Agricultural product sorting device

Abstract

To prevent stagnation of trays 3 on a pool conveyor 8 as much as possible to allow an agricultural product sorting device 1 to operate efficiently.SOLUTION: An agricultural product sorting device 1 comprises: a pool conveyor 8 that conveys trays 3 on which agricultural products 2 are placed, respectively; and empty tray collection means 9 that is provided at a terminal end of the pool conveyor 8 and collects the empty trays 3 from which the agricultural products 2 have been removed. The empty tray collection means 9 comprises: tray inclination means 22 that inclines a tray holding part 21 holding the tray 3; an agricultural product collection part 23 that collects the agricultural products 2 on the trays 3; and an empty tray collection conveyor 24 (empty tray collection part) that collects the empty trays 3. The tray inclination means 22 switches among a holding attitude holding the tray 3, an intermediate attitude inclining the tray holding part 21 to drop the agricultural product 2 from the tray 3 to the agricultural product collection part 23, and a discharge attitude further inclining the tray holding part 21 to discharge the empty tray 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an agricultural product sorting device, and more particularly to an agricultural product sorting device equipped with a pool conveyor that transports trays on which agricultural products are placed, and an empty tray recovery means that is provided at the end of the pool conveyor and recovers empty trays after the agricultural products have been removed. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, agricultural produce sorting devices that sort collected agricultural produce into classes are known. In such agricultural produce sorting devices, a conveying means conveys the agricultural produce before sorting placed on trays, and based on the results of judgment by a quality inspection means, the agricultural produce on each tray is sorted and discharged onto multiple pool conveyors (Patent Document 1). A worker is stationed at each pool conveyor and removes agricultural produce from the trays transported by the pool conveyor and packs them into containers. An empty tray recovery means is provided at the downstream end of the pool conveyor to recover empty trays from which the agricultural produce has been removed, and recovers the empty trays and returns them to the transport means. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-94765 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when the trays on which the agricultural products are placed are discharged from the transport means onto the pool conveyor, the worker must remove the agricultural products from all of the trays and transfer them to containers or the like. However, depending on the experience of the operator, etc., there are cases where a large number of trays cannot be processed, and more than the specified number of trays are accumulated on the pool conveyor, and the conveying means cannot discharge any more trays onto the pool conveyor. In such cases, it is necessary to stop the entire device or to circulate the unprocessed trays to the upstream side of the conveying means. If unprocessed trays are circulated, it will not be possible to supply new trays carrying agricultural products to the conveying means, which will result in a problem of reduced efficiency of the agricultural product sorting apparatus. In view of these problems, the present invention provides an agricultural product sorting device that is capable of preventing a decrease in sorting efficiency even when the number of trays to be processed on the pool conveyor increases. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] That is, the agricultural produce sorting device according to the invention of claim 1 is an agricultural produce sorting device including a pool conveyor for transporting trays on which agricultural produce is placed, and an empty tray recovery means provided at the end of the pool conveyor for recovering empty trays after the agricultural produce has been removed, the empty tray collecting means comprises a tray holding section provided at the downstream end of the pool conveyor for holding trays, a tray tilting means for tilting the tray holding section, an agricultural product collecting section provided below the pool conveyor for collecting agricultural products on trays, and an empty tray collecting section provided below the agricultural product collecting section for collecting the empty trays, The tray tilting means is characterized by being switchable between a holding position for holding the trays transferred from the pool conveyor, an intermediate position for tilting the tray holding section toward the agricultural product collection section and causing the agricultural products to drop from the trays to the agricultural product collection section, and a discharge position for further tilting the tray holding section and discharging the empty trays to the empty tray collection section. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the invention of claim 1 above, if a tray containing agricultural produce moves to the downstream end of the pool conveyor because an operator is unable to process it, the empty tray recovery means can place the tray holding section in an intermediate position, thereby allowing the agricultural produce placed on the tray to be recovered in the agricultural produce recovery section. This makes it possible to prevent trays from becoming stuck on the pool conveyor as much as possible, enabling the agricultural product sorting device to operate efficiently. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view of an agricultural product sorting device showing one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a side view showing the holding posture of the empty tray recovery means. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a side view showing an intermediate position of the empty tray recovery means. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a side view showing the ejection posture of the empty tray recovery means. [Diagram 5] Plan view of the tray return means DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] The present invention will now be described with reference to the illustrated embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a plan view of an agricultural produce sorting device 1, which comprises a conveying means 4 for conveying trays 3 on which agricultural produce 2 such as tomatoes are placed, an agricultural produce supplying means 5 for supplying full trays 3 on which the agricultural produce 2 are placed to the conveying means 4, a quality inspection means 6 for performing a quality inspection of the agricultural produce 2 conveyed by the conveying means 4, an agricultural produce sorting means 7 for sorting the agricultural produce 2 for each tray 3 in accordance with the inspection results by the quality inspection means 6, a pool conveyor 8 for storing the trays 3 sorted by the agricultural produce sorting means 7, an empty tray recovery means 9 provided at the end of the pool conveyor 8 for recovering empty trays 3 from which the agricultural produce 2 has been removed, and an empty tray return means 10 for returning the recovered empty trays 3 to the agricultural produce supplying means 5, all of which are controlled by a control means 11 consisting of a computer or the like. According to the agricultural produce sorting device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration, when an operator P places an agricultural produce 2 on an empty tray 3 in the agricultural produce supply means 5, the full tray 3 holding the agricultural produce 2 is transported by the transport means 4, and the quality inspection means 6 determines the grade of the agricultural produce 2. Thereafter, the agricultural products 2 that have been determined to be of equal class are sorted by the agricultural product sorting means 7 into the required pool conveyor 8, and on the pool conveyor 8, a worker P removes the agricultural products 2 from each tray 3 and packs them into boxes. The empty trays 3 from which the agricultural products 2 have been removed are collected by the empty tray collecting means 9 provided at the end of the pool conveyor 8, and then the empty tray return means 10 returns the empty trays 3 to the agricultural product supplying means 5.

