JP2003510560A - Built-in optical block for spectroscopic analysis - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] The content of components in a sample of flowing grain or other agricultural products is measured simultaneously with harvesting or processing using a short-wave near-infrared analyzer. The analyzer irradiates a sample, individually picks up diffuse reflectance from the sample for a plurality of wavelengths, spatially separates the diffuse reflectance, and obtains a response for each wavelength. As a result, the intensities of the individual wavelengths are simultaneously detected in parallel from the same portion of the analysis target product. Next, the content of the composition substance is compared with a known content to determine the components of the sample product. The new wavelength analyzer is suitable for mounting on an agricultural compine and performing real-time measurements on site.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

Related Application This application is related to US Patent Application No. 09/35
It is a continuation application of 4,497, and claims priority based on this. The teachings of this related application are all incorporated by reference into this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It has been recognized for many years that the value of agricultural products such as grains depends on the quality of their unique constituents. In particular, grains containing the desired protein, oil, starch, fiber and moisture components as well as desirable levels of carbohydrates and other ingredients can be sold at high prices. This has led to the need to know the ingredients and other physical properties, such as hardness, in markets where such grains and their processed products are preferred.

Many analytical systems for analyzing protein and water content have near infrared (N
IR) has been developed using spectroscopic techniques. Some of these systems are for milled grain, as described, for example, in US Pat. No. 5,258,825. However, adding value in milling may reduce the economic gain obtained in the first screening, for example US Pat. No. 4,260.
, 262, there is also a target for analysis of whole grains.

NIR spectrophotometer-based techniques require only 3 to produce results when compared to wet, chemical, and other inspection methods that require hours for component separation and analysis.
It is widely used because it has a high speed of 0 to 60 seconds. Further, the method using the NIR spectrophotometer is also preferred because it does not destroy the sample to be analyzed. For example, in a typical wheat grain analysis, a sample is sequentially illuminated at selected wavelengths. Next, the diffuse transmittance or diffuse reflectance of this sample is measured. Next, in any case, calculation is performed using the measurement result to obtain the content rate of a certain substance component.

For example, the analyzer described in US Pat. No. 4,260,262 determines the contents of oil, water and protein components using the following equation:

Oil% = K ₀ + K ₁ (ΔOD) _w + K ₂ (ΔOD) _o + K ₃ (ΔOD) _p Moisture% = K ₄ + K ₅ (ΔOD) _w + K ₆ (ΔOD) _o + K ₇ (ΔOD) _p protein % = K ₈ + K ₉ (ΔOD) _w + K ₁₀ (ΔOD) _o + K ₁₁ (ΔOD
) _P

Here, (ΔOD) _w represents a change in optical density using a pair of wavelengths that react with moisture, and (ΔOD) _o represents an optical density that uses a pair of wavelengths that react with oil. (ΔOD) _p represents a change in concentration, and (ΔOD) _p represents a change in optical density using a pair of wavelengths that react with a protein component. K ₀ -K ₁₁ is a constant or the agent.

Therefore, the change in optical density of any component can be determined from the following equation:

ΔOD = log (Ii / Ir) ₁ −log (Ii / Ir) ₂

Here, (Ii / Ir) ₁ is the ratio of the incident light intensity to the reflected light intensity at a certain selected wavelength, and (Ii / Ir) ₂ is the reflected light at the second selected wavelength. It is the ratio of the incident light intensity to the intensity.

Generally, grain analyzers use selected wavelengths in the range of about 1100 to 2500 nanometers. However, in US Pat. No. 5,258,825, the particle size effect of wheat flour was overcome by further using a wavelength of 540 nanometers.

Prior art grain analyzers typically use filter wheels or scanning diffraction gratings to continuously generate a particular wavelength of interest when analyzing grain constituents. Filter wheels or scanning gratings are sensitive to vibration due to the moving parts and are unreliable when analyzing grain at the same time as harvesting. Therefore, these analyzers have not been used for real-time measurements of grain components during harvest due to their lack of resistance to vibrations generated by combine or other produce harvesting equipment.

