Nori seaweed bundle horizontal delivery device

Abstract

To provide a laver bundle lateral feeding device capable of preventing expansion of variance or nonalignment of laver caused by air resistance or the like generated during falling of a laver bundle, ensuring alignment carried out by an alignment blade, and holding a processing capacity of about 12000 pieces / hour.SOLUTION: The laver bundle lateral feeding device comprises: a vertically moving lift shaft 11; a receiver plate 10 fixed to the apex of the lift shaft 11; a gear 12 fitted to the tip of a rotary shaft 17 of an inverter motor 15; and inverter motor control means. The receiver plate 10 is stopped at a top dead center for dropping a laver bundle 8. The receiver plate 10 is lowered at a middle to high speed after the laver bundle 8 has been dropped. The receiver plate 10 is raised at a high speed after the laver bundle 8 has been shipped on a conveyor 9.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seaweed bundle horizontal delivery device that lowers a seaweed bundle formed by stacking multiple sheets of seaweed that have been judged to be non-defective by a sorting machine in a seaweed production line and places it on a conveyor whose transport direction is perpendicular to the upstream transport direction so that the bundle can be fed into a folding machine and a bundling machine with the long side facing forward after being aligned. [Background technology]

[0002] Prior art examples of seaweed bundle horizontal dispensing devices and alignment machines used in such seaweed production lines include the post-processing device and stacking device for dried seaweed described in Patent Document 1 (JP Patent Publication No. 2001-333746) and the seaweed bundle production line described in Patent Document 2 (JP Patent Publication No. 2006-101809), which is related to an application filed by the present applicant. In Patent Document 1, as shown in Figure 8, non-defective dried seaweed sheets (m) sent by a conveyor (10) from a dried seaweed inspection device (2) are guided by a switching plate (13) and fall onto a plate (22) of a first stacking section 3A (arrows A1, A2). When a sensor (17) detects that 10 sheets of dried seaweed sheets (m) have been sent onto the first stacking section 3A, the switching plate (13) rotates downward, and thereafter, the non-defective dried seaweed sheets (m) sent from the conveyor (10) pass above the switching plate (13), are guided by a switching plate (14), and fall onto a plate (22) of a second stacking section 3B (arrows B1, B2). When the sensor (17) detects that 10 sheets of dried seaweed m have been sent onto the second stacking section 3B, the switching plate (13) returns to its upward position, and the stacking of good quality dried seaweed m into the first stacking section 3A resumes. When dried seaweed m that has been determined to be defective by the inspection device 2 is sent, the switching plates (13) and (14) rotate downward, and the defective dried seaweed m passes above the switching plates (13) and (14) and is collected in a box (29) outside the system (arrow C). When a predetermined number (10 sheets) of dried seaweed m are stacked on the plate (22) of the first stacking section 3A, the rotating shaft (21) is rotated 90 degrees to drop the stacked seaweed m' onto the conveyor (23) (arrow A3), which then starts to drive the conveyor (23) to transport the seaweed bundle m' in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor (10) and send it to the first folding machine. Similarly, when ten sheets of dried seaweed m are stacked on the plate (22) of the second stacking unit 3B, the rotating shaft (21) is rotated 90° to drop the seaweed bundle m' onto the receiving unit (25) (arrow B3). The receiving unit (25) then rotates horizontally by 90° and descends, transferring the changed orientation of the seaweed bundle m' onto the conveyor (28), which then transports the seaweed bundle m' to the conveyor (48) and sends it to the second folding machine (see especially paragraphs 0017, 0018 and Figures 1 and 2).

[0003] As shown in FIG. 9(a), the laver bundle production line described in Patent Document 2 is configured in the following order: a turnover device (21) that turns over the dried laver sheets conveyed one by one from a laver drying device (20); an inspection device (22) that inspects the turned-over laver sheets; and a laver bundle alignment device (23) that bundles a predetermined number of laver sheets that have passed through the inspection device (22) and aligns the bundled laver sheets. The laver gathering and aligning device (23) is provided with a discharge conveyor which serves as a direction changer (26), and the laver bundles are diverted to the bundling device (1) and folding device (24) by the direction changer (26) consisting of a discharge conveyor which can be driven in both forward and reverse directions (see especially paragraph 0010). In addition, in order to make the flat seaweed sheets discharged from the inspection device (22) into a flat seaweed bundle and send it to the folding device (24) or the bundling device (1), as shown in Figure 9, a predetermined number of flat seaweed sheets that have passed through the inspection device (22) are stacked to make a flat seaweed bundle, and the flat seaweed bundle is dropped into the seaweed gathering and aligning device (23) and aligned, and then the aligned flat seaweed bundle is conveyed by the discharge conveyor of the direction changing device (26) in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the flat seaweed in the inspection device (22). By controlling the driving direction of the discharge conveyor, it is possible to select whether to convey the flat seaweed to the folding device (24) via one end (26a) or to the bundling device (1) via the other end (26b) (see especially paragraphs 0011 to 0013).

