JP7789491B2 - Crop sorting equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a crop sorting device.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes "a conveying device that sequentially conveys long crops P supplied from an inlet 11a provided at the bottom of a storage hopper 11 one by one in a predetermined position."

In addition, in Patent Document 1, transport protrusions are attached at regular intervals to the transport surface of the transport conveyor, and long crops are stored one by one between adjacent transport protrusions.

Patent No. 3691541

In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when many long crops are densely packed onto the transport conveyor, multiple long crops may end up stacked vertically between adjacent transport protrusions on the transport conveyor.

If this happens, there is a concern that accurate assessments of the quality (appearance and internal appearance) of long crops downstream in the transport direction may become impossible.

In light of these circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a crop sorting device that prevents multiple crops from overlapping at the front and rear of the transport direction during the transport process, enabling accurate selection of the quality of each of the crops.

The present invention is a crop sorting device comprising a conveying means for conveying a plurality of crops and a selection means for selecting the quality of each of the crops during the process of conveying the crops by the conveying means, wherein the conveying means is a roller conveyor, and a partition means is provided on the upstream side of the conveying direction of the conveying means for separating each of the crops in the conveying direction and arranging them in a row in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction when the plurality of crops are supplied onto the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means, and the partition means comprises a partition member that is positioned between two adjacent rollers of the roller conveyor .

This configuration allows multiple agricultural products to be loaded onto the roller conveyor serving as the transport means while preventing them from overlapping at the front and rear in the transport direction.

This allows the selection means to accurately select the quality of each agricultural product during the transportation process.

Furthermore, with this configuration, it is possible to arrange one or more agricultural products between the virtual pair of rollers in a line in the direction of the central axes of the rollers.

This makes it possible to reliably prevent multiple crops from overlapping at the front and rear in the transport direction.

The present invention also provides a crop sorting device comprising conveying means for conveying a plurality of crops and selecting means for selecting the quality of each of the crops during the process of conveying the crops by the conveying means, wherein the conveying means is a roller conveyor, and an alignment means is provided on the conveying means upstream in the conveying direction to space the plurality of crops apart in the conveying direction when the plurality of crops are supplied onto the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means and to align the crops in a line perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the alignment means comprises a spreading roller conveyor that sends the plurality of crops toward the conveying means while scattering them back and forth and left and right, and a selecting means that selects the quality of each of the crops sent from the spreading roller conveyor by means of a forward and rearward roller conveyor. and a partition means disposed between two adjacent rollers in the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means, wherein the partition means comprises an upstream sprocket and a downstream sprocket spaced apart and arranged opposite to each other in the conveying direction, a ring-shaped member wrapped around the upstream sprocket and the downstream sprocket and driven to rotate in the same direction as the conveying direction at the same speed as the conveying speed of the conveying means, and a plurality of partition members attached to a plurality of locations spaced apart circumferentially of the ring-shaped member so as to protrude radially outward, and the spacing between each of the partition members is set to a dimension that sandwiches two adjacent rollers in the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means.

This configuration demonstrates that the partitioning means has a relatively simple structure, reducing equipment costs.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned agricultural product sorting device, the partition means can be configured to be located above the conveying surface of the conveying means.

This configuration makes it relatively easy to install the partition means, reducing installation costs.

This invention provides a crop sorting device that prevents multiple crops from overlapping at the front and rear of the transport direction during the transport process, enabling accurate selection of the quality of each of the crops.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of an embodiment of a crop sorting device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing the configuration of an alignment unit. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an exterior photographing means and an interior photographing means; FIG. FIG. 4 is a timing chart for explaining the drive timing of the exterior photographing means and the interior photographing means. 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining the indication form of an indication means. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the area surrounded by the dashed line in FIG. 2 . FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating another configuration of the alignment means.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figures 1 to 6 show one embodiment of the present invention. In the figures, reference numeral 1 indicates the entire agricultural product sorting device.

This agricultural produce sorting device 1 is configured to determine the quality (e.g., color, size, presence or absence of scratches and decay, and state of scratches and decay) of agricultural produce 2, such as potatoes or mandarin oranges, and to remove agricultural produce 2 determined to be of substandard quality.

This agricultural product sorting device 1 is equipped with a supply means 3, a conveying means 4, an alignment means 5, a selection means 6, a removal means 7, an indication means 8, an adjustment means 9, etc. These are controlled by a control means (not shown).

The supply means 3 is provided in the supply section 201 upstream of the conveying means 4, and stores, for example, agricultural products 2 before sorting. This supply means 3 is, for example, a container.