Optical systems typically include fiber optic cables for directing light away from the light source. However, because fiber optic cables can cause unwanted modal disturbances within the optical cable due to mechanical vibrations, they may require further conditioning of the optical signal for use in some applications, such as combine harvesters. There must be. Such modal perturbations or higher order reflections cause perturbations in light intensity that are independent of the properties of the sample. Therefore, unless expensive adjustment devices are incorporated, the quality of the optical signal may deteriorate, and measuring devices such as grain analyzers may lose accuracy, especially when they are required to be used outdoors. Will be done.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a spectroscopic system and method for measuring the content of ingredients in flowing produce and related materials when delivered from a combine, grain processor or storage facility. is there. Such produce may include, but is not limited to, wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, rice, soybeans, amaranth, triticale and other cereals, grasses and feed ingredients. There is no.

The present invention uses the diffuse reflection property of light to determine the content rate of ingredients in a flowing agricultural product. In a preferred embodiment, the method of the present invention provides short wavelengths, near infrared (NIR) radiant energy in the range of 600 to approximately 1100 nanometers (nm), and wavelengths of about 570 nanometers (nm). It relates to the measurement of the spectral response to the included visible spectrum light. Other wavelengths may optionally be used in the present invention up to the mid-infrared wavelength near 5000 nanometers, but in this case the range of wavelengths to be analyzed is subject to detector bandwidth constraints. . The relatively short wavelength spectral response can be combined with the relatively long wavelength spectral response to be used for modeling proteins and other components.

The analyzer includes a light lamp having a bandwidth suitable for simultaneously illuminating flowing produce with light of multiple wavelengths. By the detector receiving the light diffusely reflected from the produce feed, it is possible to analyze the received light signal with a real-time computing subsystem to determine the components of the sample.

The lamp is positioned at an angle in the first chamber and illuminates the flowing product sample through a window formed from a suitable protective material such as sapphire. The light source is focused by a lens or a parabolic mirror to enhance the light illuminating the produce sample. Therefore, the reception of reflected light from the sample to the detector, which is arranged at an angle in the second chamber, is enhanced. Such a structure of each chamber prevents the detector from receiving stray light from the lamp from inside the detection device itself during sample measurement. Therefore, the light received by the detector is only the light reflected from the product sample into the second chamber.

The second chamber includes a diffuser provided in a path of light received from the irradiated sample. The diffused optical signal emitted from the diffuser is then passed to a wavelength separator, such as a linear tunable filter (LVF), provided in the second chamber for spatially separating a plurality of wavelengths of interest. Sent.

Next, the wavelength separator simultaneously detects the optical signal at the plurality of spatially separated wavelengths reflected from the illuminated sample, such as a charge coupled device (CCD). Send to any suitable detector possible. The electrical signal from the detector corresponding to the individual wavelengths from the illuminated sample is converted to digital data. A calculation device performs spectral analysis on these data to calculate the content rates of various components in the sample.

The present invention includes a reflecting device provided in the first chamber. The reflector directs a portion of the lamp light as a reference light into a detector located in the second chamber. A controllable shutter mechanism is used to block this reference light during spectral analysis of the sample. On the contrary, when the spectrum of the reference light is analyzed, another shutter mechanism is used to block the reflected light from the sample. Based on the combination of standard measurement and sample measurement, highly accurate wavelength analysis is performed to measure the components of sample agricultural products. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, it is possible to analyze and record an entire crop to show the correlation of the harvested product with a particular geographical area.

The present analyzer has the advantage of being able to monitor flowing samples without the use of expensive and limited optical fibers or mode converters. Therefore, the mechanical perturbations caused by the mechanical vibrations found in optical fibers are avoided. Further, since it is not necessary to incorporate an optical pickup for guiding the sample light into a narrow optical cable, the aperture angle of the monitor light from the irradiated sample may be larger. Since the light reflection signal has a wide angle in this manner, the intensity of the received light is increased, and it becomes possible to perform more accurate component analysis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1 in more detail, the present invention is a system 100 for analyzing the constituents of a flowing produce at the same time as processing or harvesting. Agricultural products that can be analyzed by the system 100 include, but are not limited to, wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, rice, soybeans, amaranth, triticale and other cereals, grasses and feed ingredients. There is no. The components analyzed include proteins, oils,
Physical properties such as, but not limited to, starch, fiber, moisture, carbohydrates and other ingredients as well as hardness may be included. Although the following description refers to the particular example where the product analyzed is a grain, it should be understood that other agricultural products may be analyzed.

