JP2003057216A - Apparatus for detecting cracked egg - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cracked egg detection apparatus for accurately detecting cracked eggs, regardless of the difference in the weight and size of eggs to be inspected. SOLUTION: The apparatus for detecting cracked eggs detects the cracks in eggs E to be inspected for detecting vibration, that is generated when shock is given to the eggs E to be inspected. The apparatus comprises a shock application means 13 for applying shock to the eggs E to be inspected, a vibration detection means 14 for detecting vibration that is generated, when applying shock, a weight specification means 12 for specifying the weight of the eggs E to be inspected, and a crack-determining means 15 for determining the crack in the eggs E to be inspected, based on vibration data D1 that are detected by a vibration detection means 14 and weight data D2, that are specified by the weight-specifying means 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cracked egg detecting device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device capable of accurately detecting a cracked egg regardless of the difference in weight and size of the egg to be inspected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a conventional cracked egg detection device 3. As shown in FIG. 5, the cracked egg detection device 3 includes a conveyor 11 for transporting a plurality of inspected eggs E in the direction of arrow A, and a hammer for applying the same impact to each inspected egg E being transported. 13. Microphone 1 for receiving the vibration sound generated when the shock is applied
4 and a crack determination unit HB for determining the crack of the inspected egg E.

In the cracked egg detection device 3, the vibration sound generated when the egg 13 to be inspected is impacted by the hammer 13 is
It is collected by the microphone 14 and taken as the vibration data S1 into the crack determination unit HB. Crack determination part H
B determines whether or not the egg E to be inspected is cracked based on the vibration data S1 and the preset determination reference data S2 and outputs the determination result S3. Here, the determination reference data S2 is, for example, data of vibration sound generated when a hammer 13 gives a shock to a normal egg without cracks.

[0004]

By the way, the egg to be inspected E
Since the weight and the size of each are different, even if the same impact is given, the generated vibration sound is different for each weight and size. Generally, the vibration sound generated when a light normal egg is impacted is
It has a smaller amplitude and higher frequency than the vibration sound generated when a heavy normal egg is shocked. Further, the vibration sound generated when a heavy cracked egg is shocked has a smaller amplitude and a higher frequency than the vibration sound generated when a normal egg of a similar weight is shocked. On the other hand, the vibration sound generated when a small normal egg is shocked has a smaller amplitude and a higher frequency than the vibration sound generated when a large normal egg is shocked. Moreover, the vibration sound generated when a large cracked egg is shocked has a smaller amplitude and a higher frequency than the vibration sound generated when a normal egg of the same size is shocked.

In the conventional cracked egg detector 3,
The crack was judged without performing data processing based on the weight and size of the inspected egg E. Therefore, for example, a light normal egg may be determined to be a heavy cracked egg, and a small normal egg may be determined to be a large cracked egg, and there are considerable problems in the determination accuracy. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cracked egg detection device that can accurately detect a cracked egg regardless of the difference in weight and size of the egg to be inspected.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 detects a vibration generated when an egg E to be inspected is impacted, as shown in FIG. A cracked egg detection device 1 for detecting cracks in the inspected egg E, which detects impact applying means 13 for impacting the inspected egg E, and vibration generated when the impact is applied. Vibration detecting means 14, weight specifying means 12 for specifying the weight of the egg E to be inspected, vibration data D1 detected by the vibration detecting means 14 and weight data specified by the weight specifying means 12 A crack determining means 15 for determining a crack of the egg E to be inspected based on D2.

As shown in FIG. 4, the invention of claim 2 is a cracked egg detection for detecting a crack in the egg E to be inspected by detecting a vibration generated when the egg E to be inspected is impacted. The device 2, which is a shock applying means 13 for giving a shock to the inspected egg E, a vibration detecting means 14 for detecting a vibration generated when the shock is applied, and the inspected egg E
Of the major axis length, the minor axis length, and the projected area of at least one of the magnitude specifying means 12a, the vibration data D1 detected by the vibration detecting means 14, and the magnitude specifying means. Crack determining means 15a for determining the crack of the inspected egg E based on the size data D2a.
Have and.