The conveying means 4 conveys the multiple crops 2 supplied from the supplying means 3, and is, for example, a roller conveyor.

This conveying means 4 includes a pair of left and right drive sprockets 41, a pair of left and right driven sprockets 42, a pair of left and right chains 43, multiple rollers 44, a motor 45, etc.

The pair of left and right drive sprockets 41 are located downstream in the transport direction of the crops 2. The pair of left and right driven sprockets 42 are located upstream in the transport direction of the crops 2.

A pair of left and right chains 43 are wound around a drive sprocket 41 and a driven sprocket 42, and are arranged parallel to each other and spaced apart in the horizontal direction.

Multiple rollers 44 are rotatably mounted between a pair of opposing left and right chains 43, with the longitudinal direction of each roller 44 aligned in a direction (width direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction.

The motor 45 rotates the chain 43 by rotating the drive sprocket 41 fixed to its output shaft (not shown).

On the rollers 44 of this conveying means 4, a supply section 201, an alignment section 202, a rotation direction switching section 203, a measurement section 204, and a removal section 205 are allocated from upstream to downstream in the conveying direction of the agricultural produce 2.

The alignment means 5 is provided in the alignment section 202 upstream of the conveying means 4, and separates the crops 2 supplied randomly from the supply means 3 in the conveying direction and aligns them in a line in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction (horizontal direction).

As shown in Figure 2, this alignment means 5 includes a spreading roller conveyor 51 and a partition means 52.

The spreading roller conveyor 51 receives multiple crops 2 from the supply means 3 and sends them toward the conveying means 4 while scattering them back and forth and left and right. It has basically the same configuration as the roller conveyor that serves as the conveying means 4.

The external size of the chain 511 of this spreading roller conveyor 51 is significantly shorter than that of the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means 4, but the external size of the rollers 512 of the spreading roller conveyor 51 and the spacing between each roller 512 are the same as those of the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means 4.

This spreading roller conveyor 51 is adjusted to send multiple crops 2 toward the conveying means 4 at half the conveying speed of the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means 4. Note that the speed of the spreading roller conveyor 51 is not limited to half the conveying speed of the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means 4, and can be set to any speed, such as 1/4 or 1/8.

The partition means 52 positions the produce 2 conveyed from the spreading roller conveyor 51 between each virtual pair of adjacent rollers 44 on the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means 4, and is located above the conveying surface of the conveying means 4.

As shown in Figure 2, this partitioning means 52 includes a pair of left and right upstream sprockets 521, a pair of left and right downstream sprockets 522, a pair of left and right chains 523 as ring-shaped members, and a partitioning member 524.

A pair of left and right upstream sprockets 521 and a pair of left and right downstream sprockets 522 are arranged facing each other at a distance in the conveying direction. The upstream sprockets 521 or downstream sprockets 522 are rotated by a motor (not shown).

A pair of left and right chains 523 are wound around a pair of left and right upstream sprockets 521 and a pair of left and right downstream sprockets 522, and are arranged so that they face each other and are parallel and spaced apart in the horizontal direction.

The partition members 524 are attached to the chain 523 at multiple locations spaced apart in the circumferential direction so as to protrude radially outward, and brushes 525 are provided at their tips.

The spacing between each of these partition members 524 is set to a dimension that sandwiches two adjacent rollers 44 in the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means 4.

Furthermore, the partition member 524 is supported so as to be tiltable at a predetermined angle relative to the chain 523, as shown in Figures 2 and 6.

Specifically, as shown in Figure 6, the partition member 524 is attached to the chain 523 via a hinge 526, and a stopper 527 prevents it from tilting in the direction opposite to the tilting direction.

The selection means 6 is provided in the measurement section 204 above the conveying means 4, and determines whether the quality of the agricultural produce 2 being conveyed by the conveying means 4 is substandard, and recognizes the location of the substandard agricultural produce 2.

As shown in Figure 3, this selection means 6 includes an exterior photographing means 61, an interior photographing means 62, a determination means 63, and a recognition means 64.

The exterior photographing means 61 is composed of a first light source 61a and a first light receiving unit 61b. The first light source 61a can be, for example, a well-known white LED that emits visible light. The first light receiving unit 61b photographs the visible light emitted from the first light source 61a and reflected from the conveying means 4, and can be, for example, a well-known CCD camera or CMOS camera.

This external image capturing means 61 is located on the upstream side of the conveying direction (also referred to as the external appearance quality judgment section) in the measurement section 204 above the conveying means 4, and captures the external appearance of the crops 2 being conveyed by the conveying means 4 by capturing images of the entire upstream area of the measurement section 204, and transmits the captured images to the judgment means 63.