The system 100 uses a suitable continuous illumination device, such as an infrared light source 10.
The light emitted from the light source 10 in the forward direction passes through the first window 12 and is applied to the sample of the agricultural product 14 that is flowing during the harvesting, processing, or the transporting device such as the duct 16.

The light source 10 may be, for example, from 570 to about 1120 nanometers (nm),
Infrared light having a plurality of wavelengths within a target range is continuously and simultaneously generated. Other applications of the invention use wavelengths in the visible and mid-infrared light range, which corresponds to 400 to 5000 nanometers, and thus require a light source capable of generating such wavelengths. The desired analysis range depends on the characteristics of the detector, but the detector bandwidth is usually limited. For example, a fairly inexpensive silicon photodiode array is capable of detecting light intensities of wavelengths 600 to 1100 nanometers. Other detectors that can be used in the present invention are lead sulfide detectors and lead selenide detectors, which are 1000 to 3000 nanometers and 3000 to 50, respectively.
The target is a reaction of 00 nanometers. The detector will be described in more detail later in this application.

A suitable light source 10 is a quartz halogen bulb or a tungsten filament bulb, which are readily available. A typical light source 10 is a tungsten filament light bulb that operates at 5 volts (vDC) and draws 1 amp of current. Light source 1
0 may be further stabilized by using a filter or an integrated photosensitive feedback device in a manner well known in the art (not shown).

The light source 10 is arranged to illuminate a product 14 flowing in a carrier device such as a duct 16 in an agricultural companion or other grain processing device. The produce 14 in the duct 16 generally flows in the direction of the arrow in the figure, but it may flow in the opposite direction.

The light source 10 and its associated components, which are provided adjacent to the duct 16, are arranged in a suitable housing 11. In such a case, the first window 12 is preferably arranged between the light source 10 and the flowing agricultural product 14. This prevents blockage of the system 100 by the flowing produce. The first window 12 is formed of a suitable material, such as sapphire, which is transparent at the target wavelength and whose absorptivity does not change significantly due to temperature changes. Also, sapphire has a high scratch resistance so that debris such as stones flowing with the produce will not damage the window. The first window 1
2 may be formed integrally with the housing 11 or the duct 16 as required.

The housing 11 accommodating the light source 10, the first window 12, and others,
Related components, described below, are arranged to monitor the continuous flow of the produce 14 in the duct 16. To that end, by mounting the housing 11 so that the first window 12 is adjacent to the opening 15 of the duct 16, the light source 10 is flowing through the window 12 and the opening 15. Irradiate product 14.

The housing 11 may be a separate physical housing, or
It may be integrally formed in the duct 16.

A parabolic or reflecting mirror 17 for directing light from the light source 10 to the sample 14 to be analyzed is arranged in the cavity of the lamp. In a preferred embodiment, the light is collimated to enhance the intensity of the spectrally analyzed light reflected from the sample. However, the lens 20 may further focus or diverge the light into a stronger or weaker beam. In other words, the light with which the sample is irradiated may have an angle instead of being parallel.

In another embodiment, a plurality of light sources 10 such as an infrared emitter array is provided.
May be used if they focus on the same point.

The first window 1 arranged between the light source 10 and the flowing product 14.
Positioning the light source 10 such that the light source 10 directly illuminates the flowing product 14 through the first window 12 without the use of optical fibers or other devices other than 2. Is desirable. In the preferred embodiment, the diameter of the illumination spot size from the light source 10 to the flowing produce sample 14 is approximately one-half to one inch. In particular, the incident light 48 from the light source 10 is focused on the sample 14 which is flowing near or in contact with the surfaces of the first window 12 and the second window 13. The incident light 48 passes through the first window 12 and the flowing sample 14 to generate a sample light 49 directed to the second window 13 and the analysis chamber, where the light intensity is analyzed. It is effective when done. In applications where the sample is located further away from the surfaces of the first window 12 and the second window 13, the illumination spot size may be larger, eg a few inches in diameter.

A large illumination spot size and a large entrance aperture are preferable because the flowing produce sample can be measured more accurately. When the spot size is large, a plurality of grains to be irradiated is usually analyzed for each measurement, which is advantageous in that an average value of these is obtained.

