Sand sifter

Abstract

The objective of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use soil sifting device. [Solution] The device comprises a running part 2 that can run at least forward, a sieve unit 3 that is open at the front based on the direction of travel of the running part 2 and has a rear part 30, a side part 31 and a bottom part 32 that are all closed, with at least the bottom part 32 being composed of a perforated plate or mesh, and that can sift soil placed above the bottom part 32 according to particle size, and a vibration unit 4 that imparts vibration to the sieve unit 3, the vibration unit 4 having a drive source 40 and a vibration generating unit 41 that converts power from the drive source 40 into vibration, and the vibration generating unit 41 generates vibrations that change horizontally by rotating around a vertical axis.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a soil screening device for screening soil according to particle size. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, when trying to separate and remove pebbles mixed in sand in a golf course bunker, it is very inefficient to manually remove the pebbles using a sieve. On the other hand, there is a "topsoil construction machine" described in Patent Document 1, for example, that automates the sieving of soil and sand. This device comprises a self-propelled vehicle, a sieve mounted on the vehicle, and a hopper for introducing soil and sand into the sieve. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 57-96255 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, this device has a complex structure, with the sieve supported by a spring, and is therefore at high risk of breakdown. Moreover, this device requires the use of heavy machinery to put the soil into the sieve, making it difficult to use.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a soil sifting device that is easy to use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The soil sifting device of the present invention comprises a running section that can be moved at least forward, a sifting section that is open at the front based on the direction of travel of the running section and is closed at the rear, sides and bottom, and at least the bottom section is composed of a perforated plate or mesh, and is capable of sifting soil placed above the bottom according to particle size, and a vibration section that imparts vibration to the sifting section, the vibration section having a drive source and a vibration generating section that converts power from the drive source into vibration, and the vibration generating section generates vibrations that change horizontally by rotating about a vertical axis.

[0007] With this configuration, when the traveling section travels forward, soil can be introduced into the sieve section that is open at the front, and the soil can be sieved according to the holes or mesh of the net by the sieve section vibrating in a horizontal direction. In this way, traveling and sieving can be performed in a continuous manner.

[0008] In addition, in the soil sifter, the vibration generating unit has a drive gear and a plurality of driven gears arranged in the same planar position, the drive gear rotates by the power of the drive source, and each of the plurality of driven gears is meshed with the drive gear and rotates together with the drive gear, and may be connected to the sifter unit at a connection position eccentric to the center of rotation.

[0009] According to this configuration, the sieve portion can be vibrated with a simple structure.

[0010] In the soil sifting device, the multiple driven gears may be evenly arranged around the drive gear.

[0011] According to this configuration, by arranging the multiple driven gears evenly around the drive gear, it is possible to prevent wasted space from being generated around the drive gear, and the vibration unit can be formed compactly.

[0012] In the soil sifter device, the driven gear may be a disk-shaped gear, and a balance weight may be attached to the opposite side of the connection position to the center of rotation.

[0013] According to this configuration, it is possible to achieve rotational balance in each of the multiple driven gears. Effect of the Invention

[0014] As described above, according to the present invention, a soil sifting device that is easy to use can be provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a soil sieving device according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of the soil sieving device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the soil sieving device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the vibration unit of the soil sifter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] A soil sifting device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 1, the soil sieving device 1 of the present invention comprises a running section 2 that can be moved at least forward, a sieving section 3 that is open at the front based on the direction of travel of the running section 2 and has a rear section 30, a side section 31 and a bottom section 32 that are all closed, and a vibration section 4 that imparts vibrations to the sieving section 3. The soil sieving device 1 also comprises a frame section 5 and a handle 6 that is a part that an operator holds. Hereinafter, in the soil sieving device 1, the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction and the up-down direction will be referred to as the left-right direction.

[0018] The frame section 5 is a frame to which the traveling section 2, the sieving section 3, etc. are attached. The frame section 5 also includes a main body section 51 that extends in the horizontal direction of the soil sieving device 1, an upper protruding section 52 that extends upward from the main body section 51, and a lower protruding section 53 that extends downward from the main body section 51.

[0019] The upper protrusion 52 is a portion that connects the handle 6 to the frame portion 5. Furthermore, a pair of upper protrusions 52 are provided on the front portion of the main body portion 51 with a gap therebetween in the left-right direction.

[0020] The lower protrusions 53 form legs of the frame portion 5. A pair of lower protrusions 53 is provided on each of the entire body portion 51 and the rear portion thereof, spaced apart in the left-right direction.

[0021] The handle 6 is used when an operator pulls the soil sifter 1 or when changing direction while the soil sifter 1 is moving on its own. One handle 6 is provided at the front of the frame 5. The handle 6 may be provided at a location other than the front of the frame 5, for example, at the rear of the frame 5. In this embodiment, the handle 6 includes a rod-shaped grip 61 extending in the left-right direction and a pair of rod-shaped connecting portions 62 extending from both ends of the grip 61. The handle 6 is attached to the frame 5 by attaching each connecting portion 62 to each upper protrusion 52 of the frame 5.

