CN114246351A

CN114246351A - Baking and inspection system and method

Info

Publication number: CN114246351A
Application number: CN202011021663.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王潮鸿; 庄少钧; 黄建智; 张钦宏; 朱燕华
Original assignee: Food Industry Research and Development Institute
Current assignee: Food Industry Research and Development Institute
Priority date: 2020-09-25
Filing date: 2020-09-25
Publication date: 2022-03-29
Anticipated expiration: 2040-09-25
Also published as: CN114246351B

Abstract

The invention relates to a baking and inspection system and method. The baking and detecting system of the invention comprises: baking device and detection device. The baking device comprises a hollow inner cylinder and a hollow outer cylinder. The inner cylinder can rotate around the axis along a first path under the action of a first external force, and comprises a first annular wall, wherein an accommodating space is formed in the first annular wall and is provided with a first opening communicated with the accommodating space. The outer cylinder is arranged outside at least one part of the inner cylinder and can move between a first position and a second position under the action of second external force, and the outer cylinder is provided with a second opening. The detection device is arranged adjacent to the baking device and is provided with a receiving opening, and the receiving opening corresponds to the second opening of the outer cylinder at the second position. Wherein the first opening is aligned with at least the second opening when the outer barrel is in the first position and the second position when the first path is rotated.

Description

Baking and inspection system and method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a system and a method for roasting and detecting coffee beans.

Background

In recent years, coffee has become more popular. In recent years, the phenomenon that each cafe appears in the street alley like bamboo shoots in the spring after rain is enough to show that the demand of people for coffee is increased and the quality is an indispensable factor. In other words, people like canned coffee, which is already available from general convenience stores, are improved to expect a cup of high quality freshly brewed coffee that is carefully and manually brewed from a cafe. However, the brewing of a good cup of coffee, the coffee beans themselves and the way they are roasted are the most important keys.

In the general process of roasting coffee beans, the prior art device can only record the firepower, the wind speed, the wind temperature, the boiler rotation speed, the temperature difference and the humidity thereof as the basis for determining the roasting time. In a typical roasting process, a small amount of coffee beans are removed using a bean-detecting rod and the color is visually observed, or the roasting is empirically determined based on the popping sound or smell of the flavor during roasting. However, the method of judging the roasting of coffee beans by using the rule of thumb is too subjective and cannot be detected and evaluated by using a scientific and quantitative method. Moreover, this traditional practice requires experienced coffee bean roasters to operate, which in turn makes the cost prohibitive and undesirable for the mass needs of the public.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a system and a method for fully automatic baking and inspecting of agricultural crops.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to solving the deficiencies of the prior art, and provides a baking and inspecting system and method for automatically baking and inspecting an object to be inspected.

A first aspect of the present invention provides a baking and inspection system, comprising: baking device and detection device. The baking device comprises a hollow inner cylinder and a hollow outer cylinder. The inner cylinder can rotate around the axis along a first path under the action of a first external force, and comprises a first annular wall, wherein an accommodating space is formed in the first annular wall and is provided with a first opening communicated with the accommodating space. The outer cylinder is arranged outside at least one part of the inner cylinder and can move between a first position and a second position under the action of second external force, and the outer cylinder is provided with a second opening. The detection device is arranged adjacent to the baking device and is provided with a receiving opening, and the receiving opening corresponds to the second opening of the outer cylinder at the second position. The first opening is at least aligned with the second opening when the outer cylinder is in the first position and the second position when the first path rotates.

A second aspect of the present invention provides a baking and inspection method, which includes: providing a baking and inspection system as described in the first aspect above; carrying out a receiving step, wherein the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are both static, the first opening hole corresponds to the second opening hole of the outer cylinder at the first position, and a plurality of objects are placed into the accommodating space of the inner cylinder through the first opening hole and the second opening hole; rotating the inner cylinder and baking the object; a releasing step is carried out, the outer cylinder is moved to enable the second opening hole to be moved to a second position, so that one part of the rotating path of the inner cylinder corresponds to the second opening hole, and the receiving opening corresponds to the second opening hole, so that one part of the object falls into the detection device from the first opening hole and the second opening hole; moving the outer barrel back to the first position; partial detection of the object; and when the portion of the object is equal to or exceeds a threshold, the inner drum stops rotating and baking stops.

A third aspect of the present invention provides a baking and inspection system, comprising: baking device and detection device. The baking device comprises a hollow inner cylinder and a hollow outer cylinder. The inner cylinder can rotate around the axis along a first path under the action of a first external force, and comprises a first annular wall, an accommodating space is formed in the first annular wall and provided with a first opening, and the first opening is communicated with the accommodating space. The outer cylinder is arranged outside at least one part of the inner cylinder and can move under a second external force, the outer cylinder is provided with a second opening, a third opening, a cover body and a gate, the cover body and the gate respectively open or close the second opening and the third opening in a moving mode, and the first opening is aligned to the second opening or the third opening when moving on the first path. The detection device is arranged adjacent to the baking device and is provided with a receiving opening, and the receiving opening corresponds to the third opening.

Additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of embodiments of the invention.

