Packaging device

Abstract

To provide a packaging device that is suitably adaptive to a farm product.SOLUTION: A packaging device comprises: a support 33 which supports a farm product W from below; and a holder 34 which holds the farm product W supported by the support 33 from both sides. The packaging device further comprises second elevation drive means 37 which elevates and lowers the support 33 to and from the holder 34 according to the size of the farm product W.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging device for packaging agricultural produce with a packaging sheet. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a packaging device as described in, for example, Patent Document 1 below is known.

[0003] This conventional packaging device is equipped with a support body for supporting the crops, and front and rear holding arms that serve as holders for holding the crops supported by the support body. The front and rear holding arms have cushioning material such as rubber sponge attached to their upper ends that perform the holding function, and are biased to swing in the holding direction by torsion springs fitted to the front and rear support shafts. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-25426 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the above-mentioned conventional packaging device, the positional relationship between the support body and the holder is fixed, so there is a risk that it may not be possible to handle agricultural products that differ in size, number, etc.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and has an object to provide a packaging device that can appropriately handle agricultural products. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The packaging device of the present invention is a packaging device that packages agricultural produce in a packaging sheet, and is equipped with a support body that supports the agricultural produce and a holder that holds the agricultural produce supported by the support body, and at least one of the support body and the holder body is capable of being raised and lowered relative to the other.

[0008] In addition, the packaging device of the present invention is a packaging device that packages agricultural produce in a packaging sheet, and is equipped with a support body that supports the agricultural produce, a holder that holds the agricultural produce supported by the support body, and a lifting drive means that raises and lowers at least one of the support body and the holder relative to the other.

[0009] Furthermore, the packaging device of the present invention is a packaging device that packages agricultural produce in a packaging sheet, and includes a first lifting body, a second lifting body that is movable on the first lifting body, a support body that is mounted on the second lifting body and supports the agricultural produce, a holder that is mounted on the first lifting body and holds the agricultural produce supported by the support body, and a lifting drive means that raises and lowers the support body relative to the holder by raising and lowering the second lifting body relative to the first lifting body. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately deal with agricultural crops. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a front perspective view of a packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the packaging device (with the first lifting body in the raised position). [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the packaging device (with the first lifting body in the lowered position). [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a view showing a first lifting and lowering drive means of the packaging device. [Figure 7] 1A is a rear view of the main parts of the packaging device (with the second lifting body in a lower position), and FIG. 1B is a rear view of the main parts of the packaging device (with the second lifting body in an upper position). [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the packaging device. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. 12. [Figure 14] 13, and FIG. 14B is an explanatory diagram of a comparative example. [Figure 15] 13(a) and (b) are explanatory diagrams for the case where the size of the crop is small. [Figure 16] 4(a) and (b) are explanatory diagrams for the case where the size of the crop is large. [Figure 17] 13A is an explanatory diagram when the number of crops is large, and FIG. 13B is an explanatory diagram when the number of crops is small. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0013] In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a packaging device, which is a lettuce packaging machine (vegetable packaging machine) that packages spherical agricultural produce W, such as lettuce, using, for example, a rectangular packaging sheet S of predetermined dimensions.

[0014] In other words, the packaging device 1 packages agricultural produce W that has been manually supplied to the inside through a supply opening 2 by an operator in a packaging sheet S, and discharges the packaged agricultural produce W to the outside through a discharge opening 3.

[0015] The packaging sheet S that encases and covers the entire outer surface of the agricultural produce (packaged item) W to be packaged is a transparent sheet (film) made of synthetic resin, which is obtained, for example, by cutting a sheet roll (not shown) to a predetermined size. The sheet roll is a long continuous sheet wound into a roll and is placed on a roll setting table 4.

[0016] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the packaging device 1 includes a device main body 11 having a box-like shape with an outer shape of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped.

[0017] A rectangular upper supply opening 13 is formed in the upper plate 12 of the device body 11. A horizontal support plate 14 is provided below the upper plate 12 to support the unfolded packaging sheet S in a placed state. A circular lower supply opening 15 is formed in the support plate 14 facing the upper supply opening 13, and a part (a part on the outer periphery) of the lower supply opening 15 is covered in an openable and closable manner by resin plates 16 which are a plurality of elastic plates that can be elastically deformed. The upper supply opening 13 and the lower supply opening 15 form a supply opening 2 through which an operator manually supplies the agricultural products W from above into the device body 11.

