JP7644979B2 - Aquaculture cage cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for cleaning culture cages used in shellfish farming, and more specifically, to a culture cage cleaning device equipped with a mechanism for preventing wear on a conveyor made of metal net.

Various types of cages are used in scallop farming, including zabuton, round cages, and pocket cages. Cages of different sizes, shapes, and mesh sizes are used depending on the growth stage of the scallops. Cage farming used in the ocean can become contaminated with foreign matter such as seaweed and other organisms such as oysters and barnacles. If foreign matter adheres to the cages, it can impede water flow and have a negative impact on the supply of oxygen and food to the scallops. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly remove foreign matter that has adhered to the cages, and for this purpose, the cages are washed on land or on board as necessary.

For example, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be used as a culture cage cleaning device. In the drawing of Patent Document 1, shellfish are depicted as objects to be cleaned, but the culture cage can be cleaned by placing it on the conveyor in this device. The cleaning device of Patent Document 1 includes an endless net conveyor that is stretched between two rollers and runs with the culture cage with foreign matter attached placed on it, and a rotating nozzle that sprays high-pressure water onto the culture cage on the endless net conveyor. Although not described in Patent Document 1, it is preferable to use a net conveyor composed of multiple spiral wires made by bending stainless steel wire into a spiral shape and multiple wavy or straight force wires that connect adjacent spiral wires as the endless net conveyor of this cleaning device. In this device, high-pressure water is sprayed from a rotating nozzle at close range onto the culture cage, and this high-pressure water presses the culture cage downward, and a large pressure is applied to the net conveyor located below the culture cage.

In particular, in scallop farming, the scale of farming has expanded in recent years, leading to an increase in the number of farm cages used and, accordingly, the amount of cages being washed. In order to improve the efficiency of washing the increasing number of farm cages, measures have been taken such as increasing the pressure and amount of high-pressure water in the washing equipment and increasing the running speed of the net conveyor. Wear on the net conveyor has become an issue due to the increase in the pressure of the high-pressure water and the amount of washing water, as well as the increased running speed of the net conveyor.

In recent washing equipment, in order to support a low-rigidity net conveyor, multiple plastic rails are fixed to the side of the net conveyor opposite the surface on which the culture cages are placed, with the aim of supporting the net conveyor. However, as a result of increases in pressure, amount of washing water, and conveyor speed, the net conveyor wears out and breaks in concentrated areas where it comes into contact with the plastic rails (which always remain in the same position). Net conveyors with spiral wires come into contact with the resin rails at points rather than at a surface due to the twisting of the spiral wire caused by the helical bend, so wear at these contact points progresses faster than other areas, causing them to become thinner, and causing them to break due to vibration.

JP 2019-115332 A Patent No. 6901763

In order to solve the above problems, conventional techniques have been used to increase the number of resin rails or to widen the width of the resin rails in order to disperse frictional forces. However, increasing the number of rails or widening the rail width increases the amount of water reflected off the top surface of the resin rails, which causes problems such as the reflected water blocking the high-pressure water heading toward the culture cages, reducing the cleaning effect, and increasing the amount of washing wastewater spraying out toward the entrance and exit of the washing device, which falls on workers.

In addition, attempts have been made to increase the diameter of the spiral wire in net conveyors to extend their lifespan against wear, but this has only a limited effect in preventing wear, and the use of thick stainless steel wires results in increased weight and costs, which are problems.

The present invention addresses the above problems and aims to provide a cage cleaning device with a structure that can reduce wear on the net conveyor.

The present invention provides an aquaculture cage cleaning device for cleaning aquaculture cages used in shellfish farming with cleaning water. The aquaculture cage cleaning device includes an aquaculture cage transport section and a cleaning water injection section that injects cleaning water onto the aquaculture cages transported by the aquaculture cage transport section. The aquaculture cage transport section includes an endless conveyor and a frame that supports the endless conveyor. The endless conveyor is hung across two rotating rollers arranged in parallel, and has a cage placement section that runs approximately horizontally between the two rotating rollers so that multiple aquaculture cages can be placed on it. The frame has multiple rails that have a length in the running direction of the endless conveyor and are arranged side by side in the width direction of the endless conveyor at a position corresponding to the cage placement section. The multiple rails are movable in the width direction of the endless conveyor in a range that corresponds to at least the middle part of the cage placement section.