Drawings

Aspects of the invention are readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the various features may not be drawn to scale and that the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a baking and inspection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the baking and inspection system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a first operation of the bake and detection system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a second operation of the bake and detection system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a third operation of the bake and detection system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a first operation of the baking and inspection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a second operation of the baking and inspection system of FIG. 6 according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a third operation of the baking and inspection system of FIG. 6 according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a baking and inspection system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of a first operation of the bake and detection system of FIG. 9 in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of a second operation of the baking and inspection system of FIG. 9 in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view of a third operation of the baking and inspection system of FIG. 9 according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the provided subject matter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below. These are, of course, merely embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention from that described herein. In the present disclosure, references in the following description to the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features are formed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

For a better understanding of the features, content, and advantages of the invention, as well as the advantages achieved thereby, reference should be made to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein the same is by way of illustration and description only, and wherein the same is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the invention, which is to be considered as limited to the same scale and arrangement as the appended drawings.

The invention provides a baking and detecting system which can bake and detect an agricultural crop in a full-automatic mode. For example, the agricultural crop may be coffee beans. In the present invention, the operator can set the roasting degree and aroma and flavor of the coffee beans in advance to roast the coffee beans customized for the customer. The baking degree is, for example, deep baking, medium baking or low baking. The difference in the degree of baking can be distinguished by setting. In other embodiments of the present invention, the baking and inspection system can also be applied to other objects, such as other crops requiring baking or toasting.

Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2, wherein fig. 1 is a perspective view of a baking and inspecting system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 2 is a side view of the baking and inspecting system 100 of fig. 1 according to the present invention. The baking and inspecting system 100 of the present embodiment includes a baking device 1, an inspecting device 2 and a control device 3. The detection device 2 is arranged beside the baking device 1. The control device 3 is electrically connected to the baking device 1 and the detection device 2, respectively, to control the operation of the baking device 1 and the detection device 2.

In the structure of the baking device 1 of the present embodiment, the baking device 1 includes a hollow inner cylinder 4 and a hollow outer cylinder 5, and the outer cylinder 5 is disposed outside at least a portion of the inner cylinder 4. More specifically, the outer tube 5 of the present embodiment surrounds a portion of the inner tube 4. In addition, the baking apparatus 1 further comprises a first driving device 6 and a second driving device 7. The first driving device 6 and the second driving device 7 can be respectively positioned at two opposite sides of the inner cylinder 4. The first driving device 6 is coupled to the inner cylinder 4 to provide a first external force to the inner cylinder 4, so that the inner cylinder 4 can rotate along an axis a under the first external force. The second driving device 7 is coupled to the outer barrel 5 to provide a second external force to the outer barrel 5, so that the outer barrel 5 is moved relative to the inner barrel 4 by the second external force, and the outer barrel 5 can be located at least at a first position and a second position. The outer cylinder 5 of the present embodiment also rotates around the inner cylinder 4 along the same axial center a as that of the inner cylinder 4 when the outer cylinder is rotated by the second external force. In this embodiment, the outer cylinder 5 rotates around the inner cylinder 4 in the same direction. However, in other embodiments, the outer barrel 5 may rotate in a reverse manner around the inner barrel 4. In addition, a sliding rail and/or a bearing structure (not shown) may be included between the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 5 to enable the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 5 to move relatively in a smooth and rotating manner.

The inner cylinder 4 disclosed in this embodiment is cylindrical, and the inner cylinder 4 includes a first annular wall 40 and two bottom covers 42. Two bottom covers 42 are respectively disposed at two opposite ends of the first annular wall 40 to close two ends of the first annular wall 40. One of the two bottom covers 42 may comprise a pivotable door (not shown) for removing the objects 400 (e.g. roasted coffee beans) from the inner cartridge 4, and the other bottom cover 42 is mechanically coupled to the power source of the first drive means 6.

In this embodiment, the outer cylinder 5 is also cylindrical and includes a second annular wall 50, a guide post 8 and an outer cover 9. The second annular wall 50 surrounds the first annular wall 40 of the inner barrel 4. The guide posts 8 are disposed on the second annular wall 50 and extend radially outward from the second annular wall 50. The guide post 8 is hollow to form a passage. The outer cover 9 is movably pivoted to the top edge of the guiding post 8 for opening and closing the passage in the guiding post 8. In other embodiments, the outer cylinder 5 may further have a locking member (not shown) which electrically or manually fixes the outer cover 9 to the guide post 8 and electrically or manually releases the outer cover 9.

On the other hand, the outer cylinder 5 may comprise at least one rack 52. The rack 52 may be disposed circumferentially outside the second annular wall 50 in a welded manner. As shown in fig. 2, the second driving device 7 includes a power source 70 and a gear 72, the power source 70 is mechanically coupled to the gear 72, and the gear 72 engages the rack 52. Thus, the second driving device 7 drives the outer cylinder 5 to rotate at a specific angle relative to the axis a by the power output from the power source 70 through the meshing relationship between the gear 72 and the rack 52. In the present embodiment, the power source of the first driving device 6 and the power source 70 of the second driving device 7 are both motors.