[0004] In this way, conventional seaweed bundle horizontal delivery devices and alignment machines stack a predetermined number of inspected seaweed sheets in a counter box downstream of the inspection device to form a seaweed bundle, which is then dropped onto a transport conveyor extending in a direction perpendicular to the seaweed transport direction in the inspection device.After dropping, the sheets are aligned with alignment blades, and the aligned seaweed bundle is then sent to a folding device or the like on the transport conveyor. As a result, the time between when the nori bundles were dropped and when they began to be transported on the conveyor was short, so they did not become a bottleneck in production. However, depending on the condition of the nori, irregularities could occur when forming the nori bundles in the counter box, and if irregular nori bundles were allowed to fall a long distance, the dispersion and irregularity of the nori could increase due to air resistance, etc., and the alignment by the alignment blades could not be performed sufficiently. Furthermore, when using a conventional conveyor, the nori bundles are aligned while placed on two or three rubber conveyor belts, which creates the problem of high friction between the rubber and the nori, adversely affecting the alignment of the nori bundles.

[0005] One possible solution to these problems would be to shorten the distance the nori bundles fall, but this is currently difficult to achieve for the following three reasons. (1) The height of the seaweed discharge outlet of the drying device must be above a certain level, and the relationship with the structure of the inspection device after the inversion device must also be taken into consideration, making it difficult to lower the height of the conveyor installed from the drying device to the inspection device. (2) A certain distance is necessary to avoid interference with the counter box structure (for example, in the device described in Reference 1, the structure in which the plate body (22) rotates 90° from a horizontal position to a vertical position around the rotation axis (21)) and the alignment blades of the perpendicular transport conveyor. (3) Even in the folding device, etc., it is difficult to change the height or position of the conveyor for receiving the nori bundles due to structural problems. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-333746 A (Patent No. 3547368 A) [Patent Document 2] JP 2006-101809 A (Patent No. 4533079 A) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The first objective of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to prevent the spread and irregularity of seaweed caused by air resistance and other factors that occur when dropping seaweed bundles in a seaweed bundle horizontal discharge device, and to ensure that alignment by the alignment blades is performed more reliably. The second objective is to provide a seaweed bundle horizontal delivery device that can maintain a processing capacity of 12,000 sheets per hour while solving the first objective. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The seaweed bundle horizontal discharging device of the invention according to claim 1 is as follows: a counter box that stacks a predetermined number of sheets of nori seaweed to form a nori seaweed bundle and drops it; A receiving plate installed below the counter box on which the nori bundle can be placed; a receiving plate lifting mechanism capable of lifting and lowering the receiving plate between the top dead center and the bottom dead center; a variable speed motor that drives the receiving plate lifting mechanism; a variable speed motor control means for controlling the start, stop and rotation speed of the variable speed motor; The receiving plate is provided with a conveyor that receives the nori seaweed bundle placed on the receiving plate while the receiving plate is descending from the top dead point to the bottom dead point, and conveys the nori seaweed bundle downstream before the receiving plate rises from the bottom dead point. And, The variable speed motor control means In an early stage of the step in which the backing plate descends from the top dead center to the bottom dead center, the rotation speed is controlled to a medium speed so that the backing plate descends at a medium speed; In a later stage of the downward movement of the backing plate from the top dead center to the bottom dead center, the rotation speed is controlled to a high speed in order to downwardly move the backing plate at a high speed; In the stage where the backing plate rises from the bottom dead center to the top dead center, the rotation speed is controlled to a high speed in order to raise the backing plate at a high speed. It is characterized by:

[0010] Claim 2 The invention according to the present application claims 1 to In the described seaweed bundle horizontal discharging device, The laver bundle horizontal discharging device includes alignment blades that are provided on all four sides of the receiving plate in a lowered state so as to be able to be raised and lowered, and alignment blade raising and lowering means for raising and lowering the alignment blades, The alignment feather raising and lowering means controls the posture of the alignment feathers from a lowered state to an upright state while the receiving plate descends from the top dead center to the bottom dead center so that the alignment feathers are in an upright state when the upper surface of the receiving plate reaches a position higher than the upper surface of the transport conveyor and lower than the upper end of the alignment feathers when they are upright. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The seaweed bundle horizontal dispensing device of the invention according to claim 1 comprises a counter box that stacks a predetermined number of sheets of seaweed to form a seaweed bundle and then drops it, a receiving plate that is installed below the counter box and on which the seaweed bundle can be placed, and a receiving plate lifting mechanism that can raise and lower the receiving plate between the top dead center and the bottom dead center. This reduces the distance between the counter box and the receiving plate at the top dead center, preventing the seaweed from becoming uneven or distorted due to air resistance that occurs when the seaweed bundle is dropped, and allows for more reliable alignment by the alignment blades. In addition, the device is equipped with a variable speed motor that drives the receiving plate lifting mechanism and a variable speed motor control means that controls the start, stop and rotation speed of the variable speed motor, so that the processing capacity of the nori bundle lateral delivery device can be controlled according to the capacity of the nori drying device and inspection device. Furthermore, the receiving plate is lowered at a medium speed in the early stage of its descent from top dead point to bottom dead point, lowered at a high speed in the later stage of its descent from top dead point to bottom dead point, and raised at a high speed in the stage of its rise from bottom dead point to top dead point.This reduces the time it takes for the receiving plate to descend from top dead point to bottom dead point and then return to top dead point, which constitutes one cycle of processing a nori bundle, to around 2.5 seconds, and increases the processing capacity to around 14,000 sheets per hour.