[0018] A rectangular discharge outlet 3 is formed on the rear panel 18 of the device body 11. From this discharge outlet 3, the packaged agricultural crops W wrapped in the packaging sheet S are discharged to the outside of the device body 11. The agricultural crops W discharged from the discharge outlet 3 are transported to the next process by a transport means such as a conveyor. Also, for example, the agricultural crops W discharged from the discharge outlet 3 may be stored in a container.

[0019] A rectangular surplus portion discharge outlet 20 is formed on the right plate 19 of the device body 11. From this surplus portion discharge outlet 20, the surplus portion S1 of the packaging sheet S is discharged to the outside of the device body 11.

[0020] The device body 11 is provided with, for example, a manual operation switch 21 and a setting panel 22. The manual operation switch 21 has a plurality of operation parts operated by an operator, one of which is an operation part 23 for adjusting the vertical position that is operated by an operator when adjusting the vertical position (vertical position) of the support 33 with respect to the holder 34 according to the crops W, that is, for example, according to the size or number of the crops.

[0021] Furthermore, setting panel 22 also has a number of operation units operated by the worker, one of which is a mode switching operation unit 24 operated by the worker when switching the mode related to holder 34. In other words, by operating mode switching operation unit 24, the worker can selectively switch between a holder use mode (single packaging mode) in which holder 34 is activated to hold the crop (single crop) W on support 33, and a holder non-use mode (multiple packaging mode) in which holder 34 is not activated and does not hold the crops (multiple crops) W on support 33.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 3, the packaging device 1 is equipped with a receiving section 25 that receives the agricultural produce W from the supply port 2 via a packaging sheet S and sends the packaged agricultural produce W to the discharge port 3 side, and a sliding section 26 that slides toward the unpackaged agricultural produce W received by the receiving section 25 and performs a predetermined process such as thermal welding.

[0023] Furthermore, the packaging device 1 is equipped with an air injection unit 27 that injects compressed air onto the excess portion S1 of the packaging sheet S so that the excess portion S1 is discharged from the excess portion discharge outlet 20, a sheet pull-out unit 28 that pulls out the continuous sheet from the sheet roll onto the support plate 14, and a sheet cutting unit 29 that cuts the continuous sheet pulled out by the sheet pull-out unit 28 to obtain a packaging sheet S of a specified size.

[0024] As shown in Figures 4 to 9, the receiving section 25 comprises a guide body 30 erected on the bottom 17 of the device main body 11, a first lifting body 31 that can be raised and lowered and is guided by the guide body 30, a second lifting body 32 that is mounted on the first lifting body 31 and can be raised and lowered, a support body 33 that is rotatably mounted on the second lifting body 32 about a left-right pivot center axis (rotation fulcrum) L1 and supports the underside of the crop W in a placed state from below via the packaging sheet S, and a pair of left and right holding bodies (clamping bodies) 34 that are rotatably mounted on the first lifting body 31 about a front-to-rear pivot center axis (rotation fulcrum) L2 and hold (clamp) both the left and right side surfaces of the crop W supported by the support body 33 from both the left and right sides via the packaging sheet S.

[0025] The receiving section 25 also includes a first lifting and lowering drive means 36 for raising and lowering the first lifting body 31 relative to the guide body 30, a second lifting and lowering drive means 37 for raising and lowering the second lifting body 32 relative to the first lifting body 31, a first rotation drive means 38 for rotating the support body 33 relative to the second lifting body 32 about the rotation center axis L1, and a second rotation drive means 39 for rotating (opening and closing) the left and right holding bodies 34 relative to the first lifting body 31 about the rotation center axis L2.

[0026] The guide body 30, which guides the first lifting body 31 in the vertical direction, has a first guide member 51 in the form of a round bar and elongated in the vertical direction to guide the cylindrical portion 41 of the first lifting body 31, and a second guide member 52 in the form of a U-shaped frame and elongated in the vertical direction to guide the roller portion 42 of the first lifting body 31.

