Cultivated product cutting device and cutting part thereof

Abstract

To provide a crop cutting device which can cut a part of crop in a stable state, and a cutting part thereof.SOLUTION: A crop cutting device 1 comprises a crop arrangement part 10, a crop presser part 20, and a cutting part 30. In the crop arrangement part 10, a crop B as a cutting object is arranged from an upper side in a vertical direction D1. The crop presser part 20 is so provided as to be movable in the vertical direction D1, and moves from the upper side, presses the crop B downward on the crop arrangement part 10. The cutting part 30 cuts a part of the crop B pressed on the crop arrangement part 10 by the crop presser part 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a plant cutting device and a cutting part thereof. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a vegetable cutting device for cutting a portion of broccoli. When cutting a portion of broccoli with the vegetable cutting device described in Patent Document 1, a user inserts the broccoli to be cut, stem side first, into a through-hole in an inclined surface provided on the front side of the main body of the vegetable cutting device. Then, the vegetable cutting device described in Patent Document 1 uses a cutter provided inside the main body to cut the stem from the floret of the broccoli inserted into the through-hole. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Registered Utility Model No. 3213445 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the vegetable cutting device described in Patent Document 1, the cultivated product to be cut is inserted at an angle into the through-hole of the main body, which means that the cultivated product is cut in an inclined position, making it difficult to cut the cultivated product stably.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a crop cutting device and a cutting unit thereof that can cut a part of a crop in a stable state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, a crop cutting device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises: a plant placement unit on which the plant to be cut is placed from above in the vertical direction; a plant holding unit that is movable in the vertical direction and that moves from above to press the plant downward onto the plant placement unit; a cutting unit that cuts a part of the cultivated product that is held down in the cultivated product placement unit by the cultivated product holding unit; a conveying means for conveying the cultivated products, the conveying means including an endless belt to which the cultivated product placement unit is fixed, the belt rotating with its upper surface as a placement surface for the cultivated products, the belt rotating from an upstream end to a downstream end in the direction of movement of the cultivated products, and then rotating downward at the downstream end to the upstream end, thereby conveying the cultivated products sequentially to the downstream end, and dropping off the partially cut cultivated products as the belt moves downward at the downstream end; Equipped with 、 The cutting unit has a cutting blade at least a portion of which is formed in an arc shape, and a rotary shaft for rotating the cutting blade to cut a portion of the cultivated plant, the axial direction of the rotary shaft being the same as the radial direction of the arc shape forming a portion of the cutting blade, and the cutting blade can be replaced with one that has the same axial length of the rotary shaft, a different radius of curvature of the arc shape, and a different thickness at the connection portion with the rotary shaft. . In order to achieve the above object, a crop cutting device according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises: a plant placement unit on which the plant to be cut is placed from above in the vertical direction; a plant holding unit that is movable in the vertical direction and that moves from above to press the plant downward onto the plant placement unit; a cutting unit that cuts a part of the cultivated product that is held down in the cultivated product placement unit by the cultivated product holding unit; A discharge path formed from a member having an inclined surface, which functions as a passage through which a portion of the cultivated plant cut by the cutting unit slides down along the inclined surface; Equipped with 、 The cutting unit has a cutting blade at least a portion of which is formed in an arc shape, and a rotary shaft for rotating the cutting blade to cut a portion of the cultivated plant, the axial direction of the rotary shaft being the same as the radial direction of the arc shape forming a portion of the cutting blade, and the cutting blade can be replaced with one that has the same axial length of the rotary shaft, a different radius of curvature of the arc shape, and a different thickness at the connection portion with the rotary shaft. .

[0009] The cultivated object placement unit is provided in plurality, The plant holding device may further include a conveying means for sequentially moving the plurality of plant placing units from a position away from below the plant holding unit to a position below the plant holding unit.

[0010] The cultivated product is The cultivated product is a part of which has been cut. an edible first portion, and a portion that falls off from the cultivated product placement portion when cut from the first portion by the cutting portion; A part of the cultivated a second portion that is inedible; The plant may further include a storage section for storing the second part that falls off from the plant placement section.

[0011] The cultivated plant may be broccoli.

