JP7572055B2 - Agricultural product packing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an agricultural product packing device that packs roughly spherical agricultural products, such as potatoes, onions, and mandarin oranges, discharged from a conveying device.

Generally, roughly spherical agricultural produce such as potatoes, onions, and mandarin oranges are pre-treated by removing dirt, and then transported on a transport device such as a conveyor. During transport, the weight, size, internal quality, external quality, etc. are measured, and the produce is sorted based on the results. The produce is then packed into boxes according to the grade corresponding to the sorting results.
Conventionally, as an apparatus for packing sorted agricultural products into boxes, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an agricultural product sorter that forms an inclined main guide path so that the sorted agricultural products are transported by their own weight, sends the agricultural products to an inclined secondary guide path branching off from the main guide path, and is equipped with a path switching member that transports the agricultural products by their own weight to a box located at a predetermined sorting and collection position, and is equipped with a sorting operation means that operates the path switching member in response to the sorting results of the agricultural products sent to the guide path.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-15504

In a crop sorting machine such as that described in Patent Document 1, after a predetermined weight of agricultural produce has been packed into a box placed at the sorting and collection position, when replacing the box with a new one, the sending of agricultural produce to the sorting and collection position must be stopped, resulting in poor work efficiency.
To provide an agricultural product packing device capable of efficiently packing agricultural products without the need to stop sending out agricultural products even during the work of replacing a box in which packed agricultural products have been completed with a new box.

The present invention relates to an agricultural produce packing device that packs roughly spherical agricultural produce into boxes, and includes an agricultural produce container, a partition wall that divides the interior of the agricultural produce container, and a supply path that sends agricultural produce into the agricultural produce container. The partition wall divides the interior of the agricultural produce container into a discharge chamber and a waiting chamber, and a produce discharge outlet is formed in part of the discharge chamber. The supply path supplies agricultural produce toward either the discharge chamber or the waiting chamber. When agricultural produce is supplied from the supply path toward the discharge chamber, the agricultural produce discharged from the produce discharge outlet is packed into a box. When packing is complete, the supply of agricultural produce from the supply path is switched to the waiting chamber. After the box replacement is complete, the partition wall moves the agricultural produce in the waiting chamber to the discharge chamber, and the supply of agricultural produce from the supply path is switched to the discharge chamber.

Preferably, the produce container has a circular bottom surface, and the partition is arranged along the diameter of the bottom surface and is configured to be rotatable around the center of the bottom surface of the produce container.

Desirably, the supply path is made of an inclined gutter, and the supply port at the lower end of the inclination direction can be switched between a position facing the discharge chamber and a position facing the waiting chamber.

Preferably, the supply path extends from a conveying device that conveys agricultural produce.

In this case, multiple supply paths and produce containers may be arranged side-by-side along the conveying device.

The produce containers and supply paths are installed in two tiers, one above the other, with the produce discharge outlet of the upper produce container and the produce discharge outlet of the lower container formed at different circumferential positions, and the upper supply path and the lower supply path may extend from different sides of the conveying device.

According to the present invention, even after the packing into the box installed at the packing position is completed and a new box is being replaced, the agricultural products continue to be supplied from the supply path and stored in the waiting room, so that the agricultural products can be packed efficiently without stopping the supply of the agricultural products to the supply path.

If the supply path is an inclined gutter whose supply port can be switched between a position facing the discharge chamber and a position facing the waiting chamber, the produce will be transported to the discharge chamber or waiting chamber by its own weight, eliminating the need to force the produce into the discharge chamber or waiting chamber, and simplifying the structure of the device.

When the supply path extends from a conveying device that transports agricultural produce, the agricultural produce can be packed into boxes while being transported. At this time, by arranging multiple supply paths and agricultural produce containers in parallel along the conveying device, it becomes possible to pack multiple boxes at the same time.

By installing produce containers in two tiers, one above the other, with produce discharge outlets formed at different circumferential positions, less space is required for packing work.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus including a produce grader according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view of an apparatus including a produce grader according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an end view of an apparatus including a produce grader according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a farm product packing device according to an embodiment of the present invention before packing. 1 is a perspective view of a farm produce packing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention during packing. 1 is a perspective view of an agricultural product packing device according to an embodiment of the present invention when packing is completed. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the agricultural product packing device according to an embodiment of the present invention when box replacement is completed. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an agricultural product packing device according to an embodiment of the present invention when a partition plate is rotating.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an oblique view of an apparatus including an agricultural produce sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of an apparatus including an agricultural produce sorter according to an embodiment, FIG. 3 is an end view of an apparatus including an agricultural produce sorter according to an embodiment, and FIGS. 4 to 8 are oblique views of key parts of an agricultural produce packing apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention at each packing process.