As shown in fig. 1 to 5, in the present embodiment, the detecting device 2 includes a housing 20 and an elastic shielding member 22. The housing 20 has a receiving opening 24, the receiving opening 24 corresponding to the guide post 8 when the outer cylinder 5 is in the second position (see fig. 5). The flexible shield 22 is disposed adjacent to the receiving opening 24 and movably shields the receiving opening 24. For example, the material of the elastic shielding member 22 may include silicone. When the guide post 8 of the outer cylinder 5 moves to the receiving opening 24, the elastic shielding member 22 may be pushed to temporarily deform the elastic shielding member 22 so that the guide post 8 enters the housing 20. When the guide post 8 is removed from the housing 20, the elastic shielding member 22 is restored (returned to its original position) to shield the receiving opening 24, so that the inside of the housing 20 is not exposed to the outside. In other embodiments, the flexible shield 22 may be opened manually or via the control device 3 shown in fig. 1.

The control device 3 includes a plurality of processing modules and software, and performs operations, storage and control on data. The control device 3 may be provided with an instrument panel 30 and buttons 32 for operation by an operator.

In addition, the baking and inspecting system 100 may further include a support 90 for supporting the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 5. The support 90 may be provided with rollers (not shown), so that the support 90 does not rotate with the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 5 when the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 5 rotate.

Referring to FIG. 3, a partial cross-sectional view of a first operation of the baking and inspection system 100 of FIG. 1 according to the present invention is shown. An accommodating space 44 is formed in the first annular wall 40 of the inner tube 4, and a first opening 46 is formed in the first annular wall 40, and the first opening 46 is communicated with the accommodating space 44. A plurality of heating units, fan units, temperature measuring units, wind speed measuring units, etc. (not shown) can be arranged inside and outside the inner cylinder 4 according to requirements. The heating unit may be a stove or an electric heater for heating the coffee beans to a predetermined temperature. The fan unit blows the object 400 (coffee beans) to be measured. The temperature measuring unit is used for measuring the heating temperature. The wind speed measuring unit may measure the wind speed in the accommodating space 44. The heating unit, the fan unit, the temperature measuring unit and the wind speed measuring unit are all common knowledge of those skilled in the art, and therefore, they are not described in detail.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 3, the second annular wall 50 has a second opening 54. The guide post 8 is disposed at the second opening 54 and extends radially outward from the second annular wall 50 to form a channel 86 therein, the channel 86 being in communication with the second opening 54.

In the present embodiment, the detecting device 2 further includes a first detecting unit 10 and a second detecting unit 12. The first detecting unit 10 and the second detecting unit 12 are disposed in the housing 20 and are electrically connected to the control device 3 (see fig. 1 and 2), respectively.

The first detecting unit 10 is used for detecting a first property of the object 400 to be detected. The first inspection unit 10 may include an image capture device (e.g., camera) 14 and a light source 16. For example, the image capturing apparatus 14 of the first detecting unit 10 may capture an image of the object 400 (e.g., coffee beans in the present embodiment) and transmit the image to the control device 3. The control device 3 can determine the color (first property) of the image, for example, by using RGB (red, green, blue) detection values or gray-scale detection values. In one embodiment, the image capturing device 14 may be a general-purpose digital camera or an industrial digital camera.

The second detecting unit 12 is used for detecting a second property of the object 400 to be detected, which is different from the first property. The second detection unit 12 may include a Near Infrared photodetector (NIR). In more detail, the second detecting unit 12 of the detecting device 2 disclosed in the present embodiment may comprise a probe-type or micro-type near infrared light detector, so as to be conveniently installed in the housing 20. The near infrared light detector of the second detecting unit 12 is used to detect the chemical property of the detected object or the identification of a specific component (second property), such as the sucrose content of the object 400 (coffee bean). Near-infrared spectroscopy (near-infrared spectroscopy), which is a kind of electromagnetic wave, is also an absorption spectrum with a wavelength of 780-2500nm, and is commonly involved in the interaction of chemical bonds such as O-H, N-H and C-H in food applications, and also because of the energy conversion between light and substance, the molecules vibrate when absorbing the energy of near-infrared light. However, not all light energy is absorbed by the molecule, but the energy of the discontinuous light corresponding to the specific molecule and energy level is selected, so that different molecules absorb light with different wavelengths, and the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the food can be performed. However, the values obtained by conventional chemical analysis are also required to be statistically regression analyzed with the near infrared scanned spectrum. Therefore, the detection apparatus 2 of the present invention can perform detection of a specific component (for example, detection of sucrose) by utilizing such a principle. For example, the probe-type or micro-Near Infrared photodetector may be an EXcell 241NIR biomass sensor of EXNER Process equipment GMBH, MATRIX-F Fourier Transform Near Infrared (FT-NIR) spectrometer of Syntpot OU, Pocket eagle-Near Infrared (TM) spectrometer of OTO Photonics, PH-NIR series spectrometer.

The embodiments of the first detecting unit 10 and the second detecting unit 12 are only examples. In other embodiments, the first detection unit 10 may comprise a near infrared light detector, and the second detection unit 12 may comprise an image capture device and a light source. In addition, the positions of the first detecting unit 10 and the second detecting unit 12 in the drawings of the present embodiment are only illustrated, and the actual positions of the first detecting unit 10 and the second detecting unit 12 are adjusted according to actual requirements.

