JP2001287710A - Egg sorter in composite inline egg gathering - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an optimum amount of eggs to be fed for throughput of an automatic packaging device or the like in composite inline egg gathering to prevent eggs from being damaged. SOLUTION: Upper and lower sorters 1, 2 for sorting eggs carried on egg conveyers 10, 11 to egg feed conveyers 12, 13 via connection conveyers 6, 7 respectively comprise first conveyers 1a, 2a and second conveyers 1b, 2b, which are driven by motors 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, respectively. Egg carrying densities of both egg conveyers are monitored by CCD cameras 14, 15, and the respective motors are controlled based on the carrying density information to feed an optimum amount of eggs for the throughput of a processing side to the egg feed conveyers to prevent the eggs from being damaged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plurality of egg conveyors for transferring eggs (unprocessed eggs) which are connected to a chicken house and conveyed from the chicken house, and a plurality of egg processing apparatuses. For example, in a combined in-line egg collection in which the eggs are transported to an automatic packaging device or a farm packer to perform the egg processing, the flow of the eggs formed for each of the egg conveyors can be arbitrarily transferred to the egg feeding conveyors connected to the processing device side. To an improvement in a device for sorting the items.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Eggs produced in the same poultry house are of the same size (weight). Must be assigned to the most appropriate processing equipment. The conventional sorting apparatus, for example, when sorting the egg conveyor A and the egg conveyor B into the egg feeding conveyor C and the egg feeding conveyor D, the following three patterns are possible.

[0003] The first pattern is an original egg conveyor A → an egg feeding conveyor C, and an original egg conveyor B → an egg feeding conveyor. The second pattern is an original egg conveyor A → an egg feeding conveyor C, and an original egg conveyor B → an egg feeding conveyor C. The third pattern is the original egg conveyor A → the egg feeding conveyor D, the original egg conveyor B → the egg feeding conveyor D.

[0004] However, due to the structure of the sorting device, it is impossible to sort the fourth pattern of the egg conveyor A → the egg feeding conveyor D and the egg egg conveyor B → the egg feeding conveyor C. In order to enable this fourth pattern, the present applicant has invented a "chicken egg sorting apparatus in an in-line system" and applied for a patent, and has already obtained a patent (Patent No. 30132).
No. 34). The gist of the present invention is that `` to transport the eggs transported from the connected poultry house, an egg transport path for each poultry house, a sorting mechanism stacked in multiple stages, and connected to each of the egg transport paths, It consists of a connection conveyor that can be connected to the sorting mechanism of the stages, and an egg feeding conveyor that is connected for each sorting mechanism.Each of the connecting conveyors has up-and-down moving means that can be connected to the sorting mechanism of each stage, and each of the sorting mechanisms is And a guide member for guiding the eggs transported from the connection conveyor to the egg feeding conveyor. "

[0005] By the way, raw eggs (unprocessed chicken eggs) automatically carried out of the poultry house are conveyed by a raw egg conveyor, and are used in automatic packaging equipment for washing, sorting, and packing in order to produce product eggs. , Sent to a "farm packer" that automatically packs eggs into trays. Therefore, the supply speed and supply amount of the eggs transported by the egg conveyor are left to the maximum capacity of the processing side such as an automatic packaging device.

[0006]

For this reason, the amount of eggs that are carried out of the poultry house and unilaterally carried out by the original egg conveyor is:
Exceeding the maximum capacity of the processing side of the automatic packaging machine or the like, the transport density became high before being sent to the automatic packaging machine, and the raw eggs were subjected to strong pressure, which was the biggest cause of breakage of the raw eggs. In particular, in the case of a complex inline egg collection in which a plurality of egg conveyors merge, it is essential to optimize the supply amount of the egg. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to supply an appropriate amount of original eggs according to the processing capacity to a processing side of an automatic packaging device or the like in a composite inline egg collection.