The rails are preferably divided into three in the running direction of the basket placement portion of the endless conveyor. Specifically, the rails preferably have a movable rail section in which the juxtaposed rails move integrally in the width direction of the endless conveyor in the range facing the cleaning water injection section. A first fixed rail section is preferably disposed upstream of the movable rail section in the running direction of the endless conveyor. A second fixed rail section is preferably disposed downstream of the movable rail section in the running direction of the endless conveyor. The first fixed rail section can be longer than the second fixed rail section.

The culture cage cleaning device further includes a drive unit that moves the movable rail section. In one embodiment, the drive unit can include a bolt rotatably supported on the frame, and a connecting member that is connected to the movable rail section and is screwed to the bolt. In this embodiment, the movable rail section moves in the width direction of the endless conveyor by moving the screwed connecting member in the length direction of the bolt by rotating the bolt.

In another embodiment, the drive unit can have a motor and a crank mechanism that converts the motion of the motor into linear motion. In this embodiment, the crank mechanism moves the movable rail unit when the motor is activated.

According to the present invention, by moving the rail supporting the conveyor in the width direction of the conveyor in the range corresponding to the cleaning water injection section where the load on the conveyor from the high-pressure water becomes large, it is possible to prevent the rail from always contacting the same position on the conveyor, thereby dispersing the wear positions of the conveyor and significantly extending its lifespan.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a culture cage cleaning device having a culture cage transport section according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a culture cage transport section having multiple rails according to one embodiment of the present invention. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a movable rail portion, a fixed rail portion, and a drive portion for the movable rail portion according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams showing examples of a method for driving a movable rail portion, in which (a) shows a form having a manually operated drive portion, and (b) shows a form having an automatically operated drive portion.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

(Overview of the aquaculture cage cleaning device)
1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the culture cage cleaning device 1 according to the present invention. The culture cage cleaning device 1 (hereinafter referred to as device 1) includes a culture cage transport unit 2 for transporting a plurality of culture cages K, which are objects to be cleaned, and a cleaning water spray unit 3 for spraying high-pressure cleaning water onto the culture cages K transported by the culture cage transport unit 2 in order to clean the culture cages K.

The culture cage transport section 2 preferably comprises a frame 21 having four legs 212. Rotating rollers 211a, 211b are provided at both ends of the frame 21 in the longitudinal direction. An endless net conveyor 23 is stretched between the two rotating rollers 211a, 211b. The net conveyor 23 can be made to run by using at least one of the two rotating rollers 211a, 211b as a drive roller. Alternatively, the net conveyor 23 can be made to run by attaching a chain 232 to one or both side ends of the net conveyor 23 and using a drive mechanism (not shown) that drives the chain 232.

The net conveyor 23 can be an existing metal mesh conveyor, but it is preferable to use the balance net proposed in the applicant's patent application No. 2021-205810. This balance net is made of a metal (preferably stainless steel) net, and is composed of multiple spiral wires made by bending a metal wire into a spiral shape, and multiple wavy or straight force wires that connect adjacent spiral wires. The net conveyor 23 is typically 1 to 1.2 m wide and about 6 m long.

Between the rotating rollers 211a, 211b of the net conveyor 23 (the cleaning surface side of the net conveyor 23) is a cage placement portion 231 that runs approximately horizontally, and the culture cages K to be cleaned are placed on the cage placement portion 231 and transported. The length of the cage placement portion 231 of the net conveyor 23 is typically about 3 m, but is not limited to this. A rail 24 is arranged below the cage placement portion 231 of the net conveyor 23 at a position that roughly corresponds to the cage placement portion 231.

The cleaning water spraying section 3 is provided so as to be located above a part (basket cleaning section) of the basket placement portion 231 of the net conveyor 23. In FIG. 1, the cleaning water spraying section 3 has a rotary nozzle unit 31. The rotary nozzle unit 31 can be provided with a rotor having a plurality of radially extending arms and a nozzle provided on each of the plurality of arms. The cleaning water sprayed from the rotary nozzle unit 31 hits the culture cage K on the net conveyor 23 and can remove foreign matter from the culture cage K. The rotary nozzle unit 31 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 1, and the nozzles described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, for example, can be used as needed.

In recent years, the pressure and flow rate of the cleaning water have been increased so that foreign objects can be removed reliably and quickly from the culture cages K, and the latest rotary nozzle units 31 can spray, for example, 400 L of cleaning water per minute at a pressure of 5 MPa. This high-pressure cleaning water presses the culture cages K downward, and the running speed of the net conveyor has increased to increase the processing volume, causing wear of the net conveyor due to friction between the net conveyor and the rail below it. The present invention reduces wear of the net conveyor due to friction with the rail.

