Asparagus feeding and length grading device and method

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of automatic asparagus screening, in particular to an asparagus feeding and length grading device and method.The tail end of a feeding conveying belt is connected with a sequential feeder, and the tail end of the sequential feeder is connected with a grading conveying device through an inclined baffle; the grading conveying device comprises two conveying chains arranged in a splayed shape, and a plurality of collecting funnels are arranged below the grading conveying device. According to the asparagus length grading device, asparagus can be subjected to automatic length grading through the splayed conveying chains, and the length grading intervals of the grading conveying device at different positions can be accurately controlled by setting the included angles between the conveying chains, so that the length grading of the asparagus is accurately controlled; by arranging the sequential feeder, the feeding posture of the asparagus can be optimized, and a reasonable grading environment is created, so that the grading conveying effect of the asparagus is guaranteed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of automatic screening of asparagus, and specifically to an asparagus feeding and length grading device and method. Background Art

[0002] In the field of material feeding and length grading devices, foreign countries have relatively mature equipment that integrates mechanical transmission, control systems, computer vision and image processing technologies to perform rapid and accurate detection and precise grading of multiple indicators; these devices are highly automated, reducing manual dependence and improving production efficiency and product quality; at the same time, high-end equipment is equipped with intelligent control systems to achieve flexible production, its performance is stable and reliable, and it has self-diagnosis and fault warning functions; but in actual applications, it still faces challenges in accuracy and stability, especially for asparagus with variable lengths and shapes, its recognition accuracy and grading efficiency are not ideal.

[0003] At present, domestic equipment accounts for a low share in the entire industry, and the mainstream trend is still to use manual grading methods. Domestic equipment still has gaps in technical level, adaptability and flexibility. Current equipment, especially in the aspect of asparagus length grading, still has deficiencies in grading accuracy, stability, automation and intelligence, adaptability and flexibility, as well as economy and practicality. Misjudgment is prone to occur when dealing with asparagus of different rules, and there is still much room for improvement. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an asparagus feeding and length grading device and method with higher automation and intelligence levels.

[0005] Based on the above purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: The asparagus feeding and length grading device comprises a feeding conveyor belt, the end of the feeding conveyor belt is connected with a sequential loader, the end of the sequential loader is connected with a grading conveyor device through an inclined baffle; the grading conveyor device comprises two conveyor chains, and the conveyor chains are arranged in an eight-shaped shape; a collecting device is arranged below the grading conveyor device, and the collecting device comprises a plurality of collecting funnels; the collecting funnels are arranged along the length direction of the conveyor chain.

[0006] Preferably, a plurality of limit blocks are provided on the links of the conveyor chain, and the limit blocks are densely distributed on the outside of the conveyor chain; baffles are provided on the outer sides of the limit blocks, and the baffles are arranged perpendicularly to the length direction of the conveyor chain.

[0007] Preferably, the inclined baffle is arranged to be tilted downward at an angle to the horizontal plane, with the tilting direction toward the grading conveying device; an alignment baffle is arranged on the edge of the inclined baffle, and the alignment baffle is arranged on a side away from the sequential loader; the alignment baffle is vertically matched with the inclined baffle.

[0008] Preferably, the sequential loader includes a supporting frame, on the top of which a loading ramp is obliquely arranged; the top end of the loading ramp cooperates with the feeding conveyor belt, and the bottom end of the loading ramp is cooperatively connected with a loading plate; the loading plate includes a group of static plates arranged in parallel, and each static plate is cooperatively arranged on one side; the bottom end of the dynamic plate is connected with a driving mechanism.

[0009] Preferably, the loading plate is arranged vertically, and the width of the dynamic plate matches the spacing between every two static plates; the top surfaces of the dynamic plate and the static plate are both inclined surfaces, and the inclination direction of the top surfaces is the same as that of the loading inclined plate; the top height of the static plate increases successively, and the highest point height of the dynamic plate corresponds one by one to the static plate; the bottom ends of multiple dynamic plates are integrally connected, and the driving mechanism is rotatably connected to the bottom end of the dynamic plate.

[0010] Preferably, the driving mechanism includes a vertically arranged cylinder, the piston rod end of the cylinder is arranged downward; an oscillation plate is arranged at the inner bottom end of the support frame, one end of the oscillation plate is slidingly connected to the piston rod of the cylinder, and the other end is rotatably connected to a support stud; the other end of the support stud is rotatably connected to the bottom end of the dynamic plate.