[0022] The running unit 2 is provided with wheels 21 shaped to ensure a sufficient installation area in order to prevent sinking into sand. In this running unit 2, the wheels 21 are provided in pairs at the front and rear of the frame unit 5. In this embodiment, the running unit 2 is configured as a self-propelled unit, and power branched off from a drive source 40 of the vibration unit 4 described below is transmitted to the wheels 21 by a belt B. Note that the running unit 2 may be configured other than a self-propelled unit, and may be configured to run forward when pulled forward by an operator, for example.

[0023] Furthermore, the running unit 2 includes an adjustment unit 22 connected to the wheel 21 so as to adjust the position of the wheel 21 in the vertical direction. The adjustment unit 22 includes a link mechanism 220 connected to the wheel 21, and an operation unit 221 connected to the link mechanism 220 and operable by an operator. The operator can adjust the position of the wheel 21 in the vertical direction relative to the sieve unit 3 by operating the adjustment unit 22. In the illustrated configuration, the wheel 21 is in a raised state relative to the sieve unit 3. Note that the position of the wheel 21 in the vertical direction may not be adjustable.

[0024] The sieve unit 3 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped with an opening at the front. The soil that enters the sieve unit 3 from the opening at the front is placed on the bottom 32. The sieve unit 3 can also sift the soil placed above the bottom 32 according to particle size. At least the bottom 32 of the sieve unit 3 is made of a perforated plate or net. In this embodiment, the sieve unit 3 includes a top part 33 in addition to the rear part 30, side part 31, and bottom part 32. In this sieve unit 3, only the bottom part 32 is made of a perforated plate or net, and the parts other than the bottom part 32 are made of a plate without holes, but at least one of the parts other than the bottom part 32 may be made of a perforated plate or net.

[0025] The bottom 32 is made of, for example, a metal perforated plate. The bottom 32 protrudes forward in the sieve section 3 in a plate shape. The perforated plate constituting the bottom 32 is a flat plate with a plurality of holes formed therethrough in the thickness direction. The shape and size of each hole are uniform (round holes in this embodiment), but the shape and size of each hole may be non-uniform. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of holes are uniformly arranged over substantially the entire area of ​​the bottom 32.

[0026] In this embodiment, the bottom 32 is a substantially rectangular plate, and the front end of the bottom 32 is provided with a plurality of recesses 320 recessed toward the rear side. By forming the recesses 320 in the bottom 32, a plurality of claw-shaped portions are formed in the front end of the bottom 32. Therefore, when using the soil sifter 1, for example, it is easy to insert the sifter 3 into a pile of sand to guide the soil to the bottom 32.

[0027] The rear portion 30, side portion 31, and top portion 33 are all made of rectangular metal plates (see Figures 1 and 2). The top portion 33 faces the bottom portion 32 from above. The side portion 31 connects the left and right edges of the top portion 33 to the left and right edges of the bottom portion 32. The rear portion 30 is in the shape of a rectangular plate. The rear portion 30 is connected to the rear edges of the side portion 31, bottom portion 32, and top portion 33.

[0028] When the sieve unit 3 is viewed from above, the bottom portion 32 protrudes forward from the top portion 33, but it is not necessary for the bottom portion 32 to be the same size as the top portion 33 and not protrude forward. The bottom portion 32 is not required to have the recessed portion 320. Furthermore, the sieve unit 3 is only required to have the rear portion 30, the side portion 31, and the bottom portion 32, and is not required to have the top portion 33.

[0029] 1, the vibration unit 4 has a driving source 40 and a vibration generating unit 41 that converts power from the driving source 40 into vibration. In this embodiment, a frame unit 5 (specifically, a main body unit 51) is disposed between the driving source 40 and the vibration generating unit 41.

[0030] The driving source 40 is, for example, an engine. The driving source 40 may be another power source such as a motor. In this embodiment, the driving source 40 drives the running unit 2 and the vibration generating unit 41, but it may also drive only the vibration generating unit 41. In this case, the running unit 2 may be driven by a separate driving source. The driving source 40 is provided above the main body unit 51 of the frame unit 5.

[0031] The vibration generating unit 41 generates vibrations that change in the horizontal direction by rotating around a vertical axis (an axis extending in the up-down direction). In this embodiment, the vibration generating unit 41 generates vibrations that move in a circular shape in a plan view, but it may also generate vibrations that change in other shapes, such as vibrations that move in a figure-8 shape in a plan view. The vibration generating unit 41 is provided below the main body unit 51 of the frame unit 5.

[0032] In the above-described soil sifter 1, when the traveling section 2 travels forward, soil can be introduced into the sifter section 3, which is open at the front, and the sifter section 3 vibrates in a horizontally varying manner, allowing the soil to be sifted according to the apertures of the perforated plate or mesh. In this way, traveling and sifting can be performed in a continuous manner. In addition, because vibrations are generated by the rotation of the vibration generating section 41 around its vertical axis, it is not necessary for the vibration generating section 41 to be stacked vertically, so the vibration generating section 41 can be made compact in the vertical direction.