[0012] The present invention 3 The cutting unit of the crop cutting device according to the above aspect is Small The cutting blade has at least a portion formed in an arc shape. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] In the present invention, the cultivated object to be cut is placed vertically from above in the cultivated object placement section. The cultivated object is then pressed downward onto the cultivated object placement section by the cultivated object holder, and a portion of the cultivated object is then cut by the cutting section. This allows the present invention to provide a cultivated object cutting device and its cutting section that can cut a portion of the cultivated object in a stable manner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1A is a perspective view (part 1) of a crop cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view (part 2) of the crop cutting device. [Figure 2] 1A is a plan view of the plant cutting device, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the plant cutting device. [Figure 3] 1A is a front view of the plant cutting device, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view (part 3) of the plant cutting device. [Figure 4] FIG. [Figure 5] (A) is an enlarged perspective view of the cutting portion, (B) is an enlarged front view of the cutting portion, (C) is an enlarged perspective view of the cutting portion according to a modified example, and (D) is an enlarged front view of the cutting portion according to a modified example. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of the cutting unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a perspective view (part 1) for explaining the operation of the cultivated plant cutting device. [Figure 8] (A) is a side view (part 1) showing a simplified view of the cultivated plant cutting device to explain its operation. (B) is a side view (part 2) showing a simplified view of the cultivated plant cutting device to explain its operation. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a side view (part 3) showing the crop cutting device in a simplified manner to explain the operation of the crop cutting device. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a perspective view (part 2) for explaining the operation of the cultivated plant cutting device. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a front view illustrating the operation of the crop cutting device. [Figure 12] (A) is a side view (part 4) of the crop cutting device in a simplified form to explain the operation of the crop cutting device. (B) is a side view (part 5) of the crop cutting device in a simplified form to explain the operation of the crop cutting device. [Figure 13] 1A is a side view (part 6) of the crop cutting device in a simplified manner to explain the operation of the crop cutting device, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view (part 3) to explain the operation of the crop cutting device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The following describes a crop cutting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. For ease of understanding, mutually orthogonal XYZ coordinate systems are set and referenced as appropriate. The XY plane of the XYZ coordinate system is a plane parallel to the installation surface on which the crop cutting device 1 is installed. The Z-axis direction is a vertical direction perpendicular to the XY plane.

[0016] The cultivated product cutting device 1 is used to cut a portion of a cultivated product B. The cultivated product B may be an artificially planted and grown vegetable such as broccoli or cauliflower, a fruit tree, a mushroom, or a flower. In this embodiment, when the cultivated product B is a vegetable, the cultivated product cutting device 1 is suitable for cutting broccoli having florets B1 and a stem B2. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , the cultivated product cutting device 1 includes a cultivated product placing unit 10, a cultivated product holding unit 20, a cutting unit 30, conveying means 40, a storage cover 50, a control panel 60, support legs 70, wheels 80, and a discharge path 90.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the cultivated product placement unit 10 is used to place the cultivated product B. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of cultivated product placement units 10 are provided along the Y-axis direction, and are arranged in two rows. As shown in FIG. 1, the cultivated product placement unit 10 is formed in a disk shape with a through-hole in the center. A stem B2 of the cultivated product B is inserted into the through-hole. Furthermore, florets B1 of the cultivated product B are placed on the disk-shaped surface of the cultivated product placement unit 10. This through-hole penetrates in the vertical direction D1 and is a hole that allows part of the cultivated product B to pass through but does not allow the entire cultivated product B to pass through.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 4 , the plant holder 20 is provided so as to be movable up and down in the vertical direction D1. The plant holder 20 has a main body 21 formed in a curved shape that can press against the plant B, and a support part 22 that supports the main body. When the plant holder 20 moves from the upper side in the vertical direction D1, the main body 21 of the plant holder 20 presses the plant B downward against the plant placing part 10. In this embodiment, two plant holders 20 are provided. The two plant holders 20 are housed inside the storage cover 50.

[0019] The cutting unit 30 is used to cut a part of the cultivated object B held down by the cultivated object holder 20 on the cultivated object placement unit 10. In this embodiment, two cutting units 30 are provided so that two cultivated objects B can be cut simultaneously. Each cutting unit 30 has a cutting blade 31, rotating shafts 32a and 32b, and a cutting motor 33.

