Workpiece processing device

Abstract

A workpiece processing device according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a spray nozzle for injecting a fluid onto a workpiece; a base for supporting the spray nozzle; one or more pressing portions for pressing the workpiece; and one or more connection portions provided between the one or more pressing portions and the base and supporting the pressing portion so as to be displaceable with respect to the base.

Description

Workpiece processing equipment

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a workpiece machining device.

[0002] In a production process for producing processed foods from fruits and vegetables, abnormal parts of the fruits and vegetables as work pieces are detected in order to remove any abnormal parts (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent No. 6310637

[0004] For example, after detecting an abnormal portion of a workpiece as described in Patent Document 1, it is desirable to remove the abnormal portion from the workpiece because discarding the entire workpiece containing the abnormal portion results in a poor yield. If the workpiece moves undesirably when removing the abnormal portion from the workpiece, there is a risk that a portion that is not an abnormal portion will be removed, resulting in a decrease in yield or insufficient removal of the abnormal portion, or other inconveniences.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, at least one embodiment of the present disclosure aims to reduce undesired movement of a workpiece when removing an abnormal portion from the workpiece.

[0006] A workpiece processing device according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a spray nozzle for spraying a fluid onto a workpiece; a base for supporting the spray nozzle; one or more holding portions for holding the workpiece; and one or more connection portions provided between the one or more holding portions and the base, which support the holding portions so that they can be displaced relative to the base.

[0007] According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, undesired movement of the workpiece can be reduced when removing an abnormal portion from the workpiece.

[0008] 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a work processing device according to the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a removal unit of the work processing device; FIG. 3 is a side view of the removal unit; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining removal of an abnormal portion of a work; FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining removal of an abnormal portion of a work; FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining removal of an abnormal portion of a work; FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining removal of an abnormal portion of a work; FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which a work having thicknesses that vary depending on the location is pressed downward by a pressing unit; FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of a removal unit of another embodiment; FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of a removal unit of yet another embodiment; FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of a removal unit of yet another embodiment.

[0009] Several embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of components described as embodiments or shown in the drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure and are merely illustrative examples. For example, expressions expressing relative or absolute arrangements, such as "in a certain direction," "along a certain direction," "parallel," "orthogonal," "center," "concentric," or "coaxial," not only strictly express such arrangements, but also express relative displacements with a tolerance or angle or distance to the extent that the same function is achieved. For example, expressions expressing the equality of things, such as "same," "equal," and "homogeneous," not only express strict equality, but also express tolerance or differences to the extent that the same function is achieved. For example, expressions expressing shapes such as a square or cylindrical shape not only express shapes such as a square or cylindrical shape in the strict geometric sense, but also express shapes including concave and convex portions, chamfered portions, etc., to the extent that the same effect is achieved. On the other hand, the expressions "comprise," "include," "have," "includes," or "have" of one element are not exclusive expressions that exclude the presence of other elements.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a work processing device 1 according to this embodiment. Fig. 2A is a perspective view of a removal unit 23 (described later) of the work processing device 1. Fig. 2B is a side view of the removal unit 23. Figs. 3A to 3D are diagrams for explaining the removal of an abnormal portion 5 of a work 3.

[0011] The work processing device 1 according to this embodiment is a device for removing abnormal portions 5 of a work 3. The abnormal portions 5 are deteriorated portions that are inedible or portions that are visually undesirable for inclusion in the processed food of the work 3, and if the work 3 is, for example, a potato, these would be greening, corking, or rotten portions. The work processing device 1 according to this embodiment can crush and remove the abnormal portions 5 of the work 3 by spraying water onto them.

[0012] The work processing device 1 according to this embodiment includes a mesh belt conveyor 10 for transporting the workpieces 3, and a leveler 15 for eliminating overlaps of the workpieces 3. The work processing device 1 according to this embodiment includes a removal device 20 for removing abnormal portions 5 from the workpieces 3, a drain receiver 17 for receiving the removed abnormal portions 5 and water W, a discharge pipe 19 for discharging the removed abnormal portions 5 and water W, a pressure pump 51 for pressurizing the water W for the water spray, a control device 40 for controlling the entire work processing device 1, an imaging device 41 for detecting the abnormal portions 5, and an encoder 43 for detecting the amount of movement of the workpiece transport belt 11.