[0013] Claim 2 According to the invention, claim 1 to In addition to the effects of the seaweed bundle horizontal dispensing device of the present invention, the seaweed bundle horizontal dispensing device is equipped with alignment blades that can be raised and lowered on all four sides of the receiving plate when it is in a lowered state, and an alignment blade raising and lowering means for raising the alignment blades.The alignment blade raising and lowering means can control the position of the alignment blades from a lowered state to an upright state while the receiving plate is descending from the top dead center to the bottom dead center so that the alignment blades are in an upright state when the upper surface of the receiving plate is higher than the upper surface of the conveyor and reaches a position lower than the upper end of the alignment blades when they are upright.This means that alignment can be performed quickly using the alignment blades without being affected by the frictional force between the conveyor belt and the seaweed. Therefore, the time from when the nori seaweed bundle is placed on the transport conveyor to when the transport conveyor is operated can be shortened, and the time required for one cycle of processing the nori seaweed bundle is not extended. Furthermore, the laver bundles can be lifted and aligned at the same time, eliminating the need for a separate alignment machine, allowing the entire laver production line to be made more compact and requiring less installation space. Furthermore, since the path that the seaweed passes through before being bound is shortened, the frequency with which the seaweed becomes distorted due to snagging or the like can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] A diagram showing an overview of the nori seaweed production line. [Figure 2] 1 is a side view and a plan view of the seaweed bundle horizontal delivery device and alignment machine at the top dead center. [Figure 3] 1 is a side view and a plan view of the seaweed bundle horizontal discharging device and the alignment machine at the bottom dead center. [Figure 4] 1 is a side view and a plan view of the seaweed bundle horizontal delivery device and alignment machine during ascent. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of the seaweed bundle horizontal discharging device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a side view of a seaweed bundle horizontal discharging device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the operation of the seaweed bundle lateral delivery and alignment device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a post-treatment device for dried seaweed, etc., described in Patent Document 1. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the nori seaweed bundle production line described in Patent Document 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to Examples 1 and 2. [Example]

[0016] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a seaweed production line to which the seaweed bundle horizontal delivery device 1 of Example 1 is applied, and Figure 2 is a side view (a) and a plan view (b) of the seaweed bundle horizontal delivery device 1 and the alignment machine 2, showing the state in which the receiving plate 10 of the seaweed bundle horizontal delivery device 1 is at the top dead center. In the upper left of Figure 1, there is a seaweed drying machine. The rectangular pieces of seaweed coming out of the seaweed drying machine in two lines are combined into one line using two direction changers 3 and 4, and then transported to the right side where each piece is sorted one by one by sorting machine 5 to determine whether it is good or bad. Then, the defective seaweed determined as defective by the sorting machine 5 is accumulated in a defective product bucket (not shown), and the non-defective seaweed is transported to the bundling machine 6, where it is counted and stacked in a counter box, and every time a predetermined number of sheets (usually 10 sheets) are counted, it is dropped, and the bundle of seaweed 8 is placed on a receiving plate 10 which is waiting at the top dead center, as shown in Figure 2(a).