Other analyzers incorporate expensive optical hardware to receive the reflected light 49 from the sample and redirect it to a distant photodetector. In order to receive a small spot with these systems, a high intensity light source is required. This method of using optical hardware to divert the reflected sample light 49 requires that the reflected light be focused into a narrow fiber optic cable, which limits the spot size diameter to a small amount. It

On the other hand, according to the present invention, a detector 52 having a large entrance aperture is provided in the second chamber 65 adjacent to the first chamber 68 so as to receive the reflected sample light 49. That is advantageous. No expensive fiber optic hardware is required as the received light need not be sent to a distant detector. Furthermore, the sample light 49 naturally strikes the detector 52 provided in the second chamber immediately after reflection. To achieve the same performance as the present invention in a fiber system, a very large fiber bundle would be needed to redirect the reflected sample light to a distant detector.

Not using a fiber optic pickup and associated fiber optic cable provides additional benefits in addition to allowing the use of larger illumination spot sizes. In general, the bandwidth of fiber optic cables is limited. Therefore, when using such a cable to redirect reflected light to a distant detector, the spectral range of the redirected light is limited to the bandwidth of the cable. This has a negative impact on the component measurements, as the narrow bandwidth of the spectrum can lead to inaccurate results. Furthermore, the fact that fiber optic cables intended for bandwidth in the mid-infrared region are particularly expensive also makes the use of fiber optic cables difficult. Some cables of this type cost more than $ 1,000 a few meters. The present invention has no bandwidth limitation and does not have unnecessary cost because it does not have a built-in optical fiber cable for diverting light. As a result, component sampling can be performed using any broadband light source and complementary detector.

The use of a fiber optic cable for diverting the reflected sample light 49 is even more inadequate because the integrity of the optical signal in the fiber optic cable is easily compromised by heating strains and mechanical vibrations. is there. This is especially true when the fiber optic cable is intended for infrared light transmission. Both heat distortion and mechanical vibrations, which are especially likely to occur in combine harvesters, adversely affect the integrity of the optical signal used to detect sample components. The present invention avoids the above problems by providing the detector 52 in the second chamber 65 adjacent to the light source and not incorporating an optical fiber in the path 49 of the reflected sample light. Is advantageous.

The present invention uses wide entrance apertures, typically 100 to 500 square millimeters, as described above, instead of thin fibers, which typically have aperture areas less than 1 square millimeter. As a result, it becomes possible to enter from a wide incident range with a low light intensity. Additional optics may be used to adjust the aperture size to obtain different ranges of incidence, allowing for entry from large, distant samples.

The light emitted from the light source 10 passes through the first window 12 and the opening 15 of the duct 16 and is applied to the flowing agricultural product 14. Next, the incident light 48 from the light source is reflected by the sample 14, where the reflected sample light 49 is
It is turned at an angle and passes through the opening 15 of the duct and the second window 13.

In a preferred embodiment, the angle between the light source and the detector unit 52 in the second chamber 65 is such that the majority of the reflected sample light 49 is the flowing produce. Optimized to be diverted towards the second chamber 65 for spectral analysis of. For example, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 1, the light source makes an optimum angle of about 60 degrees with respect to the first window 12, while the detector unit 52 in the second chamber is The angle may be about 60 degrees with respect to the second window.

As described above, the reflected sample light 49 is contained in the second chamber 65.
An optical device for detecting the. In particular, the reflected sample light 49 passes through the second window 13 and enters the second chamber 65 where it is spectrally analyzed. A diffuser 59 scatters the reflected sample light 49 and spatially distributes the intensity of the light across the second chamber 65 for more accurate simultaneous spectral readings. For example, the reflected sample light 4 of various wavelengths
9 are more evenly distributed throughout the second chamber 65. Otherwise,
Due to the imaging effect (original term imaging effect) due to the high-intensity light region generated by the sample light 49 reflected from the flowing produce 14,
The component measurement becomes more inaccurate.

