JPH0923747A - Selection of butt seedling - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To mechanically perform the selection of a butt seedling for grafting by paying attention to a fact that an unripe seedling has a low height and has the center of gravity at a low position. SOLUTION: A butt seedling is photographed from the sideward and the weight of the center of gravity of the butt seedling is calculated from the resultant image data and the seedlings having below the height of the standard value of the center of gravity are excluded. A side of the butt seedling is photographed and, based on the image data, an area is measured from a sideward under rotating the butt seedling around its hypocotyl as a center, and an orientation of its cotyledon is judged as being positioned in a constant direction when the area reaches the maximum, then the data are applied to grafting position setting of the butt seedling. Central parts of both sides of an inertial principal axis of the butt seedling are point-measured based on image data of the butt seedling from above and, when one of the central parts is detected on one side of the inertial principal axis by two-points measurements of both sides of the inertial principal axis of a leaf, the leaf of the scion tree is judged as being present in a direction of the inertial principal axis. Furthermore, the area of the leaf viewed from above is obtained by an analysis of the image data and a butt seedling having the resultant value smaller than a standard value is judged as a malformed seedling.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic grafting sequence, and more particularly to a method for automatically selecting seedlings suitable for grafting to be supplied to a grafting robot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The inventor of the present invention is a grafting robot for automatically cutting and cutting a scion seedling and a rootstock seedling that have been manually set in advance and clip-joining the cut scion seedling and the rootstock seedling. Was developed and filed a series of applications.

[0003]

If the original seedling supplied to the grafting robot developed by the present inventor is an immature seedling, the grafting robot may not carry out grafting work. Therefore, it is necessary to select a seedling that grows well as a seedling to be supplied to the grafting robot. Conventionally, only skilled workers used to visually select high quality seedlings. Therefore, if skilled workers are not always secured, the grafting work may be hindered, and the selection work of the original seedlings is a hindrance to the efficiency of the whole grafting work using the grafting robot. Therefore, the present invention aims to mechanically select the original seedlings for grafting.

[0004]

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following constitution. That is, by analyzing the image data taken from the lateral direction of the original seedling for grafting, the height of the center of gravity of the original seedling is measured, and seedlings whose height is below a specified value are excluded from the grafting process or the hypocotyl Measure the area while rotating as, align the original seedling for grafting by detecting the case with the maximum area (for example, by detecting the direction of the cotyledons) or measure the main axis of inertia of the original seedling, When the tilt angle from the vertical direction exceeds a certain level,
Determining malformed seedlings, or determining the malformed seedlings due to insufficient leaf area by analyzing image data taken from above the original seedlings for grafting, or measuring the center points on both sides of the main axis of inertia of the original seedlings. Then, when the image of the seedling can be detected there, it is a method of selecting the original seedling that determines that the true leaves of the scion are present. Note that, in the lateral image of the original seedling, the area of the cotyledon that spreads to the left and right is approximately the same in the plan view seen from the side, so the principal axis of inertia of the original seedling is assumed to be approximately equal to the embryo axis passing through the center of the image. In addition, since the left and right cotyledon shapes are almost the same in the original seedling upper image, it is assumed that the principal axes of inertia of the upper image are substantially equal to the cotyledon expansion direction.

Focusing on the fact that the immature seedlings have a low plant height and a low center of gravity, the original seedlings are imaged from the side, and the height of the center of gravity of the original seedlings is calculated from the image data to obtain the standard value. Eliminate seedlings below the height of the center of gravity. This is because immature seedlings that have delayed emergence during germination are not suitable for grafting and need to be removed by selection.

[0006] Further, the side of the original seedling is imaged, the area of the seedling of the original seedling is measured from the side while rotating the seedling of the original seedling around the hypocotyl, and the cotyledon of the cotyledon is obtained when the area becomes maximum. It is determined that the orientation is a fixed direction and used for grafting alignment of the original seedlings. As a result, the positioning in the cotyledon expansion direction, which is important in the one-leaf cutting and joining method, can be performed mechanically, and seedlings can be automatically supplied.