[0017] 3A and 3B are a side view and a plan view, respectively, of the nori bundle horizontal delivery device 1 and the aligner 2, similar to FIG. 2, showing the state in which the receiving plate 10 of the nori bundle horizontal delivery device 1 is at the bottom dead center. When the laver bundle 8 is placed on the receiving plate 10 and the inverter motor 15 starts after a first predetermined time (the time until the laver bundle 8 stops shaking) has elapsed, the receiving plate 10 descends and the laver bundle 8 is loaded onto the stopped transport conveyor 9 just before it reaches the bottom dead center. When the receiving plate 10 reaches the bottom dead point, the transport conveyor 9 starts to transport the nori seaweed bundle 8 downstream and loads it onto the aligner transport conveyor 27. When the nori seaweed bundle 8 begins to be transported by the aligner transport conveyor 27, the transport conveyor 9 stops and the receiving plate 10 starts to rise from the bottom dead point. That is, as can be seen from Figures 2(b) and 3(b), the nori seaweed bundle 8 is placed on the receiving plate 10 so that its long side is perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor 9, and then it descends and is loaded onto the conveyor 9. When the receiving plate 10 reaches the bottom dead center, it is transported downstream, and after being aligned by the alignment machine 2, it can be sent to the folding machine and binding machine 7 with the long side facing forward. This allows the nori seaweed bundle 8 to be smoothly folded in half, and 10 sheets of the folded nori seaweed (usually a total of 100 sheets) can be bundled together with paper tape, boxed, and ready for shipment.

[0018] 4A and 4B are a side view and a plan view of the laver bundle lateral delivery device 1 and the aligner 2, respectively, similar to FIGS. 2 and 3, showing the state in which the receiving plate 10 of the laver bundle lateral delivery device 1 is rising. As described above, the seaweed bundle 8 is transported downstream (toward the aligner 2) with the receiving plate 10 at the bottom dead center, and then, after a second predetermined time has elapsed and the seaweed bundle 8 has moved a distance equal to the size of the receiving plate 10, the receiving plate 10 begins to rise and stops when it reaches the top dead center. As shown in Figure 4, when the nori seaweed bundle 8 reaches the aligner 2 while the receiving plate 10 is rising, the aligner transport conveyor 27 stops temporarily, and the alignment blades 28 on all four sides rise up and intermittently strike the four sides of the nori seaweed bundle 8, so that all four sides are aligned. After the laver bundles 8 are aligned, the alignment blades 28 fall under the aligner conveyor 27, which then starts again, and the aligned laver bundles 8 are conveyed downstream, transferred onto the folding machine conveyor 31, and sent to the folding machine and binding machine 7.

[0019] 2 to 4, receiving plate 10 is fixed to the top of vertical lifting shaft 11 that moves up and down, and to move lifting shaft 11 up and down, gear 12 attached to the tip of rotating shaft 17 of inverter motor 15 meshes with a rack (not shown) provided on the side of lifting shaft 11. Although not shown, a lifting shaft supporter is provided in a position (center or bottom end) that does not interfere with the up and down movement to support lifting shaft 11. That is, when the rotating shaft 17 of the inverter motor 15 is rotated clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 2, the lifting shaft 11 descends, and the descent of the lifting shaft 11 can be stopped by stopping the rotation of the rotating shaft 17 when the receiving plate 10 reaches the bottom dead center as shown in FIG. 3. Furthermore, between the states shown in Figures 3 and 4 (the point at which the seaweed bundle 8 is transported by the transport conveyor 9 and there is no longer any obstruction to the ascent of the receiving plate 10), rotating the rotating shaft 17 of the inverter motor 15 counterclockwise causes the lifting shaft 11 to rise, and the ascent of the lifting shaft 11 can be stopped by stopping the rotation of the rotating shaft 17 when the receiving plate 10 reaches the top dead center as shown in Figure 4. In this way, by rotating the rotary shaft 17 clockwise and counterclockwise, the lifting shaft 11 moves up and down in the vertical direction, so that the receiving plate 10 can be moved up and down.

[0020] In order to change the descending speed of the support plate 10 midway and stop the support plate 10 at the bottom dead center and top dead center, encoders (for example, four types: a 0-position encoder indicating the bottom dead center, a 70-position encoder indicating the speed change point midway through the descent, a 95-position encoder, and a 100-position encoder indicating the top dead center) are provided on the side of the lifting shaft 11, and a sensor 16 capable of detecting each encoder is provided at a reference position near the lifting shaft 11 (the horizontal line portion in Figures 2 to 4). In addition, the inverter motor 15 is capable of intermittent operation so that the lifting shaft 11 is kept waiting and not lowered until a first predetermined time has elapsed after the seaweed bundle 8 is placed on the receiving plate 10 at the top dead center, and so that the lifting shaft 11 is kept waiting and not raised until a second predetermined time has elapsed after the transport conveyor 9 starts at the bottom dead center. Furthermore, the inverter motor 15 has an inverter motor control means (not shown) that can control the start, stop and rotation speed so that the lifting shaft 11 can be lowered smoothly and quickly with the nori seaweed bundle 8 placed on the receiving plate 10, and so that the lifting shaft 11 can be raised from the state where the receiving plate 10 is at the bottom dead center (the state in Figure 3) to the state where the receiving plate 10 is at the top dead center in as short a time as possible.