[0013] (Mesh belt conveyor 10) The mesh belt conveyor 10 according to this embodiment includes a workpiece transport belt 11, a drive motor 13 for driving the workpiece transport belt 11, and a plurality of support members 14 for supporting the workpiece transport belt 11 from below. The support members 14 are, for example, shaft-shaped members extending in the transport direction, and a plurality of support members 14 may be provided at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction.

[0014] (Work transport belt 11) The work transport belt 11 is, for example, a mesh belt 12 made by weaving metal wires into a mesh, and has mesh openings that allow the workpieces 3 to be placed on it and that allow the abnormal parts 5 crushed by water spray as described below to pass through. For example, the work transport belt 11 may have mesh openings large enough to allow the abnormal parts 5 crushed to an equivalent volume sphere diameter of 10 mm or less to pass through. The work transport belt 11 is driven by a drive motor 13, and can transport the workpieces 3 placed on the work transport belt 11 in the transport direction.

[0015] Information relating to the amount of movement of the workpiece transport belt 11 in the transport direction is detected by an encoder 43 and transmitted to a control device 40, which will be described in detail later.

[0016] (Work 3) The work 3 to be processed by the work processing device 1 according to this embodiment is, for example, pre-heated potatoes sliced ​​to a specified thickness. The work 3 is transported from a transport device (not shown) in a process preceding the work processing device 1, and is supplied to the upstream side of the work transport belt 11 of the work processing device 1 (the right side in FIG. 1 ).

[0017] (Leveling machine 15) In the work processing device 1 according to this embodiment, the leveling machine 15 is disposed above the work transport belt 11 on the upstream side of the work transport belt 11, and is intended to eliminate overlapping of the workpieces 3 on the work transport belt 11. In the work processing device 1 according to this embodiment, the leveling machine 15 is, for example, a member having a tip portion 15a on the lower side in the figure that is spaced apart from the upper surface of the work transport belt 11. For example, the distance between this tip portion 15a and the upper surface of the work transport belt 11 is greater than the thickness t of the workpieces 3 and less than twice the thickness t of the workpieces 3 (2t).

[0018] If the workpieces 3 do not overlap, they pass under the tip 15a of the leveler 15. If the workpieces 3 overlap, the workpiece 3 overlapping on top of the workpiece 3 interferes with the tip 15a of the leveler 15 and is removed from the underlying workpiece 3. In this way, the leveler 15 eliminates the overlap between the workpieces 3 so that the overlapping workpieces 3 are not transported downstream in the conveying direction. The leveler 15 may be a device in which multiple members are radially attached to a rotating shaft (not shown) disposed above the workpiece conveying belt 11 and extending in the depth direction of the page in FIG. 1 . In this case, the leveler 15 is preferably configured such that the rotating shaft rotates counterclockwise in the figure, causing the member to rotate around the rotating shaft, and the tip 15a of the leveler 15 flips the overlapping upper workpiece 3 upstream in the conveying direction when it moves toward the upstream side in the conveying direction at the 6 o'clock position.

[0019] (Image capture device 41) In the work processing device 1 according to this embodiment, the image capture device 41 is disposed downstream in the conveying direction from the leveler 15 and upstream in the conveying direction from the removing device 20, which will be described later, above the work conveying belt 11. The image capture device 41 captures an image of the workpiece 3 on the work conveying belt 11 and transmits the obtained image data to the control device 40. The image data is linked to information relating to the amount of movement of the workpiece conveying belt 11 from the encoder 43 (for example, the number of counts of output pulses from the encoder 43 at the time of capturing the image), and is stored in a storage device (not shown) of the control device 40.

[0020] (Removal device 20) In the work processing device 1 according to this embodiment, the removal device 20 includes a removal section 23 having a spray nozzle 21 as a work processing device, a movement device 25 for moving the removal section 23, a pressure pump 51, and an electromagnetic valve 27. In the work processing device 1 according to this embodiment, for example, two removal devices 20 are provided, but the number may be one, or three or more.

[0021] The moving device 25 is, for example, a robot, and is a device for moving the removal unit 23 (described later) toward the workpiece 3 having the abnormal portion 5. The moving device 25 does not have to be a robot, and may be any device that can move the removal unit 23 in the horizontal and vertical directions.