In the invention of claim 3, the crack judging means 15 judges the crack of the inspected egg E by associating the weight data D2 with the judgment reference data D3 for the crack judgment.

In the invention of claim 4, the crack judging means 15a judges the crack of the inspected egg E by associating the size data D2a with the judgment reference data D3a for the crack judgment.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the determination reference data D3 is vibration data obtained when the impact is applied to a plurality of reference eggs having different weights.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the determination reference data D3a is vibration data obtained when the impact is applied to a plurality of reference eggs having different size data.

In the invention of claim 7, the vibration detecting means 1
4 detects the vibration of the egg E to be inspected.

In the invention of claim 8, the vibration detecting means 1
Reference numeral 4 detects the vibration of the impact applying means 13.

In the invention of claim 9, the vibration detecting means 1
4 detects the vibration of the egg E to be inspected and the impact imparting means 13.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, the vibration detecting means 14 is a vibration detector such as a microphone or a piezoelectric element.

In the cracked egg detection device 1 according to the present invention, first, the weight of the inspected egg E is specified by the weight specifying means 12, and the weight data D2 is taken into the crack determination section 15. Next, the impact imparting means 13 imparts an impact to the inspected egg E. The vibration generated at that time is detected by the vibration detecting means 14. The detected vibration is taken into the crack determination unit 15 as vibration data D1.

The crack determination unit 15 determines whether or not the inspected egg E is a cracked egg as follows based on the vibration data D1, the weight data D2 and the determination reference data D3. First, it is determined whether the inspected egg E is a heavy egg or a light egg based on the weight data D2. Next, for example, when the inspected egg E is a heavy egg, the vibration data D1 is compared with the determination reference data D31 for heavy eggs. Amplitude, frequency, rise time, fall time, etc. are used for the comparison. If the comparison result has a deviation of a predetermined amount or more, it is determined that the inspected egg E is a cracked egg, and the result D4 is output. If the comparison result does not deviate more than a predetermined amount,
The inspected egg E is determined to be a normal egg. When the inspected egg E is a light egg, the vibration data D1 is compared with the determination reference data D32 for light egg. Then, similarly to the case of the heavy egg, it is determined whether or not the egg is a cracked egg. Since the crack determination unit 15 makes the above determination based on the vibration data of the reference egg having the weight corresponding to the weight data D2, the crack egg can be accurately detected regardless of the difference in the weight of the inspected egg.

Further, the cracked egg detecting device 2 according to the present invention.
In (1), it is determined whether the inspected egg E is a cracked egg based on the vibration data D1, the size data D2a, and the determination reference data D3a. Size data D2a
Is obtained by the size specifying means 12a and represents the major axis length, the minor axis length, or the projected area of the egg E to be inspected. The determination reference data D3a includes determination reference data D31a for large eggs and determination reference data D32a for small eggs. By using the size data D2a instead of the weight data D2 of the cracked egg detection device 1, the cracked egg can be accurately detected regardless of the size difference of the inspected egg.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of a cracked egg detection device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the cracked egg detection device 1 is provided in the middle of the conveyor 11, which conveys a plurality of inspected eggs E placed in a direction A in which the major axis is perpendicular to the paper surface. Weight scale 12, weight scale 1 for measuring the weight of each egg E to be inspected
A rotary solenoid driven hammer 13 provided downstream of 2 for applying the same impact to each inspected egg E being conveyed, a microphone 14 for receiving a vibration sound generated when the impact is applied, And a crack determination unit 15 for determining the crack of the inspected egg E.