[0027] The first lifting drive means 36 has a motor (drive source) 55 and an endless chain 56 that rotates based on the power from the motor 55. The chain 56 is stretched around upper and lower sprockets 57 that face each other at a distance, and the tension of the chain 56 can be adjusted by a tension adjustment means 58. The tension adjustment means 58 has a tightener 60 that can rotate around a support shaft 59, and the lower sprocket 57 is attached to the tip of the tightener 60. A connecting rod 61 is connected to the base end of the tightener 60, and the connecting rod 61 is urged upward by an adjustment spring 62. In addition, an attachment plate 63 is attached midway along the chain 56, and the attachment portion 43 of the first lifting body 31 is attached to the attachment plate 63.

[0028] The first lifting body 31 is raised to an elevated position relative to the guide body 30 by the rotation of the chain 56 in one direction based on the power from the motor 55 (see Figure 4), and lowered to a lowered position relative to the guide body 30 according to the size (height) of the crop W by the rotation of the chain in the other direction based on the power from the motor 55 (see Figure 5).

[0029] Here, the raised position is a fixed position that is determined in advance regardless of the size of the crop W. On the other hand, the lowered position is an arbitrary position (a corresponding lowered position corresponding to the size of the crop) that is determined according to the size of the crop W. That is, for example, based on information from a sensor (not shown) that is a detection means for detecting the crop W, the control means 50 determines the lowered position according to the size of the crop W. Note that the control means 50 controls each driving source (motor, air cylinder, etc.) based on information from, for example, sensors, switches, etc.

[0030] As shown in Figure 7 etc., the second lifting body 32 has a plurality of guided parts 65 that can be raised and lowered and are guided by a plurality of guiding parts 44 (e.g., two on the left and right) of the first lifting body 31, and the upper ends of these vertically elongated, rod-shaped guided parts 65 are attached to a horizontal base plate part 66.

[0031] Second lifting body 32 has a U-shaped frame portion 67 that is vertically movable relative to base plate portion 66, and support body 33 is attached to this U-shaped frame portion 67 so as to be rotatable about central rotation axis L1. C-shaped frame portion 67 is elastically supported by a buffer spring 68 that serves as a buffer means for absorbing shock to crops W when crops W are placed on support body 33 (when crops are set on the support body), and an inner guide pin 69 of buffer spring 68 is slidably inserted into a cylindrical buffer guide portion 70.

[0032] The second lifting and lowering drive means 37 has a lifting and lowering cylinder (drive source) 71 which is an expandable and contractible fluid pressure cylinder. In other words, the second lifting and lowering drive means 37 is composed only of the lifting and lowering cylinder 71. The lifting and lowering cylinder 71 has a cylinder body 72 attached to the first lifting body 31, and a rod 73 which moves in and out of the cylinder body 72. The tip of the rod 73 is attached to the base plate portion 66 of the second lifting and lowering body 32.

[0033] The second lifting body 32 descends to a lower position relative to the first lifting body 31 as the lifting cylinder 71 contracts (see Figure 7(a)), and rises to an upper position relative to the first lifting body 31 as the lifting cylinder 71 expands (see Figure 7(b)).

[0034] That is, in the packaging device 1, at least one of the support body 33 and the holder 34, ie, the support body 33 for example, is capable of being raised and lowered relative to the other holder 34 so as to be able to handle crops W of different sizes.

[0035] 7(a), in the case of a large crop W (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "WB"), that is, when the size of a single crop W supported by support portion 91 is large, second lifting body 32 supporting support body 33 is set to a lower position by lifting cylinder 71 of second lifting drive means 37. In other words, when supporting a relatively large crop WB, support body 33 is lowered relative to holder 34 by the contraction action of lifting cylinder 71 and set to the lower position.

[0036] 7(b), in the case of a small crop W (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "WS") that is a crop different in size from the first crop, that is, when the size of one crop W supported by support portion 91 is small, second lifting body 32 supporting support body 33 is set to the upper position by lifting cylinder 71 of second lifting drive means 37. In other words, when supporting a smaller crop WS, support body 33 is raised relative to holder 34 by the extension action of lifting cylinder 71 and set to the upper position.

[0037] Thus, in the packaging device 1, the support 33 can be raised and lowered between an upper position and a lower position relative to the holder 34 so as to accommodate crops W of different sizes. In other words, the vertical position of the support 33 (the vertical position of the second lifting body provided with the support) can be adjusted according to the crop W. The vertical position of the support 33 relative to the holder 34 can be switched by operating the operating unit 23 of the manual operation switch 21, for example.