[0020] As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the cutting blade 31 is formed in an arc shape. Specifically, the cutting blade 31 is formed by curving a metal plate into an arc shape. As a result, the cutting blade 31 is formed so that the blade surface forms a part of a cylinder. Both ends of the cutting blade 31 are provided with connecting portions 34a and 34b for connecting the rotary shafts 32a and 32b. The radius of curvature R1 of the arc shape forming the cutting blade 31 is appropriately changed depending on the cutting object. For example, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D, a cutting blade 31-2 formed in an arc shape with a radius of curvature R2 smaller than the radius of curvature R1 may be used depending on the cutting object. Note that the cutting blade 31-2 is formed so that the widthwise length L2 from the connecting portion 34a to the connecting portion 34b is the same as the widthwise length L1 of the cutting blade 31 so that it can be attached between the rotary shafts 32a and 32b instead of the cutting blade 31, as shown in FIG. 5. In this case, the connecting portions 34a, 34b of the cutting blade 31-2 are formed to be thicker than the connecting portions 34a, 34b of the cutting blade 31. In this embodiment, the entire cutting blades 31, 31-2 are formed in an arc shape. However, this is not limited thereto. It is sufficient that at least a portion of the cutting blades 31, 31-2 is formed in an arc shape. The cutting blades 31, 31-2 are formed to have arc shapes with constant radii of curvature R1, R2. However, this is not limited thereto. The cutting blades 31, 31-2 may be formed to have shapes with radii of curvature R1, R2 that are not constant.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 4, the rotating shafts 32a and 32b rotate the cutting blade 31 to cut a portion of the cultivated plant B. The rotating shafts 32a and 32b are arranged coaxially, and their axial directions are the same as the radial direction D2 of the arc-shaped cutting blade 31. The axial direction is parallel to a line connecting both ends of the cutting blade 31. In this embodiment, the radial direction D2 is the same as the X-axis direction. However, this is not limited to this. The radial direction D2 may be any direction other than the X-axis direction as long as it is perpendicular to the Y-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the rotating shafts 32a and 32b are connected and fixed to the connecting portions 34a and 34b of the cutting blade 31 so as to sandwich the cutting blade 31. As a result, the rotating shafts 32a and 32b rotate around the X-axis, causing the cutting blade 31 to rotate in the rotational direction A1.

[0022] The cutting section motor 33 has, for example, an output shaft, a rotor, a stator, an encoder, etc. This cutting section motor 33 is supplied with power from an external commercial power source via a cable. When power is supplied to the cutting section motor 33, the rotor of the cutting section motor 33 rotates. The rotational motion of the rotor is output to the output shaft. A rotating shaft 32a is fixed to this output shaft. As a result, the output shaft is fixed together with the rotating shaft 32a.

[0023] 4 and 7, the conveying means 40 is used to sequentially move the plurality of plant placement units 10 in the conveying direction D3. The conveying means 40 has a first conveyor chain mechanism unit 41, a second conveyor chain mechanism unit 42, and a conveyor chain motor 43 that drives the conveyor chain mechanism parts.

[0024] The first conveyor chain mechanism unit 41 is a general-purpose small conveyor chain mechanism including a conveyor chain.

[0025] The second conveyor chain mechanism unit 42 is a general-purpose small conveyor chain mechanism including a conveyor chain, similar to the first conveyor chain mechanism unit 41. The second conveyor chain mechanism unit 42 is provided adjacent to the first conveyor chain mechanism unit 41 on the +Y side. Note that, unlike the first conveyor chain mechanism unit 41, the second conveyor chain mechanism unit 42 is shown in a simplified form in FIG. 3 .

[0026] The conveyor chain motor 43 includes, for example, an output shaft, a rotor, a stator, and an encoder. Power is supplied to the conveyor chain motor 43 from an external commercial power source via a cable. When power is supplied to the conveyor chain motor 43, the rotor of the conveyor chain motor 43 rotates. The rotational motion of the rotor is output to the output shaft. Based on the operation of this output shaft, the conveyor chains of the first conveyor chain mechanism unit 41 and the second conveyor chain mechanism unit 42 move in the conveying direction D3.

[0027] As shown in Figure 8, the conveying means 40 sequentially moves the multiple plant placement units 10 from a position away from the plant holding unit 20 (-Z direction) to a position below the plant holding unit 20 (-Z direction).

[0028] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the storage cover 50 stores the plant presser 20 therein so that the plant presser 20 can move in the vertical direction D1, and also protects the plant presser 20 and other components.

[0029] The control panel 60 is used by a user of the crop cutting device 1 to set the operation of the cutting unit 30 and the conveying means 40.

[0030] The support legs 70 are members that support the conveying means 40, etc. The support legs 70 are configured to include, for example, four leg bodies 71 and reinforcing connecting portions 72 that connect these leg bodies 71 together.