[0009] The tray 3 has a substantially disk-like shape, and although not shown, recesses (not shown) for accommodating the agricultural produce 2 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces. A through hole is formed in the center of the recess of tray 3, and further, as shown in FIG. 2, a groove 3b is formed along the outer periphery at the height corresponding to the center of tray 3. The recesses may have different shapes on the upper and lower surfaces of the tray 3, allowing different types of agricultural produce 2 to be placed on the upper and lower surfaces. In this case, when using the agricultural produce sorting device 1, either the upper or lower surface of all of the trays 3 is used with the upper or lower surface facing upward.

[0010] The conveying means 4 is composed of a conveyor arranged in a straight line that conveys trays 3 from right to left in the figure, and from the upstream side, there are a supply area A where agricultural produce 2 is supplied by the agricultural produce supplying means 5, an inspection area B where the agricultural produce 2 is judged by the quality inspection means 6, and a sorting area C where the agricultural produce 2 is sorted by tray 3 into the pool conveyor 8 according to the judgment results. The conveying means 4 is fitted with a rotary encoder (not shown), and the control means 11 recognizes the amount of movement and the current position of each tray 3 being conveyed based on a detection signal from the rotary encoder. An accumulation conveyor 4a is provided at the downstream end of the transport means 4, which collects the trays 3 that could not be sorted onto the pool conveyor 8 and transports them to an accumulation area (not shown).

[0011] A plurality of agricultural product supply means 5 are provided in the supply area A of the conveying means 4, and each agricultural product supply means 5 is equipped with a supply conveyor 12 arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying means 4, and a tray transfer means 13 for transferring trays 3 from the supply conveyor 12 to the conveying means 4, and a container stand 14 is provided adjacent to the supply conveyor 12 for placing containers C containing unsorted agricultural products 2. The empty tray returning means 10 is connected to the upstream end of the supply conveyor 12 so as to return the used empty trays 3 to the supply conveyor 12. In addition, a worker P is positioned on the supply conveyor 12 adjacent to the container stand 14, and the worker P takes out the agricultural products 2 stored in the container stand 14 one by one and places them on an empty tray 3 on the supply conveyor 12. The tray transfer means 13 is configured to transfer the trays 3 transported by the supply conveyor 12 to the transport means 4, and since three agricultural product supply means 5 are provided in this embodiment, the control means 11 controls these three tray transfer means 13 to transfer the trays 3 so that they are transported without any gaps on the transport means 4.