[0038] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the holding body (clamping body) 34 can be placed in an open state (where the agricultural products are not clamped) or a closed state (where the agricultural products are clamped from both sides) by rotating about the central rotation axis L2 relative to the first lifting body 31.

[0039] That is, the pair of holders 34 are closed by synchronous movement (closing operation) in directions approaching each other based on rotation about the central axis L2, and are open by synchronous movement (opening operation) in directions away from each other based on rotation about the central axis L2. Note that the holders 34 operate (actuate) only in the holder use mode.

[0040] The holding body 34 has an L-shaped arm portion 76 that is rotatably mounted on the first lifting body 31 around the central rotation axis L2, a holding portion 77 that is provided at the tip of the upper end of the arm portion 76 and contacts the side of the agricultural product W via the packaging sheet S when the holding body 34 is closed to hold the side, and a roller portion 78 that is provided at the base end of the lower end of the arm portion 76 and contacts a roller contact plate 85 of the second rotation drive means 39 when the holding body 34 is open.

[0041] The holding portion 77 is composed of, for example, a rectangular holding plate 79 and a cushioning material 80 such as a sponge attached to the holding plate 79 so as to cover the surface of the holding plate 79 (at least the surface that comes into contact with the agricultural produce via the packaging sheet).

[0042] The second rotation drive means 39 has an opening / closing cylinder (drive source) 81 which is an expandable and contractible fluid pressure cylinder. The opening / closing cylinder 81 has a cylinder body 82 attached to the first lifting body 31, and a rod 83 which moves in and out of the cylinder body 82. A roller contact plate 85 which lifts the roller part 78 against the biasing force of a closing spring 84 which is a biasing means is attached to the tip of the rod 83. The roller contact plate 85 moves up and down while being guided by a guide pin 86 which extends in the vertical direction.

[0043] A closing spring 84 for closing the holder 34 is installed between the first lifting body 31 and the holder 34. That is, one end of the closing spring 84 is attached to the spring attachment portion 45 of the first lifting body 31, and the other end is attached to the spring attachment portion 46 of the holder 34.

[0044] The holding body 34 rotates about the pivot axis L2 relative to the first lifting body 31 as the opening / closing cylinder 81 extends, thereby entering an open state (see Figure 4), and receives a biasing force (elastic restoring force) from the closing spring 84 as the opening / closing cylinder 81 contracts, causing the holding body 34 to rotate about the pivot axis L2 relative to the first lifting body 31 based on this biasing force, thereby entering a closed state (see Figure 5).

[0045] As shown in FIG. 5, when the holder 34 is switched from the open state to the closed state, the crops W on the support body 33 are clamped from both the left and right sides by the holding portions (clamping portions) 77 of both holders 34 based on the biasing force of the closing spring 84.

[0046] As shown in Figure 8, etc., the support body (placing body) 33 can be placed in a first state (a supporting state in which the agricultural products are supported from below) and a second state (a sending-out state in which the agricultural products are sent out to the side) by rotating about the central rotation axis L1 relative to the second lifting body 32.

[0047] That is, the support 33 is placed in a horizontal first state (a state in which agricultural products are placed) when rotated in one direction (forward) about the central axis L1, and is placed in a tilted second state (a state in which agricultural products are discharged) with the rear lowered when rotated in the other direction (rear) about the central axis L1. The rotation angle θ of the support 33 is an angle less than 90 degrees, for example, 60 degrees.

[0048] In the first state of support 33, support 33 supports the underside of crop W from below in a placed state via packaging sheet S, but in the second state of support 33, it has a dish-shaped support part 91 that sends crop W rearward (sideways) by its own weight, and a downward-protruding mounting part 92 that protrudes downward from support part 91. In other words, support 33 has mounting part 92 that is mounted to second lifting body 32 to be rotatable about rotation central axis L1, and support part 91 that is detachably attached to the upper part of mounting part 92 and supports the underside of crop W.

[0049] The mounting portion 92 has a mounting plate 94 that is detachably attached to the underside of the support portion 91 by a mounting fixture 93. A pair of left and right opposing plates 95 that face each other at a distance protrude downward from both ends of the mounting plate 94. A cylindrical insertion tube 96 extending in the left-right direction is provided in the center of each opposing plate 95 in the front-rear direction.

[0050] Then, a bolt 97 is inserted into the insertion tube 96, and a nut 98 is screwed onto the bolt 97, whereby the mounting part 92 is attached to the U-shaped frame part 67 of the second lifting body 32 so as to be rotatable about a rotation central axis line L1. A line passing through the axis of the shaft part of this bolt 97 is the rotation central axis line L1.