[0011] Preferably, a base is fixedly arranged on the inner bottom surface of the support frame, and a horizontally arranged oscillation shaft is arranged on the base; the oscillation plate is rotatably connected to the oscillation shaft, one end of the oscillation plate is provided with a slide groove cooperating with the piston rod of the cylinder, and the other end is provided with a connecting rod cooperating with the support stud.

[0012] Preferably, the end of the loading plate is fixedly connected to a discharge conveyor belt, and the end of the discharge conveyor belt is cooperatively connected to the inclined baffle plate; the discharge conveyor belt is arranged at the end of the loading plate through a connecting plate, and the length direction of the discharge conveyor belt is arranged perpendicular to the inclination direction of the loading inclined plate.

[0013] A method for feeding and grading asparagus according to the above device comprises the following steps: S1. Manual feeding with conveyor belt: Manual feeding is performed through a feeding conveyor belt to perform primary separation of asparagus; S2, loading ramp waiting area: the asparagus on the feeding conveyor belt in step S1 enters the loading ramp of the sequential feeder and waits for loading; S3, sequential loading: the asparagus waiting for loading in step S2 is loaded in an orderly manner through a sequential loader, and the spacing between the asparagus is maintained; S4, root alignment: aligning the roots of the asparagus that have been loaded in order in step S3 by means of an inclined baffle; S5, graded conveying: The asparagus whose roots are aligned in S4 is graded and conveyed by a graded conveying device, and asparagus in different length ranges enters different collecting funnels for collection.

[0014] Preferably, the specific process of sequential loading in step S3 includes: S3.1, low-position dynamic plate preparation: the dynamic plate is lowered, and the asparagus on the loading inclined plate enters the lowest position dynamic plate under the action of gravity; S3.2, low-position dynamic plate loading: the dynamic plate rises, so that the asparagus in S3.1 is pushed up to the level of the second lowest static plate; S3.3, repeat loading: repeat the above steps S3.1 and S3.2 until the asparagus reaches the highest static plate; S3.4, Discharging: Under the action of gravity, the asparagus slides down from the highest static plate and falls into the discharging conveyor belt, completing the discharging.

[0015] The beneficial effects of the present invention include: The invention comprises two parts, namely, sequential feeding and grading transmission of asparagus. The asparagus can be arranged in order and then sent to the grading transmission part for grading. The invention adopts two conveying chains to form an eight-shaped grading transmission device. The two conveying chains form an isosceles trapezoidal structure. The upper base, the lower base and the height of the trapezoid are known, that is, the spacing between the two conveying chains at different positions can be determined by geometric calculation, thereby dividing different grading intervals, and a plurality of different collecting funnels are arranged below according to the length grading intervals. When the asparagus moves to an interval with a spacing greater than the length of the asparagus on the conveying chain, it will fall from the conveying chain and fall into the collecting funnel arranged below, thereby realizing grading and collecting the asparagus according to the length.

[0016] The present invention takes into account the range of diameters of the base of asparagus, [IA1] so as to ensure that each link can accommodate only one asparagus, thereby achieving the effect of conveying a single material in a single link, thereby improving the grading efficiency and ensuring the stability and integrity of the asparagus during the conveying process.

[0017] The present invention is provided with a sequence feeder, which can stably feed asparagus to a grading conveying device at a certain distance through the cooperation of a static plate and a dynamic plate arranged in a stepped manner; the dynamic plate cooperates with a cylinder and a supporting stud through an oscillating plate to realize regular reciprocating motion; the asparagus undergoes preliminary spatial separation, thereby reducing the phenomenon of stacking and mixing, and the step of arranging the asparagus at a certain distance and in sequence ensures that the asparagus can maintain a stable posture and distance before entering a subsequent grading device; and an inclined baffle with an alignment baffle is arranged between the grading conveying device and the feeding conveyor belt, so that the roots of the asparagus can be aligned, so as to prepare for subsequent length grading and other processing, and ensure the accuracy of length measurement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 It is the overall workflow diagram of the present invention; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the sequence feeder of the present invention; Figure 4 It is the working flow chart of the sequential feeder of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a working process diagram of the loading plate of the sequential loader of the present invention.