In order to confirm the correlation between the obtained signal and the component to be measured (e.g., sucrose), the near infrared light detector is used to perform qualitative and quantitative analysis on different varieties and different roasting degrees of the object 400 (coffee beans). Thus, the near infrared light detector is used as a front-end tool for creating a database or evaluating the feasibility of analyzing a particular component (e.g., sucrose). The pre-established database near-infrared light detector may be, for example, a desktop near-infrared light detector such as the Spectra Star XT NIR Analyzer manufactured by Unity Scientific, Mass. After establishing the database with sufficient information, the operator can set the baking time, temperature, air volume, rotation speed, etc. required by the object 400 to be tested with different varieties and different baking degrees in advance according to the information. For example, the information gathered through multiple experiments may indicate that if low roast and a first variety of coffee beans are to be roasted, roasting is to be performed at a first time and a first temperature; if the medium-roast and second variety of coffee beans are to be roasted, roasting is performed under the conditions of a second time and a second temperature. However, in some embodiments, during roasting of coffee beans, different time segments may be distinguished to roast at different temperatures in each of the different time length segments.

In addition, to obtain a large amount of data, a database may be first established using the baking and inspection system of the present invention. And when the data are complete, the baking operation customized by the client can be started. In addition, when the data is complete, the control device 3 can add an intelligent mode to automatically adjust the baking parameters according to the baking degree and the cane sugar information change received in the baking process, so as to customize and gradually fit the baking degree and the flavor required by the operator.

The following table shows the RGB values and the gray scale values of the dark, medium and light roasted coffee beans according to an embodiment of the present invention. The RGB values and the gray scale values range from 0 to 255.

Table one: color quantitative detection value of coffee beans with different roasting degrees

	Light roasted coffee beans	Middle roasted coffee bean	Deep roasted coffee beans
				Range of R value	40～74	36～76	24～57
Range of G value	19～48	19～50	19～45
				Range of B value	0～28	2～31	12～34
Average R value	57.42	48.98	35.23
				Average of G value	32.41	29.09	25.67
Average of B value	14.36	15.1	19.95
				Gray scale value	37.83	33.44	27.88

Table two below shows the analyzed values of the sucrose content of coffee beans of different roasting degrees according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Table two: sucrose content of coffee beans of different roasting degree

The sucrose content in the beans is significantly related to the aroma of the brewed coffee, and the internal sucrose content gradually decreases with roasting degree during roasting, which is also shown in the above table.

The operation of the baking and inspecting system 100 of the present embodiment is described as follows. Referring to fig. 3, first, in a receiving state, the first opening 46 of the inner cylinder 4 can be located above the drawing plane. At this time, the outer cylinder 5 is located at the first position, i.e., the second opening 54 of the outer cylinder 5 is aligned with the first opening 46 of the inner cylinder 4 in this embodiment. In other words, the control device 3 controls the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 5 to be stationary, and the first opening 46 to communicate with the second opening 54 of the outer cylinder 5 at the first position. At this time, the object 400 (e.g., coffee beans in the present embodiment) can be poured into the accommodating space 44 of the inner cylinder 4 from the guiding pillar 8 of the outer cylinder 5 through the second opening 54 of the outer cylinder 5 and the first opening 46 of the inner cylinder 4 in sequence.

Referring now to FIG. 4, therein is shown a partial cross-sectional view of a second operation of the bake and detection system 100 of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention. At this time, the pouring of the object 400 to be measured is stopped and the outer lid 9 is closed, and the first driving device 6 shown in fig. 1 drives the inner tube 4 to continuously rotate along the axis a clockwise in the drawing to have the first path R1 (i.e., a rotation path), and the object 400 to be measured in the inner tube 4 can be baked. The baking and rotating time, speed, heating temperature, wind power and other parameters can be customized by the operator in advance, or the parameters can be controlled through the data stored in the control device 3, so as to obtain the baking degree, aroma and flavor of the object 400 to be tested. The baking step is a well-known procedure and will not be described further.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a partial cross-sectional view of a third operation of the baking and inspection system 100 of FIG. 1 is shown. When the baking time is up to the set time, the power source 70 of the second driving device 7 (shown in fig. 1) drives the outer tub 5 to rotate along the second path R2 from the original first position (fig. 4) to a second position (fig. 5). In detail, as shown in the drawing direction of fig. 5, in a release state, the power source 70 of the second driving device 7 drives the gear 72 to rotate in the counterclockwise direction, and the gear 72 drives the rack 52 of the outer cylinder 5 to rotate in the clockwise direction. At this time, the guide post 8 of the outer cylinder 5 is rotatably moved clockwise along the axial center a from above the inner cylinder 4 (i.e., about zero o 'clock orientation in the drawing, the first position of the outer cylinder 5) to below and to the right of the inner cylinder 4 (i.e., about four o' clock orientation in the drawing, the second position of the outer cylinder 5) along the second path R2, that is, the guide post 8 is moved to the receiving opening 24 of the detecting device 2, as shown in fig. 4. At this time, the guiding column 8 pushes the elastic shielding member 22 to temporarily deform the elastic shielding member 22, so that the guiding column 8 enters the housing 20, and the outer cover 9 pivoted to the top edge of one side of the guiding column 8 is automatically opened due to gravity. When the inner cylinder 4 continues to rotate and the first opening 46 is aligned with the second opening 54 of the outer cylinder 5, a small portion of the object 420 to be measured in the inner cylinder 4 falls from the guiding post 8 into a transparent container 26 in the detecting device 2 due to the centrifugal force and the gravity. It can be seen that, since the first path R1 of the first opening 46 at least partially overlaps the second path R2 of the second opening 54 (i.e., a part of the rotation path of the inner cylinder 4 passes through the second opening 54), when the first opening 46 and the second opening 54 are aligned, a small portion of the object 420 to be tested in the object 400 falls out of the inner cylinder 4 and falls into the detecting device 2 adjacent to the second opening 54 when the outer cylinder 5 is at the second position through the passage 86 of the guiding column 8. After a period of time (e.g. several seconds), or after determining that a certain amount or weight of the object 420 has fallen into the detecting device 2, the second driving device 7 may drive the outer cylinder 5 in the opposite direction to return to the original position, i.e. the outer cylinder 5 may return to the first position from the second position, so as to prevent more objects 400 from falling into the detecting device 2.