The rotary nozzle unit 31 is housed in a case 32 to prevent the washing water from splashing, and high-pressure washing water is supplied to the rotary nozzle unit 31 from a washing water supply pipe 33 that is provided to protrude from the ceiling of the case 32. The case 32 is provided at a position that generally corresponds to the cage washing section of the net conveyor 23. The case 32 has an inlet section 32a and an outlet section 32b for the culture cage K. The inlet section 32a and the outlet section 32b are preferably closed by a curtain (not shown) made of a vinyl sheet, a rubber sheet, or the like to prevent the washing water from spraying out of the case 32. The length of the case 32 in the running direction of the net conveyor is typically 1 m to 1.2 m, and the width preferably corresponds to the width of the frame 21.

(Details of the aquaculture cage transport section)
Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the culture cage transport unit 2 having a plurality of rails 24 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the movable rail unit 241, the first and second fixed rail units 242, 243, and the drive unit 25 of the movable rail unit 241 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Although not shown in Fig. 2, the rotating rollers 211a, 211b are provided at both ends of the frame 21 as described above, and the endless net conveyor 23 is stretched between them. The culture cage K to be cleaned is placed on the cage placement portion 231 between the rotating rollers 211a, 211b and transported, and the rails 24 are arranged below the cage placement portion 231.

The frame 21 has two side frames 213a, 213b arranged in parallel at both ends of the width of the net conveyor 23. Inside the two side frames 213a, 213b, L-shaped cross-section clamps 215a, 215b are provided in a mutually opposing positional relationship. Both ends of the width of the basket placement portion 231 of the net conveyor 23 run between the underside of the lower edge of the clamps 215a, 215b and side rails 213ar, 213br that are provided in a mutually opposing positional relationship on the inside of the side frames 213a, 213b.

Four intermediate frames 214a to 214d are placed between the side frames 213a and 213b so as to be perpendicular to them. The intermediate frame 214a is placed near the ends of the side frames 213a and 213b on the upstream side of the running direction of the net conveyor 23, and the intermediate frame 214d is placed near the ends of the side frames 213a and 213b on the downstream side of the running direction of the net conveyor 23. The intermediate frame 214b is placed upstream of the midpoint between the intermediate frames 214a and 214d in the running direction, and the intermediate frame 214c is placed downstream of the midpoint between the intermediate frames 214a and 214d in the running direction. It is preferable that the distance between the intermediate frames 214a and 214b is wider than the distance between the intermediate frames 214c and 214d. The distance between the two will be described later in the detailed description of the rails.

Between the intermediate frames 214a and 214d, multiple rails 24 are arranged under the cage placement portion 231 of the net conveyor 23. The multiple rails 24 have a length in the running direction of the net conveyor 23, and are arranged side by side in the width direction of the net conveyor 23. By arranging the multiple rails 24 under the cage placement portion 231 of the net conveyor 23, the multiple rails 24 support the cage placement portion 231, and the net conveyor 23 can run smoothly even when the high-pressure cleaning water from the cleaning water spray unit 3 is pressing the culture cages K downward.

In one embodiment, the rails 24 are preferably divided into three in the running direction of the basket placement portion 231 of the net conveyor 23. Specifically, it is preferable to provide a first rail portion 242 between the intermediate frames 214a and 214b, a second rail portion 243 between the intermediate frames 214c and 214d, and a third rail portion 241 between the first rail portion 242 and the second rail portion 243. The third rail portion 241 can be in a range corresponding to the middle portion of the basket placement portion 231, and more preferably, in a range facing the rotary nozzle unit 31, i.e., a portion (basket cleaning portion) corresponding to the reach of the high-pressure cleaning water sprayed from the rotary nozzle unit 31.

In the first rail section 242, a plurality of rails 242a, one end of which is fixed to the intermediate frame 214a and the other end of which is fixed to 214b, are arranged side by side at intervals in the width direction of the net conveyor 23. That is, the first rail section 242 is a first fixed rail section 242 in which the ends of the plurality of rails 242a are fixed to the intermediate frames 214a and 214b. The first fixed rail section 242 is an entrance side rail section located upstream of the third rail section 241 in the running direction of the net conveyor 23, and can be used as a space for spreading the culture cages K with foreign matter attached before they enter the cleaning water injection section 3. The length of the first fixed rail section 242 is typically about 1 m, but is not limited to this.

