JPH0668780B2 - Linen counter - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a non-destructive linen number calculating apparatus utilizing radioscopy applied to a used linen counting system for hotels, hospitals and the like.

(Prior Art) A large amount of linen (towels, sheets, pillowcases, towels, diapers, uniforms, mats, table cloths, napkins, etc.) is used in hotels, hospitals, etc. In many cases, the quantity decreases while it remains clear, and its management has become an important issue, but it is not enough to simply count the quantity, and it is extremely important to sort and count each type. It is troublesome.

Therefore, various non-destructive testing methods have been tried so far, and one of them is the fluoroscopic method.

Fig. 3 shows a radiographic counting device for used linen. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an X-ray tube which comprises an anode 2 and a cathode 3, and an electron beam 4 from the cathode 3 collides with the anode 2 to generate an X-ray beam 5. This beam 5 becomes a fine bundle beam 7 through a slit 6, and a wide variety of used linen 9 stored in a linen bag 8 (for example, sheets, bath towels, bedding, etc.)
Hit The linen bag 8 moves on the belt conveyor 10, and its perspective image (linear) is detected by the linear visual sensor 11, but the contents of the bag are continuously displayed on the monitor 12 as an image.

Even with the above-mentioned device, it is impossible to distinguish the number and type of linen only by putting it in a bag. For example, as shown in FIG. In the portion 14 where the two are doubled, it is possible to sew several kinds of small discs 15 made of stainless steel with different sizes inside so as not to be loosened from the outside depending on the type of linen. With the device shown in FIG. 3, the small disk 19 shown on the monitor 12 is automatically read by the reading device 16 and the recording device.
It will be recorded in 17.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, with the device shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to count the total number of linen, but it is impossible to identify each type for the following reasons.

That is, the X-ray beam is not a parallel beam as shown in FIG. 5, and the beam always spreads in a conical shape from the anode 2 of the X-ray tube 1. Therefore, the image of the small disk 15 is magnified in any case from the actual size. In FIG. 5, 18 is the center of the X-ray beam, 19 is a small disc that is housed in the linen bag 8 and is close to the center 18 of the X-ray beam, and 20 is also located away from the center of the X-ray beam. It is a small circular plate. Both discs 19 and 20 have the same size. 21 is a small disk near the X-ray beam center 18.
19 is an image, 22 is a small disk away from the X-ray beam center 18.
20 statues. As is clear from the figure, the image 21 is magnified more than the image 22 and therefore, the measurement is larger.

On the other hand, if the size of the small disk is made to correspond to the type of linen and the difference is increased, the size of the larger one becomes too large and the user feels uncomfortable.
The upper limit of the diameter itself is at most 5-6 mm, and the difference in diameter is 1
The actual situation is that only mm or 0.5 mm can be taken.

A graphical representation of the relationship between the apparent size obtained from the image of the small disc and the distance between the small disc and the conveyor surface
As shown in the figure, for example, even if the image is measured as Z (28), if the depth is not known, it is impossible to discriminate whether the size of the small disk is a, b, c, or d.

The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above problems, and the actual dimensions can be measured without being affected by the positional relationship of the small discs, and therefore the counting for each type of linen can be reliably performed. The present invention aims to provide an automated linen counting device.

(Means for Solving Problems) For this reason, the present invention relates to a bag in which various linens having type-specific markers are stored, and a radiation irradiation source that moves in parallel between two points facing one surface of the bag. And a sharpening means arranged on the ground of the same bag for sharpening the transmission image of the radiation, and a storage means for storing the apparent dimension data of the transmission image and the shift amount data of the image by double seeping based on the two-point irradiation. And a calculating means for calculating the true size of the sign based on the respective data stored by the storage means and performing counting for each type of linen. Is to solve the above problems.