[0021] Next, the lifting and lowering of the receiving plate 10 and the operation of the transport conveyor 9 in the nori bundle horizontal discharging device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. Figure 5 is a flow chart showing the operating state of the nori bundle horizontal discharging device 1, with the position of the encoder at the reference position shown on the left, a side view of the receiving plate 10 etc. shown in the center, and the operating state of the receiving plate 10 at each stage shown on the right.

[0022] (1) Start of operation Before the laver bundle horizontal discharging device 1 starts to operate, the receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 are at the top dead center and are waiting for the laver bundle 8 to be placed on them. The operation of the seaweed bundle horizontal delivery device 1 is initiated by the operation of a clutch provided in the bundler 6 to drop the seaweed bundle 8, but the inverter motor 15 remains stopped until a first predetermined time has elapsed after the clutch has operated (the time until the seaweed bundle 8 stops shaking and comes to a standstill after being placed on the receiving plate 10). Therefore, the first timer is provided to output a start signal for the inverter motor 15 when a first predetermined time has elapsed since the clutch actuation signal was received.

[0023] (2) Medium speed operation (the early stage when the support plate descends from the top dead center to the bottom dead center) When a start signal is output from the first timer, the inverter motor control means starts the inverter motor 15 and controls it to rotate at a medium speed to prevent the seaweed bundle 8 from floating up on the receiving plate 10, and the receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 descend at a medium speed until the sensor 16 detects the 70-position encoder.

[0024] (3) High-speed operation (to the seaweed transport position / later stage when the receiving plate descends from the top dead center to the bottom dead center) When the sensor 16 detects the 70-position encoder, the inverter motor control means controls the inverter motor 15 to rotate at high speed until the sensor 16 detects the 0-position encoder. Then, the receiving plate 10 descends vertically at high speed, and during the descent, the nori seaweed bundle 8 is loaded onto the stopped conveyor 9. When the receiving plate 10 descends to the bottom dead center below the conveyor 9 and the sensor 16 detects the 0-position encoder, the inverter motor control means stops the inverter motor 15.

[0025] (4) Stop (seaweed transport) When the inverter motor 15 stops, the transport conveyor 9 starts, transporting the nori seaweed bundles 8 downstream and loading them onto the aligner transport conveyor 27. The transport conveyor 9 stops when the nori seaweed bundles 8 start to be transported by the aligner transport conveyor 27. The stopper 29 of the aligner 2 is in an upright position and on standby from the start of operation of the nori seaweed bundle lateral discharging device 1. On the other hand, the inverter motor 15 continues to be stopped until the second predetermined time has elapsed and the nori sheet bundle 8 has moved by the size of the receiving plate 10. Therefore, a second timer is provided that outputs a restart signal for the inverter motor 15 when a second predetermined time has elapsed since the sensor 16 detected the 0-position encoder.

[0026] (5) High-speed operation (rising / from the beginning to the end of the stage when the support plate rises from the bottom dead center to the top dead center) When the second timer outputs a restart signal, the inverter motor control means restarts the inverter motor 15 and rotates it at high speed until the sensor 16 detects the 95 position encoder. Therefore, the receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 rise at high speed to just before the top dead center.

[0027] (6) Low-speed operation (end position / after the final stage when the receiving plate rises from the bottom dead center to the top dead center) When the sensor 16 detects the 95-position encoder, the inverter motor control means controls the inverter motor 15 to rotate at a low speed to prevent overrun, and continues to rotate at a low speed until the sensor 16 detects the 100-position encoder. Then, when the receiving plate 10 rises to the top dead center and the sensor 16 detects the 100 position encoder, the inverter motor control means stops the inverter motor 15. In addition, in the above (4), the seaweed bundle 8 that has begun to be transported by the aligner transport conveyor 27 enters the center of the aligner 2 and stops when it hits the stopper 29, and the entry sensor 30 is activated, and the aligner transport conveyor 27 also stops temporarily. Thereafter, the stopper 29 falls below the upper surface of the aligner transport conveyor 27, and the four aligning blades 28 stand up and intermittently strike the four sides of the laver bundle 8, so that the four sides are aligned. After the laver bundles 8 are aligned, the alignment blades 28 fall under the aligner conveyor 27, which then starts again, and the laver bundles 8 are conveyed further downstream, transferred onto the folding machine conveyor 31, and sent to the folding machine and binding machine 7.