In addition, when the baking time reaches the set time, the control device 3 may also send out a signal or alarm to remind the operator. The operator may make manual adjustments or assistance based on the information and/or alarms.

After a part of the object 420 falls into the detecting device 2 for a short time (e.g. several seconds), a first detecting step (turning on the light source 16 and controlling the image capturing device 14 to capture the image) and a second detecting step (using the near infrared light detector of the second detecting unit 12 to scan and detect with near infrared light) may be performed sequentially (i.e. separately) or simultaneously. That is, the first inspection unit 10 and the second inspection unit 12 are used to inspect a part of the object 420 (most of the object 400 is still in the inner cylinder 4) which is still in the inspection apparatus 2. It should be noted that, since the portion of the object 420 is stationary, the detection results of the stationary portion of the object 420 by the first detection unit 10 and the second detection unit 12 are obviously more accurate than the detection of the object 400 still in the rotary baking process. Therefore, the image capturing device 14 of the inspection apparatus 2 does not need a high-precision expensive camera to achieve the image capturing effect required by the present invention.

As described above, the first inspection unit 10 and the second inspection unit 12 can capture images and detect near infrared light to measure properties of a portion of the object 420. The RGB values or gray level detection values of a portion of the object 420 can be detected by capturing the image, and when the detection value is equal to or exceeds a first threshold, it represents that the baking is completed (the desired baking degree is achieved). In addition, the detection of a specific composition component of the portion of the test object 420 (e.g., sucrose) by the near-infrared light detection can indicate that the baking is completed (the desired flavor or aroma is achieved) when the detection value is equal to or exceeds a predetermined second threshold. It should be noted that the operator can preset whether the two detection values are required to respectively accord with the first threshold and the second threshold, and the baking can be determined to be finished; alternatively, the operator may preset that the baking is determined to be completed as long as the first threshold or the second threshold is met. In other words, the operator can set in advance that only one of the required baking degree and flavor and fragrance meets the standard, or both the baking degree and flavor and fragrance meet the standard.

When the control device 3 determines that the roasting step is completed, the operation of the inner cylinder 4 is stopped, and then the roasted coffee beans are taken out. In one embodiment, the baked object 400 can be removed from the inner drum 4 in an automated manner. In other embodiments, the baked objects 400 can be manually removed from the inner cartridge 4.

If the control device 3 determines that the baking step is not completed, another period of baking is required. For example, the control device 3 can calculate the time required for re-baking according to the difference between the two detection values and the first threshold and the second threshold. At this time, the inner tub 4 continues to operate and the baking continues during this period. The portion of the object that was previously dropped into the inspection device 2 may then be manually or automatically removed from the inspection area (i.e., the transparent container 26) and a release step may be performed. The releasing step is, as mentioned above, to move the outer cylinder 5 in a rotating way so that the second opening 54 is moved to the second position of the outer cylinder 5 shown in fig. 5, so that a part of the rotating path of the inner cylinder 4 (the first opening 46) corresponds to the second opening 54, and the receiving opening 24 of the detecting device 2 also corresponds to the guiding post 8 and the second opening 54. In this way, another part of the object 400 can fall into the detecting device 2 through the first opening 46 and the second opening 54 for another detection. If the detected value is greater than or equal to at least one or both of the first threshold and the second threshold (i.e. if the predetermined value is all or one of the predetermined values), it indicates that the detection is passed. When the detection is qualified, the rotation of the inner cylinder 4 can be stopped, and the object 400 can be taken out. If the detection does not meet at least one or both of the first threshold and the second threshold, a third baking operation is performed again, and the above steps are continued until the detection meets the threshold.

In other embodiments, the operator is notified when the detection value does not meet the threshold. The operator can decide whether to perform the next baking operation in a manual determination manner.

Another embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to FIG. 6, which is a partial cross-sectional view of a first operation of a baking and inspection system 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment is substantially the same as the previous embodiment, and the difference is mainly the design of the guide post 8'. In this embodiment, the two sides of the guiding post 8' can be different lengths, the left side 80 can be slightly longer than the right side 82, and the cover 9' can be movably pivoted to the left side 80 of the guiding post 8 '. The outer barrel 5 may further have a locking member (not shown) for automatically or manually fixing the cover 9 'to the guide post 8' or releasing the cover 9 'from the guide post 8'. In the present embodiment, at least one of the guiding column 8 'and the cover 9' may be transparent to facilitate the first detecting unit 10 and the second detecting unit 12 to penetrate through the guiding column 8 'or the cover 9' for detecting the object 400.