[0012] A quality inspection means 6 is provided in the inspection area B of the conveying means 4, and the quality inspection means 6 sorts the agricultural produce 2 into a plurality of grades. In this embodiment, the produce is sorted into, for example, three grades (excellent, excellent, good). The quality inspection means 6 is well known and will not be described in detail, but for example, a means can be used that includes an appearance inspection mechanism that uses a camera to take an image of the agricultural produce 2 placed on the tray 3 from above to inspect the appearance of the agricultural produce 2, such as scratches, and an internal quality inspection mechanism that irradiates the agricultural produce 2 placed on the tray 3 with transmitted light from above to inspect the internal quality (sugar content, acidity, spoilage). The inspection results by the quality inspection means 6 are transmitted to the control means 11, and the control means 11 stores the grade of the agricultural produce 2 placed on each tray 3 that has passed through the quality inspection means 6.

[0013] The sorting area C of the conveying means 4 is provided with three agricultural product sorting means 7 for sorting the trays 3 according to grade, and three pool conveyors 8 for storing the trays 3 sorted by the agricultural product sorting means 7. The three pool conveyors 8 are assigned grades of the agricultural produce 2, and for example, from the upstream side of the conveying means 4, they correspond to excellent, superior, and good grades. Each of the pool conveyors 8 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying means 4, and each pool conveyor 8 is composed of four rows of free roller conveyors 16 arranged in parallel and four rows of belt conveyors 17 arranged adjacent to the downstream side of the free roller conveyors 16.

[0014] The agricultural product sorting means 7 is provided on the opposite side of the pool conveyor 8, across the conveying means 4, and a pusher (not shown) presses the trays 3 on the conveying means 4 toward the pool conveyor 8, transferring the trays 3 to the free roller conveyor 16. The control means 11 memorizes the position of the tray 3 transported by the transport means 4 and the grade of the agricultural produce 2 placed on the tray 3, and when the tray 3 carrying the agricultural produce 2 corresponding to each grade approaches the corresponding pool conveyor 8, it operates the pusher to press the tray 3 toward the pool conveyor 8. Here, in this embodiment, since the pool conveyor 8 is composed of four rows of free roller conveyors 16 and belt conveyors 17, the discharge means is configured to discharge agricultural products 2 of the same grade evenly onto the four rows of free roller conveyors 16 and belt conveyors 17. When multiple grades are set for the agricultural produce 2, different grades may be set for each of the four rows of free roller conveyors 16 and belt conveyors 17, for example. In addition, while the above example was explained with setting quality grades (excellent, excellent, good), it is also possible to set size classes (S, M, L) for the agricultural produce 2 and set the grades by multiplying the quality and size.

[0015] The trays 3 transferred from the transport means 4 by the agricultural product sorting means 7 move along a free roller conveyor 16 and then onto the upstream end of the belt conveyor 17. The belt conveyor 17 transports the trays 3 at a predetermined speed, and a packaging box placement table 15 is provided adjacent to the belt conveyor 17, where a worker P is positioned. A worker P takes out the agricultural products 2 one by one from the trays 3 moving on the pool conveyor 8 and places them in the packaging boxes D placed on the packaging box placement table 15. Then, the empty tray 3 from which the agricultural products 2 have been removed by the worker P is transported downstream by the belt conveyor 17 as is, and collected by the empty tray collecting means 9 provided at the downstream end of the pool conveyor 8.

[0016] The empty tray collecting means 9 is provided at the downstream end of the pool conveyor 8, more specifically, on each of the belt conveyors 17 constituting the pool conveyor 8. 2 to 4 show side views of the empty tray collecting means 9, which comprises a tray holding section 21 for holding the trays 3 transported by the pool conveyor 8, tray tilting means 22 for tilting the tray holding section 21, an agricultural produce collecting section 23 provided below the pool conveyor 8 for collecting agricultural produce 2 that has not been removed from the trays 3, and an empty tray collecting conveyor 24 provided below the agricultural produce collecting section 23 for collecting the empty trays 3. Here, the empty tray collecting conveyor 24 constitutes the empty tray return means 10, and also constitutes the empty tray collecting section according to the present invention.