[0028] (7) Operation ends The receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 stop at the top dead center, return to the state before the start of the operation described in (1) above, and wait for the next nori seaweed bundle 8 to be placed. The above (1) to (7) are one cycle for processing 10 sheets of nori bundle 8 in the nori bundle horizontal discharge device 1. The number of sheets that can be processed in a nori production line is determined by the processing capacity of the nori bundle horizontal discharge device 1, i.e., the time required for one cycle. According to Example 1, one cycle can be shortened to about 2.5 seconds, so that the number of sheets that can be processed can be about 14,000 sheets per hour. Furthermore, the time from when the nori seaweed bundle 8 is sent out by the transport conveyor 9 to when it is aligned by the alignment machine 2 must also be shortened to 2.5 seconds or less. However, this process only involves moving the nori seaweed bundle 8 in parallel and raising and lowering the stopper 29 and alignment blades 28, so this can be easily controlled by simply adjusting the movement speeds of the transport conveyor 9, the alignment machine transport conveyor 27, and the folding machine transport conveyor 31. [Example]

[0029] FIG. 6 is a side view of the device for aligning and discharging seaweed bundles according to the second embodiment, showing the state in which the receiving plate 10 on which the seaweed bundles 8 are placed is moving downward from the top dead center. The seaweed bundle lateral delivery and alignment device of Example 2 is a combination of the seaweed bundle lateral delivery device 1 of Example 1 and an alignment blade 32, and has a more complex structure than the seaweed bundle lateral delivery device 1 of Example 1, and the control of raising and lowering the receiving plate 10 is also more complex. However, since the raising and lowering and alignment of the nori bundles 8 can be performed all at once and there is no need to install a separate alignment machine 2, the entire nori production line can be made more compact and the installation area can be reduced.In addition, since the path that the nori bundles 8 pass through before being bound is shortened, the frequency of the nori bundles 8 becoming distorted in position due to getting caught, etc. can be reduced. When a nori production line is constructed using the nori bundle lateral delivery and alignment device of Example 2, the alignment machine 2 shown in Figures 1 to 4 is not necessary, but the only other differences in the configuration are that alignment blades 32 are provided on all four sides of the receiving plate 10 in a lowered state so that they can be raised and lowered, that a third timer is provided, and an encoder position for detection is added. Therefore, the explanation of the mechanism for raising and lowering the receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 will be omitted, and the common configuration will be explained using the same numbers as in Example 1.

[0030] The following describes the lifting and lowering of the receiving plate 10, the stopping and starting operations of the transport conveyor 9, and the raising and lowering of the alignment blades 32 in the laver bundle lateral delivery and alignment device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the operating state of the seaweed bundle lateral delivery and alignment device according to the second embodiment, with the position of the encoder at the reference position shown on the left, a side view of the receiving plate 10 etc. shown in the center, and the operating state of the receiving plate 10 and alignment blade 32 at each stage shown on the right.

[0031] (A) Start of operation <same as (1) in Example 1 except for the state of the alignment blade 32> Before the laver bundle horizontal discharging device 1 starts to operate, the receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 are at the top dead center, waiting for the laver bundle 8 to be placed, and the alignment blades 32 are in a reclined state. The operation of the seaweed bundle horizontal delivery device 1 is initiated by the operation of a clutch provided in the bundler 6 to drop the seaweed bundle 8, but the inverter motor 15 remains stopped until a first predetermined time has elapsed after the clutch has operated (the time until the seaweed bundle 8 stops shaking and comes to a standstill after being placed on the receiving plate 10). Therefore, the first timer is provided to output a start signal for the inverter motor 15 when a first predetermined time has elapsed since the clutch actuation signal was received.

[0032] (B) Medium speed operation (downward) <same as (2) in Example 1 except for the control of the alignment blade 32> When a start signal is output from the first timer, the inverter motor control means starts the inverter motor 15 and controls it to rotate at a medium speed to prevent the seaweed bundle 8 from floating up on the receiving plate 10, and the receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 descend at a medium speed until the sensor 16 detects the 70-position encoder. Also, when the sensor 16 detects the 80-position encoder while the receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 are descending at a medium speed, a standing signal is output to the rotary motor that raises and lowers the alignment blades 32, and the alignment blades 32 begin to close.

[0033] (C) High-speed operation (to bottom dead center) <same as (3) in Example 1 except for the control of the alignment blades 32> When the sensor 16 detects the 70-position encoder, the inverter motor control means controls the inverter motor 15 to rotate at high speed until the sensor 16 detects the 0-position encoder. Then, the receiving plate 10 descends vertically at high speed, and during the descent, the nori seaweed bundle 8 is loaded onto the stopped conveyor 9. When the receiving plate 10 descends to the bottom dead center below the conveyor 9 and the sensor 16 detects the 0-position encoder, the inverter motor control means stops the inverter motor 15. Furthermore, the alignment blades 32, which begin to close while the receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 are descending at a medium speed, close when the upper surface of the receiving plate 10 reaches a position higher than the upper surface of the transport conveyor 9 and lower than the upper end of the alignment blades 32 when they are erected (for example, the position where the sensor 16 detects the 30-position encoder), and remain closed until the third predetermined time (approximately 0.1 seconds) has elapsed. This operation of the alignment blades 32 allows the four sides of the nori bundle 8 to be aligned with almost no time loss. Therefore, a third timer is provided which outputs a lowering signal to the rotary motor to lower the alignment blades 32 when a third predetermined time has elapsed since the sensor 16 detected the 30-position encoder. Furthermore, when the third predetermined time has elapsed since the sensor 16 detected the 30-position encoder, the receiving plate 10 must be at a position where its upper surface is at the same height as the upper surface of the transport conveyor 9 (for example, the position where the sensor 16 detects the 10-position encoder), but it is better not to descend to the bottom dead center.