[0051] Further, the tip of a rod 123 of a rotating cylinder 121 is rotatably attached to the front ends of both opposing plates 95 of the mounting portion 92 via mounting means 100. The mounting means 100 is composed of a bolt 101, a nut 102, and a spacer 103, for example.

[0052] Support section 91 supports crop W from below when support body 33 is in a first state and sends crop W rearward when support body 33 is in a second state, and is composed of, for example, a dish-shaped support plate (receiving tray) 105 that is cross-shaped in a plan view, and cushioning material 106 such as sponge attached to support plate 105 so as to cover the surface of support plate 105 (at least the surface that comes into contact with the crop via the packaging sheet). Support plate 105 is detachably attached to the upper surface of mounting plate 94 by mounting fixture 93.

[0053] Here, the support portion 91 is, for example, cross-shaped when viewed from above, and has a rectangular plate-shaped central support portion 107 that supports the central portion of the underside of the crop W via the packaging sheet S, and rectangular plate-shaped peripheral support portions 108a, 108b that protrude diagonally upward from the four ends (outer edges) of the front, back, left and right of this central support portion 107 and support four points of the peripheral portion of the underside of the crop W located around the central portion via the packaging sheet S.

[0054] The pair of front and rear peripheral support parts 108a are formed larger than the pair of left and right peripheral support parts 108b. The pair of front and rear peripheral support parts 108a are composed of an inclined portion 109 positioned at an angle relative to the central support part 107, and a tip portion 110 positioned parallel to the central support part 107. The pair of left and right peripheral support parts 108b are composed only of an inclined portion 111 positioned at an angle relative to the central support part 107. As shown in FIG. 8, in the first state of the support 33, the central support part 107 is positioned along a horizontal plane. On the other hand, in the second state of the support 33, the inclined portion 109 of the front peripheral support part 108a is positioned along a vertical plane.

[0055] The first rotation drive means 38 has a rotation cylinder (drive source) 121 which is an expandable and contractible fluid pressure cylinder. In other words, the first rotation drive means 38 is composed only of the rotation cylinder 121. The rotation cylinder 121 has a cylinder body 122 attached to a cylinder attachment portion 124 of the second lifting body 32, and a rod 123 which moves in and out of the cylinder body 122. The tip end of the rod 123 is attached to the attachment portion 92 of the support body 33 via the attachment means 100.

[0056] Then, the support body 33 rotates about the pivot axis L1 relative to the second lifting body 32 as the rotating cylinder 121 contracts, becoming a first state (support state), and rotates about the pivot axis L1 relative to the second lifting body 32 as the rotating cylinder 121 expands, becoming a second state (sending state).

[0057] As shown by the dotted line in Figure 8, when the support 33 rotates around the rotation center axis L1 located at a predetermined height and switches from the first state to the second state, the agricultural crops W on the support 33 are sent (discharged) onto the conveying section 127 of the conveying body 126, and then the agricultural crops W are conveyed by the inclined conveying section 127 toward the discharge outlet 3.

[0058] The conveying section 127 of the conveying body 126, which receives the agricultural products W from the support 33 and conveys them toward the discharge outlet 3, is composed of, for example, a conveying plate 128 that is inclined downward at the rear, and a cushioning material 129 such as a sponge attached to the conveying plate 128 so as to cover the upper surface of the conveying plate 128.

[0059] 8, in side view of support body 33 in the first state, rotation central axis L1 (rotation fulcrum) is located on the anti-sending side of center point (center of tray) P of central support part 107 of support part 91, that is, shifted forward of the front-to-rear center position of central support part 107 in the horizontal position. In other words, rotation central axis L1 is located forward (anti-sending side) of vertical line A that passes through center part (center of gravity) O of spherical agricultural product W supported in a placed state by support part 91, in side view of support body 33 in the first state.

[0060] More specifically, the rotation central axis L1 is located below the anti-sending side portion (front portion) 107a of the central support portion 107 in the horizontal position in a side view of the support body 33 in the first state.

[0061] The distance a between the center point P and the rotation central axis L1 (the amount of deviation from the position directly below the center point P) is, for example, 20 mm (see FIG. 14). The center point P and the rotation central axis L1 are located at the same height (including approximately the same height) in a side view of the support body 33 in the second state.