The internal imaging means 62 consists of second and third light sources 62a and 62c and second and third light receiving units 62b and 62d.

The second and third light sources 62a and 62c can be, for example, known near-infrared LEDs that emit near-infrared light. The second and third light receiving units 62b and 62d can be, for example, known CCD cameras or CMOS cameras. The second light receiving unit 62b captures light that has passed through the agricultural produce 2 directly above the second light source 62a (see the dashed line in Figure 3) and near-infrared light reflected by the conveying means 4 or other agricultural produce 2 placed upstream or downstream (see the dashed line in Figure 3). The third light receiving unit 62d, like the second light receiving unit 62b, captures light that has passed through the agricultural produce 2 directly above the third light source 62c and near-infrared light reflected by the conveying means 4 or other agricultural produce 2 placed upstream or downstream.

This internal imaging means 62 is located downstream in the conveying direction (also referred to as the internal quality assessment section) in the measurement section 204 above the conveying means 4, and captures the entire downstream area of the measurement section 204 to capture images of the inside of the crops 2 being conveyed by the conveying means 4, and transmits the captured images to the assessment means 63.

Note that the entire area includes the entire length in the conveying direction (X direction) on both the upstream and downstream sides of the measurement section 204, and the entire width in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction (Y direction).

The determination means 63 determines whether the quality of the agricultural produce 2 is substandard based on the images captured by the exterior imaging means 61 and the interior imaging means 62.

Specifically, the determination means 63 determines whether the quality (color, size, presence or absence of scratches, size of scratches, etc.) of the photographed agricultural product 2 is substandard based on the image captured by the exterior photographing means 61, and also determines whether the quality (state of decay) is substandard based on the image captured by the internal photographing means 62.

Note that a publicly known method can be used to determine whether the quality of crop 2 is substandard, so a detailed explanation will be omitted here.

The recognition means 64 is located downstream in the conveying direction (internal quality judgment section) in the measurement section 204 above the conveying means 4, and by photographing the entire downstream area of the measurement section 204, it recognizes the position (X-Y coordinates) of the crop 2 that the judgment means 63 has determined to be out of specification, and tracks the crop 2.

This recognition means 64 is composed of a fourth light source 64a and a fourth light receiving unit 64b. The fourth light source 64a can be, for example, a well-known white LED that emits visible light. The fourth light receiving unit 64b captures the visible light emitted from the fourth light source 64a and reflected from the conveying means 4, and can be, for example, a well-known CCD camera or CMOS camera.

The first to fourth light sources 61a, 62a, 62c, and 64a and the first to fourth light receiving units 61b, 62b, 62d, and 64b are attached to a frame 65. The emission timings of the first to fourth light sources 61a, 62a, 62c, and 64a are set to be offset from each other to prevent mutual interference, as shown in Figures 4(a) to 4(d), for example.

The removal means 7 is located upstream in the conveying direction (also called the automatic removal section) in the removal section 205 above the conveying means 4, and automatically removes non-standard agricultural products 2 from the conveying means 4, and can be configured, for example, by a robot.

This removal means 7 is configured to receive information regarding the position (X-Y coordinates) of the non-standard agricultural produce 2 and remove the non-standard agricultural produce 2 transported by the transport means 4 based on this received information.

The removed non-standard agricultural produce 2 can be stored, for example, in a collection box (not shown). The robot can be, for example, a parallel link robot, a scalar robot, or an articulated robot.

The indicator 8 is located downstream in the conveying direction in the removal section 205 above the conveying means 4 (also referred to as the indicator section or manual removal section), and indicates non-standard agricultural produce 2, and can be, for example, a projector.

This indication means 8 receives information regarding the position (X-Y coordinates) of the non-standard crop 2 from the recognition means 64, and based on this received information, as shown in Figure 5, for example, it irradiates visible light onto the non-standard crop 2 being transported by the transport means 4, and by sequentially shifting the irradiation position of the visible light in accordance with the movement of the crop 2, it is possible to track the crop 2.

Whether the non-standard agricultural produce 2 selected by the selection means 6 is to be removed by the removal means 7 or instructed by the instruction means 8 can be determined by a control means (not shown in the figure, which corresponds to the specification means in the claims).

Furthermore, downstream of the removal section 205 where the indicator 8 is installed, visible light is irradiated onto the non-standard agricultural produce 2, allowing the worker to manually remove the non-standard agricultural produce 2.

The adjustment means 9 adjusts the conveying speed of the conveying means 4 taking into account the number of non-standard agricultural products 2 selected by the selection means 6 and the removal capacity of the removal means 7.