[0019] In the figure: feeding conveyor belt 1; sequential feeder 2; inclined baffle 3; grading conveyor device 4; collecting funnel 5; feeding inclined plate 6; feeding plate 7; discharging conveyor belt 8; supporting frame 9; supporting stud 10; oscillating plate 11; groove wheel 12; cylinder 13. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The following is a further explanation of the present invention in conjunction with specific embodiments. Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment is an asparagus feeding and length grading device, which mainly includes two parts: sequence feeding and grading conveying; the sequence feeding includes a feeding conveyor belt 1, and the end of the feeding conveyor belt 1 is connected with a sequence loader 2; the end of the sequence loader 2 is connected to the starting end of the grading conveying device 4 through an inclined baffle 3, and a plurality of collecting funnels 5 are arranged below the grading conveying device 4, which can collect asparagus of different length ranges.

[0021] The grading conveyor device 4 includes two conveyor chains arranged in an eight-shaped shape. The two conveyor chains are symmetrically arranged and run synchronously at the same speed. A plurality of limit blocks are arranged on the chain links of each conveyor chain, and baffles are arranged on the limit blocks. The limit blocks are densely distributed on the outside of the conveyor chain, and the baffles are arranged on the outer surface of the limit blocks to limit the sliding and rolling of the asparagus on the conveyor chain.

[0022] The inclined baffle 3 is a plate-like structure arranged obliquely downward, and an alignment baffle is arranged at one edge of the inclined baffle 3; the alignment baffle is arranged at the edge of one side of the inclined baffle 3 away from the sequential loader 2, which can prevent the asparagus entering the inclined baffle 3 from sliding down due to inertia, and can also align the roots of the asparagus entering the inclined baffle 3, so as to improve the measurement accuracy during subsequent grading according to length.

[0023] Since the two conveyor chains form an isosceles trapezoidal structure, the starting end and the tail end, i.e., the upper and lower bases of the isosceles trapezoid, as well as the length of the grading conveyor 4 and the height of the isosceles trapezoid are determined, the angle between the two conveyor chains can be determined by geometric calculation to accurately divide the grading areas of different lengths; collecting funnels 5 of different specifications are arranged in sequence below the grading areas of different lengths, and when the asparagus enters the grading conveyor 4, different asparagus can travel different distances on the conveyor chain, and shorter asparagus will fall into the collecting funnel 5 below earlier, while longer asparagus will move a longer distance on the conveyor chain and fall into the collecting funnel 5 of a larger size, so as to realize the length-grading collection of the asparagus.

[0024] The present invention also provides a sequential feeder 2, the specific internal structure of which is as follows: Figure 3 As shown; the sequential feeder 2 includes a supporting frame 9, on the top surface of which a feeding ramp 6 is arranged; the feeding ramp 6 is inclined, and its top end cooperates with the end of the feeding conveyor belt 1, so that the asparagus falling from the feeding conveyor belt 1 will fall on the feeding ramp 6; the bottom end of the feeding ramp 6 is connected to a feeding plate 7, and the feeding plate 7 is used to accurately separate and sort the accumulated asparagus, so that they can be arranged according to a certain spacing and sequence to enter the subsequent grading conveyor device 4.

[0025] The feeding plate 7 includes three fixed static plates and three dynamic plates that can slide up and down; the three dynamic plates are respectively closely attached to the front of the three static plates, and the gap between every two static plates matches the width of the dynamic plates, so that the asparagus will not fall from the gap between the dynamic plates into the interior of the sequential feeder 2; the three static plates increase in height from front to back, and the highest point heights of the three dynamic plates also increase in coordination therewith; the top surfaces of the three static plates and the dynamic plates are all inclined surfaces, and their inclination direction is the same as that of the feeding inclined plate 6.

[0026] The lowest ends of the three dynamic plates are integrally connected to each other, and a support stud 10 is rotatably connected to the bottom end thereof; the lifting height of the dynamic plate can be changed by adjusting the length of the support stud 10; the bottom end of the support stud 10 is rotatably connected to an oscillating plate 11, the middle section of the oscillating plate 11 is connected to the base through an oscillation axis, and the base is fixedly arranged on the inner bottom surface of the support frame 9, so that the oscillating plate 11 can swing left and right around the oscillation axis; a slide groove is arranged at the left end of the oscillating plate 11, and a groove wheel 12 is arranged in the slide groove to cooperate with it, which can slide along the slide groove; a cylinder 13 is arranged in the support frame 9, and the piston rod end of the cylinder 13 is fixedly connected to the groove wheel 12.