In addition, the scion is used as a graft after the true leaves are formed. Therefore, the process of detecting the true leaves of the scion is set up as a sequence of the automatic operation of the grafting system.However, from the image data from above the original seedlings, the central points on both sides of the main axis of inertia of the original seedlings are measured, If two points on both sides of the principal axis of inertia can be detected on either of the principal axes of inertia, it can be determined that there is a true leaf of the scion.

The present invention can also be used for detecting malformed seedlings. The characteristics of malformed seedlings are that the cotyledons on one side or both sides are closed or absent, and the leaf area when viewed from above is obtained by analyzing the image data, and it can be judged if the value is smaller than the specified value. In addition, immature seedlings, which have late germination and are not suitable for grafting, can be detected because of the small cotyledon area. Furthermore, we measured the inertial axis of the original seedling from the side of the original seedling, paying attention to the fact that the area of the left and right cotyledons in the malformed seedlings with unilateral cotyledons becomes unbalanced, and the inertial axis has an inclination with respect to the vertical direction. , When the inclination angle from the vertical direction becomes a certain value or more, it can be determined as a malformed seedling.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show an external view of the original seedling imaging device 1 of this embodiment and a tray 3 having a pot 2 in which a plurality of original seedlings are planted.

The original seedling imaging device 1 is equipped with a robot manipulator 7 having flexible arms 5 and 6 consisting of two arms 5 and 6, and a CCD camera 9 at the tip of the arm. Inside the robot manipulator 7, there are a control device (not shown) for controlling the bending degree of the flexible arms 5, 6 and a control device for changing the imaging direction of the camera 9 by the tips of the flexible arms 5, 6. It is built in.

Further, since the tray 3 having the pots 2 in which a plurality of original seedlings are planted is placed on the table 10 and positioned by a cylinder for lifting the pots 2 and a motor for rotating the seedlings, the camera 9 as shown in FIG. It is possible to shoot from above and from the side of the original seedling as shown in FIG. The image data captured by the camera 9 is transmitted to the image processing device 11,
The image processing device 11 performs various image processes described below. The result of the image processing is sent to the grafting robot 12 or the image analysis result display device 13 and used as information for the next grafting operation by the operator.

(1) First, a method used for selection of original seedlings will be described. The original seedling is imaged from the side from the camera position shown in FIG. 2, the center-of-gravity height of the original seedling is calculated from the image data, and seedlings below the standard-value center-of-gravity height as shown in FIG. 3 are excluded. . This is a work to be performed because immature seedlings that have delayed emergence at the time of germination are not suitable for grafting and need to be removed by selection. In other words, paying attention to the fact that immature seedlings have a low plant height and a low center of gravity, and if the original seedlings having a height of the center of gravity below the specified value are excluded, the immature seedlings will be excluded. The mechanical joining rate by the robot is improved. At this time, the camera position is set on the basis of the original seedling tray mounting table, and the fine adjustment is performed according to the growth degree of the original seedling.

(2) Next, the method used for the grafting alignment of the original seedling will be described. Image the side of the original seedling from the camera position shown in FIG. 2, measure the area from the side while rotating the seedling of the original seedling around the hypocotyl from the image data, and when the area becomes maximum It is judged that the cotyledon is in a certain direction and used for grafting alignment of the original seedling. As shown in FIG. 4A, the side surface area of the original seedling is small when it is oblique to the camera. However, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), when the original seedling is turned sideways with respect to the direction of the cotyledon with respect to the camera, the side surface area of the original seedling becomes the maximum,
When in this state, the orientation of the cotyledons can be determined. In this way, positioning in the cotyledon expansion direction, which is important in the one-leaf cutting and joining method, can be performed mechanically, and seedlings can be automatically supplied.