The baking and inspection method of the present embodiment will be described below. First, as shown in fig. 6, the object 400 to be measured is placed in the accommodating space 44 of the inner cylinder 4 through the guide post 8 'with the outer cover 9' opened.

Referring to FIG. 7, a partial cross-sectional view of a second operation of the baking and inspection system 200 of FIG. 6 is shown. The cover 9 'is then closed and fixed to the guide post 8'. The inner drum 4 starts to rotate and bake the object 400 for a predetermined time.

Referring to FIG. 8, a partial cross-sectional view of a third operation of the baking and inspection system 200 of FIG. 6 is shown. After a predetermined time of baking, the outer cylinder 5 starts to rotate clockwise along the second path R2 to the second position, and the guiding pin 8' of the outer cylinder 5 is guided into the detecting device 2. At this time, the inner cylinder 4 continues to rotate. Then, when the first opening 46 of the inner cylinder 4 corresponds to the second opening 54 during the rotation, the object 400 to be tested falls into the guiding post 8' from the inner cylinder 4. The object 400 to be measured falls into the bottom of the guide post 8 '(i.e., on the inner side of the outer cover 9') due to the centrifugal force and the gravity of the rotation.

Then, the first detection step and the second detection step can be performed sequentially or simultaneously to detect the object 400 to be detected. The first and second detecting steps of this embodiment are similar to those of the previous embodiment, and therefore are not described in detail. In the present embodiment, if the detection value meets the predetermined threshold value, the outer cylinder 5 will return to the first position, and the detected object in the guiding column 8' will fall into the accommodating space 44 of the inner cylinder 4 through the second opening 54 of the outer cylinder 5 and the first opening 46 of the inner cylinder 4. The inner drum 4 can then stop rotating, completing the baking operation. If the detection does not meet the predetermined threshold, the outer cylinder 5 will return to the first position, and the detected object in the guiding column 8' will fall into the accommodating space 44 of the inner cylinder 4 through the second opening 54 of the outer cylinder 5 and the first opening 46 of the inner cylinder 4. Then, the inner cylinder 4 continues to perform the rotary baking for another predetermined time. Then, the releasing and detecting steps are performed. That is, the outer cylinder 5 is rotated so that the partial object 400 to be measured enters the guide post 8', and the partial object to be measured is detected in the detection device 2. In this embodiment, it should be noted that a part of the object 420 is placed in the guiding column 8' for measurement and can be returned to the inner cylinder 4 by the reverse rotation of the outer cylinder 5, so that all the objects 400 can be accommodated in the baking device 1 during the baking and inspecting operations. Thus, since the objects 400 are all in the baking device 1, the external influence can be effectively avoided, and the detection accuracy is further improved.

In addition, in the embodiment, due to the design of different heights at two sides of the guiding column 8', when the outer barrel 5 is located at the second position, the transparent cover 9' can be parallel to the bottom surface of the detecting device 2, so that the image capturing device 14 and the second detecting unit 12 of the first detecting unit 10 can be easily aligned to the transparent cover 9, thereby facilitating the accuracy of detection by the first detecting unit 10 and the second detecting unit 12.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a baking and inspection system 300 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of a first operation of the baking and inspection system 300 of fig. 9 according to the present invention. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 1 to 5, and therefore, the same parts are not described again.

In the present embodiment, the outer cylinder 5' does not rotate with respect to the axis a; the outer cylinder 5 'includes a second annular wall 50, a hollow first guiding post 8a and a hollow second guiding post 8b, and the second annular wall 50 of the outer cylinder 5' has a second opening 54 and a third opening 56. The first guide post 8a and the second guide post 8b are respectively communicated with the second opening 54 and the third opening 56 shown in fig. 10, and are disposed on the second annular wall 50 and respectively extend radially outward from the second annular wall 50.

In the present embodiment, the first guiding pillar 8a includes a cover 9. As shown in fig. 10, when the outer lid 9 is opened, the object 400 to be measured can be put into the inner tube 4 from the first guide post 8 a. Alternatively, the inner end of the second guiding post 8b may comprise a shutter 84, and the outer end of the second guiding post 8b communicates with the inside of the detecting device 2. The control device 3 can control the movement of the gate 84, and thus the opening and closing of the third opening 56 of the second guiding column 8 b. In other words, when the shutter 84 is closed, the object 400 cannot enter the second guide post 8b from the inner cylinder 4. When the gate 84 is opened and the first opening 46 of the inner cylinder 4 corresponds to the third opening 56 of the outer cylinder 5', the object 400 to be tested can enter the second guiding pillar 8b from the inner cylinder 4.

The baking and inspection method of the present embodiment will be described below. As shown in fig. 10, the outer cover 9 of the first guiding column 8a can be opened first, and the second opening 54 of the first guiding column 8a can be corresponding to the first opening 46 of the inner cylinder 4. Next, the object 400 to be measured is placed into the inner cylinder 4 from the outer cover 9 of the first guide post 8 a. At this time, the shutter 84 at the inner end edge of the second guide post 8b is in a closed state.