[0017] The tray holding portion 21 is provided swingably at a position adjacent to the downstream end of the belt conveyor 17 of the pool conveyor 8, and is composed of first to fourth rollers 21a to 21d held by a holding member 21e. The first to fourth rollers 21a to 21d are located at the same height as the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 17 in Figure 3, and the first roller 21a located closest to the belt conveyor 17 also serves as a swing axis, so that the other second to fourth rollers 21b to 21d swing around the first roller 21a. On both sides of the tray holding section 21, there are provided fall-prevention claws 21f for engaging with grooves 3b formed on the sides of the tray 3. As a result, when the tray 3 moves from the belt conveyor 17 to above the tray holding section 21, the fall-prevention claws 21f enter and engage with the grooves 3b of the tray 3, making it possible to prevent the tray 3 from tipping over even if the tray holding section 21 is tilted.

[0018] A first stopper 25 is provided between the tray holding section 21 and the belt conveyor 17, and is composed of a pin 25a that can be raised and lowered, and a driving means 25b consisting of an actuator or the like that raises and lowers the pin 25a. The pin 25a is held by a cylindrical holder 25c, and by operation of the driving means 25b, the tip of the pin 25a moves between a retracted state (Figure 2) in which it is positioned below the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 17, and a protruding state (Figures 3 and 4) in which it protrudes above the conveying surface to engage the tray 3. In addition, in Figures 4 and 5, the downstream end of the tray 3 appears to be located downstream of the protruding pin 25a, but this is because the tray 3 has a disk shape and the pin 25a is provided at the widthwise end of the belt conveyor 17.

[0019] The tray tilting means 22 is constituted by an air cylinder provided below the belt conveyor 17, one end of which is fixed so as to be swingable below the belt conveyor 17, and the tip of the rod 22a is connected to the holding member 21e that constitutes the tray holding portion 21. With the above-mentioned configuration, when the rod 22a of the tray tilting means 22 is moved back and forth, the tray holding portion 21 swings around the first roller 21a, and the tray holding portion 21 can be placed in a holding position in which the tray holding portion 21 is horizontal as shown in FIG. 3, in an intermediate position in which the tray holding portion 21 is tilted by one step as shown in FIG. 4, or in an ejection position in which the tray holding portion 21 is most inclined as shown in FIG. 5. Here, the air cylinder used as the tray tilting means 22 is capable of stopping the rod 22a at a plurality of positions in order to tilt the tray holding portion 21 to each of the above postures. It is also possible to use an electric actuator or the like.

[0020] Further, the tray holding portion 21 is provided with a second stopper 26, which is composed of a pin 26a provided so as to be capable of ascending and descending, and a cam mechanism 27 for ascending and descending the pin 26a. The pin 26a is housed in a cylindrical holder 26c provided between the third roller 21c and the fourth roller 21d, and one end of a swing arm 27a that constitutes the cam mechanism 27 is connected to the lower end of the pin 26a. The cam mechanism 27 includes a swing arm 27a swingably provided with respect to the holding member 21e, a cam follower 27b provided at the other end of the swing arm 27a, and a cam 27c that comes into contact with the cam follower 27b. The cam follower 27b provided on the swing arm 27a is provided at a position protruding further downstream than the fourth roller 21d of the tray holding portion 21, and the cam 27c is provided below the tray holding portion 21.

[0021] In the holding posture of the tray holding portion 21 shown in FIG. 3, the cam follower 27b is not in contact with the cam 27c and protrudes above the conveying surface. Thereafter, the tray holding portion 21 is tilted by the tray tilting means 22, and just before it reaches the intermediate position shown in FIG. 4, the cam follower 27b abuts against the cam 27c. When the cam follower 27b abuts against the cam 27c, the swing arm 27a swings to move the pin 26a downwardly below the conveying surface. As a result, in the intermediate position shown in FIG. 4, the pin 26a retreats below the conveying surface, whereby the tray 3 moves the tray holding portion 21 downwards due to its own weight. Furthermore, even when the tray tilting means 22 places the tray holding portion 21 in the ejection position shown in FIG. 5, the cam follower 27b remains in contact with the cam 27c, thereby maintaining the pin 26a in the retracted state.

