JP2637474B2 - Distribution state detector for brown rice sorting equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an apparatus for sorting brown rice having an optical detection means for detecting the distribution of brown rice or rice on a sorting plate for sorting rice and brown rice. And a distribution state detection device.

[Conventional technology]

Such a distribution state detecting device for a brown rice sorting device is mainly used to obtain control information for automatically adjusting each part in order to properly maintain the sorting state.

As a conventional example of the optical detection means, a photoconductive sensor for detecting paddy is moved in the width direction of the selection plate to detect the number of paddies positioned in the width direction of the selection plate. is there.

(For example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-71876) [Problem to be Solved by the Invention] Since the conventional one simply detects the number of paddy in the width direction of the sorting plate, it is used as the control information. In some cases, the reliability was insufficient.

Adding an example, the detection information of the distribution state detection device, for example, to separate and recover only the isolated brown rice from the paddy, a partition plate provided opposite to the end of the selection plate, It will be used to adjust the movement to a position corresponding to the boundary between the brown rice region and the region where the paddy is present. In that case, it is desired that the partition plate be brought as close as possible to the region where the paddy is present in order to recover brown rice efficiently, but when the reliability of the detection information is low, the partition plate is required. Could not be brought sufficiently close to the paddy area side.

In other words, the sorting accuracy of brown rice is as follows.
The degree of inclusion is required. For this reason, when detecting only the distribution state in the width direction of the sorting plate, in consideration of the possibility that the paddy may be biased toward the brown rice region side at a position deviated from the detection range in the front-rear direction. It is necessary to position the partition plate sufficiently on the side of the brown rice region than the boundary between the region where the rice is present and the brown rice region to prevent the rice from being mixed into the collected brown rice. The recovery efficiency could not be improved.

In addition, on the sorting plate, the rice and the brown rice are not divided into two, and there is a mixed rice region where the rice and the brown rice are mixed between the rice region and the brown rice region, In the above description, the mixed rice region and the paddy region have been described as regions where the paddy exists.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
The purpose is to be able to detect the distribution state of paddy or brown rice in a highly reliable state [Means to solve the problem] The distribution state detection device for brown rice sorting device according to the present invention,
It is provided with an optical detection means for detecting the distribution state of brown rice or rice on a sorting plate for sorting rice and brown rice, and the optical detection means can detect one brown rice or one grain of rice. , Characterized in that it is configured to detect a distribution state in a two-dimensional direction.

The optical detection means may be configured as follows.

The optical detection means includes an imaging unit that captures images in a two-dimensional direction, and an image processing unit that detects a distribution state based on imaging information of the imaging unit.

In this case, the imaging unit may be configured to output color information, and the image processing unit may be configured to detect a distribution state based on the color information.

Further, the imaging unit may be configured to output grayscale image information, and the image processing unit may be configured to detect a distribution state based on the grayscale image information.

(Operation)

 The operation of the above-described feature is as follows.

That is, the optical detection means can detect the distribution state in the two-dimensional direction at a resolution capable of detecting one grain of brown rice or paddy,
Will be detected.

In other words, it is possible to obtain highly reliable information that accurately grasps the distribution state of brown rice or paddy in the width direction and the front-rear width direction of the selection plate and the position of one grain of rice or brown rice.
Of course, by continuously detecting the distribution state,
It will also be possible to accurately grasp changes in the distribution of paddy or brown rice accompanying sorting.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the first aspect, since the distribution state in the two-dimensional direction can be detected while accurately grasping the presence of one grain of brown rice or paddy, highly reliable detection information required for the brown rice sorting apparatus Can be obtained.

According to the second aspect, the distribution state is detected while the imaging unit captures images in a two-dimensional direction at once, so that, for example, a one-dimensional image sensor along the horizontal width direction or the front-rear width direction of the selection plate can be positioned in front and behind the selection plate The distribution state can be detected at a high speed, as compared with the case where the distribution state is moved in the width direction or the horizontal width direction and the distribution state in the two-dimensional direction is detected as a result.

According to the third aspect, since color information is used, accurate detection can be performed even under a condition in which the difference in light reflectance between rice and brown rice is reduced.