[0022] As shown in Figures 3A to 3D, the removal unit 23 has a base end (base) 31 detachably attached to the tip of the arm 25a of the moving device 25, a spray nozzle 21 attached to the base end 31, a holding unit 32 for holding down the workpiece 3 when spraying water, a connection unit 35 provided between the holding unit 32 and the base end 31 and supporting the holding unit 32 so that it can be displaced relative to the base end 31, and a holding plate (plate-shaped member) 33 to which the holding unit 32 is attached and which is connected to the connection unit 35.

[0023] The spray nozzle 21 is a spray nozzle capable of spraying water W supplied from a pressure pump 51 via a water supply line 53. The water supply line 53 is provided with an electromagnetic valve 27 whose opening and closing is controlled by the control device 40. In the following description, the fluid sprayed from the spray nozzle 21 is water W, but the fluid sprayed from the spray nozzle 21 may be a liquid other than water W or may be a gas such as air.

[0024] The holding portion 32 is a member for holding down the workpiece 3 when spraying water, and in this embodiment, for example, is a plurality of protrusions protruding downward from the underside of the holding plate 33. In the examples shown in Figures 2A, 2B, 3A to 3D, and Figures 4 to 6 described below, the holding plate 33 is an annular member having a through hole 33a in the center. The water W sprayed from the spray nozzle 21 passes through the through hole 33a and is sprayed onto the workpiece 3.

[0025] As described above, the holding portion 32 is supported displaceably relative to the base end portion 31 via the connecting portion 35. In the work processing device 1 according to this embodiment, the connecting portion 35 is a spring member that can apply a biasing force to the holding portion 32 to hold down the workpiece 3. As shown in FIG. 3B , when the moving device 25 moves the removal portion 23 closer to the workpiece 3, the holding portion 32 abuts against the workpiece 3 from above. As the removal portion 23 is further moved closer to the workpiece 3, the connecting portion 35 bends, causing the holding portion 32 to press the workpiece 3 downward. At this time, at least a portion of the holding portion 32 may bite into the workpiece 3. The removal portion 23 will be described in more detail later.

[0026] (Control Device 40) In the work processing device 1 according to this embodiment, as described above, the control device 40 is a control device for controlling the entire work processing device 1. The control device 40 is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), and a computer-readable storage medium. The series of processes for realizing various functions are stored in a storage medium, for example, in the form of a program. The CPU reads this program into RAM and executes information processing and arithmetic operations to realize various functions. The program may be pre-installed in a ROM or other storage medium, provided in a computer-readable storage medium, or distributed via wired or wireless communication. Examples of computer-readable storage media include magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and semiconductor memories. The control device 40 includes, as functional blocks of the control device 40, an abnormal portion information acquisition unit 40a that can acquire information on at least the size of the abnormal portion 5, and a calculation unit 40b that calculates the spray conditions for the water W based on the size information acquired by the abnormal portion information acquisition unit 40a. The details of the control by the control device 40 will be described later.

[0027] (Operation of the work processing device 1) The operation of the work processing device 1 will be described below. As described above, when the workpieces 3 sliced ​​to a specified thickness are supplied to the upstream side (the right side in FIG. 1 ) of the workpiece conveying belt 11 of the work processing device 1, they move downstream in the conveying direction together with the movement of the workpiece conveying belt 11. At this time, even if the workpieces 3 overlap, the leveling machine 15 eliminates the overlap between the workpieces 3. Therefore, the imaging device 41 can capture images of the workpieces 3 without any overlap between the workpieces 3.

[0028] Image data obtained by imaging the workpieces 3 on the workpiece conveying belt 11 with the imaging device 41 is transmitted to the control device 40. Then, as described above, the image data is linked to information relating to the amount of movement of the workpiece conveying belt 11 from the encoder 43 (for example, the number of counts of output pulses from the encoder 43 at the time of imaging), and is stored in a storage device (not shown) of the control device 40.

[0029] The abnormal portion information acquisition unit 40a of the control device 40 detects the abnormal portion 5 by image processing the image data from the imaging device 41. Then, the abnormal portion information acquisition unit 40a stores information regarding the position and size of the detected abnormal portion 5 in a storage device (not shown). Note that the abnormal portion information acquisition unit 40a stores, among the positions of the detected abnormal portion 5, the position in the width direction of the workpiece conveying belt 11 (the depth direction of the paper in FIGS. 1 to 3D ) in a storage device (not shown), and also stores, for example, the position in the conveying direction of the workpiece conveying belt 11 in a storage device (not shown) linked to the number of counts of output pulses from the encoder 43 at the time of imaging. In other words, the abnormal portion information acquisition unit 40a can acquire information regarding the position and size of the abnormal portion 5.