[0022] The agricultural product collection section 23 is composed of a box-shaped member, with the end face facing the belt conveyor 17 being open, and the bottom face being located below the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 17 and inclined downward in the direction away from the belt conveyor 17. As shown in Figure 4, the end of the bottom surface of the agricultural product collection section 23 on the belt conveyor 17 side is positioned at approximately the same height as the fourth roller 21d of the tray holding section 21 in the intermediate position, and a gap is formed between the fourth roller 21d and the bottom surface. This gap is set so that even if the tray 3 moves downstream due to its own weight and jumps out downstream from the tray holding section 21 in an intermediate position, the end of the tray 3 will abut against the end of the bottom surface of the agricultural product collection section 23 and stop. When the tray 3 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the agricultural product collection section 23, the agricultural products 2 placed on the tray 3 are caused to fall into the agricultural product collection section 23 by the impact, and the fallen agricultural products 2 roll along the inclined bottom surface.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 5, a chute 23a is connected to the end of the agricultural product recovery section 23 on the belt conveyor 17 side, the chute 23a being inclined toward the empty tray recovery conveyor 24. When the tray holding section 21 assumes the discharge position, the empty tray 3 falls from the end of the tray holding section 21 into the chute 23a, and at this time, the tray 3 is turned upside down as it falls. The empty tray recovery conveyor 24 is provided below the belt conveyor 17 of the pool conveyor 8, and transports the empty trays 3 in the opposite direction to the belt conveyor 17. As described above, the empty tray 3 that falls from the inclined tray holding portion 21 is turned upside down, so the empty tray recovery conveyor 24 transports the empty tray 3 with its bottom surface facing upward.

[0024] In addition, the empty tray recovery means 9 in this embodiment is equipped with a detection means 28 for detecting whether or not agricultural produce 2 is placed on the tray 3 held by the tray holding portion 21, and in this embodiment is composed of first to fourth photoelectric sensors 28a to 28d. As shown in Figure 2, the first and second sensors 28a, 28b are provided directly above the tray 3 held by the tray holding portion 21 located in the holding position, with the first sensor 28a provided above the tray 3 and the second sensor 28b provided above the through hole of the tray 3. With this arrangement, when agricultural produce 2 is placed on the tray 3 stopped in the tray holding portion 21 in the holding position, the light from the first sensor 28a is blocked by the tray 3 or the agricultural produce 2, and the light from the second sensor 28b is also blocked by the agricultural produce 2. On the other hand, when no agricultural produce 2 is placed on the tray 3 stopped in the tray holding section 21 in the holding position, the light of the second sensor 28b passes through the through hole of the empty tray 3, and the control means 11 is therefore able to determine whether or not agricultural produce 2 is placed on the tray 3 based on the detection results of the first and second sensors 28a, 28b.

[0025] As shown in Figure 3, the third and fourth sensors 28c, 28d are arranged to irradiate light diagonally downward from the upstream side onto the tray holding portion 21, and when the tray holding portion 21 is in an intermediate position, the third sensor 28c detects the presence or absence of a tray 3 in the tray holding portion 21, and the fourth sensor 28d detects the presence or absence of agricultural produce 2. In other words, if the third sensor 28c detects a tray 3 when the tray holding section 21 is in an intermediate position, it recognizes that the tray 3 is stopped between the tray holding section 21 and the agricultural product collection section 23, and if it cannot detect the tray 3, it recognizes that the tray 3 has fallen from the tray holding section 21 for some reason and determines that an abnormality has occurred. On the other hand, if the fourth sensor 28d cannot detect the agricultural produce 2 on the tray 3, it determines that the agricultural produce 2 has fallen from the tray 3 and been collected by the agricultural produce collection section 23, and if the fourth sensor 28d detects the agricultural produce 2, it determines that the agricultural produce 2 has not fallen from the tray 3 and that an abnormality has occurred.

[0026] Figure 5 is a diagram explaining the layout of the empty tray return means 10, and includes empty tray recovery conveyors 24 arranged below each pool conveyor 8, a merging conveyor 31 that merges empty trays 3 collected by the empty tray recovery conveyor 24, an aligning conveyor 32 arranged below the transporting means 4, a plurality of distribution conveyors 33 arranged below the supply conveyors 12, a distribution means 34 that distributes the empty trays 3 on the merging conveyor 31 to each distribution conveyor 33, and an inversion means 35 that returns the empty trays 3 on each distribution conveyor 33 to the supply conveyor 12 of the agricultural product supply means 5. The empty tray recovery conveyor 24 is provided below the pool conveyor 8 as shown in Figures 2 to 4, and the empty tray recovery means 9 tilts the tray holding portion 21 to a discharge position to transport the tray 3 dropped into the chute 23a. The empty tray recovery conveyors 24 are provided corresponding to the three pool conveyors 8, and supply empty trays 3 to the junction conveyor 31 from the side. The junction conveyor 31 transports the empty trays 3 from the right to the left in the figure, and a return guide 31 a is provided at the downstream end of the junction conveyor 31 for transferring the transported empty trays 3 to the aligning conveyor 32 . Specifically, when an empty tray 3 transported on the merging conveyor 31 is pressed by an upstream empty tray 3 transported on the merging conveyor 31, it is guided by the folding guide 31a and pushed out onto the alignment conveyor 32. The aligning conveyor 32 transports the empty trays 3 from left to right in the figure, and transports the empty trays 3 guided by the folding guides 31a in a state of being aligned in a single row.