According to the fourth aspect, since it is sufficient to simply process the grayscale image information, high-speed processing can be performed as compared with the processing of the image information including the color information, and the difference in the light reflectance between the paddy and the brown rice is obtained. Can be used effectively when is clear.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
A plurality of upper and lower stages are supplied to a sorting plate (1) and a processed material to be sorted after the hulling (a mixture of brown rice and rice, which is hereinafter abbreviated as a mixture) to the plurality of sorting plates (1). A supply unit (A), a collection unit (B) that collects the sorted products discharged from the end of the multi-stage separation plate (1), and a base frame (F) are configured as main components. I have.

The supply section (A) includes a supply hopper (2) supported by the base frame (F), and an extendable guide that guides the mixture from the supply hopper (2) to the start end of each sorting plate (1). And a cylinder (3). Although not described in detail, the same amount of the mixture is supplied to each of the sorting plates (1).

The plurality of sorting plates (1) are provided with a large number of protrusions for receiving a mixture on the upper surface thereof, are connected so as to be integrated, and are inclined lower at the terminal end and lower at the one end in the width direction. It is installed in a posture, and is further driven to rotate around a rotation axis (P) along the vertical direction. The supplied mixture is supplied to a brown rice area (G) as shown in FIG. And a region of so-called mixed rice (K) in which rice and brown rice are mixed, and a region of rice (M).

That is, the mixture is located at the start end of the sorting plate (1) and at a position (Z) corresponding to the upper side in the inclination in the width direction.
Supplied to The frictional resistance between the brown rice and the paddy is mainly due to the fact that the paddy is larger than the paddy, and as the sorting plate (1) is driven to rotate, the rice is sorted into the three regions as described above. .

The rotation drive structure of the selection plate (1) will be described. A support frame (4) that receives and supports a plurality of stages of the selection plate (1).
Are rotatably suspended by four suspension rods (5) that are swingably attached to the base frame (F). A drive shaft (6) rotatable around the axis of rotation (P) along the vertical direction is provided below the support frame (4), and is a disk-shaped member attached to the upper end of the drive shaft (6). Body (6a)
A connecting pin (7) extending vertically is attached to the support frame (4) while being deviated from the rotation axis (P), and the connecting pin (7) is connected to the support frame (4). Further, an electric motor (8) for driving the sorting plate is operatively connected to the drive shaft (6) by a transmission belt (9). Therefore,
With the operation of the electric motor (8), the sorting plate (1) has a radius corresponding to the deviation between the rotation axis (P) and the connecting pin (7).
Are driven to rotate.

Incidentally, (10) in the figure is a balance weight attached to the disc-shaped body (6a).

Incidentally, although not described in detail, the sorting plate (1) is adapted to be swingably adjusted with respect to the support frame (4) around one lower end portion in the lateral width direction. This swing adjustment is performed in accordance with the wetness of the mixed rice at the start of work or the like. That is, the inclination angle of the sorting plate (1) in the width direction can be adjusted so that the mixed rice is evenly distributed over the entire width direction on each sorting plate (1).

The collecting unit (B) includes a collecting hopper (11) connected to the end of the sorting plate (1), a first partition plate (12) for separating brown rice and mixed rice, a mixed rice and paddy. A second partition plate (13) for separation.

In addition, inside the collection hopper (11),
The rotating shaft (14) having the screw portion (n) and the guide shaft (15) are installed in a parallel posture and with the shaft center oriented in the lateral width direction. A connecting portion (12a) attached to the first partition plate (12) is slidably fitted on the guide shaft (15) and screwed to a screw portion (n) of the rotary shaft (14). It is provided in the state where it does. An electric motor (16) for sliding operation of the first partition plate (12) is operatively connected to the rotating shaft (14) by a transmission gear mechanism.
Is operated to move the first partition (12).

The connecting portion (13a) of the second partition plate (13) is slidably fitted on the rotating shaft (14) and the guide shaft (15), and the second partition plate (13) is connected to the guide shaft. Fixtures (not shown) such as bolts for fixing to (15) are provided on the connecting portion (13a). Therefore, the second partition plate (13) is manually moved and adjusted while the fastener is loosely tightened.