(3) A method used for positioning the scion seedlings will be described. Basically, after the true leaves of the scion are formed, they are used for grafting. Therefore, a sequence for aligning the scion is formed by detecting the true leaves, the original seedling is imaged from above the original seedling from the camera position shown in FIG. 1, and the image data is used to center both sides of the main spindle of inertia of the original seedling. Point is measured, and if it cannot be detected on either side of the main spindle of inertia by two-point measurement on both sides of the main spindle of inertia, the sequence stops there and the selection of the original seedling and the placement position of that seedling to the grafting robot are changed. Set up a series of grafting systems including matching so that automatic operation stops. However, there is a case where the seedlings for scion are grafted at a small time because of the work. In that case, if the sequence as described above is incorporated, if the leaf surface cannot be detected on either side of the central portion on both sides of the principal axis of inertia of the true leaf, as shown in FIG. 5, the grafting is performed in any direction. It is also possible to adopt a method in which the machine is not interrupted.

(4) A method used for detecting malformed seedlings will be described. In the seedling detection method used in the image processing by imaging the original seedling from above the original seedling from the camera position shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 6, due to the insufficient leaf area when the original seedling was viewed from above. This is a method for determining malformed seedlings. The characteristics of malformed seedlings are that the cotyledons on one side or both sides are closed or absent in many cases, and the leaf area when viewed from above is measured and it can be judged as being smaller than the specified value. In addition, immature seedlings (seedlings that are delayed in germination and are not suitable for grafting) can be detected because the cotyledon area is small. In addition, the side surface of the original seedling is imaged from the position shown in FIG. 2, and in the seedling detection method used in the image processing, the main axis of inertia of the original seedling is measured from the side of the original seedling as shown in FIG. This is a method of determining a malformed seedling when the inclination angle α of is above a certain level. According to this method, a malformed seedling lacking a cotyledon on one side can be detected, and thus mechanical selection becomes possible. In other words, if the leaves are normal, the areas of the left and right cotyledons are almost equal, so the principal axis of inertia also points almost vertically along the hypocotyl, but a malformed seedling with unilateral cotyledons has an area of left and right cotyledons. Paying attention to the fact that the balance becomes balanced and the principal axis of inertia has the inclination α shown in FIG. 7, when the inclination α exceeds the set value, it can be determined that the seedling is malformed.

[0016]

According to the present invention, immature seedlings that are not suitable for grafting can be excluded from the grafting work performed automatically by a machine. In addition, the orientation of the cotyledons can be detected and the grafting position of the original seedlings can be aligned, the true leaves of the scion can be determined, and the malformed seedlings can be detected, and the seedlings can be automatically supplied to the grafting robot.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an original seedling imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a diagram showing a tray including a pot in which a plurality of original seedlings are planted.

FIG. 2 is an external view of an original seedling imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a diagram showing a tray including a pot in which a plurality of original seedlings are planted.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating image data from a lateral direction of seedlings for explaining a method used for selecting original seedlings.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing image data from a lateral direction of seedlings, which is used to explain a method used for grafting alignment of original seedlings.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing image data from above a seedling for explaining a method used for positioning a scion seedling.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing image data from above a seedling for explaining a method used for detecting a malformed seedling.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing image data 7 from the lateral direction of a seedling for explaining a method used for detecting a malformed seedling.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 original seedling imaging device 2 bowls 3 trays 5 and 6 arms 7 robot manipulator 9 CCD camera 10 units 11 image processing device 12 grafting robot 13 display device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The height of the center of gravity of the original seedling is measured by analyzing image data taken from the lateral direction of the original seedling for grafting, and seedlings whose height is below a specified value are excluded from the grafting step.
Alternatively, measuring the area while rotating around the hypocotyl, detecting the case with the maximum area and aligning the original seedling for grafting, or analyzing image data taken from above the original seedling for grafting According to the above, the malformed seedlings can be judged due to an excessively small leaf area, or the main axis of inertia of the original seedlings can be measured from the side of the original seedlings, and when the tilt angle from the vertical direction is above a certain level, it is judged as the malformed seedlings. Or a method of selecting an original seedling, which comprises measuring points at both sides of the main axis of inertia of the original seedling and determining that an image of the seedling can be detected there is a true leaf of the scion.