1 to 3, the device according to this embodiment includes a load receiving platform 2, a pre-processing device 3, a conveying device 4, an agricultural product boxing device 5, and a box making device 6. In addition, an agricultural product sorting machine 1 is composed of at least the conveying device 4 and the agricultural product boxing device 5.
On the cargo receiving platform 2, roughly spherical agricultural produce A (see FIG. 5) such as potatoes, onions, mandarin oranges, etc. collected from farmers are placed.
The agricultural product A placed on the loading platform 2 is sent to the first lift conveyor 20 by the inclination of the loading platform 2, and is then sent to the pre-processing device 3 by the first lift conveyor 20. In the pre-processing device 3, pre-processing such as removing soil and dirt and removing the outer skin is performed according to the type of agricultural product A.
The agricultural produce A pre-processed in the pre-processing device 3 is sent to the transport device 4 by the second lift conveyor 30. The transport device 4 is a conveyor that circulates on an endless track, and a sensor 40 is installed midway along the transport device 4 to measure the appearance, weight, sugar content, etc. After being sent from the second lift conveyor 30 to the transport device 4, the agricultural produce A is transported by the transport device 4 via the sensor 40 and sorted in the agricultural produce boxing device 5. The transport device 4 is configured to then return to the send-in position from the second lift conveyor 30.

The agricultural product packing device 5 is installed downstream of the sensor 40 in the conveying direction and laterally with respect to the traveling direction of the conveying device 4, and includes a agricultural product container 50, a partition wall 51, and a supply path 52.
In this embodiment, three sets of agricultural produce containers 50, each with two tiers, one above the other, are arranged side by side along the conveying device 4, and a supply path 52 extends from one side of the conveying device 4 to each of the upper tier agricultural produce containers 50, and a supply path 52 extends from the other side of the conveying device 4 to each of the lower tier agricultural produce containers 50.

4, the produce container 50 has a circular bottom surface 500 and a side wall 501 extending along the periphery of the bottom surface 500, and is formed in a shallow cylindrical shape. The bottom surface 500 is disposed so as to slope downward as it goes away from the conveying device 4.
A partition 51 is provided inside the produce container 50 along the diameter of the bottom surface 500 , and the interior space of the produce container 50 is divided into two by the partition 51 .

A rotation shaft (not shown) extends along the central axis of produce container 50 from the longitudinal center of partition 51 through bottom surface 500, and is connected to the output shaft of a motor. Therefore, partition 51 can rotate around the center of bottom surface 500 by driving the motor, but is normally disposed parallel to the inclination direction of bottom surface 500, and the inside of produce container 50 is divided by partition 51 into a discharge chamber 502 on one side and a waiting chamber 503 on the other side.
Further, at the lower part of the inclined direction of the discharge chamber 502 , the side wall 501 is cut out to form a produce discharge port 504 .

The upper produce container 50 and the lower produce container 50 have discharge chambers 502 and waiting chambers 503 arranged on opposite sides of the partition wall 51, and the produce discharge outlets 504 are formed at different circumferential positions.
Below the produce discharge opening 504 of each produce container 50 is a boxing position, into which boxes B assembled by the box making device 6 are fed.
An unloading conveyor 7 is disposed near the packing position, and the packed boxes B are placed on the unloading conveyor 7 and carried out.

The supply path 52 is a channel that slopes gradually downward from the conveying device 4 toward the agricultural product container 50 , and the lower end of the slope serves as a supply port 520 for the agricultural product A to the agricultural product container 50 .
In addition, the supply path 52 includes a partition plate, and by changing the orientation of the partition plate, the supply port 520 can be switched between a position facing the discharge chamber 502 and a position facing the standby chamber 503. The orientation of the partition plate of the supply path 52 is switched using a motor, a cylinder piston, or the like.
When the supply port 520 faces the discharge chamber 502, the agricultural product A on the conveying device 4 is supplied to the discharge chamber 502 through the supply path 52 and falls from the agricultural product discharge port 504 into a box B placed at the boxing position.
On the other hand, when the supply port 520 faces the waiting room 503, the agricultural product A is supplied to the waiting room 503. Since the waiting room 503 is not connected to the agricultural product discharge port 504, the agricultural product A supplied to the waiting room 503 is stored in the waiting room 503 without being discharged.

When packing agricultural product A, first, as shown in FIG. 4, the supply port 520 of the supply path 52 is directed toward the discharge chamber 502, and an empty box B is placed at the packing position.
In this state, as shown in FIG. 5, agricultural product A is sent from the conveying device 4 through the supply path 52 into the discharge chamber 502, passes through the agricultural product discharge opening 504 and falls into the box B.
Depending on the sorting result by the sensor 40, the corresponding agricultural produce A is sent from the conveying device 4 to each supply path 52. That is, in this embodiment, six supply paths 52 connected to six agricultural produce containers 50 respectively are provided, so that up to six types of sorted agricultural produce A are sent separately.

When a predetermined weight of agricultural produce A has been packed into box B, the orientation of the partition plate of supply path 52 is changed so that supply opening 520 faces waiting chamber 503, as shown in FIG.
As a result, the agricultural product A passing through the supply path 52 is sent into the waiting chamber 503 of the agricultural product container 50, and the fall of the agricultural product A from the agricultural product discharge outlet 504 is stopped.
7, boxes B filled with agricultural produce A and packed into boxes are placed on an output conveyor 7 and transported to the next process, and are then replaced with new empty boxes B. During this time, agricultural produce A is sent from the supply path 52 to the waiting room 503 and stored. New empty boxes B are made by the box making device 6 and transported, but instead of making them by the box making device 6, empty boxes B may be prepared in advance and transported from there.