Specifically, the adjustment means 9 adjusts the conveying speed of the agricultural produce 2 by adjusting the conveying speed of the chain 43 by controlling the driving force of the motor 45 of the conveying means 4. The conveying speed of the chain 43 is recognized by an encoder (not shown) provided on the drive sprocket 41.

The adjustment means 9 slows down the conveying speed of the conveying means 4 when there is a large number of non-standard agricultural products 2.

Next, we will explain the operation of the above-mentioned agricultural product sorting device 1.

First, in the supply section 201, unsorted agricultural products 2 housed in a container serving as the supply means 3 are randomly supplied onto the spreading roller conveyor 51 of the alignment means 5, which is located upstream of the alignment section 202 (first spreading section).

On this spreading roller conveyor 51, the crops 2 supplied in the random state are scattered back and forth and left and right and sent downstream of the alignment section 202 (second spreading section).

When the crops 2 sent downstream of this alignment section 202 are fed onto the roller conveyor serving as the transport means 4, each crop 2 is aligned by the partition means 52 of the alignment means 5.

At that time, even if the crop 2 comes into contact with the partition member 524, the crop 2 will come into contact with the brush 525 attached to the tip of the partition member 524, and the crop 2 will not be damaged.

Specifically, downstream of the alignment section 202, when two adjacent rollers 44 on the roller conveyor serving as the transport means 4 are considered to be a virtual pair, one crop 2 or multiple crops 2 are arranged in a line in the central axis direction of the rollers 44 between the rollers 44 of each virtual pair, and the two rollers 44 that make up the virtual pair are sandwiched between the partition member 524.

As a result, the crop 2 placed between the two rollers 44 is held immobile so that it does not roll in the conveying direction and become misaligned. Even if the crop 2 comes into contact with the partition member 524, the crop 2 will come into contact with the brush 525 attached to the tip of the partition member 524, preventing damage to the crop 2.

Furthermore, if the crop 2 is long, such as oval, the crop 2 will be reoriented between the two rollers 44 so that its longitudinal direction is aligned with the central axis of the rollers 44 (called a horizontal orientation).

This prevents multiple crops 2 from overlapping at the front and rear in the transport direction.

Then, as the crop 2 passes through the rotation direction switching section 203 and then passes through the upstream side of the measurement section 204 (the appearance quality determination section), the appearance of the crop 2 is photographed by the appearance photographing means 61.

On the upstream side of this measurement section 204 (appearance quality assessment section), as shown in Figure 3, the rollers 44 are rotated, causing the crop 2 to rotate in the opposite direction to the rotation of the rollers 44, allowing the entire circumference of the crop 2 to be continuously photographed by the appearance photographing means 61.

Based on the images captured by this external image capture means 61, the determination means 63 determines whether the quality of the crop 2 (color, size, presence or absence of blemishes, size of blemishes, etc.) is substandard, and counts the number of such substandard crops 2 present upstream of the measurement section 204 (appearance quality determination section). Furthermore, the recognition means 64 recognizes the position (X-Y coordinates) of the crop 2 determined to be substandard, and tracks the crop 2.

After this, as the crop 2 passes through the downstream side of the measurement section 204 (the internal quality assessment section), the internal image capturing means 62 captures an image of the inside of the crop 2.

Downstream of this measurement section 204 (internal quality assessment section), each roller 44 is placed in a non-rotating state, allowing the internal condition of the crop 2 to be clearly photographed by the internal photography means 62.

Based on this internally captured image, the determination means 63 determines whether the quality (state of decay) of the crop 2 is substandard, and the recognition means 64 recognizes the position (X-Y coordinates) of the crop 2 determined to be substandard and tracks the crop 2.

Next, upstream of the removal section 205 (automatic removal section), the removal means 7 receives information regarding the position (X-Y coordinates) of the non-standard agricultural produce 2 from the recognition means 64, and automatically removes the non-standard agricultural produce 2 based on this received information and stores it in a collection box (not shown).

Then, downstream of the removal section 205 (manual removal section), the instruction means 8 receives information regarding the position (X-Y coordinates) of the non-standard crop 2 from the recognition means 64, and based on this received information, irradiates visible light onto the non-standard crop 2 being transported by the transport means 4, and tracks the crop 2 by sequentially shifting the irradiation position of the visible light in accordance with the movement of the crop 2, as shown in Figure 5, for example.

As a result, visible light is irradiated onto non-standard agricultural produce 2 downstream of the removal section 205 where the indicator 8 is installed, making it easier for workers to manually remove the non-standard agricultural produce 2.