The crack determination unit 15 includes a CPU, a ROM,
This is a so-called microcomputer equipped with a RAM and other appropriate peripheral elements, and incorporates a program for implementing crack determination processing and other operations of each part of the apparatus. The crack determination process is performed based on the weight data D2 obtained by the weight scale 12, the vibration data D1 obtained by the microphone 14, and the determination reference data D3. The determination reference data D3 is vibration data obtained when a plurality of normal eggs having different weights are used as reference eggs and the reference eggs are impacted by the hammer 13. Here, a normal egg is an egg without cracks. The scale 12
Corresponds to the weight identifying means of the present invention, and the crack determination unit 15
Corresponds to the crack determination means of the present invention.

Next, the operation of the cracked egg detecting device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the determination reference data D3 and the vibration data D1 obtained when a shock is applied to the inspected egg E. 2A and 2B show the judgment reference data D3, and FIG.
2 (F) shows the vibration data D1. The determination reference data D3 is the determination reference data D3 for heavy eggs shown in FIG.
1 and judgment reference data D3 for light eggs shown in FIG. 2 (B)
It consists of two. The criterion data D31 is obtained by averaging vibration data obtained when a hammer 13 gives an impact to a heavy normal egg, for example, a normal egg having a weight of about 55 g to 70 g, and the criterion data D32 is a light normal egg. For example, the vibration data obtained when a normal egg having a weight of about 40 g to 55 g is impacted by the hammer 13 is averaged.
With the criterion data D31 and the criterion data D32,
Amplitude, frequency, rise time, fall time, etc. are different.

FIG. 2 (C) shows vibration data for heavy normal eggs, and FIG. 2 (D) shows vibration data for light normal eggs. Further, FIG. 2 (E) shows vibration data for a heavy cracked egg, and FIG. 2 (F) shows vibration data for a lightly cracked egg.

In FIG. 1, the egg E to be inspected placed on the conveyor 11 is conveyed in the A direction and first passes over the weight scale 12. At that time, the weight is measured. The measured value is converted into an electric signal, and the crack determination unit 1 is used as the weight data D2.
5, and is temporarily stored in the RAM. next,
When the inspected egg E reaches the impact applying position SP of the hammer 13, the hammer 13 is driven by the rotary solenoid based on the drive signal D5 from the crack determination section 15 to impact the inspected egg E. The vibration sound generated at that time is received by the microphone 14. The received vibration sound is treated as the vibration data D1 by the crack determination unit 15
Is taken into.

The crack determination unit 15 determines whether or not the inspected egg E is a cracked egg as follows, based on the vibration data D1, the weight data D2 and the determination reference data D3. First, it is determined whether the inspected egg E is a heavy egg or a light egg based on the weight data D2. Next, for example, when the inspected egg E is a heavy egg, the vibration data D1 is compared with the determination reference data D31 for heavy eggs. Amplitude, frequency, rise time, fall time, etc. are used for the comparison. If the comparison result has a deviation of a predetermined amount or more, it is determined that the inspected egg E is a cracked egg, and the result D4 is output. The deviation of a predetermined amount or more is represented by, for example, the deviation between the determination reference data D31 of FIG. 2 (A) and the vibration data of FIG. 2 (E). When the comparison result does not deviate by a predetermined amount or more, for example, when the determination reference data D31 in FIG. 2A and the vibration data in FIG. 2C are present, the inspected egg E is determined to be a normal egg.

If the inspected egg E is a light egg,
The vibration data D1 is compared with the determination reference data D32 for light eggs. Then, similarly to the case of the heavy egg, it is determined whether or not the egg is a cracked egg. In this case, the deviation of the comparison result by a predetermined amount or more is determined by, for example, the determination reference data D in FIG.
32 and the vibration data of FIG. 2 (F). If the comparison result does not deviate more than a predetermined amount, for example, as shown in FIG.
In the case of the determination reference data D32 of 1 and the vibration data of FIG. 3B, the inspected egg E is determined to be a normal egg.