[0030] Next, the control device 40 calculates a movement target position for the removal unit 23. Among the movement target positions, the position in the width direction of the workpiece conveying belt 11 is the position in the width direction of the abnormal part 5. Among the movement target positions, the position in the conveying direction of the workpiece conveying belt 11 is the position in the conveying direction of the abnormal part 5 that changes from moment to moment due to the movement of the workpiece conveying belt 11. Among the movement target positions, the position in the height direction will be explained later.

[0031] The calculation unit 40b of the control device 40 calculates the spray conditions for the water W based on the information about the size of the abnormal part 5 acquired by the abnormal part information acquisition unit 40a. Here, the spray conditions for the water W include, for example, the spray time of the water W and the distance between the workpiece 3 and the spray nozzle 21.

[0032] Next, the control device 40 controls each unit to move the removal unit 23 to the target movement position. That is, for example, as shown in Fig. 3A, when a workpiece 3 having an abnormal portion 5 is conveyed, the control device 40 moves the removal unit 23 to the target movement position as shown in Fig. 3B. As a result, the removal unit 23 presses the workpiece 3 downward with the pressing unit 32, while keeping the spray nozzle 21 positioned above the abnormal portion 5, and moves downstream in the conveying direction in accordance with the movement of the workpiece conveying belt 11 in the conveying direction.

[0033] The control device 40 then controls each component so that water W is sprayed from the spray nozzle 21 to crush and remove the abnormal portion 5. That is, the control device 40 controls the solenoid valve 27 to open it for a specified time. As a result, water W is sprayed from the spray nozzle 21 as shown in FIG. 3C, and the abnormal portion 5 is crushed by the sprayed water W and flows through the mesh of the workpiece conveying belt 11 into the drain receiver 17 together with the water W. In this way, the abnormal portion 5 is removed from the workpiece 3. The abnormal portion 5 flowed into the drain receiver 17 flows downward together with the water W as shown in FIG. 3D, as indicated by arrow a, and is discharged to the outside of the workpiece processing device 1 via the discharge pipe 19 (FIG. 1).

[0034] (Regarding the Removal Unit 23) In the removal unit 23 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B , the base end (base) 31 and the presser plate (plate-shaped member) 33 are connected via connecting portions 35, which are multiple leaf springs 61. In the removal unit 23 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B , the multiple leaf springs 61 are radially arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction around the position where the spray nozzle 21 is located, when the removal unit 23 is viewed from above. In the removal unit 23 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B , the number of leaf springs 61 is four, but it is sufficient that there are at least two or more. Furthermore, the leaf springs 61 may be thin metal plates or strip-shaped members made of a flexible material such as resin or rubber. The leaf springs 61 may be thin plates or strip-shaped members made of a single material, or may be composite materials including, for example, reinforcing wires or string-shaped members.

[0035] In the removal section 23 shown in Figures 2A and 2B, by arranging multiple leaf springs 61 as described above, the relative position between the base end portion 31 and the pressure plate 33 in the vertical direction can be changed, and the relative position in the horizontal direction can also be changed.

[0036] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the workpiece 3, whose thickness varies depending on the location, is pressed downward by the pressing portion 32. For example, if the workpiece 3 is a ball-shaped piece such as a potato, the thickness of the sliced ​​workpiece 3, which is sliced ​​at the edge of the potato, varies depending on the location, as shown in FIG. 4. In the removal unit 23 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, by arranging multiple leaf springs 61 as described above, the relative posture between the base end 31 and the pressing plate 33, i.e., the inclination of the pressing plate 33 relative to the base end 31, can also be changed. Therefore, since the vertical position of each pressing portion 32 is allowed to vary, as shown in FIG. 4, even if the thickness of the workpiece 3 varies depending on the location, the pressing portion 32 can press the workpiece 3 downward in accordance with the shape of the workpiece 3. That is, in the removal section 23 shown in Figures 2A and 2B, the multiple leaf springs 61 can tolerate a difference in the distance between the base end 31 and one of the at least two pressing sections 32 when the at least two pressing sections 32 are holding down the workpiece 3, and the distance between the base end 31 and the other of the at least two pressing sections 32.