[0062] In Fig. 9, the cushion material 106 of the support body 33 and the cushion material 80 of the holder 34 are omitted. The three cylinders (the lifting cylinder 71, the opening / closing cylinder 81, and the rotating cylinder 121) shown in Fig. 9 are, for example, air cylinders. In Figs. 5, 7, 15, 16, and 17, the packaging sheet S is omitted.

[0063] 12, the sliding unit 26 has, for example, a slider 131, a clamping plate 132, a cutting blade 133, and a heater 134, as well as blades, a resin plate guide, etc. As shown in Fig. 13, the air injection unit 27 has, for example, a moving frame 136, an air nozzle 137 attached to the moving frame 136, etc.

[0064] Next, the operation of the packaging device 1 will be described.

[0065] As shown in Figure 10, with the packaging sheet S placed on the support plate 14, the worker presses down on the resin plate 16 with the crops W to elastically deform it once, and then supplies the crops W from the supply port 2 into the packaging device 1 and places them on the support body 33.

[0066] 11, crop W is then placed on support part 91 of support 33 with packaging sheet S therebetween, with substantially the entire crop W (except for the central part of the upper surface) wrapped in packaging sheet S. In this manner, one crop W is set on support part 91 of support 33 in the first state.

[0067] Then, after both holders 34 are closed from the open state to the closed state and clamp the left and right sides of the crop W from both sides, first lifting body 31, together with second lifting body 32 and support body 33 which rise and fall integrally therewith, descends from the elevated position to the descended position (corresponding descended position) and stops. As a result, the crop W placed on support portion 91 of support body 33 in the first state stops at a packaging position according to its size.

[0068] 12, sliding portion 26 slides toward crop W stopped at the wrapping position, and performs thermal welding and cutting while clamping a predetermined portion of the upper side of packaging sheet S from the front, back, left and right in a position adjacent to the upper part of crop W. As a result, crop W stopped at the wrapping position is entirely wrapped in packaging sheet S, and packaging is completed.

[0069] 13, the excess portion (excess film) S1 of the packaging sheet S is blown off by compressed air from air injection unit 27 and discharged from excess portion discharge outlet 20 to the outside of packaging device 1. In addition, both holders 34 are returned from the closed state to the open state by the opening operation, and the clamping of the agricultural product W by both holders 34 is released.

[0070] Then, as shown in Figure 14(a), the packaged agricultural produce W wrapped in the packaging sheet S is sent out from above the support portion 91 of the support 33 by rotating the support 33 around the rotation center axis L1 relative to the second lifting body 32 by a rotation angle θ (e.g., 60 degrees) while the first lifting body 31 remains stopped in the lowered position (the second lifting body 32 is also stopped), and the packaged agricultural produce W slides down the conveying section 127 and is discharged outside the packaging device 1 from the discharge outlet 3.

[0071] In other words, when support 33 rotates about rotation central axis L1 which is shifted by distance a to the anti-sending side (the side opposite to the sending-out side which is the discharge opening side) from center point P based only on the extending action of rotating cylinder 121 of first rotation drive means 38 and assumes the inclined second state, packaged agricultural products W are smoothly sent out and transferred, as if sliding down, from support part 91 onto conveying part 127. That is, for example, agricultural products W transfer from support part 91 onto conveying part 127, slide along the upper surface of conveying part 127 and are discharged from discharge opening 3.

[0072] 14(b), that is, when the pivot central axis L1' (pivot fulcrum directly below) is located directly below central point P, support body 33 rotates about pivot central axis L1' to enter the inclined second state, and the packaged agricultural products W are released in a tossed manner, with the end of the agricultural products W on the sending side falling downward and coming into contact with the upper surface of conveying section 127, and as a result, for example, as shown in the figure, the agricultural products W are discharged by rolling on conveying section 127. For this reason, in this comparative example, the agricultural products W are susceptible to impacts and may be damaged.

[0073] Therefore, according to the above-mentioned packaging device 1, unlike the comparative example shown in Figure 14(b), the central axis L1 of rotation of the support body 33 is located on the anti-feed side of the center point P of the support part 91 when viewed from the side in the first state of the support body 33, so that the agricultural produce W is less likely to receive impact when being fed from the support part 91, and damage to the agricultural produce W after packaging can be appropriately prevented.

