clutch 94 in the interlocking section between the tail pulley 1001 and the packed empty box inching feed conveyor 9 is in a free state.

Only the rapid feed device 10 rotates independently of the conveyor 9 that increments the empty boxes.

The lowering device 11 is installed outside the rapid feeding device 11 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and Cheno Ni is stretched on both left and right sides as shown in detail in FIGS. 7 and 1+. Attachments 112 for receiving packed product boxes 501 are provided at symmetrical positions.

113 is a stop switch that stops the axotiment 112 in a fixed position.

114 is an interlocking shaft, which synchronizes the left and right chinos 111.

Reference numeral 115 denotes a motor with a brake, which operates an activation switch (not shown) when the product box 501 is sent into the lowering device 11, and is driven in increments by a signal thereof. Also,
It is also possible to use a sensor (not shown) to confirm and detect the one-item box 501 that has been sent in to automatically issue an activation signal and lower it.

In order to stack a plurality of product boxes 501 and lower them, a plurality of stop switches 113a and 113b are provided, and each box is lowered by an inch, and when a predetermined number of stacks is reached, it is lowered downward.

FIG. 9 shows a plurality of product boxes 501 stacked in a stack. When stacking the boxes, the protrusion 54 at the upper corner and the notch 55 at the lower corner of the boxes are fitted together.

The product delivery device 12 uses a roller conveyor in which a large number of rollers 121 are arranged and driven from the lower part of the lowering device 11 toward the lower fruit sorting conveyor l of the rapid delivery device 10, and the outlet section 122 is connected to the product conveyor 13. Link.

The exit portion 122 is provided with a retractable stopper 123 for temporarily stopping the product box 501.

The nuclear product delivery device 12 may be a transfer device such as a chain conveyor or a slant conveyor.

124 is a print vlW, which is provided at a predetermined position above the lowering device 11 and is printed on the product box 501 sent. Further, the printing device 124 can be temporarily stopped by the stopper 123 of the product delivery device 12 to perform printing.

The product conveyor 13 is provided at the exit portion 122 of the product delivery device 12 in a direction parallel to the fruit sorting conveyor 1, and transports the product boxes 501 sent out from each class together. This product conveyor 13 is for conveying the product box 501, and is conveyed using a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor equipped with a slat plate, or the like.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a pack pattern in which two packs form a set, and a control device (not shown) with a built-in cpυ is shown.
be memorized in advance.

The pack pattern is as shown in Figure 10 (a) and (b).
Nal, 1112 and two tray packs are made into a set, and each person in each pack is placed in the first row, second row, etc. from the front in the direction of travel, as shown in Figure 10 (a). (If the number of columns is odd, the first hole in the first column of &l and the first hole in the first column of pk2
It is 1° apart from the hole so that it is symmetrical in the left and right direction. Immediately, °・
The first column of ]2 is set to be regarded as the next column (sixth column) after the last column of -1.

The setting of this 7-pack pattern involves a motor 415 that operates the oscillation of the sorting conveyor 4 and a control device that digitally controls the turning angle of the conveyor for transporting empty packs, according to the step size between each hole. An electronic circuit is constructed.

To explain the operation of the apparatus configured as above for automatically packing fruits, an empty box 51 conveyed on an empty box conveyor s is stopped for a second by an empty box soba 52, and then placed. An empty box 5 is placed below the nosenku supply device 6 by the box device 53.
1, and after putting in the tray pack 61, it is sent out onto the packed empty box transport conveyor B and pooled.

A tray pack 6 is placed on the packed empty box transport conveyor 8.
A sensor (not shown) is provided to stop the empty box 51 containing 1 empty box 5 when it is full, and the meter metering device 53 and empty box stopper 52 are linked to automatically stop the empty box 51! It is preferable to provide a

The packed empty box transport conveyor 8 transports the packed empty box to the packed empty box transport conveyor 9 and moves forward, and the tray pack 6!
When the holes in the first row of holes reach the position facing the tip of the sorting conveyor 4, the packed empty box inching feed conveyor 9 temporarily stops, and at the same time, the sorting conveyor 4 runs to remove the fruit 10.
2 is transported and put into the first large.