[0027] The distribution conveyor 33 is provided below the supply conveyor 12 constituting the agricultural product supply means 5, and is arranged to transport empty trays 3 in a single file. The distribution means 34 is provided at each connection point where the distribution conveyor 33 branches off from the alignment conveyor 32, and the distribution means 34 is equipped with a stopper 34a that stops an empty tray 3 on the merging conveyor 31, and a pusher 34b that presses the tray 3 toward the distribution conveyor 33 from the side. The control means 11 controls the stoppers 34a of each distribution means 34, and operates the stoppers 34a so that the trays 3 transported by the merging conveyor 31 are evenly distributed to the distribution conveyor 33, and the stoppers 34a push the empty trays 3 toward the distribution conveyor 33.

[0028] The reversing means 35 is publicly known from Patent Document 1, so a detailed description will be omitted, but it is equipped with a pair of endless belts on the left and right sides of the distribution conveyor 33, and these endless belts are arranged in a C-shape when viewed from the side, and each is equipped with a rubber clamping member. The lower portion of the endless belt is located on the placement surface at the downstream end of the distribution conveyor 33, and the upper end portion is located on the placement surface of the supply conveyor 12 of the agricultural product supply means 5. With this configuration, when the empty tray 3 transported on the distribution conveyor 33 reaches the downstream end, the empty tray 3 is positioned between the pair of endless belts and is clamped by the clamping members. Thereafter, the empty tray 3 is transported by an endless belt provided in a substantially C-shape, so that the empty tray 3 is returned upside down to the supply conveyor 12.

[0029] To explain the operation of the agricultural produce sorting device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration, first, in the supply area A of the conveying means 4, a container C containing unsorted agricultural produce 2 is placed on the container placement table 14 located adjacent to the supply conveyor 12 of each agricultural produce supply means 5. Then, worker P takes out agricultural produce 2 from container C and places it on an empty tray 3 moving on supply conveyor 12. At this time, the empty tray 3 is transported with its top facing upward. When the tray 3 on which the agricultural products 2 are placed reaches the downstream end of the supply conveyor 12, the tray 3 is transferred to the conveying means 4 by the tray transfer means 13, and at this time the control means 11 controls the tray transfer means 13 of the three agricultural product supply means 5 so that the tray 3 is transported without any gaps in the conveying means 4.

[0030] Next, the trays 3 transported by the transport means 4 pass through the quality inspection means 6 provided in the inspection area B, and the agricultural products 2 are sorted into three grades (excellent, excellent, good). The control means 11 stores the grade of the agricultural produce 2 in each tray 3, and when the tray 3 is further transported by the transport means 4 to the sorting area C, it controls the agricultural produce discharge means 7 to discharge the tray 3 onto the pool conveyor 8 corresponding to the grade of the agricultural produce 2. The agricultural produce discharge means 7 distributes the trays 3 onto four belt conveyors 17 via four free roller conveyors 16 that make up each pool conveyor 8, and the belt conveyors 17 are adapted to transport the trays 3 at a predetermined speed. Then, worker P takes out agricultural produce 2 from tray 3 being transported on belt conveyor 17 and places it into a packaging box D placed on packaging box stand 15 provided adjacent to belt conveyor 17.

[0031] As described above, each of the pool conveyors 8 provided for each grade of agricultural produce 2 is provided with four belt conveyors 17, and these belt conveyors 17 are adapted to transport the trays 3 at a predetermined speed. With this configuration, the worker P must remove the agricultural produce 2 from the tray 3 moving at a predetermined speed and transfer it to the container C. However, if the agricultural produce 2 is supplied to the pool conveyor 8 in excess of the processing capacity of the worker P, the tray 3 may reach the downstream end of the belt conveyor 17 with the agricultural produce 2 still on it. To address this problem, the agricultural produce sorting device 1 of this embodiment makes it possible to recover the agricultural produce 2 from the tray 3 from which the agricultural produce 2 has not been removed, even if the tray 3 reaches the downstream end of the pool conveyor 8, thereby maintaining the processing capacity of the agricultural produce sorting device 1.

