JP2001086894A - Detector for cracked egg and automatic selector for egg - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide both a detector for cracked eggs capable of surely detecting cracked eggs and an automatic selector for eggs equipped with the detector for cracked eggs. SOLUTION: This detector is equipped with transporting means 17a, 17b, 17c and 18 for transporting eggs 1 along transportation routes in a fixed line state, a sounding member 20 for sounding the surfaces of the eggs being transported, a cam member 23 driven to make the sounding member 20 sound the surfaces of the eggs 1, a spindle 24, a sensor 25 for detecting the movement of the sounding member 20 and a judging means for judging whether the eggs are cracked eggs or not based on a signal detected from the sensor 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cracked egg detecting device for automatically detecting a cracked egg.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A typical process of processing a chicken egg, which is an example of an egg, is described below.
After drying and directional alignment, eggs are inspected to detect defective eggs, and then weighed and sorted and packed according to grade. Here, defective eggs such as cracked eggs, dirty eggs and blood eggs cannot be packaged and shipped, so it is necessary to detect and remove them in advance. In the egg inspection step, the eggs are transported in a predetermined row along the transport path by the transport unit. For example, the eggs are conveyed orderly in six rows, and the eggs are inspected while the eggs are being conveyed.

Here, one of the methods for detecting a defective egg is described below.
One is by image processing. In this method, a plurality of television cameras are installed above a transport path, and automatic detection of defective eggs is performed based on images of chicken eggs captured by the cameras.

[0004]

However, in the case of image processing, blood eggs and dirty eggs other than cracked eggs are easily detected, but there are cases where cracked eggs cannot be detected. For example, a blood egg is a bad egg in which blood (red) is mixed inside a chicken egg, but since there is considerable contrast between the blood part and the other part, the back side of the egg It is easy to detect by irradiating light from the camera and capturing the transmitted light image and performing image processing. The same is true for dirty eggs.

[0005] However, apart from the case where a crack that can be visually confirmed exists in the eggshell, if the small egg that cannot be visually confirmed exists on the back of the eggshell, image processing is performed. There was a case where it could not be detected, and there was a possibility that it was overlooked. Such a cracked egg that could not be detected could become a large crack in the subsequent transporting step, or there was a possibility that various bacteria would be mixed in from the cracked portion.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cracked egg detecting device capable of reliably detecting a cracked egg and a chicken egg automatic sorting device provided with the cracked egg detecting device. To provide.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems <A cracked egg detecting device> In order to achieve the above object, a cracked egg detecting device according to the present invention rotates an egg in a predetermined direction along a conveying path in a predetermined direction. Transport means for transporting the egg, a percussion member for percussing the surface of the egg being conveyed while rotating, and a percussion member driving means for driving the percussion member so that the percussion member can percuss the surface of the egg. And detecting means for detecting the movement of the percussion member, and determining means for determining whether or not the egg is a cracked egg based on a signal detected from the detecting means.

The operation of this configuration is as follows. The eggs are conveyed while being rotated in a predetermined direction in a predetermined row by the conveying means, and the surface of the conveyed eggs (egg shell)
Is percussed by the percussion member. The percussion member is driven by the percussion member driving means, and the percussion member itself rebounds by percussing the egg surface with the percussion member. The movement of the rebound is detected by the detecting means.

The present inventor has found that the amount of rebound of the percussion member varies depending on whether or not the eggshell has cracks.
In this way, it is intended to determine a cracked egg. If there is no crack in the eggshell, the percussion member will jump up vigorously,
If cracks are present, they hardly jump. Such a phenomenon is also applicable to a case where a crack cannot be seen. That is, by detecting the movement of the percussion member immediately after percussion, it is possible to detect whether or not the egg is a cracked egg. Therefore, it was possible to provide a cracked egg detecting device capable of reliably detecting a cracked egg.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of the percussion members are provided for each row of the transport path so that a plurality of percussion members can be percussed on the surface of the egg. Since cracks may be present at any point on the surface of the egg, it is preferable to provide a plurality of cracks per row of the transport path so that a plurality of points on the egg surface can be percussed. Thereby, the detection accuracy of the cracked egg can be increased.

As another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the percussion member is swingably supported by one support shaft along the width direction of the transport path, and is supported from the support shaft to the transport path. A percussion portion extending in a direction along the transport axis, and an operating portion extending in a direction along the transport path and opposite to the percussion portion. One in which the percussion member percusses the surface of the egg by the action of the member driving means may be mentioned.