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of a second operation of the baking and inspection system 300 of FIG. 9 according to the present invention. As shown in fig. 11, the inner cylinder 4 is activated to start the inner cylinder 4 to rotate along the first path R1 and bake the object 400 to be measured.

FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view of a third operation of the bake and detection system 300 of FIG. 9 in accordance with the present invention. After a certain period of time, the gate 84 of the second guiding column 8b is opened for a short period of time, and when the first opening 46 of the inner cylinder 4 corresponds to the third opening 56, the part of the object 420 to be measured falls into the second guiding column 8 b. Then, the portion 420 to be detected falls into the transparent container 26 of the inspection apparatus 2 through the second guiding column 8 b. Then, the shutter 84 is closed to prevent the excessive objects 400 from falling into the second guide post 8 b.

At this time, the first detection unit 10 and the second detection unit 12 can simultaneously or sequentially (respectively) detect the stationary part of the object 420 located in the transparent container 26. When the detection meets the threshold value, the operation of the inner cylinder 4 can be stopped, and the baking operation is finished. When the detection does not meet the threshold value, the operation of the inner barrel 4 is continued, and the baking operation is continued. It should be noted that, when the detection fails to meet the threshold, the detected object 400 originally located in the detection apparatus 2 can be manually or automatically removed from the detection apparatus 2, so that the transparent container 26 can accommodate a new object 400 to be detected.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a baking and inspecting method includes the following steps. The baking and

inspection systems

100, 200 described above are provided. A receiving step is performed, in which the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 5 are both stationary, and the first opening 46 of the inner cylinder 4 corresponds to the second opening 54 of the outer cylinder 5 at a first position, and the plurality of objects 400 are placed into the accommodating space 44 of the inner cylinder 4 through the first opening 46 and the second opening 54. The inner cylinder 4 is rotated and the object 400 is baked during a first period. A releasing step is performed, in which the outer cylinder 5 is moved to move the second opening 54 to a second position, so that a portion of the rotation path of the inner cylinder 4 corresponds to the second opening 54, and the receiving opening 24 of the detecting device 2 corresponds to the second opening 54, so that a portion of the object 420 to be detected falls into the detecting device 2 through the first opening 46 and the second opening 54. The outer barrel 5 is moved back to the first position. A portion of the object 420 to be measured is inspected to generate an inspection value. When the detected value is equal to or exceeds a threshold, the inner drum 4 stops rotating and baking is stopped.

The baking and inspecting method of the present embodiment further includes: when the detected value is smaller than the threshold value, the inner cylinder 4 continues to rotate and is baked for a second period. The releasing step is performed to move the outer cylinder 5 to move the second opening 54 to the second position, so that another part of the object 400 falls into the detecting device 2 through the first opening 46 and the second opening 54. Another portion of the object 400 is detected to produce another detection value. When the other detection value is equal to or exceeds the threshold, the inner drum 4 stops rotating and baking is stopped.

In summary, the present invention provides a roasting and

inspection system

100, 200 and method for roasting and inspecting an agricultural crop (e.g., coffee beans). In one embodiment, the outer cylinder 5 of the baking and inspecting

system

100, 200 can rotate relative to the axis a, so that the object 400 to be inspected enters the inner cylinder 4 for baking, or the object 400 to be inspected moves out of the inner cylinder 4 and enters the inspecting device 2 for inspecting. The baking and inspecting

system

100, 200 and the method for the stationary object 400 in such a fully automatic manner can rapidly obtain the baked objects with the quality (such as baking degree or flavor) required by the operator at low cost and rapidly without manpower. Meanwhile, through scientific detection, huge loss caused by human errors is avoided. Furthermore, the object 400 to be detected is detected in the device to be detected, so that the interference of high heat, dynamic state and water vapor when the inner cylinder 4 is baked or the interference in the outside can be avoided, and high-quality images can be captured, thereby effectively improving the detection accuracy.

In another embodiment, the outer cylinder 5' of the baking and inspecting system 300 does not rotate relative to the axis a, but has two guiding

posts

8a and 8b that can be opened and closed respectively to control the entry and exit of the object 400 to be inspected, so as to achieve the effect of the present invention.

The terms "a" or "an" are used herein to describe elements and components of the invention. This terminology is used for convenience in description and to give the basic idea of the invention. This description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise. In the claims of this application, the terms "a" and "an," when used in conjunction with the word "comprising," may mean one or more than one. Further, the term "or" is used herein to mean "and/or".

Unless otherwise specified, spatial descriptions such as "above," "below," "upward," "left," "right," "downward," "top," "bottom," "vertical," "horizontal," "side," "upper," "lower," "upper," "above," "below," and the like are indicated with respect to the directions shown in the figures. It is to be understood that the spatial descriptions used herein are for purposes of illustration only and that actual implementations of the structures described herein may be spatially configured in any relative orientation, such limitations not altering the advantages of the embodiments of the present invention. For example, in the description of some embodiments, an element provided "on" another element may encompass the case where the preceding element is directly on (e.g., in physical contact with) the succeeding element, as well as the case where one or more intervening elements are located between the preceding and succeeding elements.