The judgment as to whether or not it is a cracked egg does not necessarily have to be the above-mentioned processing. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another processing form of crack determination. In the processing form of FIG. 3, the correction coefficient h is used. The correction coefficient h is a value indicating how far the weight of the egg E to be inspected is separated from the weight of the standard egg, and is given by the equation (1) when the weight of the standard egg is, for example, 55 g. h = 55 / D2 (1) The crack determination unit 15 ′ first obtains the correction coefficient h for the weight data D2 sent from the weighing scale 12. next,
The vibration data D1 is compared with the data obtained by multiplying the criterion data D3 ′ obtained when one standard egg is impacted by the correction coefficient h. As a result, it is possible to make a crack determination according to the weight of the egg E to be inspected.

As described above, the crack determination unit 15 associates the weight data D2 with the determination reference data D3 and determines the crack of the egg E to be inspected. More specifically, the weight data D2 obtained from the inspected egg E and the vibration data D1 obtained when a shock is applied to the inspected egg E are taken in to obtain the vibration data D1 and the weight data D2. It is determined whether or not the egg is a cracked egg by comparing it with the determination reference data D3. That is, the crack determination unit 1
Since 5 makes the above determination based on the vibration data of the normal egg having the weight corresponding to the weight data D2, the cracked egg can be accurately detected regardless of the difference in the weight of the inspected egg.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a cracked egg detection device 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 4, the same components as those of the cracked egg detection device 1 of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1, and their description will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 4, the cracked egg detection device 2 includes a camera 12a and a crack determination unit 15a, respectively, instead of the weight scale 12 and the crack determination unit 15 in the cracked egg detection device 1.

The camera 12a is provided at a position where the egg E to be inspected can be photographed from diagonally above, for example, and automatically converts the obtained image data into size data D2a. The size data D2a is data that specifies the projected area of the inspected egg E. The crack determination unit 15a uses the size data D2.
Based on a, the vibration data D1, and the determination reference data D3a, it is determined whether the inspected egg E is a cracked egg. The determination reference data D3a is vibration data obtained when a plurality of normal eggs having different projected areas are impacted by the hammer 13, and for example, the determination reference data D31 for large eggs.
a, a plurality of determination reference data D32a for small eggs are provided. In the cracked egg detection device 2, the camera 1
The reference numeral 2a corresponds to the size identifying means of the present invention, and the crack determination unit 15a corresponds to the crack determining means of the present invention. The size data D2a and the determination reference data D3a are not limited to the projected area, and may be the major axis length or the minor axis length of the egg E to be inspected, or any combination thereof.

The cracked egg detector 2 uses the above-mentioned size data D2a and criterion data D3a instead of the weight data D2 and the criterion data D3 of the cracked egg detector 1, respectively. Cracked egg determination processing unit 15
The crack determination process in a is performed in the same manner as in the crack egg detection device 1 except that the data used is different. Therefore, the cracked egg detection device 2 can accurately detect a cracked egg regardless of the size of the inspected egg. The determination process of the crack determination unit 15a may be performed in the processing mode using the correction coefficient h described above.

In the above-described two embodiments, in detecting the vibration when a shock is applied, the microphone 14 receives both the vibration sound of the hammer 13 and the vibration sound of the egg E to be inspected. But practically a hammer 1
It is also possible to detect only the vibration of No. 3 or substantially only the vibration of the inspected egg E. The former can be realized by, for example, sufficiently disposing the sound collecting portion of the microphone 14 from the hammer 13 and sufficiently approaching the inspected egg E. The latter can be realized by providing a vibration detector such as a piezoelectric element on the hammer 13 as a vibration detecting means. When realizing these, it is necessary to change the determination reference data D3 and D3a in accordance with the vibration data generated in each case.
By making the detected vibration local, it can be expected that the influence of external noise can be reduced.

In the above-described two embodiments, vibration data obtained when a normal egg is used as a reference egg and a shock is applied to the reference egg is used as the determination reference data D3 and D3a. Then, the cracked egg judgment processing units 15 and 15a judged cracks based on the comparison between the vibration data D1 obtained by the impact and the judgment reference data D3 and D3a, respectively. However, the determination may be performed by using the cracked egg as a reference egg and the vibration data obtained when the impact is applied to the cracked egg as the determination reference data. Further, the judgment criterion data D3 and D3a are two for heavy and light eggs, and for large and small eggs, respectively, but may be further subdivided into three or more. As a result, the crack determination can be performed with higher accuracy.