When the fruit 102 is put in, the forward/reverse inching drive motor 4!5 rotates forward in response to a signal from the sensor 41B that confirms that the fruit 102 is falling, and the tip 405 of the sorting conveyor 4 is rotated in the forward direction.
Ink is thrown into the second hole of Tray Pack Black 1 by swinging it.

Hereinafter, this operation operation is stored in advance in a control device (not shown) having a built-in CPU.
The completed product boxes Sol are sent to the lowering device 11, where the set grades and classes are printed, stacked in one box or in multiple tiers, and the products sent out from the bottom ml! The product conveyor 1 is unloaded onto the product conveyor 1 by adjusting the timing of the merging using a charging switch (not shown) or the like at the exit section 122.
3 Send it up.

The series of operations of each device/device described above is C1) U
Each is operated according to a preset program in a control device with a built-in controller. That is, the operation is performed under computer control (program controller).

All matters contained in the above description and the accompanying drawings are examples of embodiments and do not limit the invention.
The contents described in the claims may also be applied to other arrangement examples. That is, it goes without saying that the empty box conveyor may be placed on the side of the sorting and feeding means instead of outside the fruit sorting machine.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention can automatically pack soft and easily perishable high-grade fruits such as peaches into empty boxes that have been placed in empty tray packs in advance.
It is possible to save labor in the conventional packaging process, which requires careful handling, labor and time, and the packaging process, which previously relied on manual labor, can be automated, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of workers.

Additionally, since workers can concentrate on visual inspection of the fruits, they can ship fruits of uniform quality, which has the effect of increasing the trust of market consumers.

Furthermore, conventionally, a product box 50 packed in a box as shown in FIG.
1 on the rear product conveyor 13, but according to the present invention, the packed product boxes 501 go down as they are and are automatically sent out, which greatly reduces the labor of the workers. This has the effect of improving work efficiency. In particular, since packed product boxes can be stacked in multiple stages using a lowering device and then sent out, the labor-saving effect is significant.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1 to 10 are explanatory diagrams showing embodiments of the present invention. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the main parts of a sorting, packing and packaging facility using the device of the present invention, Figure 2 is a sectional view in the direction of arrow A in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 1, and Figure 4 is sorting. Diagram of conveyor,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the swinging mechanism of the sorting conveyor;
Figure 6 is a sectional view connecting X-X in Figure 4, Figure 7 is a front view seen from the direction of arrow B in Figure 1, Figure 8 is a plan view of Figure 7, and Figure 9 is a stacked structure. FIG. 10 (a) and (b) are explanatory diagrams of a pack pattern in which two packs are made into a set. FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing a conventional sorting, packing and packaging facility. 1... Fruit sorting conveyor 2... To the drawer conveyor 7
3... Constant speed conveyor 4... Sorting conveyor... Empty box conveyor 6... Pack supply device 7...
- Feeding device 8...Packed empty box conveyor 9...Packed empty box inching conveyor 10...Rapid feeding device 11...Descent device 12...Product feeding device 13...Product Conveyor 31...Terminal 41...
・Upper frame 42...Side frame 43...
・Slide rail 51...Empty box 52...Empty box stopper 53...Box distribution device 54...Protrusion
55...Notch 6'】...Traver, Ri 5
2...Cut and release claw 63...Stopper 71...Stopper 91...Tail pulley 92...Head pulley 93...Motor 94...Reversible clutch,
Chi 101... Sorting and discharging section 102... Fruit 111
... Cheno 112 ... Acknowledgment 113 ... Switch 114 ... Interlocking shaft 115 ... Motor with brake 121 ... Roller 122 ... Outlet section 12
3... Stopper 124... Printing device 401
... Receptacle is conveyor 402 ... Holder conveyor A403 ... Starting end 404 ... Fulcrum pin 40
5... Tip portion 406... Small geared motor 407... Drive boob IJ, 108... Intermediate shaft 409... Spur gear 410... Drive pulley 411... Idler 412... Drive Pulley 413... Swing belt 414... Heald 415.
・Forward/reverse inching drive motor 41G...Sensor 417...Detection mark 418...Tip confirmation sensor 501...Product box 1001...Tail pulley 1002 River motor 1003...Sensor sheep 10 mouths