Since the eggs are transported in rows, at least the percussion members corresponding to the number of rows are arranged along the width direction of the transport path. The configuration can be simplified by swingably supporting the plurality of percussion members on one support shaft. The percussion member is configured such that the percussion portion extending along the transport path percusses the surface of the egg, and the percussion member drive means acts on the action portion extending along the direction opposite to the percussion portion. By doing so, the percussion portion of the percussion member is configured to percuss the surface of the egg. Thereby, the configuration of the percussion member can be simplified.

[0013] In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The percussion member driving means includes a cam member provided on one support shaft along the width direction of the transport path, and the cam member acts on the operation portion. .

[0014] A cam member acting on the action portion of the percussion member,
By providing the support member on one support shaft along the width direction of the transport path, the configuration of the percussion member driving means can be simplified.

[0015] In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The determining means may determine cracked eggs based on the amount of rebound of the percussion member after percussion of the egg surface.

As described above, the amount of rebound of the percussion member is different between the case where the cracked portion of the egg surface is percussed and the case where the non-cracked portion is percussed. Therefore, if the rebound amount is larger than the predetermined amount, it can be determined that the egg is a normal egg, and if it is smaller than the predetermined amount, it can be determined that the egg is a cracked egg.

In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The percussion member is configured to percuss the surface of the egg by dropping under its own weight. Thereby, the configuration of the percussion member driving means for driving the percussion member can be simplified.

In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The percussion member may be one that operates so as to percuss from a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the surface of the egg.
If the percussion member is perceived from a predetermined oblique direction with respect to the surface of the egg, the percussion member's bouncing operation may be uncertain. Therefore, by percussion from a right angle or almost right angle direction, the rebound operation of the percussion member is ensured.

In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
One in which a spring member for returning the percussion member to the initial position is provided. Thus, it is possible to quickly return to the initial position after the percussion operation.

In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
One in which a correction sensor for correcting the initial position of the percussion member is provided. Egg size varies according to grade. Therefore, by enabling the initial position of the percussion member to be corrected so that an appropriate percussion amount can be given, the detection of a cracked egg can be made more reliable.

<Egg Automatic Sorting Apparatus> An automatic egg sorting apparatus for achieving the object of the present invention is provided with the above-described cracked egg detecting apparatus, and is further provided on the lower side of the transport path of the cracked egg detecting apparatus. A measuring section provided, a sorting station for automatically sorting eggs according to grades based on the weighing result by the measuring section, and a defective egg collecting station for collecting cracked eggs detected by the cracked egg detecting device. It is characterized by the following.

A cracked egg is detected by a cracked egg detecting device while the egg is transferred along the transfer path. After passing through the crack egg detection device, the eggs are weighed in a weighing section provided on the lower side of the transport path. On the basis of this weighing result, classification (for example, M
There is sorting based on agricultural and forestry standards such as Grade and S grade. ). Eggs detected as cracked eggs by the cracked egg detection device are collected at a defective egg collection station separately from normal eggs. As described above, it was possible to provide an automatic chicken egg sorting apparatus capable of reliably detecting and collecting cracked eggs.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the structure of a cracked egg detecting apparatus according to the present invention and an automatic chicken egg sorting apparatus using the same will be described with reference to FIG. <Overall Configuration of Automatic Egg Sorting Apparatus> This automatic egg sorting apparatus includes an egg feeding conveyor 2 that transports eggs 1 in six rows in the direction of arrow A, and receives eggs 1 from the egg feeding conveyor 2 and receives eggs in the direction of arrow B. 1 and a plurality of (six in FIG. 1) container conveyors 5a to 5f for transporting the packaging containers 4 in a direction indicated by an arrow a perpendicular to the egg transport direction of the single-row conveyor 3. A defective egg collection station 5x and a sorting station 5y, a control device 6 for controlling the operation of each part of the device, and a defective egg detection device for detecting defective eggs including cracked eggs (functioning as a cracked egg detection device).
7 is provided. The defective egg detection device 7 detects a defective egg such as a cracked egg, a blood egg, a dirty egg, and a spoiled egg. Control device 6
Is mainly a hardware portion such as a CPU and a storage device,
It is composed of software parts such as an operation program of the device.