[0007]

The features of the present invention are as follows. In other words, it is connected to each egg conveyor for each chicken house, a sorting mechanism stacked in multiple stages, and a separate egg conveyor for transporting the eggs transported from the connected chicken house, and can be connected to the sorting mechanism of each stage And each egg-feeding conveyor connected to each sorting mechanism. Each of the connecting conveyors has up-and-down moving means that can be connected to the sorting mechanism of each stage, and each sorting mechanism has an original feeder conveyed from the connecting conveyor. In the egg sorting device having a guide member for guiding eggs to an egg feeding conveyor, a CCD camera for grasping the transport density of the eggs is installed above each egg conveyor, and each sorting mechanism is A first conveyor connected to the original egg conveyor; and a second conveyor connected to the first conveyor and connected to the egg feeding conveyor, and drives a motor for driving the first conveyor and a second conveyor. Motor and is that, the conveying speed of the respective conveyors on the basis of the conveying density information of the CCD camera, adjustably in response to the processing capacity of the egg processing device connected to Kyutamago conveyor is varied rotation speed.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A case where an original egg conveyor is constituted by two lines and an egg feeding conveyor on the processing line side is constituted by two lines will be described with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 denotes an upper sorting mechanism, a first conveyor 1a on the upstream side in the transport direction indicated by an arrow in the drawing, and a second conveyor 1 connected to the first conveyor.
b, and a guide member 1c that guides the original egg E by moving on the conveying surfaces of both conveyors 1a and 1b. 2
Is a lower sorting mechanism, which is disposed below the upper sorting mechanism and has the same configuration as the upper sorting mechanism. That is, it is composed of a first conveyor 2a, a second conveyor 2b connected to the first conveyor, and a guide member 2c that guides the original egg E by moving on the transport surface of both conveyors 2a, 2b. Three
Is a supporting column for supporting the vertical sorting mechanisms 1 and 2, which is erected on the floor or the ground.

These conveyors 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b
In order to easily move the egg E by the guide members 1c and 2c and to easily slip the egg, a belt conveyor or a slat conveyor having a flat conveying surface is used in each case. Also, the first conveyor 1
a, 2a are shorter than the second conveyors 1b, 2b. The first conveyor 1a of the upper sorting mechanism is driven by the motor 4a, the second conveyor is driven by the motor 4b, the first conveyor 2a of the lower sorting mechanism is driven by the motor 5a, and the second conveyor 2b is driven by the motor 5b. The guide members 1c and 2c are moved manually or by a driving device.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a first connection conveyor, and reference numeral 7 denotes a second connection conveyor. Both ends of the upstream side in the transport direction are pivotally supported by columns 8 standing on the floor or the ground. The downstream end in the transport direction is supported by a known vertical moving means such as a hydraulic cylinder 9 whose lower end is pivotally supported by a frame or a floor (not shown) or an air cylinder. Both connection conveyors 6 and 7 are It is vertically movable about the pivot point. Therefore, the first connection conveyor 6 includes the first conveyor 1a of the upper sorting mechanism 1 and the lower sorting mechanism 2
And the second connection conveyor 7 can be connected to the first conveyor 1a of the upper sorting mechanism and the first conveyor 2a of the lower sorting mechanism, respectively. In the illustrated example, the heights of both the connection conveyor and the upper sorting mechanism are the same, but it is optional to provide a difference between the heights of the two conveyors.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a first connection to the first connection conveyor 6.
The egg conveyor 11 is connected to a second connecting conveyor.
The original egg conveyor is connected to different chicken houses, and transports the original eggs E transported from the chicken house. 12 is the first
The egg feeding conveyor is connected to the second conveyor 1b of the upper sorting mechanism in the illustrated example, and conveys the original eggs to, for example, an automatic packaging device (not shown). Reference numeral 13 denotes a second egg feeding conveyor, which is connected to the second conveyor 2b of the lower conveyor, and conveys the eggs to, for example, a farm packer (not shown). A well-known bar conveyor is used for both the connection conveyors 6 and 7, the both egg conveyors 10 and 11, and the both egg conveyors 12 and 13.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a first CCD camera, which is a flat portion of the first egg conveyor 10 and is installed above and just before the transfer end point. Reference numeral 15 denotes a second CCD camera, which is a flat portion of the second egg conveyor 11 and is installed above and just before the transport end point. Reference numeral 16 denotes a control device, which is a CCD camera 1
The transport density information of each egg conveyor grasped by 4 and 15 is received, and each motor 4a, 4b, 5
The number of rotations a and 5b, that is, the transport speed of each conveyor is controlled. In addition, the conveyance speed of another conveyor, for example, a cage conveyor that joins an original egg conveyor or an egg feeding conveyor, is also controlled based on the conveyance density information.