A hermetically sealed chamber 46 is arranged in the second chamber 65 to receive the reflected sample light 49. The light emitted from the diffuser irradiates the wavelength separator 50 and the CCD array detector 52, which are arranged together in the hermetically sealed chamber 46, through the third window 60 having a light transmitting property. This hermetically sealed chamber protects the precision optics from corrosive measurement obstructions such as moisture and dust. Without the hermetically sealed chamber 46, dust and other debris could be deposited on the detection device 52 and the wavelength separator 50, adversely affecting the constituent measurements. It should be noted that the second chamber 65 may be wholly or partially sealed.

The wavelength separator 50 within the enclosed chamber 46 spatially separates the various wavelengths of the diffusely reflected light energy of interest in one preferred embodiment.
Suitable wavelength separators 50 include linear variable filters (LVFs), diffraction gratings, prisms, interferometers or similar devices. The wavelength separator 50 has a resolution (Δλ / λ
) Preferably provided as a linear variable filter (LVF) of about 1 to 4 percent.

The spatially separated wavelengths are then sent to the detector 52. The detector 52
Are arranged to measure response simultaneously over a wide range of wavelengths. In a preferred embodiment, the detector 52 is an array of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) that individually measure the light intensity at each wavelength. In other words, the CC
Each cell of the D-array is tuned to measure the intensity of the individual bandpass light.

However, the preferred detector 52 is any other suitable fast scanning photodiode, charge injection device (CID), or any other suitable detector for detecting multiple wavelengths of interest simultaneously in parallel. It may be an array of detectors.

In a preferred embodiment, the detector 52 is a silicon CCD array product, such as the Fairchild CCD 133A available from Laural Fairchild. This device preferably has a spatial resolution of about 13 micrometers. The frequency resolution is the selected bandwidth of interest (determined by the linear variable filter 50) divided by the number of CCD elements. In the preferred embodiment, the CCD array 52 is an array of 1,024 elements, approximately 570.
The wavelength range from nm to about 1120 nm is processed. As mentioned above, other detectors directed to different bandwidths may be used.

In addition, since the detector 52 such as a CCD array is generally easily affected by temperature, it is desirable to stabilize it.

In one preferred embodiment, the LVF 50 and CCD array 52 are relatively close together so that both of these components can be temperature stabilized. Suitable for heat stabilization, heat sink surface, thermoelectric cooler (Peltier cooler)
Alternatively, a fan may be used. In this preferred embodiment of the invention, reference ray 2
A reflector 22 arranged in the first chamber to reflect 3 towards the wavelength separator 50 and a detector 52 arranged in the second chamber 65 depending on the position of the light blocking shutter. And are included. The reflector 22 is preferably fixed so that repeated measurements are performed based on the same reference light intensity.

The first shutter controls the path of the reflected sample light 49 into the second chamber 65, while the second shutter controls the reference light beam 23 reflected from the reference light reflector 22. Control the path into the second chamber 65. At any point in time, the first and second shutters are controlled to cause appropriate light to flow into the second chamber 65. It should be noted that a single shutter may control whether the reference beam 23 or the reflected sample light 49 is applied to the detector 52.

Control electronics 18 located adjacent to the second chamber 65 controls the shutter mechanism. The shutter position command is received via an electronic component signal transmitted by the controller 35 provided in the electronic component block 30.

Three measurements are performed using the shutter. In the first measurement, the reflected sample light 4
Both 9 and the reference ray 23 are blocked. This "dark" second chamber 65 reference measurement calibrates the detector unit or array 52. In the second measurement,
The reflected sample light 49 is blocked and the reference light beam 23 is measured. By this measurement,
The system is calibrated to the light source 10. Finally, in the third measurement, the reference ray 23 is blocked and the reflected sample ray 49 is measured. Further details of the measurements and the associated calculations are shown in FIG.

A single or multiple electronic signals 27 between the electronic component block 30 and the system housing 11 cause the controller 35 to position the first and second shutters, and in particular A signal for controlling the inflow of the reference light beam 23 and the reflected sample light 49 into the second chamber 65 accommodating the detector unit 52 is transmitted. For example, during the sample measurement operation, the first shutter is in the open position to irradiate the sample with light, which is diffusely reflected by the flowing product sample 14, and in the closed position during the reference measurement. From the shutter and the diffusely reflected light from the shutter. During calibration of the detector unit 52 and sampling of the flowing product 14, the second shutter is used to block the reference beam 23 from entering the second chamber 65.