In other words, downstream of this removal section 205, if a non-standard agricultural product is missed when removed upstream, a worker can manually remove the missed non-standard agricultural product 2.

As described above, in an embodiment of the present invention, in the alignment section 202 where multiple crops 2 are loaded from the spreading roller conveyor 51 onto a roller conveyor serving as the transport means 4, the alignment means 5 prevents the multiple crops 2 from overlapping at the front and rear in the transport direction, and allows them to be positioned between two rollers 44 that form a virtual pair on the roller conveyor serving as the transport means 4.

This enables the selection means 6 to accurately select the quality of each crop 2 in the measurement section 204. As a result, this contributes to improving the reliability of the crop sorting device 1.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

(1) The configuration of the agricultural product sorting device 1 described in the above embodiment is not particularly limited except for the configuration related to the characteristics of the present invention, and can be modified as appropriate.

(2) For example, Figure 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 6 in that the location of the partition means 52 of the alignment means 5 shown in Figure 2 has been changed.

This partitioning means 52 has basically the same configuration as the partitioning means 52 of the embodiment shown in Figures 2 and 6, but the partitioning member 524 of the partitioning means 52 does not have the brush 525 shown in Figure 6, and the hinge 526 and stopper 527 shown in Figure 6 have been eliminated, making it impossible for it to tilt.

In this embodiment, the partition means 52 is located upstream in the conveying direction of the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means 4, between a pair of opposing left and right chains 43, so that its vertical position is the same as that of the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means 4.

In operation, as the chain 523 of the partition means 52 rotates, the partition member 524 moves between two adjacent rollers 44 on the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means 4.

Furthermore, as the chain 523 rotates, the partition member 524 is guided to gradually move away from the adjacent rollers 44 as it moves from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveying direction, and is guided to gradually move closer to the adjacent rollers 44 as it returns to the upstream side in the conveying direction.

In this embodiment, the same functions and effects as those of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 6 can be obtained.

This invention can be suitably used in agricultural product sorting devices.

1 Crop sorting device 2 Crop 3 Supply means 4 Conveying means
41 Drive sprocket
42 driven sprocket
43 Chain
44 Laura
45 Motor 5 Alignment means
51 Diffusion roller conveyor
511 Chain
512 Laura
52 Partition means
521 Upstream sprocket
522 downstream sprocket
523 Chain (ring-shaped member)
524 Partition member
525 Brush
526 Hinge
527 Stopper 6 Selection means
61 Appearance photography means
62 Internal photographing means
63 Judgment means
64 Recognition means
65 Frame 7 Removal means 201 Supply section 202 Alignment section 203 Rotation direction switching section 204 Measurement section 205 Removal section

Claims (3)

A crop sorting device comprising: a conveying means for conveying a plurality of crops; and a selecting means for selecting the quality of each of the crops during the process of conveying the crops by the conveying means,
The conveying means is a roller conveyor,
The conveying means is provided with a partition means on the upstream side in the conveying direction for separating the agricultural products in the conveying direction and arranging them in a line in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction when the agricultural products are supplied onto the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means ,
The agricultural product sorting device is characterized in that the partition means includes a partition member disposed between two adjacent rollers of the roller conveyor . A crop sorting device comprising: a conveying means for conveying a plurality of crops; and a selecting means for selecting the quality of each of the crops during the process of conveying the crops by the conveying means,
The conveying means is a roller conveyor,
An alignment means is provided on the upstream side of the conveying means in the conveying direction for loading a plurality of agricultural products onto the roller conveyor serving as the conveying means so that the agricultural products are spaced apart in the conveying direction and aligned in a line in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction,
The aligning means includes a spreading roller conveyor that scatters the plurality of agricultural products back and forth and left and right while sending them toward the conveying means;
and a partition means for disposing the agricultural products sent from the spreading roller conveyor between two adjacent rollers of the roller conveyor as the transport means,
the partitioning means comprises an upstream sprocket and a downstream sprocket arranged at a distance to face each other in the conveying direction, a ring-shaped member wrapped around the upstream sprocket and the downstream sprocket and driven to rotate in the same direction as the conveying direction at the same speed as the conveying speed of the conveying means, and a plurality of partitioning members attached to a plurality of locations spaced apart in the circumferential direction of the ring-shaped member so as to protrude radially outward;
The agricultural product sorting device is characterized in that the spacing between the partition members is set to a dimension that sandwiches two adjacent rollers in a roller conveyor serving as the transport means . The crop sorting device according to claim 1 or 2,
The agricultural product sorting device is characterized in that the partition means is provided above a conveying surface of the conveying means .