[0034] (D) Stop (seaweed transport) <same as (4) in Example 1 except for the state of the alignment blade 32> When the inverter motor 15 stops and the alignment blade 32 falls down, the transport conveyor 9 starts, transports the nori bundle 8 downstream and loads it onto the folding machine transport conveyor 31, and when the nori bundle 8 starts to be transported by the folding machine transport conveyor 31, the transport conveyor 9 stops. On the other hand, the inverter motor 15 continues to be stopped until the second predetermined time has elapsed and the nori sheet bundle 8 has moved by the size of the receiving plate 10. Therefore, a second timer is provided that outputs a restart signal for the inverter motor 15 when a second predetermined time has elapsed since the sensor 16 detected the 0-position encoder.

[0035] (E) High-speed operation (ascending) <same as (5) in Example 1> When the second timer outputs a restart signal, the inverter motor control means restarts the inverter motor 15 and rotates it at high speed until the sensor 16 detects the 95 position encoder. Therefore, the receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 rise at high speed to just before the top dead center.

[0036] (F) Low-speed operation (end position) <same as (6) in Example 1> When the sensor 16 detects the 95-position encoder, the inverter motor control means controls the inverter motor 15 to rotate at a low speed to prevent overrun, and continues to rotate at a low speed until the sensor 16 detects the 100-position encoder. Then, when the receiving plate 10 rises to the top dead center and the sensor 16 detects the 100 position encoder, the inverter motor control means stops the inverter motor 15. In addition, the laver bundle 8 that has started to be conveyed by the folding machine conveyor 31 in (D) above is sent to the folding machine and binding machine 7.

[0037] (G) Operation End The receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 stop at the top dead center, return to the state before the start of the operation described above in (A), and wait for the next nori seaweed bundle 8 to be placed. The above (A) to (G) are one cycle for processing 10 sheets of nori bundles 8 in the nori bundle lateral delivery and alignment device, and the number of sheets processed on a nori production line is determined by the processing capacity of the nori bundle lateral delivery and alignment device, i.e., the time required for one cycle. Although it takes longer than one cycle (about 2.5 seconds) in Example 1, the only difference is that in the above (C), during the processing of (3) high-speed operation (towards bottom dead center) in Example 1, a process is added to keep the alignment blades 32 closed until a third predetermined time (about 0.1 seconds) has elapsed, and in the above (D), a process is added to the processing of (4) stop (nori transport) in Example 1, where the alignment blades 32 are in a collapsed state. Furthermore, as described in (C) above, the third predetermined time elapses before the receiving plate 10 descends to the bottom dead center, and the four sides of the nori bundle 8 are aligned with almost no time loss. Therefore, even in Example 2, one cycle can be shortened to about 2.8 seconds, and the processing capacity can be increased to about 12,000 sheets per hour.

[0038] Modifications of the laver bundle lateral delivery device 1 of the first embodiment and the laver bundle lateral delivery and alignment device of the second embodiment will be listed below. (1) In the first and second embodiments, in order to raise and lower the support plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11, the gear 12 attached to the tip of the rotating shaft 17 of the inverter motor 15 is engaged with a rack provided on the side of the lifting shaft 11, and when the rotating shaft 17 is rotated clockwise, the lifting shaft 11 is lowered, and when the rotating shaft 17 is rotated counterclockwise, the lifting shaft 11 is raised. However, instead of such a mechanism, a mechanism may be used in which the lifting shaft 11 is raised and lowered by any of means such as a linear motor, hydraulics, or air pressure. Therefore, in the claims, it is expressed as "a receiving plate lifting mechanism capable of raising and lowering the receiving plate between the top dead center and the bottom dead center."