In the second rail section 243, a plurality of rails 243a, one end of which is fixed to the intermediate frame 214c and the other end of which is fixed to 214d, are arranged side by side at intervals in the width direction of the net conveyor 23. That is, the second rail section 243 is a second fixed rail section 243 in which the ends of the plurality of rails 243a are fixed to the intermediate frames 214c and 214d. The second fixed rail section 243 is a fixed rail section on the outlet side located downstream in the running direction of the net conveyor 23 from the third rail section 241, and can be used as a space for folding or stacking the culture cages K that have been washed in the washing water injection section 3. The length of the second fixed rail section 243 is not limited, and may be shorter than the first fixed rail section 242.

The third rail section 241 located between the first fixed rail section 242 and the second fixed rail section 243 is a movable rail section 241. The movable rail section 241 is a section that corresponds to the washing space (cage washing section) of the culture cage K, arranged in a range generally facing the rotating nozzle unit 31 (i.e., a section that corresponds to the reach of the high-pressure washing water sprayed from the rotating nozzle unit 31). The movable rail section 241 is configured such that multiple rails 241a move integrally in the width direction of the net conveyor 23.

The movable rail section 241 has a plurality of rails 241a arranged side by side at intervals in the width direction of the net conveyor 23, and a pair of base members 241b1, 241b2 to which both ends of the plurality of rails 241a are fixed and have a length in the width direction. The base member 241b1 is shorter than the length of the intermediate frame 214b and can move in the length direction while sliding along the intermediate frame 214b. Similarly, the base member 241b2 is shorter than the length of the intermediate frame 214c and can move in the length direction while sliding along the intermediate frame 214c. Therefore, the movable rail section 241 can move in the width direction of the net conveyor 23 along the length direction of the intermediate frames 214b, 214c.

The intermediate frames 214b, 214c on which the base members 241b1, 241b2 rest are provided with three long holes h along their length. On the other hand, the base members 241b1, 241b2 are provided with three pins p protruding from their undersides, and the three pins p are inserted into the three long holes and move inside the long holes. Therefore, the movement distance in the width direction of the movable rail section 241 can be determined by the length of the long holes h.

The number of rails 241a, 242a, 243a of the movable rail section 241, the first fixed rail section 242, and the second fixed rail section 243 is six in each of Figures 2 and 3, but is not limited to this, and may be five or less or seven or more depending on the width of the net conveyor 23, as long as the effect of the present invention is achieved. In addition, the number of rails 241a, 242a, 243a may be different in any one of the movable rail section 241, the first fixed rail section 242, and the second fixed rail section 243, or the number of rails may be different in all three.

As described above, the movable rail section 241 is configured such that the multiple rails 241a in the range facing the rotating nozzle unit 31 move integrally in the width direction of the net conveyor 23. In another embodiment, multiple rails 24 that are not divided into three in the running direction of the net conveyor 23 but each continue over the entire length of the basket placement section 231 may be used, and the multiple continuous rails 24 may be configured to move integrally in the width direction of the net conveyor 23.

As an example of the movable rail section, when a net conveyor with a width of 1 m is used, it is more preferable to set the rail spacing to 110 m and the number of rails to 6, and when a net conveyor with a width of 1.2 m is used, it is more preferable to set the rail spacing to 140 m and the number of rails to 6. If the rail spacing is narrower than these and the number of rails is increased, the cleaning water may splash on the top surface of the rails and the cleaning wastewater may spurt out from the inlet or outlet of the case. Conversely, if the rail spacing is wider and the number of rails is reduced, the pressure of the cleaning water may cause the net conveyor to deform downward between the rails, which may increase wear on the net conveyor. The length of the movable rail section (the length in the running direction of the net conveyor) is preferably 1.2 m to 1.3 m when the length of the basket placement portion is 3 m. Furthermore, the applicant's experiments have confirmed that when a 25 mm wide resin rail is used and the moving distance of the movable rail section is 60 mm, the net conveyor comes into contact with the rail over a wide area of 85 mm in width, and the net conveyor replacement time is approximately three times longer than in conventional devices where the rail does not move and always comes into contact with the same position on the net conveyor.

(Method of driving the movable rail section)
Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a method for driving the movable rail section. The movement of the movable rail section 241 may be performed manually or automatically. As a manual movement mechanism for the movable rail section 241, the driving section 25 shown in Figs. 2 to 4(a) can be used. The driving section 25 has a knobbed bolt 25a having a knob at one end so that an operator can rotate it by hand. The knobbed bolt 25a protrudes outward from the side frame 231a, and the other end is rotatably supported by the side frame 213a.