[0074] Furthermore, in the second state of the support 33, the upper end position of the crop W on the support 33 in the second state before being sent out is lower than the upper end position in the comparative example (see Figure 14), so that the first lifting body 31 stopped in the lowered position does not need to be lowered any further and interference between the crop W and the slide portion 26 at the time of sending out can be avoided. Therefore, damage to the crop W after packaging can be more appropriately prevented and the durability of the motor, etc. can be improved by omitting the lowering operation of the first lifting body 31.

[0075] Furthermore, the support portion 91 of the support body 33 has a central support portion 107 that supports the central portion of the underside of the crop W, and multiple (e.g., four) peripheral support portions 108a, 108b that support the peripheral portion of the underside of the crop W that is located around the central portion, and since the central axis L1 of the support body 33 is located on the anti-feed side of the center point P of the central support portion 107 when viewed from the side in the first state, damage to the crop W after packaging can be effectively prevented.

[0076] Furthermore, since the packaged agricultural products W are delivered from the support 33 by rotation of the support 33 based solely on the extending action of the rotating cylinder 121 of the first rotation drive means 38, the durability of the motor, etc. can be improved compared to a configuration in which the support is rotated by, for example, bringing a part of the support driven by a motor into contact with an abutment member to deliver the agricultural products.

[0077] In addition, the receiving section 25 is equipped with a second lifting / lowering drive means 37 which is a lifting / lowering drive means for raising and lowering the support body 33 relative to the holding body 34 by raising and lowering the second lifting body 32 relative to the first lifting body 31, and the support body 33 can be raised and lowered relative to the holding body 34 by extending and contracting the lifting cylinder 71 of this second lifting / lowering drive means 37, so that it can appropriately accommodate agricultural crops W of different sizes, for example, as shown in Figures 15 and 16.

[0078] That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 15(a), in the case of small agricultural crops WS, it is difficult for an operator to set the small agricultural crops WS on the support body 33 in a lower position that is more than a predetermined distance away from the lower supply port 15. Even if the operator is able to set the small agricultural crops WS, the holder 34 holds the upper side of the small agricultural crops WS, which may result in damage to the small agricultural crops WS, and there is also a risk that the sensor will not detect the small agricultural crops WS.

[0079] However, as shown in Figure 15 (b), if the position of the support 33 is changed to the upper position, such a problem does not occur, the small crops WS can be easily set on the support 33, and both sides of the small crops WS can be properly held by the holder 34, preventing damage to the small crops WS, and the sensor can detect the small crops WS.

[0080] Furthermore, for example, as shown in Figure 16(a), in the case of large agricultural crops WB, an operator can easily set them on the support body 33 in the upper position, but since the holder 34 holds the underside of the large agricultural crop WB, there is a risk that the large agricultural crop WB will be damaged, and there is also a risk that the holder 34 will push the large agricultural crop WB upward.

[0081] However, as shown in Figure 16 (b), if the position of the support body 33 is changed to a lower position, such a problem is eliminated, and the holding body 34 can properly hold both sides of the large agricultural product WB, preventing damage to the large agricultural product WB.In addition, the holding body 34 does not push the large agricultural product WB upward, and the agricultural product WB can be properly wrapped in the wrapping sheet S.

[0082] In this way, in the packaging device 1, the positional relationship between the support body 33 and the holder 34 can be changed, so that the packaging device 1 can appropriately handle agricultural products W (WS, WB) of different sizes.

[0083] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 17, the packaging device 1 can appropriately handle different numbers of agricultural produce W packaged in a single packaging sheet S.

[0084] In the case of Fig. 17, the holder non-use mode is set. Also, support part 91' shown in Fig. 17 is different from support part 91 which is cross-shaped in a plan view, and is, for example, a normal dish-like shape having a circular bottom part 91a and an inverted truncated cone-shaped side part 91b. In other words, when using packaging device 1 to package a plurality of agricultural products W with one packaging sheet S, the mode is switched from holder non-use mode to holder non-use mode, and support part 91 is replaced with support part 91'.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 17(a), when the number of crops W exceeds a predetermined number (the maximum number per tier, for example, four), that is, for example, when the number of crops W supported by a normal dish-shaped support portion 91' is five (the first tier has a maximum of four crops, and the second tier has one crop), the support 33 is set to a lower position by the second lifting drive means 37 because the crops are stacked in two tiers.