In the above-described two embodiments, when the egg E to be inspected is conveyed in the direction A, the egg E to be inspected is conveyed while rotating in the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction in the figure with the major axis of the egg E to be inspected as a rotation axis. However, vibration sounds at a plurality of locations of one inspected egg E may be acquired. In this case, each acquired vibration data D1 at a plurality of locations is compared with the determination reference data D3 or D3a. This makes it possible to detect even small local cracks. Further, a plurality of pairs of the hammer 13 and the microphone 14 may be provided in the transport direction A. In this case, the vibration data D1 from each microphone 14 is compared with the determination reference data D3 or D3a. This makes it possible to minimize crack detection omissions.

The embodiments disclosed this time must be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description but by the claims, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the claims and all modifications within the scope. That is, the whole or a part of the cracked egg detection devices 1 and 2, the arrangement of each part, and the crack determination parts 15 and 1
5 ', 15a content of crack determination process, procedure,
The timing and the like can be changed appropriately in accordance with the gist of the present invention.

[0035]

According to the present invention, a cracked egg can be accurately detected regardless of the difference in weight and size of the egg to be inspected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cracked egg detection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of determination reference data and vibration data obtained when a test egg is impacted.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another processing mode of the crack determination unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cracked egg detection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional cracked egg detection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Cracked egg detector, 2 ... Cracked egg detector, 1
2 ... Weighing scale (weight specifying means), 12a ... Camera (size specifying means), 13 ... Hammer (impact applying means), 14 ...
Microphone (vibration detection means), 15 ... Crack determination means, 15a ... Crack determination means, D1 ... Vibration data,
D2 ... weight data, D2a ... size data, D3 ... judgment reference data, D3a ... judgment reference data, E ... inspected egg

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A cracked egg detection device for detecting a crack in an egg to be inspected by detecting a vibration generated when the egg to be inspected is impacted, the impact being for impacting the egg to be inspected. Applying means, vibration detecting means for detecting the vibration generated when the impact is given, and weight specifying means for specifying the weight of the egg to be inspected,
Cracked egg detection characterized by having a crack determination means for determining cracking of the inspected egg based on the vibration data detected by the vibration detection means and the weight data specified by the weight specifying means. apparatus. 2. A cracked egg detection device for detecting cracks in an egg to be inspected by detecting vibration generated when the egg to be inspected is impacted, the impact being for impacting the egg to be inspected. Application means, vibration detection means for detecting the vibration generated when the impact is applied, and size specification for specifying at least one of the major axis length, the minor axis length and the projected area of the egg to be inspected Means, and a crack determination means for determining a crack of the inspected egg based on the vibration data detected by the vibration detection means and the size data specified by the size specifying means. Cracked egg detector. 3. The crack egg detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the crack judging means judges the crack of the inspected egg by associating the weight data with judgment reference data for judging cracks. . 4. The crack egg detecting device according to claim 2, wherein the crack judging means judges the crack of the inspected egg by associating the size data with judgment reference data for judging cracks. . 5. The cracked egg detection device according to claim 1, wherein the determination reference data is vibration data obtained when the impact is applied to a plurality of reference eggs having different weights. 6. The cracked egg detection device according to claim 2, wherein the determination reference data is vibration data obtained when the impact is applied to a plurality of reference eggs having different size data. 7. The cracked egg detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the vibration detecting means detects vibration of the egg to be inspected. 8. The cracked egg detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the vibration detecting means detects vibration of the impact applying means. 9. The cracked egg detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the vibration detecting means detects vibration of the egg to be inspected and the impact applying means. 10. The cracked egg detection device according to claim 1, wherein the vibration detection means is a vibration detector such as a microphone or a piezoelectric element.