The drive unit 25 further has a connecting member 25b fixed to the movable rail portion 241. The connecting member 25b has a base 25b1 having a length parallel to the side frame 213a, and a connecting portion 25b2 connecting both longitudinal ends of the base 25b1 to the movable rail portion 241. A screw hole 25b3 is provided at approximately the middle of the longitudinal direction of the base 25b1, through which the knobbed bolt 25a is inserted and into which a screw is screwed. Therefore, by rotating the knobbed bolt 25a, the base 25b1 moves in the longitudinal direction of the knobbed bolt 25a according to the direction of rotation, and the movable rail portion 241 connected to the base 25b1 via the connecting portion 25b2 moves in the longitudinal direction of the knobbed bolt 25a, i.e., in the width direction of the net conveyor 23.

The movable rail section 241 can be moved in the width direction of the net conveyor 23, for example, by repeatedly rotating the knobbed bolt 25a appropriately each time the cleaning device is used, and once the movable rail section 241 has moved in one direction a distance determined by the length of the long hole h, the knobbed bolt 25a is similarly rotated in the opposite direction each time the cleaning device is used. This allows the rail 24 to be moved so that the same position on the net conveyor 23 does not continue to come into contact, thereby preventing concentrated wear on the net conveyor 23.

The driving unit 26 shown in FIG. 4(b) can also be used as the automatic movement mechanism for the movable rail section 241. The driving unit 26 has a motor 26a and a crank mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the motor 26a into linear motion. The crank mechanism has a disk 26b attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 26a and a rod 26c with one end rotatably attached near the outer periphery of the disk 26b. The other end of the rod 26c is rotatably attached to a connecting member 26d that is connected to the movable rail section 241. Therefore, the rotational motion of the motor 26a is converted into linear motion, and the movable rail section 241 moves in the width direction of the net conveyor 23 due to the linear motion.

Preferably, a motor with a high reduction ratio is used as the motor 26a, and the motor 26a is configured to be driven by a timer, so that the disk 26b of the crank mechanism rotates a predetermined angle at regular time intervals while the cleaning device is in use, and the movable rail portion 241 moves little by little in the width direction of the net conveyor 23.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Culture cage cleaning device 2 Culture cage transport section 21 Frame 211a, 211b Rotating roller 212 Leg 213a, 213b Side frame 213ar, 213br Side rail 214a, 214b, 214c, 214d Intermediate frame 215a, 215b Clamp h Long hole 23 Net conveyor 231 Cage placement section 232 Chain 24 Rail 241 Movable rail section 241a Rail 241b1, 241b2 Base member p Pin 242 First rail section 242a Rail 243 Second rail section 243a Rail 25 Drive section 25a Knob bolt 25b Connection member 25b1 Base 25b2 Connection section 25b3 Screw hole 26 Drive section 26a Motor 26b Disk 26c Rod 26d Connecting member 3 Cleaning water jet section 31 Rotating nozzle unit 32 Case 32a Inlet section 32b Outlet section 33 Cleaning water supply pipe

Claims (5)

A culture cage washing device for washing a culture cage used for shellfish culture with washing water, comprising:
A culture cage transport unit;
a cleaning water injection unit that injects cleaning water onto the culture cage transported by the culture cage transport unit,
The culture cage conveying unit includes:
an endless conveyor having a cage placement portion that runs substantially horizontally so that a plurality of culture cages can be placed thereon;
a frame configured to support the endless conveyor, in which a plurality of rails having a length in the running direction of the endless conveyor are arranged in parallel in the width direction of the endless conveyor at a position corresponding to the basket placement portion;
A culture cage cleaning device, characterized in that the multiple rails are movable in the width direction within a range corresponding to at least the middle portion of the cage mounting portion. The plurality of rails include:
a movable rail section in which the juxtaposed rails move integrally in the width direction in a range facing the cleaning water jetting section;
A first fixed rail portion located upstream of the movable rail portion in the running direction of the endless conveyor;
A second fixed rail portion located downstream of the movable rail portion in the running direction of the endless conveyor;
2. The culture cage cleaning device according to claim 1, comprising: The culture cage cleaning device according to claim 2, wherein the first fixed rail portion is longer than the second fixed rail portion. A drive unit that moves the movable rail unit is further provided.
The drive unit has a bolt rotatably supported by the frame and a connecting member connected to the movable rail unit and screwed to the bolt, and the screwed connecting member moves in the length direction of the bolt by rotation of the bolt, thereby moving the movable rail unit in the width direction.
The culture cage cleaning device according to claim 2 or 3. A drive unit that moves the movable rail unit is further provided.
the drive unit includes a motor and a crank mechanism that converts motion of the motor into linear motion;
The crank mechanism moves the movable rail portion by operating the motor.
The culture cage cleaning device according to claim 2 or 3.

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