[0027] When the cylinder 13 works to make the piston rod extend and retract up and down, it drives the groove wheel 12 to move up and down synchronously; the groove wheel 12 slides in the slide groove, thereby driving the oscillation plate 11 to swing left and right; and when the oscillation plate 11 swings left and right, it drives the support stud 10 to swing up and down, and finally drives the three dynamic plates of the loading plate 7 to extend and retract up and down together; specifically, when the piston rod of the cylinder 13 contracts, it drives the dynamic plates to contract downward together; when the piston rod of the cylinder 13 extends downward, it drives the dynamic plates to extend upward together.

[0028] The specific process of the feeding plate 7 for orderly feeding of asparagus is as follows Figure 5 As shown, Figure 5 The vertically placed green plate in the middle is a static plate, while the vertically placed orange plate is a dynamic plate, and the purple circle represents the cross section of the asparagus; Figure 5 (1), the dynamic plate is at the lowest end, and the asparagus rolls down from the loading ramp 6 to the top of the first-stage dynamic plate; then, under the action of the cylinder 13, the dynamic plate rises, as shown in FIG. Figure 5 As shown in (2), the asparagus is lifted up synchronously by the dynamic plate until the top height of the first-stage dynamic plate is greater than that of the first-stage static plate, and then slides down under the action of the inclined top surfaces of the dynamic plate and the static plate; then the piston rod of the cylinder 13 retracts, the dynamic plate also descends, and the asparagus falls to the top of the second-stage dynamic plate, as shown in FIG. Figure 5 (3) as shown; then repeat the above steps, so that the asparagus is lifted by the second-stage dynamic plate and falls onto the third-stage dynamic plate in turn, and then after being lifted by the third-stage dynamic plate, it can be discharged to the outside of the sequential feeder 2 through the third-stage static plate; when the cylinder 13 moves continuously and evenly, the asparagus accumulated on the feeding inclined plate 6 can be evenly transported to the grading conveyor 4.

[0029] like Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, a discharging conveyor belt 8 is connected to the end of the loading plate 7 of the sequential feeder 2, baffles are arranged on both sides of the discharging conveyor belt 8, and the top end is connected to the end of the loading plate 7 through a connecting plate, so that the asparagus is discharged in an orderly manner through the loading plate 7 and enters the discharging conveyor belt 8; the length direction of the discharging conveyor belt 8 is perpendicular to the length direction of the loading inclined plate 6, and is perpendicular to the alignment baffle of the inclined baffle 3, so that the asparagus entering the inclined baffle 3 through the discharging conveyor belt 8 can maintain its posture and enter the grading conveyor 4.

[0030] In actual use, if Figure 2 and Figure 4As shown, first, the asparagus is manually spread on the feeding conveyor belt 1 to achieve primary separation of the asparagus, so as to avoid excessive accumulation of the asparagus; when the asparagus enters the sequential feeder 2, it first stays in the slope waiting area of ​​the feeding inclined plate 6, and then is pushed upward step by step through the dynamic plates of each level, finally reaches the highest static plate and finally slides out of the sequential feeder 2; through the feeding of the sequential feeder 2, the asparagus is reasonably spaced; then the asparagus is transported to the inclined baffle 3 by the discharging conveyor belt 8, and the roots of the asparagus are aligned by the alignment baffle on the inclined baffle 3; then the asparagus slides from the inclined baffle 3 to the grading conveyor 4, and is graded by length by two conveyor chains arranged in an eight-shaped shape.

[0031] The above description is only a further explanation of the present invention in combination with specific embodiments. All descriptions do not limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any changes or replacement schemes that can be easily thought of by any technician in this field within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. Asparagus feeding and length grading device, including a feeding conveyor belt, characterized in that: The end of the feeding conveyor is connected to a sequential loader, and the end of the sequential loader is connected to a grading conveying device through an inclined baffle; the grading conveying device includes two conveying chains, and the conveying chains are arranged in an eight-shaped shape; a collecting device is arranged below the grading conveying device, and the collecting device includes a plurality of collecting funnels; the collecting funnels are arranged along the length direction of the conveying chain.

