JPH0247703B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a grain type and ripeness identification device that is capable of determining the type of grain based on its color and simultaneously calculating a ripeness coefficient.

When measuring the moisture content of grains such as paddy, wheat, and barley, accuracy may be compromised if the sample used for measurement contains grains of a different type, grains with low ripeness, or foreign matter. Since accurate measurement results cannot be obtained,
The sample used for measurement is free of these substances.
Moreover, it must be of a certain level of ripeness.

By the way, conventionally, samples used for the above measurements are obtained by visually observing extracted grains and sorting out grains of different types and grains with low ripeness, but this process is not carried out properly. However, it is highly desirable to be able to automatically obtain samples for measurement from extracted grains, since this requires considerable skill and time.

In view of the above, the present invention detects the color of grains and analyzes it to determine the type of grain and calculate its ripeness coefficient. The present invention is intended to provide a grain type and ripeness identification device that can automatically obtain a sample for measuring moisture content, etc. by operating a sorting mechanism that separates the sample from the sample. A preferred embodiment of the configuration shown in the accompanying drawings will be described.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a supply hopper for grains to be sampled, 2 is a good sample storage tank, and 3 is a bad sample storage tank. It is designed to be stored in either the good sample storage tank 2 or the bad sample storage tank 3. Numeral 5 is a light source that irradiates a falling grain with light, and 6 is a color sensor that detects the color of the surface of the grain by receiving light reflected from the grain. 7 is a light shielding plate between the light source 5 and the color sensor 6.

8 is a signal processing circuit, and the signal processing circuit 8
is for converting the wavelength of the color sensed by the color sensor 6 into a voltage signal. The voltage output of the signal processing circuit 8 is converted into a digital signal via an analog-to-digital conversion circuit 9, and then sent via an interface circuit 10 to an identification processing circuit 11 such as a calculation circuit. This identification processing circuit 11 has the function of determining the type of grain from the voltage signal output of the signal processing circuit 8 and calculating its ripeness coefficient. The identification signal output from the identification processing circuit 11 is sent to the damper drive circuit 12 via the interface circuit 10. The damper drive circuit 12 controls the operation of the solenoid 13 that tilts the damper 4, and
When the signal sent from the identification processing circuit 11 discriminates different types of grains, and when the ripeness coefficient of the grains is less than a predetermined value, the damper 4 is tilted toward the defective sample storage tank 3, and the grains are removed. In other cases, the damper 4 is operated to tilt toward the good sample storage tank 2 side. Note that the damper 4, the damper drive circuit 12, and the solenoid 13 constitute a sorting mechanism.

FIG. 2 shows the relationship between color wavelength and output voltage in the signal processing circuit 8. As is clear from this figure, when the wavelength signal of the color sensed by the color sensor 6 is input to the signal processing circuit 8, the signal processing circuit 8 generates a corresponding voltage output.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be explained.

Now, when obtaining samples for moisture measurement etc.
When an appropriate amount of the extracted grains is put into the grain supply hopper 1, the grains fall one by one from the supply hopper 1 at a constant speed. Then, the falling grains are irradiated with a light source from the light source 5, and the reflected light beams enter the color sensor 6, which senses the color of the grains. The color wavelength signal sensed by the color sensor 6 is sent to a signal processing circuit 8, converted into a voltage signal, subjected to necessary signal processing, and sent to an identification processing circuit 11 such as a calculation circuit.

In the identification processing circuit 11, the type of grain is determined from the color wavelength range and the falling speed of the grain, and at the same time, the ripeness coefficient of the grain of that type is calculated from the color wavelength.

When the type of grain is determined in the identification processing circuit 11 and the ripeness coefficient is calculated, the signal is sent to the drive circuit 12 of the sorting mechanism, so that it can be determined whether the grain whose color has been detected is of a different type or not. or the damper 4 whose ripeness coefficient is less than a predetermined value is placed in the defective sample storage tank 3.
The grains are tilted to the side and stored in the defective sample storage tank 3. Note that when the grains are other than those mentioned above, the damper 4 is inclined toward the good sample storage tank 2, so that the falling grains are stored in the good sample storage tank 2. The grains stored in the good sample storage tank 2 are free from contamination with different types of grains and grains with low ripeness coefficients, and it is possible to obtain good samples for moisture measurement and the like.

In short, the present invention includes a color sensor 6 that senses the color of flowing grains, a signal processing circuit 8 that converts the wavelength of the color sensed by the color sensor 6 into a voltage signal, and a voltage signal of the signal processing circuit 8. Identification processing circuit 11 which inputs a signal and determines the type of grain from the color wavelength range and grain falling speed, and at the same time calculates the ripeness count of that type of grain from the color wavelength.
According to the judgment of the above-mentioned identification processing circuit 11, a sorting mechanism equipped with a damper 4 which separates the falling grains into good samples and bad samples is provided, so that the type of the grains can be determined based on the color of the grains. At the same time, the ripeness count can be calculated, and grains such as paddy, wheat, and barley can be automatically and reliably divided into good samples and bad samples to obtain good samples for use in moisture measurement.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the invention,
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the device, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the signal processing circuit. 4... Damper of sorting mechanism, 5... Light source, 6...
Color sensor, 8...signal processing circuit, 11...identification processing circuit, 22...damper drive circuit of the sorting mechanism, 13...also solenoid.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A color sensor that detects the color of flowing grains, a signal processing circuit that converts the wavelength of the color detected by the color sensor into a voltage signal, and a voltage signal output of the signal processing circuit that is input to generate the color. an identification processing circuit that determines the type of grain from the wavelength range and the falling speed of the grain, and at the same time calculates the ripeness count of that type of grain from the color wavelength; A grain type and ripeness identification device, characterized in that it is provided with a sorting mechanism equipped with a damper that separates falling grains into good samples and bad samples.