As used herein, the terms "substantially", "substantial" and "about" are used to describe and consider minor variations. When used in conjunction with an event or circumstance, these terms can mean that the event or circumstance occurs specifically, and that the event or circumstance closely approximates that which occurs.

The above-mentioned embodiments are merely illustrative of the technical ideas and features of the present invention, and are intended to enable those skilled in the art to understand the contents of the present invention and implement the present invention, rather than to limit the scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent variations and modifications do not depart from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A baking and inspection system comprising:

a roasting device, comprising:

the inner cylinder can rotate around the axis along a first path under the action of a first external force, and comprises a first annular wall, wherein an accommodating space is formed in the first annular wall and is provided with a first opening communicated with the accommodating space; and

a hollow outer cylinder which is arranged outside at least one part of the inner cylinder and can move between at least a first position and a second position under the action of a second external force, wherein the outer cylinder is provided with a second opening; and

a detection device disposed adjacent to the roasting device and having a receiving opening corresponding to the second opening of the tub when in the second position;

wherein the first aperture is aligned with at least the second aperture of the outer barrel in the first and second positions when the first path is rotated.

2. The baking and inspection system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a control device to control movement of the inner and outer barrels, wherein:

in a receiving state, the control device controls the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder to be stationary, and the first opening corresponds to the second opening of the outer cylinder in the first position; and is

In the release state, the control device controls the inner cylinder to rotate, and the outer cylinder moves to enable the second opening hole to move to the second position, so that a part of the first path of the first opening hole corresponds to the second opening hole, and the receiving opening corresponds to the second opening hole.

3. The baking and detection system according to claim 1, wherein the baking device further comprises:

a first driving device coupled to the inner cylinder to provide the first external force to the inner cylinder; and

a second driving device coupled to the outer cylinder to provide the second external force to the outer cylinder.

4. The baking and inspection system according to claim 3, wherein:

the outer barrel further comprises a second annular wall and at least one rack, and the rack is arranged outside the second annular wall;

the second driving device comprises a power source and a gear, wherein the power source is mechanically coupled with the gear, and the gear is meshed with the rack.

5. The baking and inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the outer tub further comprises a hollow guide post disposed at the second opening and extending outwardly, the guide post communicating with the second opening.

6. The baking and inspection system according to claim 5, wherein the outer housing further comprises a cover movably pivotally connected to the guide post to control opening and closing of a channel in the guide post.

7. The bake and detection system of claim 5, wherein in a released state, the guide posts move to the receiving ports of the detection device.

8. The baking and detection system according to claim 1, wherein the detection device comprises:

a housing having the receiving opening;

a first detection unit for detecting a first property; and

a second detection unit for detecting a second property.

9. The baking and detection system according to claim 8, wherein the first detection unit comprises an image capture device and a light source.

10. The baking and detection system according to claim 8, wherein the second detection unit comprises a near infrared light detector.

11. The baking and inspection system according to claim 8, wherein the inspection device further comprises an elastic shield disposed at the receiving opening to shield the receiving opening.

12. The baking and inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the outer drum is rotated along the axis by the second external force.

13. A baking and inspection method, comprising:

providing a baking and inspection system according to claim 1;

performing a receiving step, wherein the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are both stationary, the first opening corresponds to the second opening of the outer cylinder at the first position, and a plurality of objects are placed into the accommodating space of the inner cylinder through the first opening and the second opening;

rotating the inner cylinder and baking the object;

performing a releasing step of moving the outer cylinder to move the second opening to the second position, so that a portion of a rotation path of the inner cylinder corresponds to the second opening, and the receiving opening corresponds to the second opening, so that a portion of the object falls into the detecting device through the first opening and the second opening;

detecting the portion of the object to produce a detected value; and

and when the detection value is equal to or exceeds a threshold value, stopping the rotation of the inner barrel and stopping baking.

14. The baking and inspection method according to claim 13, further comprising:

when the portion of the object is less than the threshold, then the inner drum continues to rotate and bake during a first period, and the outer drum moves back to the first position;

performing the releasing step, moving the outer cylinder to move the second opening to the second position, so that another part of the object falls into the detection device through the first opening and the second opening;

detecting the other portion of the object to produce another detection value; and

when the other detection value is equal to or exceeds the threshold value, the inner drum stops rotating and baking stops.

15. A baking and inspection system comprising:

a roasting device, comprising:

the inner cylinder can rotate around the axis along a first path under the action of a first external force, and comprises a first annular wall, wherein an accommodating space is formed in the first annular wall, a first opening is formed in the first annular wall, and the first opening is communicated with the accommodating space; and

a hollow outer cylinder disposed outside at least a portion of the inner cylinder and movable by a second external force, the outer cylinder having a second opening, a third opening, a cover and a shutter, the cover and the shutter opening or closing the second opening and the third opening in a movable manner, respectively, and the first opening being aligned with the second opening or the third opening when the first path moves; and

a detection device disposed adjacent to the roasting device and having a receiving opening corresponding to the third opening.

16. The baking and inspection system according to claim 15, further comprising a control device that moves the cover and the gate to control the opening and closing of the second opening and the third opening, respectively.