[0086] Also, as shown in FIG. 17(b), when the number of crops W is equal to or less than a predetermined number (the maximum number per tier is, for example, four), that is, when the number of crops W supported by a normal dish-shaped support portion 91' is, for example, four (two or three crops would also be acceptable), the support 33 is set to an upper position by the second lifting and lowering drive means 37.

[0087] Therefore, since the vertical position of the support 33 can be adjusted in this manner according to the number of crops W, it is possible to appropriately accommodate different numbers of crops W.

[0088] The agricultural produce to be packaged is not limited to lettuce (a bulb-shaped vegetable) and may be, for example, cabbage, melon, apple, etc., and may have any shape.

[0089] Furthermore, the cylinder serving as the drive source is not limited to an air cylinder, which is a fluid pressure cylinder, but may be, for example, a hydraulic cylinder, or the like. Also, instead of a cylinder, a drive source such as a motor may be used.

[0090] Furthermore, it is preferable that the parts that come into contact with the crops (support parts, holding parts, transport parts, etc.) have cushioning material which is an elastic material to absorb impacts on the crops, but cushioning material may not be necessary depending on the type of crop, for example.

[0091] Furthermore, the pivot point (central pivot axis) of the support body is not limited to being located below the anti-send side portion of the central support body when viewed from the side of the support body in the first state, but may be, for example, located below a peripheral support body located on the anti-send side among the multiple peripheral support bodies, or located below the anti-send side end portion of the support body (front end portion of the support body).

[0092] Furthermore, the configuration is not limited to one in which the support can be raised and lowered relative to the holder. For example, the holder may be capable of raising and lowering relative to the support, or the support and holder may each be capable of raising and lowering relative to each other.

[0093] Furthermore, the support body (second lifting body) is not limited to a configuration in which it is set (adjusted) to only an upper position and a lower position (two positions) depending on the size or number of crops, but may be configured to be set (adjusted) to, for example, three or more stepped positions (or any stepless position).

[0094] Furthermore, the control means may control the lifting drive means to change the positional relationship between the support body and the holder based on information from a detection means that detects the size and number of the crops, for example. That is, the control means may control the lifting drive means based on information regarding the size and number of the crops, so that the support body is raised and lowered relative to the holder.

[0095] Furthermore, the configuration is not limited to one in which the vertical position (upper and lower positions) of the support can be adjusted according to the size and number of crops, and the vertical position of the support may be adjustable according to, for example, the type and shape of the crop.

[0096] Although the above describes a packaging device for packaging agricultural products, the present invention can be applied to various devices other than packaging devices, such as a conveying device for conveying (sending) items, etc. Also, a holder for holding agricultural products is not necessarily required, and a configuration without a holder is also possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0097] 1 Packaging equipment 31 First lift 32 Second lifting body 33 Support 34 Holding body 37 Second lifting / lowering drive means 44 Information Department 65 Guided part S Packaging Sheet W Crops

Claims

1. A packaging device for packaging agricultural produce with a packaging sheet, comprising: A first lifting body that can be raised and lowered; A second lifting body provided on the first lifting body so as to be able to rise and fall; A support provided on the second lifting body for supporting agricultural crops; a holder provided on the first lifting body and holding the crops supported by the support body; a lifting drive means for lifting and lowering the second lifting body relative to the first lifting body, thereby lifting and lowering the support body relative to the holder, The vertical position of the support when the agricultural product is placed on the support via the packaging sheet can be adjusted by the lifting and lowering drive means according to the agricultural product. A packaging device comprising:

2. The support is When the size of the agricultural product is large, the lifting drive means sets the lifting device to the lower position, When the size of the agricultural product is small, the lifting drive means sets the product to the upper position.

2. The packaging device according to claim 1.

3. The support is When the number of agricultural products is large, the lifting drive means sets the lifting device to the lower position, When the number of agricultural products is small, the lifting drive means sets the lifting device to the upper position.

2. The packaging device according to claim 1.

4. The first lifting body has a plurality of guide parts, The second lifting body has a plurality of guided parts that are guided by the guiding part.

4. The packaging device according to claim 1, wherein the packaging device is a packaging material.

5. The holder is switchable between a holder use mode in which the holder holds the crop and a holder non-use mode in which the holder does not hold the crop.

5. The packaging device according to claim 1,

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