(Operation) When a bag containing a wide variety of linens is conveyed to a predetermined position on the belt conveyor, the bag stops here and irradiation is performed. The transmitted image at this time is received by, for example, an image intensifier to be sharpened, and this is imaged by, for example, a television camera and displayed on, for example, a monitor. Next, the radiation irradiation source is moved horizontally by a predetermined distance and the radiation is irradiated again. The transmission image is displayed on the monitor in the same manner as above. The image projected on the monitor is read by, for example, a reading device on the image, and from the data (apparent size, shift amount of double perspective image) and radiation source movement distance data, a small disc size calculation circuit is obtained. The actual size of the small disk is calculated by the calculation device consisting of, and counting is performed for each linen type and recorded in the recording device.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below along with its principle based on FIG.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which the conventional slit system is abolished and an image intensifier 29 is adopted instead of the linear visual sensor 11.

First, the linen bag 8 carried by the belt conveyor 10
Is stopped on the image intensifier 19 for perspective, and an image by the television camera 32 is obtained on the monitor 12.
At the same time, the image of the television camera is digitalized by the A / D converter 33 and stored in the memory 34.

Then, with the linen-filled bag 8 stopped and the X-rays kept being cut off, the X-ray tube 18 is moved in parallel by a constant distance l. After the move, perform fluoroscopy again. When the monitor 12 is made of afterglow, the small disc 19 in the linen forms a double-shot image 21, which is convenient for visual observation. On the other hand, at the same time, the image from the television camera 32 is digitalized by the A / D converter and stored in the memory 34.

FIG. 2 illustrates a geometric method for estimating the position of the small disc in the depth direction by the above method.

In the figure, L is the displacement of the double image, l is the moving distance of the X-ray tube, H is the distance between the X-ray tube and the image intensifier, and x is the position of the small disk. The position of the disk can be easily estimated.

In this way, if the position (depth) x of the small disk is known, the sixth
The size of the small disc can be calculated using the graph in the figure.

The calculation method when using a monitor is given below.

First, the apparent size (for example, the image 21) of the small disc (for example, the small disc 19 in FIG. 1) is measured on the monitor 12. Then, the deviation L of the small disc image by double see-through is measured on the monitor. The intersection point 30 on the graph between the depth x calculated according to the above formula and the apparent size of the image 21 always intersects at one point and is on the dimension line of the small disc. For example, it can be determined as ammφ.

It should be noted that if this measurement is visually performed by a human, it takes time. Therefore, a small disk size calculation circuit 31 is added to the monitor image reading device 16, and the recording device 17 also corresponds to each size of the small disk. When it is possible to record the number of pieces, it is established as an automatic system.

On the other hand, in this device, in addition to using the monitor 12, the image of the image intensifier 29 is picked up by the TV camera, and the image output is digitized by the A / D exchanger 33 and stored in the memory.
Of course, it is also possible to take in the data into the memory 34, calculate the normal size from the value on the memory with the calculation circuit 31, and send it as data to the recording device 17, and it can be shared with the monitor 12, but it can be recorded by either of them. It can also be recorded in the device.

Therefore, the storage means in the present invention means the image reading device 16,
It includes one or both of the memories 34, and is of course a generic term including other equivalent means.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an X-ray fluoroscopic system capable of clearly discriminating and counting the type and quantity of used linen, and a dry cleaner or the like which is already on the market. It can form a major part of the integrated linen supply system.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a used linen counting apparatus showing a typical embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of measuring a small disc depth for linen according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a conventional linen. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the counting device, Fig. 4 is a three-dimensional view showing an example of a small disc attachment point in the linen, Fig. 5 is a size comparison diagram of images of the small discs by irradiation of radiation, and Fig. 6 is a small circle. It is a graph for measuring the dimensions of a plate. Explanation of the main parts of the figure 10 …… Belt conveyor 12 …… Monitor 16 …… Image reading device 17 …… Recording device 18 …… X-ray beam center 19,20 …… Identification small disk 21,22 …… Identification Image of small disc 29 …… Image intensifier surface 31 …… Small disc dimension calculation circuit 32 …… TV camera 34 …… Memory

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A bag containing a variety of linens having markings according to product type, a radiation irradiation source that moves in parallel between two points facing one surface of the bag, and a radiation source arranged on the other surface of the bag. Sharpening means for sharpening a transmission image of radiation, storage means for storing apparent size data of the transmission image and shift amount data of an image by double fluoroscopy based on two-point irradiation, and the storage means stored by the storage means. A linen counting device, comprising: a calculating unit that calculates a true size of a sign based on each data and counts each linen type.