The plurality of electronic signals 27 are bundled in a wire harness 28 that connects the system housing 11 and the electronic component block 30. The system 1
When 00 is actually used in, for example, an agricultural harvester, the housing 1
1 may be placed next to the duct 16 while the electronics block 30 is long enough to allow the electronics block 30 to be placed in a less harsh environment such as the harvester's safety cab. desirable. This distance is typically, for example, 3 meters, but can be longer or shorter.

The electronic component block 30 includes an analog-to-digital converter 33, a component calculation mechanism 34, a controller 35 and a display interface 36. In a preferred embodiment, the component calculation function 34, controller 35 and display interface 3 are described.
6 is embodied as software in a computer, microcontroller, microprocessor and / or digital signal processor. An electronic signal 27 in the wire harness 28 connects the system housing 11 and the electronic component block 30.

Typically, the electronics block is mounted in an enclosed environment, such as a cab, while the housing 11 of the engineering system 100 is in a position to detect the flowing produce 14. It is installed. Since they are separated from each other in this manner, the electronic component is configured so that the signal integrity is not impaired due to the length of the wire harness 28. For example, the electronic signal 27 in the wire harness 28 is properly protected to prevent excessive coupling noise, which can adversely affect the A / D reading by the CCD array detector 52. A controller 35, which coordinates the A / D sampling process described above, controls the shutter mechanism within the second chamber 65 for various spectral measurements.

The individual electronic signals provided by the CCD for each wavelength are then transmitted from the output of the detector 52 to an analog-to-digital converter 33, where these electronic signals are: Converted to a digital signal for processing.

The calculation block 34, which is preferably incorporated in the microcomputer or digital signal processor described above, then performs a calculation based on the intensity of the received wavelength to determine the content of the components of the sample 14. Find the rate. The component content measured using the chemometric model is displayed in any desired way, such as by using a meter or by displaying on a display. The display may be integral with a laptop computer or other computer located within the cab of the harvester. The calculation block is the electronic component block 3
It may be a part of 0 or may be physically separated from it.

Grain content was calculated according to the method of Sharaf, M. et al. A. Illman, D .; L. And Kow
alski, B .; R. Written by “Chemometrics” (New York, JW
iley & Sons, 1986) is used to calculate based on the sample light and the specific wavelength.

The target suitable wavelength depends on the component to be measured. For example, in the case of measuring the protein content, the calculation is performed using the absorption rate peculiar to the vibration rotation overtone band of the protein partial structure. If the wavelength is longer than this, the absorption coefficient is large and the optical path length is short, so that sampling inside the grain cannot be performed. If the wavelength is shorter than this, the signal becomes weak because the absorption coefficient is small.

The system 100 thus spatially separates and detects multiple wavelengths in parallel after irradiation of the sample to rapidly analyze the sample. Furthermore, because the optical components of the unit are vibration stable, the system 100 is less susceptible to vibrations such as those found in agricultural combine or other harvesting and processing equipment.
Accordingly, the system 100 is easy to use in an environment where real-time analysis of harvested grains or other produce can be performed in parallel with harvesting and other processing operations. The data thus obtained may be compared with the reference data to obtain the component content rate, and using this, a planting area layout map may be created based on the so-called global positioning system (GPS).

Furthermore, the use of a CCD array as the detector unit 52 offers advantages compared to the prior art using discrete or scanning diode arrays. Specifically, all CCD elements are charged simultaneously and in parallel with each other until one of them approaches saturation. These are then emptied and the results read by the controller 35 before charging to the CCD array resumes. Therefore, each pixel is reading the same grain during the same time interval. On the other hand, in the case of a diode array, for example, if one grain mass is different from the grain mass read by the previous pixel, any element can generate a signal from that grain mass, Reading must be done sequentially.

The signal-to-noise ratio of system 100 may be improved by performing averaging over a number of measurements.