[0037] At least one pressing portion 32 may be provided, but it is preferable to provide a plurality of pressing portions 32 spaced apart from one another.

[0038] The removal section 23 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B and FIGS. 5 to 7 described later is provided with a nipple 55 for connecting the spray nozzle 21 to a water supply line 53 .

[0039] Fig. 5 is a schematic side view of the removal unit 23 of another embodiment, Fig. 6 is a schematic side view of the removal unit 23 of yet another embodiment, and Fig. 7 is a schematic side view of the removal unit 23 of yet another embodiment.

[0040] For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , the connecting portion 35 may be a coil spring 63. In this case, it is preferable that a plurality of coil springs 63 are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction around the position of the spray nozzle 21 when the removal unit 23 is viewed from above. In the removal unit 23 shown in FIG. 5 , by arranging the plurality of coil springs 63 as described above, the relative positions of the base end 31 and the presser plate 33 in the vertical and horizontal directions can be changed, and the relative positions in the horizontal direction and the relative attitude of the base end 31 and the presser plate 33 can also be changed. In the removal unit 23 shown in FIG. 5 , the plurality of coil springs 63 can allow the distance between the base end 31 and one of the at least two presser portions 32 to be different from the distance between the base end 31 and the other of the at least two presser portions 32 when the at least two presser portions 32 hold down the workpiece 3.

[0041] As shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 5, the connecting portion 35 may be an elastic member 66 such as a leaf spring 61 or a coil spring 63.

[0042] For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the connection portion 35 may be an actuator 65, such as a fluid-driven cylinder or an electric cylinder, configured with a rod 65 a that can move forward and backward. In this case, there may be only one actuator 65, but it is preferable that multiple actuators 65 are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction around the position of the spray nozzle 21 when the removal unit 23 is viewed from above. Note that when the connection portion 35 is multiple actuators 65, the pressure plate 33 may be divided into multiple parts in the circumferential direction as shown in FIG. 7 . In this case, in the removal unit 23 shown in FIG. 7 , the multiple actuators 65 can allow the distance between the base end 31 and one of the at least two pressure portions 32 when the at least two pressure portions 32 are holding the workpiece 3 to be different from the distance between the base end 31 and the other of the at least two pressure portions 32.

[0043] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes modifications to the above-described embodiments and appropriate combinations of these embodiments. For example, the workpiece 3 according to the above-described embodiment is a potato, but it is not limited to a potato, and may be other root vegetables such as pumpkin, radish, sweet potato, or yam, or may be fruits and vegetables other than root vegetables, foods other than fruits and vegetables, or ingredients in the process of being processed into such foods.

[0044] The contents described in each of the above embodiments can be understood, for example, as follows: (1) A workpiece processing device (removal unit 23) according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a spray nozzle 21 for spraying a fluid (water W) onto a workpiece 3, a base (base end 31) for supporting the spray nozzle 21, one or more holding units 32 for holding down the workpiece 3, and one or more connection units 35 that are provided between the one or more holding units 32 and the base (base end 31) and that support the holding units 32 so that they can be displaced relative to the base (base end 31).

[0045] According to the configuration (1) above, the workpiece 3 can be held down by the holding portion 32 supported displaceably relative to the base (base end portion 31), so that the fluid (water W) can be sprayed onto the workpiece 3 while reducing undesired movement of the workpiece 3. This makes it possible to reduce undesired movement of the workpiece 3 when removing the abnormal portion 5 from the workpiece 3 by spraying the fluid (water W) onto the workpiece 3.

[0046] (2) In some embodiments, in the configuration of (1) above, the one or more pressing portions may include at least two pressing portions. The connecting portion 35 may be able to tolerate a difference between the distance between the base (the base end 31) and one of the at least two pressing portions 32 when the at least two pressing portions 32 are pressing down on the workpiece 3 and the distance between the base (the base end 31) and the other of the at least two pressing portions 32.

[0047] According to the configuration (2) above, even if the size of the workpiece 3 along the displacement direction of the holding portion 32 relative to the base (base end portion 31) varies depending on the position of the workpiece 3, the workpiece 3 can be held down by at least two holding portions 32. This makes it possible to further reduce undesired movement of the workpiece 3 when removing the abnormal portion 5 from the workpiece 3.