Here, the first conveyor 1 of the two sorting mechanisms is used.
The speeds a and 2a are set to be slightly lower than the speeds of the second conveyors 1b and 2b, and provide the first conveyor with a function of temporarily slipping the eggs and pooling them. The transport speed of the first conveyors 1a and 1b is the same as or slightly higher than the transport speed of both connecting conveyors 6 and 7. Further, the second conveyors 1b and 2b serve to enable supply of an appropriate amount of eggs to the egg feeding conveyors 12 and 13, and accumulate the amount of eggs transported together with the first conveyor. Of course, the relationship between the two transport speeds is adjusted by the transport density information grasped by the CCD camera.

With such a configuration, the two distribution mechanisms 1,
2 can distribute the necessary eggs to the first egg-feeding conveyor and the second egg-feeding conveyor according to the production schedule of the downstream automatic packaging device and the farm packer. For example, when sorting the eggs E of the first egg conveyor 10 to the second egg conveyor 13 and the eggs E of the second egg conveyor to the first egg conveyor 12, lower the first connection conveyor 6. The second connection conveyor 7 is attached to the first conveyor 2a of the lower sorting mechanism, and the first conveyor 1a of the upper sorting mechanism.
Connect to each. Then, the guide member 2c of the lower sorting mechanism is moved so that the eggs can be transported from the first egg conveyor to the second egg feeding conveyor 13 via the first conveyor 2a and the second conveyor 2b. Further, the guide member 1c of the upper sorting mechanism is moved so that the eggs can be transported from the second egg conveyor to the first egg feeding conveyor 12 via the first conveyors 1a and 1b. Of course, a different sort is possible.

As described above, the two egg conveyors 10, 11
The transport density information of the original eggs E transported by the CCD cameras 14 and 15 is grasped by the CCD cameras 14 and 15 and sent to the control device 16. The control device 16 controls the motors 4a, 4b, 5a, and 5c based on the transport density information so that the automatic packaging device and the farm packer can exhibit their processing capacity to the upper limit, and controls the conveyors 1a, 1b, 2
Adjust the transport speeds of a and 2b.

For example, if the transport density of the first egg conveyor 10 increases and the transport density of the eggs E transported by the second egg conveyor 13 exceeds the processing capacity of the farm packer, There is a risk of damage due to pressure. Therefore, the control device 16 lowers the transport speed of the first conveyor 2a and the second conveyor 2b of the lower sorting mechanism based on the transport density information, and temporarily pools the eggs on both conveyors. When the first CCD camera detects that the transport density of the first egg conveyor has returned to the normal value, the transport speeds of the two conveyors 2a and 2b are restored.

When there are three or more lines of the egg feeding conveyor on the processing side, if the sorting mechanism is overlapped with a plurality of three or more stages, and the egg feeding conveyors are separately connected to the sorting mechanism of each stage, three or more lines are required. It is possible to sort the eggs transported by the original egg conveyor to the desired egg feeding conveyor.

[0018]

According to the present invention, the transport speed of the sorting mechanism can be adjusted based on the transport density information of the eggs detected by the CCD camera so that the processing capacity of the processing side can be maximized. It can be smoothly distributed to the egg feeding conveyor without the need.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the concept.

FIG. 2 is a plan view.

FIG. 3 is a side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 upper sorting mechanism 2 lower sorting mechanism 6 first connection conveyor 7 second connection conveyor 10 first egg conveyor 11 second egg conveyor 12 first egg feeding conveyor 13 second egg feeding conveyor 14 first CCD camera 15 second CCD camera 16 Control device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An egg conveyor for each house, which transports the eggs transported from the connected chicken house, a sorting mechanism stacked in a plurality of stages, and a sorting mechanism for each stage connected to the egg conveyor. And a feeding conveyor connected to each sorting mechanism.Each of the connecting conveyors has up-and-down moving means that can be connected to the sorting mechanism of each stage, and each sorting mechanism is transported from the connecting conveyor. In the egg sorting apparatus having a guide member for guiding the obtained eggs to the egg feeding conveyor, a CCD camera for grasping the transport density of the eggs is installed above each egg conveyor, and each sorting mechanism is , A first conveyor connected to the original egg conveyor, and a second conveyor connected to the first conveyor and connected to the egg feeding conveyor. The motor drives the first conveyor and drives the second conveyor. Motors that control the conveyor speed of each conveyor based on the conveying density information of the CCD camera.
An egg sorting apparatus in a combined in-line egg collection, wherein the number of revolutions can be changed in an adjustable manner according to the processing capacity of a chicken egg processing apparatus connected to an egg feeding conveyor. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveying speed of the first conveyor is set lower than the conveying speed of the second conveyor.