[0033] 4, the vibration generating unit 41 has a drive gear 410 and a plurality of (four in this embodiment) driven gears 411 arranged in the same plane. The number of driven gears 411 may be two, three, or five or more. The number of driven gears 411 may be one. The vibration generating unit 41 also includes a case 412 that houses the drive gear 410 and the driven gear 411.

[0034] The case 412 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a thin vertical dimension. In this embodiment, a top plate 4120 of the case 412 is connected to the frame portion 5 (specifically, the lower protrusion 53).

[0035] The drive gear 410 rotates by power from the drive source 40. The drive gear 410 is connected to the drive source 40 at a central position, which is the rotation center 410C. The drive gear 410 rotates about a vertical axis, but may rotate about an axis extending in a direction other than the vertical direction.

[0036] Each of the multiple driven gears 411 meshes with the drive gear 410 and rotates together with the drive gear 410. Each driven gear 411 is connected to the sieve unit 3 at a connection position 411P that is eccentric from the rotation center 411C. In this embodiment, the connection position 411P of the driven gear 411 is located on one side in the left-right direction from the rotation center 411C. With this configuration, the sieve unit 3 can be vibrated with a simple structure.

[0037] In this embodiment, each driven gear 411 has the same shape and size, but may have different shapes and sizes.

[0038] Moreover, the multiple (four in this embodiment) driven gears 411 are evenly arranged around the drive gear 410. Specifically, the rotation centers 411C of the four driven gears 411 are arranged at approximately equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the drive gear 410. By arranging the multiple driven gears 411 evenly around the drive gear 410 in this manner, it is possible to prevent wasted space from being generated around the drive gear 410, and the vibration excitation unit 4 can be formed compactly. Note that the multiple driven gears 411 may be arranged unequally around the drive gear 410.

[0039] The driven gear 411 is a disk-shaped gear, a spur gear in this embodiment, but the shape of the teeth is not particularly limited. Furthermore, a balance weight (counterweight) 413 is attached to the driven gear 411 on the opposite side of the rotation center 411C with respect to the connection position. This balance weight 413 allows the rotation balance to be achieved in each of the multiple driven gears 411.

[0040] The soil sifting device of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0041] In the above embodiment, the drive gear 410 and the multiple driven gears 411 are arranged in the same plane position in the vibration generating unit 41, but they may be arranged in different plane positions. For example, all of the multiple driven gears 411 may be arranged in the same plane position, and the drive gear 410 may be arranged in a different plane position from the driven gears 411.

[0042] The vibration unit 4 is not limited to a configuration using a drive gear and a plurality of driven gears as in the above embodiment, but may use, for example, a cam. The vibration unit 4 may also use a spring, for example, a combination of an electromagnet and a spring.

[0043] The soil sifter 1 only needs to include at least the travel section 2, the sifter section 3, and the vibration section 4, and may, for example, include in addition to these components a box for collecting stones and the like remaining in the sifter section 3 after sifting the soil. This box may be disposed, for example, behind the sifter section 3. Furthermore, the rear section 30 or the side section 31 of the sifter section 3 may be formed as an openable / closable lid so that stones and the like remaining in the sifter section 3 after sifting the soil can be easily collected. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1...soil sifter, 2...traveling part, 3...sifter, 4...vibration part, 5...frame part, 6...handle, 21...wheels, 22...adjustment part, 30...rear part, 31...side part, 32...bottom part, 33...top part, 40...driving source, 41...vibration generating part, 51...main body part, 52...upper protrusion part, 53...lower protrusion part, 61...grip part, 62...connection part, 220...link mechanism, 221...operation part, 320...recessed part, 410...driving gear, 410C...center of rotation, 411...driven gear, 411C...center of rotation, 411P...connection position, 412...case, 413...balance weight, 4120...top plate, B...belt

Claims

1. A running unit capable of running at least forward; A sieve unit that is open at the front based on the traveling direction of the traveling unit, and is closed at the rear, sides, and bottom, and at least the bottom is made of a perforated plate or a net, and can sift the soil and sand placed above the bottom according to the size of particles; A vibration unit that applies vibration to the sieve unit, The vibration unit has a drive source and a vibration generating unit that converts power from the drive source into vibration, the vibration generating unit generates vibrations that change in a horizontal direction by rotating about a vertical axis, and has a drive gear and a plurality of driven gears that are arranged in the same plane; the drive gear is rotated by the power of the drive source, A soil sieving device in which each of the multiple driven gears is meshed with the drive gear, rotates together with the drive gear, and is connected to the sieve section at a connection position eccentric to the center of rotation.

2. The soil sifter apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of driven gears are evenly spaced around the circumference of the drive gear.

3. 3. The soil sifter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the driven gear is a disk-shaped gear, and a balance weight is attached to the opposite side of the center of rotation from the connection position.

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