[0048] (3) In some embodiments, in the configuration of (1) or (2) above, it is preferable to include a plate-shaped member (pressure plate 33) to which one or more pressing portions 32 are attached and which is connected to the connection portion 35.

[0049] According to the above configuration (3), the positional relationship between the pressing portion 32 and the connecting portion 35 can be determined by the plate-like member (pressing plate 33).

[0050] (4) In some embodiments, in the configuration of (3) above, the plate-shaped member (pressure plate 33) may have an opening (through hole 33a) through which the fluid (water W) sprayed from the spray nozzle 21 can pass.

[0051] According to the above configuration (4), the fluid (water W) sprayed from the spray nozzle 21 is not interfered with by the plate-like member (presser plate 33).

[0052] (5) In some embodiments, in any of the configurations (1) to (4) above, the connection portion 35 may be one or more elastic members 66 provided between one or more pressing portions 32 and the base (base end portion 31).

[0053] According to the configuration (5) above, the elastic member 66 can apply a spring force to the pressing portion 32 to press the workpiece 3, thereby further reducing undesired movement of the workpiece 3 when removing the abnormal portion 5 from the workpiece 3.

[0054] (6) In some embodiments, in the configuration of (5) above, the elastic member 66 may be one or more leaf springs 61 provided between one or more pressing portions 32 and the base (base end portion 31).

[0055] According to the configuration (6) above, the leaf spring 61 can apply a spring force to the pressing portion 32 to press the workpiece 3, so that undesired movement of the workpiece 3 can be further reduced when removing the abnormal portion 5 from the workpiece 3 with a relatively simple configuration.

[0056] (7) In some embodiments, in the configuration of (5) above, the elastic member 66 may be one or more coil springs 63 provided between one or more pressing portions 32 and the base (base end portion 31).

[0057] According to the configuration (7) above, the coil spring 63 can apply a spring force to the pressing portion 32 to press the workpiece 3, so that undesired movement of the workpiece 3 can be further reduced when removing the abnormal portion 5 from the workpiece 3 with a relatively simple configuration.

[0058] (8) In some embodiments, in any of the configurations (1) to (4) above, the connection portion 35 may be one or more actuators 65 provided between one or more pressing portions 32 and the base (base end portion 31).

[0059] According to the above configuration (8), the actuator 65 can apply a spring force to the pressing portion 32 to press the workpiece 3, thereby further reducing undesired movement of the workpiece 3 when removing the abnormal portion 5 from the workpiece 3.

[0060] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 work processing device 3 work 5 abnormal part 10 mesh belt conveyor 11 work transport belt 12 mesh belt 14 support member 15 leveller 17 drain receiver 20 removal device 21 spray nozzle 23 removal section 25 moving device 31 base end (base) 32 pressing section 33 pressing plate (plate-shaped member) 35 connection section 40 control device 41 imaging device 43 encoder 61 leaf spring 63 coil spring 65 actuator 65a rod 66 elastic member

Claims

1. A workpiece processing device comprising: a spray nozzle for spraying a fluid onto a workpiece; a base for supporting the spray nozzle; one or more holding portions for holding the workpiece; and one or more connection portions provided between the one or more holding portions and the base, supporting the holding portions so that they can be displaced relative to the base.

2. A workpiece processing device as described in claim 1, wherein the one or more pressing portions include at least two pressing portions, and the connection portion is capable of allowing the distance between the base and one of the at least two pressing portions when the at least two pressing portions are holding down the workpiece to be different from the distance between the base and the other of the at least two pressing portions.

3. The workpiece machining device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a plate-shaped member to which the one or more pressing portions are attached and which is connected to the connection portion.

4. The workpiece processing device according to claim 3, wherein the plate-like member has an opening through which the fluid sprayed from the spray nozzle can pass.

5. A workpiece processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connection portion is one or more elastic members provided between the one or more pressing portions and the base.

6. The workpiece machining device according to claim 5, wherein the elastic member is one or more leaf springs provided between the one or more pressing portions and the base.

7. The workpiece machining device according to claim 5, wherein the elastic member is one or more coil springs provided between the one or more pressing portions and the base.

8. The workpiece machining device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connection portion is one or more actuators provided between the one or more pressing portions and the base.

Images