[0031] The wheels 80 are provided at the lower ends of the support legs 70. The wheels 80 allow the plant cutting device 1 to be movable relative to the floor surface on which the plant cutting device 1 is placed.

[0032] As shown in Figures 3(A) and 7, the discharge path 90 is formed from a member having an inclined surface. The discharge path 90 functions as a passage along which the stems B2 of the cultivated plant B cut by the cutting unit 30 slide down the inclined surface. In this embodiment, two discharge paths 90 are provided. The stems B2 of the cultivated plant B that slide down the discharge paths 90 are collected by being stored in two storage units located on both the left and right sides of the cultivated plant cutting device 1, for example.

[0033] The operation of the plant cutting device 1 configured as above will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0034] First, as can be seen from Fig. 4, when power is supplied to the conveyor chain motor 43 of the conveying means 40, the output shaft of the conveyor chain motor 43 rotates. Then, as shown in Fig. 8, the first conveyor chain mechanism unit 41 and the second conveyor chain mechanism unit 42 of the conveying means 40 operate in the conveying direction D3. As a result, the plant placement unit 10 on which the plant B is placed moves from a position away from below the plant presser 20 (-Z direction) to a position below the plant presser 20 (-Z direction). At this position, the opening of the through-hole of the plant placement unit 10 is held horizontally.

[0035] When the plant arrangement unit 10 on which the plant B is arranged moves to a position below the plant holder 20 (in the -Z direction), the plant holder 20 moves downward in the vertical direction D1, as shown in Fig. 9. As a result, the main body 21 of the plant holder 20 presses the plant B downward relative to the plant arrangement unit 10.

[0036] Next, power is supplied to the cutting motor 33 of the cutting unit 30, causing the output shaft of the cutting motor 33 to rotate. Then, as shown in Fig. 10, the cutting blade 31 rotates in the rotation direction A1 together with the rotating shafts 32a and 32b fixed to the output shaft of the cutting motor 33.

[0037] As the cutting blade 31 rotates in the rotation direction A1, the cutting blade 31 cuts the stem B2 from the cultivated plant B, as shown in Figures 11 and 12. Below the through-hole of the cultivated plant placing unit 10, the cutting blade 31 moves generally parallel to the XY plane to cut a portion of the cultivated plant B. The cut stem B2 falls from the cultivated plant placing unit 10 and reaches the discharge path 90, as shown in Figure 7. The stem B2 that reaches the discharge path 90 is stored and collected in two storage units located on both the left and right sides of the cultivated plant cutting device 1.

[0038] 13, the first conveyor chain mechanism unit 41 and the second conveyor chain mechanism unit 42 of the transport means 40 operate in the transport direction D3, causing the florets B1, whose stems B2 have been cut, to fall from the cultivated plant arranging unit 10. The florets B1 that have fallen from the cultivated plant arranging unit 10 are collected and stored in the floret collection container 100 placed on the -Y side of the cultivated plant cutting device 1.

[0039] As described above, in this embodiment, the cultivated plant B to be cut is placed on the cultivated plant placing unit 10 from above in the vertical direction D1, as shown in Fig. 4. The cultivated plant B is then pressed downward onto the cultivated plant placing unit 10 by the cultivated plant pressing unit 20, and a portion of the cultivated plant B is then cut by the cutting blade 31 of the cutting unit 30. This allows the cultivated plant cutting device 1 to cut a portion of the cultivated plant B in a stable state.

[0040] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

[0041] For example, the cultivated plant cutting device 1 according to the above embodiment includes a conveying means 40 that sequentially moves the plurality of cultivated plant placing units 10. However, this is not limited to this. The cultivated plant cutting device 1 does not necessarily have to include the conveying means 40.

[0042] In the above embodiment, the cultivated product B is described as broccoli. However, the cultivated product B is not limited to broccoli. The cultivated product B may be a vegetable other than broccoli, a fruit tree, a mushroom, a flower, or the like. For example, the cultivated product B may be a relatively large mushroom such as a shiitake mushroom. Specifically, from the viewpoint of ease of placement in the cultivated product placement unit 10, the cultivated product B preferably has a shape that includes a portion corresponding to a floret B1 and a portion corresponding to a stem B2.