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A process in which fruits are held and conveyed so that they do not roll off to the side using a sorting device that uses the inlet side as a fulcrum and the outlet end swings left and right in increments, and then inserts one fruit into each tray pack hole. Then, an empty box conveyor is used to convey the empty boxes to the side of the fruit sorting machine in a direction parallel to the fruit sorting machine, and the empty boxes are automatically placed in positions corresponding to the sorting and loading means, and the automatic After supplying empty tray packs to the distributed empty boxes and setting the tray packs in the empty boxes, an empty box containing tray pack supplying process as a means for supplying empty boxes containing tray packs to the lower part of the sorting and inputting means. The empty tray pack empty box inching feeding process uses a tray pack empty box inching feeding means to sort the empty tray pack boxes so that they face the tip of the conveyor, and then quickly transports the product boxes filled with fruit. a step of rapidly sending the packed product box to an unloading section by a sending means; a step of lowering the packed product box onto a product sending device below in response to a signal by the unloading means that lowers the packed product box; A method for automatically packing and boxing fruits, comprising the step of sending the fruit downward from a rapid sending means and merging onto a conveyor. (2) In the step of unloading the packed product box, when the product box is fed from the exit of the rapid sending step, it is lowered by the height of the box, and the next product box is placed on top of the product box that has been lowered by the same height. 2. The method of automatically packing and boxing fruits according to claim 1, further comprising a partial inching mechanism for lowering the product boxes downward after the product boxes are fed and stacked in a plurality of tiers. (3) A sorting and feeding means that uses the inlet side connected to the outlet of the previous process as a fulcrum and swings the outlet end end side to side to feed one fruit into each tray pack hole, and the side of the fruit sorting machine. an empty box conveyor that travels in a direction parallel to the fruit sorting machine, an automatic box distribution device that places empty boxes at positions corresponding to the sorting and loading means, and a tray pack that is inserted into the distributed empty boxes. a tray pack empty box supplying means for supplying empty boxes containing tray packs to a predetermined position below the sorting conveyor in combination with a pack supplying device for feeding tray packs to a predetermined position below the sorting conveyor; A means for inching empty boxes containing tray packs that increments in the same direction as the direction of movement of the sorting conveyor, a rapid discharging means for rapidly discharging product boxes filled with fruit to the unloading section, and an outlet of the rapid discharging means. Fruits are automatically packed and boxed by combining unloading means that connects and lowers packed product boxes downward, and product delivery means that receives the lowered product boxes and sends them out below the rapid delivery means. An automatic fruit packing and boxing device characterized in that the fruit is packed and boxed and is configured to be sent out as a product box. (4) Empty tray pack inching feeding means for inching the empty boxes in tray packs supplied to the lower part of the sorting and feeding means in the same direction as the advancing direction of the sorting conveyor;
The empty boxes containing the packs are tilted upward in the direction of travel, and the holes in the tray packs are made to face diagonally to the tip of the sorting conveyor, thereby reducing the falling distance of the fruits to be thrown in and preventing the fall reaction. Claim 3
Automatic packing and boxing equipment for fruits as described in Section 1. (5) When a packed product box is sent from the rapid delivery means, the unloading means lowers the product box by the height of the box in response to a signal, and sends in the next product box. 4. The automatic packing and cartoning apparatus for fruits according to claim 3, characterized in that the apparatus is configured such that the fruits are stacked on top of each other and then lowered downward.