The first partition plate (12) is automatically moved and adjusted in accordance with the boundary between the brown rice region (G) and the mixed rice region (K), as will be described later. (13) is appropriately adjusted at the start of work or the like.

Next, a description will be given of a distribution state detection device provided with an optical detection means (S) for detecting the distribution state of paddy on the sorting plate (1). Incidentally, this detection information is used as control information for adjusting the movement of the first partition plate (12).

The optical detection means (S) is configured to detect a distribution state in a two-dimensional direction at a resolution capable of detecting one grain of paddy, and as shown in FIG. An imaging unit (18) attached to the upper part of one partition plate (12) by using a bracket (17) and imaging two-dimensionally, and a distribution state is detected based on imaging information of the imaging unit (18). And an image processing unit (19).

The imaging unit (19) is configured using a color image sensor that outputs three primary color information (R), (G), (B) as color information and luminance information (Y), and the image processing unit (19) is configured to detect a distribution state based on color information.

Incidentally, the imaging unit (18) has a pixel density for imaging one paddy and brown rice with several tens of pixels.

The image processing unit (19) includes three primary color information (R),
(G), (B) quantization means for quantizing the luminance information (Y), storage means for storing the quantized three primary color information (R), (G), (B) and luminance information (Y); The arithmetic means detects the distribution state based on the stored three primary color information (R), (G), (B) and the luminance information (Y).

In the figure, reference numeral (20) denotes a shutter which opens only at the image pickup timing of the image pickup section (18), and operates at a high speed of about several thousandths of a second using a liquid crystal electronic shutter or the like. ing. (21) is an illumination light connected to the light source (22) by an optical fiber cable (23). Further, (24) is an image controller that manages operations of the imaging unit (18), the image processing unit (19), the shutter (20), and the like.
The distribution state is detected at a set cycle based on the above command.

The detection of the distribution state will be described with reference to the processing procedure of FIG.

First, an imaging process is performed, and then quantization is performed.

After that, when comparing the brown rice and the paddy, the value (A) of each pixel is obtained by the following formula, for example, by utilizing the difference in color information.

A = α (RG) + β (RB) where α and β are arbitrarily set coefficients.

Next, the obtained value (A) of each pixel is smoothed by filtering or the like to remove noise.

After that, normalization is performed to remove uneven brightness. That is, for example, the screen is divided into 16 and the average value of the brightness in each of the divided screens is obtained from the luminance information (Y), and the pixel is located from the smoothed pixel value (A). Normalization is performed by subtracting the average value of the brightness of the divided screen.

Next, a binarization process is performed to extract pixels whose value (D) obtained by normalization is larger than the set threshold value.

Finally, among the binarized pixels, noise removal processing is performed to remove those other than the pixels that are adjacent to each other and form a region corresponding to the size of the paddy.

Through the above processing, the pixels corresponding to the paddy are extracted.

Next, a description will be given of partition plate movement control for adjusting the movement of the first partition plate (12) based on the information of the binarized pixels.

That is, the imaging section (18) is attached to the upper portion of the first partition plate (12) as described above, and the first partition plate (12)
Is imaged at the terminal end of the sorting plate (1) near the end. And basically, FIGS. 6 (a), (b) and (c)
As shown in the above, the above distribution state detection shows that no paddy exists on the brown rice region (G) side of the virtual extension line (Q) of the first partition plate (12) in the screen, and the paddy region ( When the paddy is detected on the M) side, the first partition plate (12) is maintained at that position assuming that the first partition plate (12) is located at the appropriate position, and is located closer to the brown rice area (G) side than the virtual extension line (Q). If paddy is detected, the first partition plate (12) is assumed to be too biased toward the mixed rice area (K) side, and is adjusted to move the set amount toward the brown rice area (G) side, and conversely. If no paddy is detected in the screen, the first partition plate (12) is assumed to be too biased toward the brown rice region (G), and the moving amount is adjusted toward the mixed rice region (K).

In addition, it is determined whether or not the first partition plate (19) is located at an appropriate position based on the information of the image processing unit (19), and based on the determination result, the first partition plate (12) is determined. A partition plate control section (25) mainly comprising a microcomputer for operating the electric motor (16) for adjusting the movement of (1) is provided.