8 , when replacement of box B is completed, partition 51 is rotated 180 degrees so that its lower end in the inclined direction moves away from agricultural product discharge outlet 504, and agricultural product A stored in waiting chamber 503 is moved to discharge chamber 502. Because partition 51 rotates so that its upper end in the inclined direction moves closer to agricultural product discharge outlet 504, agricultural product A supplied from supply path 52 to discharge chamber 502 is pushed towards the agricultural product discharge outlet and does not move to waiting chamber 503.
In the example shown in FIG. 8, the partitions 51 in the upper produce bins 50 are rotated clockwise, and the partitions 51 in the lower produce bins 50 are rotated counterclockwise.
In addition, the orientation of the partition plate of the supply path 52 is changed so that the supply port 520 faces the discharge chamber 502 .
Then, the agricultural product A is again supplied to the discharge chamber 502, and the agricultural product resumes falling from the agricultural product discharge outlet 504 and is packed into boxes.

Then, agricultural produce A moved from the waiting chamber 503 to the discharge chamber 502 and agricultural produce A supplied from the supply path 52 to the discharge chamber 502 are dropped from the agricultural produce discharge outlet 504 and packed into boxes B until a predetermined weight is reached.
By repeating this process, the agricultural products A can be continuously packed into boxes without stopping the supply of the agricultural products A from the supply path 52 to the agricultural product containers 50.

The orientation of the partition plate of the supply path 52 and the rotation of the bulkhead 51 can be changed by manually operating an operating button or the like, or can be performed automatically in conjunction with a device for feeding the box B to the packing position and a weight sensor that detects the weight of the box B at the packing position.

The number of produce containers 50 is not limited to that in the above embodiment, and it is possible to arrange four or more sets of produce containers 50 in two tiers, one above the other, or to arrange only one set.
Also, the produce containers 50 may be arranged in a single tier rather than being stacked vertically, and packing may be performed via a single produce container 50.
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the cylindrical produce container 50 is configured to be divided by a partition 51 along the diameter of the bottom surface 500, but as long as the partition 51 can be moved to move produce A from the waiting chamber 503 to the discharge chamber 502 by moving the partition 51, the shape of the produce container 50 and the configuration of the partition 51 can be appropriately changed.

Instead of using a gutter with a partition plate whose direction can be switched, the supply path 52 may have a switching wall provided inside a gutter or pipe that branches into the discharge chamber 502 side and the waiting chamber 503 side, and agricultural product A may be supplied to only one of the discharge chamber 502 and the waiting chamber 503 by switching the switching wall.

A Agricultural product B Box 1 Agricultural product sorter 2 Loading platform 20 First lift conveyor 3 Pre-processing device 30 Second lift conveyor 4 Transport device 40 Sensor 5 Agricultural product boxing device 50 Agricultural product container 500 Bottom surface 501 Side wall 502 Discharge chamber 503 Waiting chamber 504 Agricultural product discharge port 51 Partition wall 52 Supply path 520 Supply port 6 Box making device 7 Discharge conveyor

Claims (6)

A farm produce packing device for packing substantially spherical farm produce into boxes, comprising:
A produce container, a partition wall that divides the inside of the produce container, and a supply path that feeds produce into the produce container,
The interior of the agricultural product container is divided into a discharge chamber and a waiting chamber by the partition wall, a produce discharge outlet is formed in a part of the discharge chamber, and the supply path supplies the agricultural products toward either the discharge chamber or the waiting chamber,
When agricultural produce is supplied from the supply path toward the discharge chamber, the agricultural produce discharged from the agricultural produce discharge outlet is packed into boxes, and when packing is completed, the supply of agricultural produce from the supply path is switched to the waiting chamber, and after the box replacement is completed, the partition moves the agricultural produce in the waiting chamber to the discharge chamber, and the supply of agricultural produce from the supply path is switched to the discharge chamber. The produce packing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the produce container has a circular bottom surface, the partition is arranged along the diameter of the bottom surface, and is configured to be rotatable around the center of the bottom surface of the produce container. The agricultural produce packing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the supply path is made of an inclined gutter, and the supply port at the lower end in the inclined direction can be switched between a position facing the discharge chamber and a position facing the waiting chamber. The agricultural produce packing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the supply path extends from a conveying device that conveys agricultural produce. The produce packing device according to claim 4, characterized in that a plurality of supply paths and produce containers are arranged in parallel along the conveying device. The agricultural product packing device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the agricultural product containers and supply paths are installed in two tiers, one above the other, the agricultural product discharge outlet of the upper agricultural product container and the agricultural product discharge outlet of the lower container are formed at different positions in the circumferential direction, and the upper supply path and the lower supply path extend from different sides of the conveying device.

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