A suitable absorptivity measurement involves the following procedure (also illustrated in Figure 2): Both the sample reflected light and the reference light are blocked from the wavelength detector unit (step 301). 2. Read the wavelength detector unit and store the dark spectrum measurement data as D (step 302). 3. Block the sample reflected light and irradiate the wavelength detector unit with the reference light (step 303). 4. The wavelength detector unit is read and the measurement data of the reference light spectrum is stored as R (step 304). 5. Block the reference light and irradiate the wavelength detector unit with the sample reflected light (step 305). The wavelength detector unit is read and the measured data of the sample spectrum is converted to S
(Step 306) 7. The absorption spectrum A is calculated. Here, the light absorptance obtained from these diffuse reflectance measurements is represented by the following formula: A = LOG ₁₀ (RD / SD)

Furthermore, since the variation of the absorptance due to the presence of protein is very small, various realizations, averagings, and second derivative analyzes are generally performed to obtain the desired absorptivity values at specific wavelengths. . Therefore, by further processing the data, the second derivative of this function is determined, constant and linear offsets are removed, and only the second and higher order features of the absorption spectrum are used to measure the protein component. Good.

Equivalents While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail, it will be understood that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. As will be appreciated by the skilled artisan. A person of ordinary skill in the art would understand, through routine experimentation, many equivalents to the embodiments of the invention described herein.
Or it could be confirmed. Such equivalents are to be included in the claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention in connection with the accompanying drawings. See. In the above drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the different views. The drawings are not to scale, but are illustrative of the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a highly schematic view of a short wavelength near infrared grain component analysis system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a method for measuring the absorptance of a sample based on the principles of the present invention.

[Procedure for Amendment] Submission for translation of Article 34 Amendment of Patent Cooperation Treaty

[Submission date] September 17, 2001 (2001.17)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

[Claims]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0037

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

The use of a fiber optic cable for diverting the reflected sample light 49 is even more inadequate because the integrity of the optical signal in the fiber optic cable is easily compromised by heating strains and mechanical vibrations. is there. This is especially true when the fiber optic cable is intended for infrared light transmission. Both heat distortion and mechanical vibrations, which are especially likely to occur in combine harvesters, adversely affect the integrity of the optical signal used to detect sample components. The present invention avoids the above problems by providing the detector 52 in the second chamber 65 adjacent to the light source and not incorporating an optical fiber in the path 49 of the reflected sample light. Is advantageous. Furthermore, each chamber, namely the first chamber 68 and the second chamber 6
5 is structured to prevent the detector 50 from receiving stray light from the light source 10 from inside the housing 11 of the system 100 during sample measurement. Therefore, the light received by the detector 50 is the reflected light 4 from the sample.
Only nine. Specifically, a wall 57 that separates the first chamber 68 and the second chamber 65 of the housing 11 extends to the first window 12 and the second window 13, A light blocking element is formed to irradiate the sample 14 with the incident light 48 and prevent the incident light 48 from directly entering the detector 50.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 1

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

[Figure 1]

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, I T, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE), OA (BF, BJ , CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, GM, K E, LS, MW, MZ, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG , ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE, AG, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, BZ, C A, CH, CN, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM , DZ, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, K E, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK, LR, LS , LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MZ, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, R U, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL, TJ, TM , TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW (72) Inventor Lee Anthony S             United States California             94952 Petaluna Eighth Street             514 F term (reference) 2B074 BA13 BA19 DB04 EB08 EB17                       EC01 ED03 FB02 FC01 FC02                 2G059 AA01 BB11 DD12 EE02 EE10                       EE12 FF06 GG10 HH01 HH02                       JJ02 JJ05 JJ06 JJ11 JJ17                       JJ23 JJ26 KK04 MM01 MM05                       MM09 MM14 PP04