(Another embodiment)

The distribution state detecting device according to the present invention, wherein the second partition plate (13)
When automatically moving and adjusting the second partition plate (1
3) can be used to detect control information for movement adjustment. In that case, contrary to the above-described embodiment, it is good to extract brown rice in the area (M) of the paddy.

Further, when automatically adjusting the inclination angle of the sorting plate (1) in the lateral width direction, the distribution state detecting device of the present invention may be used to detect control information for performing the adjustment. it can. In this case, the entire surface of the sorting plate (1) is imaged by the imaging unit (18), or the like, so that the sorting plate (1)
It is preferable to detect the distribution state over the entire surface of.

In practicing the present invention, an image sensor that outputs grayscale image processing information is used as the imaging unit (18), and the image processing unit (19) is configured to detect a distribution state based on grayscale image information. You may.

In addition, the one-dimensional image sensor along the horizontal width direction or the front-rear width direction of the selection plate (1) is moved in the front-rear width direction or the horizontal width direction of the selection plate (1), and as a result, the distribution state in the two-dimensional direction is obtained. May be detected.

Further, since the distribution state detecting device of the present invention can detect one grain of brown rice or paddy, when the first partition plate (12) is moved and adjusted, for example, as in the above-described embodiment, FIG. (B) As shown in (b) and (c), the distance (L) between the virtual extension line (Q) and the detected paddy along the sorting board width direction is
The first partition plate (12) is determined from the binarized image information and the size of the field of view of the imaging unit (18) on the separation plate (1) so that the interval (L) is maintained within a set allowable range. The movement may be adjusted. Incidentally, in this case, there is no paddy on the brown rice region (G) side, and paddy is detected only on the paddy region (M) side,
The most virtual extension line (Q) among the binarized pixels
The state in which the distance (L) between the object located close to the virtual extension line (Q) and the virtual extension line (Q) is within the set allowable range is maintained at that position assuming that the first partition plate (12) is located at the appropriate position. Will be.

When the interval (L) is detected in this manner, the amount of movement adjustment of the first partition plate (12) can be determined based on the interval (L).

Note that, in the claims, reference numerals are written for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the structure of the attached drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of the drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the distribution state detecting apparatus for the brown rice sorting apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the distribution state detecting apparatus, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the distribution state detection, FIG. Fig. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a rotary driving structure of the sorting plate, Fig. 4 is a side view of the brown rice sorting device, Fig. 5 is a front view of the device, and Figs. 6 (a), (b) and (c) are first partitions. FIGS. 7 (a), 7 (b) and 7 (c) are schematic diagrams showing the outline of the movement adjustment of the plate, and FIGS. (1) Sorting plate (18) Imaging unit (19) Image processing unit (S) Optical detection means

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Mitsuo Hino 1-1-1, Hama, Amagasaki-shi, Hyogo Prefecture Kubota Iron Works Co., Ltd. R & D Laboratory (72) Inventor Taro Adachi 1-1-1, Hama, Amagasaki-shi, Hyogo Kubota Iron Works Co., Ltd. Technology Development Laboratory

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A distribution state detecting apparatus for a brown rice sorting apparatus comprising an optical detection means (S) for detecting a distribution state of brown rice or rice on a sorting plate (1) for sorting rice and brown rice. A distribution state detection apparatus for a brown rice sorting apparatus, wherein the optical detection means (S) is configured to detect a distribution state in a two-dimensional direction at a resolution capable of detecting brown rice or one grain of paddy. 2. An image pickup section (18) for picking up an image in a two-dimensional direction, wherein said optical detection means (S) includes an image pickup section (1).
The distribution state detecting device for a brown rice sorting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image processing unit (19) for detecting the distribution state based on the imaging information of (8). 3. The distribution state detecting apparatus for a brown rice sorting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said image pickup section (18) is configured to output color information, and said image processing section (19) is configured to output color information. It is configured to detect the distribution state based on the information. 4. A distribution detecting apparatus for a brown rice sorting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said imaging section (18) is configured to output grayscale image information, and said image processing section (19) comprises: The distribution state is detected based on the grayscale image information.