[0039] (2) In Examples 1 and 2, when the sensor 16 detects the 70-position encoder while the support plate 10 is descending, the inverter motor 15 is controlled to rotate at a medium to high speed, and when the sensor 16 detects the 95-position encoder while the support plate 10 is ascending, the inverter motor 15 is controlled to rotate at a high to low speed. However, the position of the encoder that switches the speed is not limited to this and may be changed depending on the time required for one cycle, etc. Moreover, in the operation (B) of the second embodiment, the position of the encoder used to output a standing signal to the rotary motor that raises and lowers the alignment blades 32 is also the same. Therefore, it is better to install the encoders at equal intervals from position 0 to position 100, and use sensor 16 to detect which encoder has passed from the home position encoder (usually the encoder at position 0 or 100), so that the positions of the support plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 can be confirmed at all times. Furthermore, instead of the encoder, other position detection means or a timer that defines the waiting time from the reference timing to each operation timing may be used. (3) In the first and second embodiments, when the receiving plate 10 and the lifting shaft 11 are raised, in order to prevent overrun, they are rotated and raised at high speed until just before the top dead center, and then at low speed thereafter (see the explanation of operations (5) and (6) in the first embodiment and operations (E) and (F) in the second embodiment). However, if a stop signal is output at a slightly earlier timing (for example, when the sensor 16 detects the 98-position encoder) in anticipation of overrun, there is no need to raise them at low speed halfway through, and this can further shorten the time required for one cycle.

[0040] (4) In the first and second embodiments, when the sensor 16 detects the zero-position encoder, the inverter motor control means stops the inverter motor 15. However, a stop signal may be output by operating an appropriate switch on the underside of the receiving plate 10 or on the lower end of the lifting shaft 11 at the bottom dead center. (5) In Example 2, a rotary motor was used to raise and lower the alignment blades 32. However, as long as the posture of the alignment blades 32 can be controlled between a lowered state and an upright state, a linear motion mechanism such as a solenoid and a link mechanism may be used instead of a rotary motor. Therefore, in the claims, it is expressed as "alignment feather raising and lowering means for raising and lowering the alignment feathers." (6) In Example 2, the backing plate 10 was lowered at high speed from when the sensor 16 detected the 70-position encoder until it detected the 0-position encoder. However, the backing plate 10 may be lowered at low or medium speed from when the sensor 16 detected the 30-position encoder until it detected the 0-position encoder, or the backing plate 10 may be stopped once the sensor 16 detected the 30-position encoder, and then lowered at high speed until the sensor 16 detected the 0-position encoder. In either case, it is preferable that the third predetermined time be longer than the time from when the sensor 16 detects the 30-position encoder to when it detects the 10-position encoder, and shorter than the time from when the sensor 16 detects the 30-position encoder to when it detects the 0-position encoder. (7) In the second embodiment, the alignment blades 32 remain closed until the third predetermined time has elapsed after they have been closed. However, the alignment blades 32 may be opened and closed slightly once or twice. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1: Nori bundle horizontal delivery device 2: Alignment machine 3, 4: Direction change machine 5: Sorting machine 6: Bundling machine 7: Bending machine and bundling machine 8: Nori bundle 9: Transfer conveyor 10: Receiving plate 11: Elevating shaft 12: Gear 15: Inverter motor 16: Sensor 17: Rotating shaft 27: Alignment machine conveyor 28: Alignment blade 29: Stopper 30: Entry sensor 31: Bending machine conveyor 32: Alignment blade

Claims

1. a counter box that stacks a predetermined number of sheets of nori seaweed to form a nori seaweed bundle and drops it; A receiving plate installed below the counter box on which the nori bundle can be placed; A receiving plate on which a stack of nori sheets with a predetermined number of sheets of nori can be placed; a receiving plate lifting mechanism capable of lifting and lowering the receiving plate between the top dead center and the bottom dead center; a variable speed motor that drives the receiving plate lifting mechanism; a variable speed motor control means for controlling the start, stop and rotation speed of the variable speed motor; The receiving plate is provided with a transport conveyor that loads the nori seaweed bundle placed on the receiving plate while the receiving plate is descending from the top dead point to the bottom dead point, and transports the nori seaweed bundle downstream before the receiving plate rises from the bottom dead point, The variable speed motor control means In an early stage of the step in which the backing plate descends from the top dead center to the bottom dead center, the rotation speed is controlled to a medium speed so that the backing plate descends at a medium speed; In a later stage of the downward movement of the backing plate from the top dead center to the bottom dead center, the rotation speed is controlled to a high speed in order to downwardly move the backing plate at a high speed; In the stage where the backing plate rises from the bottom dead center to the top dead center, the rotation speed is controlled to a high speed in order to raise the backing plate at a high speed. This is a device for discharging seaweed bundles horizontally.

2. The laver bundle horizontal discharging device includes alignment blades that are provided on all four sides of the receiving plate in a lowered state so as to be able to be raised and lowered, and alignment blade raising and lowering means for raising and lowering the alignment blades, The alignment feather raising and lowering means controls the posture of the alignment feathers from a lowered state to an upright state while the receiving plate descends from the top dead center to the bottom dead center so that the alignment feathers are in an upright state when the upper surface of the receiving plate reaches a position higher than the upper surface of the transport conveyor and lower than the upper end of the alignment feathers when they are upright.

2. The device for discharging seaweed bundles horizontally according to claim 1.

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