Claims (32)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for measuring in real time the constituents of a flowing agricultural product at the same time as processing, said apparatus comprising: selecting a sample portion of said flowing agricultural product at the same time as processing. A light source disposed in the first chamber to irradiate at a plurality of wavelengths within the irradiation bandwidth; and a plurality of spatially separated lights having different wavelengths, which are received by the reflected light from the irradiated sample portion. A wavelength separator disposed in the second chamber for generating; and, in the second chamber also for receiving light from the wavelength separator and detecting the intensity of the light at a plurality of selected wavelengths. A detector disposed on the. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the light source irradiates the sample portion of the flowing product with light through a first window provided in the first chamber. The described device. 3. The wavelength separator receives light from the illuminated sample portion of the flowing product through a second window provided in the second chamber. The device according to claim 2, wherein 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detector in the second chamber is hermetically sealed. 5. The apparatus further comprises a reflector disposed in the first chamber to reflect a portion of the light emitted from the light source into the second chamber for calibration measurements. The device according to claim 1. 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a shutter mechanism that selectively blocks light reflected from the reflector and the irradiated sample portion so as not to be irradiated toward the detector. . 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selected irradiation bandwidth is in the region from the visible spectrum to the mid-infrared spectrum. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a diffuser for diffusing reflected light from the irradiated sample into the wavelength separator. 9. An apparatus for measuring in real time the constituents of a flowing produce simultaneously with processing, said apparatus comprising: selecting a sample portion of said flowing produce simultaneously with processing. A light source disposed in the first chamber for irradiating with a plurality of wavelengths within an irradiation bandwidth; a diffuser for uniformly dispersing the intensity of light emitted from the flowing agricultural product; A wavelength demultiplexer for receiving light from the light source to generate spatially separated light having a plurality of different wavelengths; And a detector provided with; 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the light source illuminates the sample portion of the flowing product through a first window. 11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the wavelength separator receives light from the illuminated sample portion of the flowing product through a second window. . 12. The device according to claim 9, wherein the detector is hermetically sealed. 13. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a reflector positioned to reflect a portion of the light emitted from the light source into the wavelength separator for calibration measurements. 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a shutter mechanism that selectively blocks light reflected from the reflector and the irradiated sample portion so as not to be irradiated toward the detector. . 15. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the selected irradiation bandwidth is in the region from the visible spectrum to the mid-infrared spectrum. 16. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising an analog to digital converter connected to receive the detected intensity signal and provide a detected intensity value. 17. A computer further connected to receive the detected intensity signal from the detector and to calculate the constituents of the sample portion of the produce from the detected intensity value. The device according to claim 16. 18. A method for measuring constituent components of a flowing agricultural product in real time simultaneously with processing, the method comprising: irradiating a sample portion of the flowing agricultural product with a light source at the same time as processing. Said light source emitting a plurality of wavelengths within a selected illumination bandwidth; receiving reflected light from said illuminated sample portion in a second chamber; Separating the wavelengths of the received light to produce spatially separated light of a plurality of different wavelengths; detecting the intensity of the spatially separated light at a plurality of selected wavelengths,
Is included in the method. 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the light source irradiates the sample portion of the flowing product with light through a first window provided in the first chamber. The method described. 20. The wavelength separator receives light from the illuminated sample portion of the flowing product through a second window provided in the second chamber. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein 21. The method of claim 18, further comprising reflecting a portion of the light emitted from the light source into the second chamber for calibration measurements. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising selectively directing light from the reflector and the illuminated sample portion into the second chamber. 23. The method of claim 18, wherein the selected irradiation bandwidth is in the region of the visible to mid-infrared spectrum. 24. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of diffusing reflected light from the illuminated sample into the wavelength separator. 25. A method for measuring constituent components of a flowing agricultural product in real time simultaneously with processing, the method comprising: irradiating a sample portion of the flowing agricultural product with a light source at the same time as processing. Wherein the light source emits a plurality of wavelengths within a selected illumination bandwidth; receiving reflected light from the illuminated sample portion; illuminating from the flowing produce Diffusing the wavelength of the separated light with a diffuser; separating the wavelength of the received light to generate spatially separated light of a plurality of different wavelengths; Detecting at a plurality of selected wavelengths,
Is included in the method. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the light source illuminates the sample portion of the flowing product through a first window. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the wavelength separator receives light from the illuminated sample portion of the flowing product through a second window. . 28. The method of claim 25, further comprising reflecting a portion of the light emitted from the light source toward the detector for calibration measurements. 29. In order to detect the intensity of the spatially separated light at a plurality of wavelengths,
29. The method of claim 28, further comprising selectively illuminating a detector with light from the reflector and the illuminated sample portion. 30. The method according to claim 25, wherein the selected irradiation bandwidth is in the region from the visible spectrum to the mid-infrared spectrum. 31. The method further comprising measuring the intensity of the spatially separated light at a plurality of selected wavelengths using a single or multiple A / D converters.
The method described in. 32. The method further comprising providing a software program running on a computer to calculate the constituents of the sample portion of the produce based on the intensity of the light at the selected wavelength. The method described in.