[0032] First, a case will be described in which worker P is able to remove agricultural produce 2 from tray 3 before it reaches the downstream end of belt conveyor 17, and empty tray 3 is transported to the downstream end of belt conveyor 17. When the empty tray 3 reaches the downstream end of the belt conveyor 17, the tray holding portion 21 of the empty tray recovery means 9 is in a holding position as shown in Figure 2, and the first stopper 25 is retracted below the conveying surface. As a result, the tray 3 located at the downstream end is pressed by the tray 3 located upstream thereof and moves to the tray holding portion 21, and is stopped by the protruding second stopper . When the tray 3 passes the first stopper 25, the control means 11 controls the first stopper 25 to project the pin 25a above the conveying surface, thereby blocking the adjacent tray 3 on the upstream side.

[0033] When the tray 3 is positioned in the tray holding section 21, the first and second sensors 28a, 28b of the detection means 28 detect the tray 3 and the agricultural products 2 in the tray holding section 21 in the holding position. When no agricultural produce 2 is placed on the tray 3, the light of the first sensor 28a is blocked by the tray 3 and the light of the second sensor 28b passes through a through hole provided in the tray 3, so the control means 11 determines that no agricultural produce 2 is placed on the tray 3 on the tray holding portion 21. In this case, the control means 11 controls the tray tilting means 22 of the empty tray recovery means 9 to change the tray holding portion 21 from the holding position in Fig. 2 to the ejection position in Fig. 4. In other words, it is designed to directly move to the ejection position without taking the intermediate position in Fig. 3. While the tray holding portion 21 is tilted to the discharge position by the tray tilting means 22, the cam follower 27b of the second stopper 26 comes into contact with the cam 27c, causing the pin 26a to retreat below the conveying surface. When the tray holder 21 assumes the discharge position, the tray 3 falls from between the tray holder 21 and the chute 23a onto the empty tray recovery conveyor 24, at which point the tray 3 is turned upside down so that the top surface faces downward.

[0034] Next, an operation will be described in the case where worker P is unable to remove agricultural produce 2 from tray 3 before the tray 3 on which agricultural produce 2 is placed reaches the downstream end of belt conveyor 17. When the tray 3 on which the agricultural products 2 are placed is positioned in the tray holding section 21 , the first and second sensors 28 a , 28 b of the detection means 28 detect the tray 3 and the agricultural products 2 . Then, the control means 11 controls the tray tilting means 22 of the empty tray recovery means 9 to change the tray holding portion 21 from the holding position in Fig. 2 to the intermediate position in Fig. 3. When the tray holding portion 21 is tilted, the pin 26a of the second stopper 26 is retracted, and the tray 3 becomes able to move the tray holding portion 21. When the tray holding section 21 is tilted to the intermediate position shown in FIG. 3, the tray 3 moves downstream of the tray holding section 21 and collides with the agricultural product collecting section 23 and stops. Then, the tilt of the tray 3 and the impact of the collision cause the agricultural produce 2 on the tray 3 to fall into the agricultural produce collection section 23, and then roll along the slope formed on the bottom surface of the agricultural produce collection section 23 to be collected. Incidentally, the agricultural product recovery section 23 may be a conveyor or other means instead of a box-shaped one as in this embodiment.

[0035] Next, when the tray holding portion 21 assumes the intermediate position, the third and fourth sensors 28c, 28d of the detection means 28 detect the presence or absence of the tray 3 and the agricultural product 2. If the produce 2 has fallen from the tray 3, only the light from the third sensor 28c will be blocked by the tray 3, and the light from the fourth sensor 28d will not be blocked, so the control means 11 will determine that the produce 2 has fallen. On the other hand, if the agricultural produce 2 does not fall from the tray 3 even in the intermediate position, the light from the third and fourth sensors 28c, 28d will be blocked by the tray 3 and the agricultural produce 2, so the control means 11 will determine that the agricultural produce 2 has not fallen, and while maintaining the inclination of the tray holding portion 21, will generate an alert to the effect that a problem has occurred in the ejection of the agricultural produce 2.