2. The asparagus feeding and length grading device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of limit blocks are arranged on the links of the conveying chain, and the limit blocks are densely distributed on the outside of the conveying chain; baffles are arranged on the outer sides of the limit blocks, and the baffles are arranged perpendicular to the length direction of the conveying chain.

3. The asparagus feeding and length grading device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The inclined baffle is arranged to be tilted downward at an angle to the horizontal plane, and the tilting direction is toward the grading conveying device; an alignment baffle is arranged on the edge of the inclined baffle, and the alignment baffle is arranged on a side away from the sequential loader; the alignment baffle is vertically matched with the inclined baffle.

4. The asparagus feeding and length grading device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The sequential loader includes a supporting frame, on the top of which a feeding inclined plate is obliquely arranged; the top end of the feeding inclined plate cooperates with the feeding conveyor belt, and the bottom end of the feeding inclined plate is cooperatively connected with a feeding plate; the feeding plate includes a group of static plates arranged in parallel, and a dynamic plate is cooperatively arranged on one side of each static plate; the bottom end of the dynamic plate is connected with a driving mechanism.

5. The asparagus feeding and length grading device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The loading plate is arranged vertically, and the width of the dynamic plate matches the spacing between every two static plates; the top surfaces of the dynamic plate and the static plate are both inclined surfaces, and the inclination direction of the top surfaces is the same as that of the loading inclined plate; the top height of the static plate increases successively, and the highest point height of the dynamic plate corresponds one by one to the static plate; the bottom ends of the plurality of dynamic plates are integrally connected, and the driving mechanism is rotatably connected to the bottom end of the dynamic plate.

6. The asparagus feeding and length grading device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The driving mechanism includes a vertically arranged cylinder, the piston rod end of the cylinder is arranged downward; an oscillation plate is arranged at the inner bottom end of the support frame, one end of the oscillation plate is slidably connected to the piston rod of the cylinder, and the other end is rotatably connected to a support stud; the other end of the support stud is rotatably connected to the bottom end of the dynamic plate.

7. The asparagus feeding and length grading device according to claim 6, characterized in that: A base is fixedly arranged on the inner bottom surface of the support frame, and a horizontally arranged oscillation shaft is arranged on the base; the oscillation plate is rotatably connected to the oscillation shaft, one end of the oscillation plate is provided with a slide groove cooperating with the piston rod of the cylinder, and the other end is provided with a connecting rod cooperating with the support stud.

8. The asparagus feeding and length grading device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The end of the loading plate is fixedly connected with a discharging conveyor belt, and the end of the discharging conveyor belt is cooperatively connected with the inclined baffle plate; the discharging conveyor belt is arranged at the end of the loading plate through a connecting plate, and the length direction of the discharging conveyor belt is arranged perpendicular to the inclination direction of the loading inclined plate.

9. A method for feeding and grading asparagus according to the device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1. Manual feeding with conveyor belt: Manual feeding is performed through a feeding conveyor belt to perform primary separation of asparagus; S2, loading ramp waiting area: the asparagus on the feeding conveyor belt in step S1 enters the loading ramp of the sequential feeder and waits for loading; S3, sequential loading: the asparagus waiting for loading in step S2 is loaded in an orderly manner through a sequential loader, and the spacing between the asparagus is maintained; S4, root alignment: aligning the roots of the asparagus that have been loaded in order in step S3 by means of an inclined baffle; S5, graded conveying: The asparagus whose roots are aligned in S4 is graded and conveyed by a graded conveying device, and asparagus in different length ranges enters different collecting funnels for collection.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The specific process of the step S3 sequence loading includes: S3.1, low-position dynamic plate preparation: the dynamic plate is lowered, and the asparagus on the loading inclined plate enters the lowest position dynamic plate under the action of gravity; S3.2, low-position dynamic plate loading: the dynamic plate rises, so that the asparagus in S3.1 is pushed up to the level of the second lowest static plate; S3.3, repeat loading: repeat the above steps S3.1 and S3.2 until the asparagus reaches the highest static plate; S3.4, Discharging: Under the action of gravity, the asparagus slides down from the highest static plate and falls into the discharging conveyor belt, completing the discharging.

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