[0043] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the stems B2 of the cultivated plant B that have slipped down the discharge path 90 are collected and stored in two storage compartments (not shown) located on both the left and right sides of the cultivated plant cutting device 1. These storage compartments are separate from the cultivated plant cutting device 1. However, this is not limiting. The storage compartments for storing the stems B2 may be formed integrally with the cultivated plant cutting device 1. For example, the storage compartments may be integrally assembled with the conveying means 40.

[0044] In the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 13, the small florets B1 of the cultivated plant B, whose stems B2 have been cut, are collected in a small floret collection container 100 placed on the -Y side of the cultivated plant cutting device 1. This small floret collection container 100 is separate from the cultivated plant cutting device 1. However, this is not limiting. The small floret collection container 100 may be formed integrally with the cultivated plant cutting device 1. For example, the small floret collection container 100 may be integrally assembled to the conveying means 40.

[0045] The present invention allows various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. The above-described embodiments are for the purpose of explaining the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1:Culture cutting device 10:Culture placement section 20: Cultivation holding part 21: Main body 22: Support part 30: Cutting section 31,31-2: Cutting blade 32a, 32b: Rotation axis 33: Cutting motor 34a, 34b: Connection part 40: Means of transport 41: First conveyor chain mechanism unit 42: Second conveyor chain mechanism unit 43: Conveyor chain motor 50: Storage cover 60: Control panel 70:Support leg 71:Script style 72: Reinforcement connection part 80:Wheel 90: Exhaust channel 100: Small flower collection container B: Cultivated products B1: Floret (1st part) B2: Stem (second part) D1: Vertical direction D2: Radial direction D3: Transport direction A1: Rotation direction R1,R2: radius of curvature L1, L2: length

Claims

1. a plant placement unit on which the plant to be cut is placed from above in the vertical direction; a plant holding unit that is movable in the vertical direction and that moves from above to press the plant downward onto the plant placement unit; a cutting unit that cuts a part of the cultivated product that is held down in the cultivated product placement unit by the cultivated product holding unit; a conveying means for conveying the cultivated products, the conveying means including an endless belt to which the cultivated product placement unit is fixed, the belt rotating with its upper surface as a placement surface for the cultivated products, the belt rotating from an upstream end to a downstream end in the direction of movement of the cultivated products, and then rotating downward at the downstream end to the upstream end, thereby conveying the cultivated products sequentially to the downstream end, and dropping off the partially cut cultivated products as the belt moves downward at the downstream end; Equipped with The cutting section has a cutting blade, at least a portion of which is formed in an arc shape, and a rotating shaft for rotating the cutting blade to cut part of the cultivated product, the axial direction of the rotating shaft being the same as the radial direction of the arc shape forming part of the cutting blade, and the cutting blade is replaceable with one that has the same axial length of the rotating shaft, a different radius of curvature of the arc shape, and a different thickness at the connection part with the rotating shaft.

2. a plant placement unit on which the plant to be cut is placed from above in the vertical direction; a plant holding unit that is movable in the vertical direction and that moves from above to press the plant downward onto the plant placement unit; a cutting unit that cuts a part of the cultivated product that is held down in the cultivated product placement unit by the cultivated product holding unit; A discharge path formed from a member having an inclined surface, which functions as a passage through which a portion of the cultivated plant cut by the cutting unit slides down along the inclined surface; Equipped with The cutting section has a cutting blade, at least a portion of which is formed in an arc shape, and a rotating shaft for rotating the cutting blade to cut part of the cultivated product, the axial direction of the rotating shaft being the same as the radial direction of the arc shape forming part of the cutting blade, and the cutting blade is replaceable with one that has the same axial length of the rotating shaft, a different radius of curvature of the arc shape, and a different thickness at the connection part with the rotating shaft.

3. The cultivated object placement unit is provided in plurality, 3. The crop cutting device according to claim 1, further comprising a conveying means for sequentially moving the plurality of crop placement units from a position away from below the crop holding unit to a position below the crop holding unit.

4. The cultivated product has an edible first part, which is a cut part of the cultivated product, and an inedible second part, which is a part of the cultivated product that falls off from the cultivated product placement section when cut from the first part by the cutting section, The plant cutting device according to claim 1 , further comprising a storage section for storing the second part that falls off from the plant placement section.

5. 5. The crop cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the crop is broccoli.

6. The cutting unit of the crop cutting device according to claim 1 or 2, A cutting section having a cutting blade at least a portion of which is formed in an arc shape.

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