[0036] If the produce 2 has fallen from the tray 3, the control means 11 then tilts the tray holder 21 to the discharge position of FIG. Then, when the empty tray 3 falls from the tray holding section 21 onto the empty tray recovery conveyor 24, the control means 11 controls the tray tilting means 22 to return the tray holding section 21 to the holding position of FIG. During this time, the cam follower 27b of the second stopper 26 disengages from the cam 27c, causing the pin 26a to protrude from the conveying surface, and then the control means 11 retracts the pin 25a of the first stopper 25 from the conveying surface of the tray holding section 21, thereby supplying a new tray 3 to the tray holding section 21.

[0037] When the empty tray 3 collected by the empty tray collecting means 9 falls onto the empty tray collecting conveyor 24 which constitutes the tray return means, it is turned upside down so that the upper surface faces downward, and the empty tray collecting conveyor 24 transfers the empty tray 3 to the alignment conveyor 32 via the merging conveyor 31 as shown in Figure 5. The empty trays 3 transported along the alignment conveyor 32 are then distributed to three distribution conveyors 33 by a distribution means 34, and then at the downstream end of the distribution conveyor 33, the inversion means 35 supplies the empty trays 3 to the supply conveyor 12 of the agricultural produce supply means 5, at which point the empty trays 3 are inverted upside down so that their upper surfaces face upwards.

[0038] As described above, according to the agricultural produce sorting device 1 of this embodiment, an empty tray recovery means 9 is provided at the downstream end of the pool conveyor 8, so that even if a tray 3 carrying agricultural produce 2 reaches the downstream end of the pool conveyor 8, the agricultural produce 2 can be recovered in the agricultural produce recovery section 23. In contrast to this, in the past, the pool conveyor 8 was stopped until the worker P removed the agricultural produce 2 from the tray 3, or the tray 3 from which the agricultural produce 2 had not been removed was circulated back to the pool conveyor 8, which ultimately resulted in an increase in the amount of agricultural produce 2 that had to be processed, and the problem was that the burden on the worker P was not reduced and this was inefficient.

[0039] In the above embodiment, when no agricultural produce 2 is placed on the tray 3 of the tray holding unit 21 in the holding position shown in Fig. 2, the tray holding unit 21 is changed from the holding position in Fig. 2 to the discharge position in Fig. 4, but it may also be temporarily changed to the intermediate position shown in Fig. 3, as in the case when the agricultural produce 2 is placed. However, by omitting the intermediate position, it is possible to make the operation of the tray collection means 9 more efficient. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 Agricultural product sorting device 2 Agricultural products 3 Tray 4 Transport means 8 Pool conveyor 9 Empty tray collection means 10 empty tray return means 11 control means 21 Tray holder 22 Tray tilting means 23 Agricultural product collection means 24 Empty tray collection conveyor 25 1st stopper 26 2nd stopper 28 Detection means P Operator

Claims

1. An agricultural product sorting device comprising: a pool conveyor for transporting trays on which agricultural products are placed; and an empty tray recovery means provided at a terminal end of the pool conveyor for recovering empty trays after the agricultural products have been removed, the empty tray collecting means comprises a tray holding section provided at the downstream end of the pool conveyor for holding trays, a tray tilting means for tilting the tray holding section, an agricultural product collecting section provided below the pool conveyor for collecting agricultural products on trays, and an empty tray collecting section provided below the agricultural product collecting section for collecting the empty trays, The agricultural produce sorting device is characterized in that the tray tilting means is switchable between a holding position for holding the trays transferred from the pool conveyor, an intermediate position for tilting the tray holding section toward the agricultural produce collection section and causing the agricultural produce to drop from the trays to the agricultural produce collection section, and a discharge position for further tilting the tray holding section and discharging the empty trays to the empty tray collection section.

2. a detection means for detecting the presence or absence of agricultural products on the tray held by the tray holding portion in the holding position; If the detection means does not detect the agricultural produce on the tray, the tray tilting means switches the tray holding portion from the holding position to the discharge position, 2. The agricultural produce sorting device according to claim 1, wherein, when an agricultural produce is detected on the tray, the tray tilting means switches the tray holding portion from the holding position to the intermediate position, and then switches it to the discharge position.

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