The chicken eggs 1 supplied from the egg feeding conveyor 2 are:
After being weighed for each chicken egg 1, it is transferred to the single-row conveyor 3 and transported to the intersection with the container conveyors 5a to 5f. During this time, the control device 6 is transferred to the packaging containers 4 of the container conveyors 5c to 5f based on the weighed value of each chicken egg 1 by the packing method according to the size according to the agricultural and forestry standard. In addition, regarding the defective egg, regardless of the measured value, the defective egg collection station 5
It is transferred to the packaging containers 4 of the x container conveyors 5a and 5b. The packaging container 4 in which the storage of the chicken eggs 1 is completed is taken out as a finished product from the lower end of the packaging conveyor 4 in the transport direction on the container conveyors 5c to 5f.

The type of packing to be performed in any of the container conveyors 5a to 5f can be arbitrarily set. For example, the container conveyor 5c can be set as a station for packing chicken eggs 1 of the M size according to the agricultural and forestry standards, and the container conveyor 5d can be set as a station for packing chicken eggs 1 of the S size.

The egg-feeding conveyor 2 is provided with a weighing device 8 for transporting the eggs 1 in a predetermined row at an appropriate distance, and measuring the weight of the eggs on the lower side of the transportation route of the egg-feeding conveyor 2. The measured value of the chicken egg 1 measured by the measuring device 8 is sent to the control device 6.

The single-row conveyor 3 is driven by a drive motor 9 to transfer the eggs 1 from the weighing device 8 of the egg-feeding conveyor 2 to a cup for storing the eggs 1 of the single-row conveyor 3, and A kick device 11 for dropping the eggs 1 and a packaging device 12 for receiving the eggs 1 dropped from the cup by the operation of the kick device 11 and storing the eggs 1 in the packaging container 4 are provided.

The drive motor 9 is controlled by the control device 6, and the transport amount of the egg 1 on the cup is controlled by the control encoder 1
3 and sent to the control device 6. The driving force of the driving motor 9 is also supplied to the egg feeding conveyor 2. The transport amount of the egg 1 on the egg feeding conveyor 2 is also controlled by the encoder 14 for control.
Is controlled by

When the chicken eggs 1 including the defective eggs reach the measuring device 8, the container conveyors 5c to 5c are determined based on the measured values.
f. The control device 6 determines which container conveyors 5c to 5f should discharge the chicken eggs 1, and sets the transport distance from the weighing device 8 to each of the stations 5x and 5y for each chicken egg 1. This transport distance is set as the number of pulses of the encoder 13. When the egg 1 is mounted on the single-row conveyor 3 and transported from the weighing device 8, the set pulse number is subtracted based on the pulse number of the encoder 13 generated in conjunction with the transport, and the pulse When the number becomes zero, the eggs 1 are released from the single-row conveyor 3 toward the container conveyors 5a to 5f. In addition, the egg 1 detected as a defective egg by the defective egg detection device 7 is supplied to the container conveyor 5 regardless of the measured value.
a and 5b. Or you may make it collect | recover and distinguish in any one of the container conveyors 5a and 5b according to the kind of defective egg. It is also possible to further increase the number of container conveyors for collecting defective eggs according to the types of defective eggs. Bad egg collection station 5x
Is located on the better side than the other normal egg sorting / packaging sorting station 5y, so that defective eggs can be collected immediately.

The egg feeding conveyor 2 and the single-row conveyor 3 are driven in conjunction with each other, and the transport speed of the eggs 1 on the single-row conveyor 3 is six times faster than that of the egg feeding conveyor 2. ing.

<Crack Egg Detection Apparatus According to First Embodiment>
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of the cracked egg detection device according to the first embodiment. The egg feeding conveyor 2 (corresponding to a conveying means) for conveying the chicken eggs 1 is a roller conveyor,
The six drum-shaped recesses 17 b are formed along the connecting shaft 17 along the conveyance width direction.
Further, cylindrical portions 17a are provided at both ends in the conveying width direction, and pins protruding from one end of the cylindrical portions 17a are connected to the chain 18. Further, although not shown in FIG. 2, the plate contacts the lower surface of the cylindrical portion 17a. Therefore, when the chain 18 is driven, the cylindrical portion 17a is rotated by the plate, whereby each egg 1 is conveyed while being rotated.

A percussion member 20 is provided above the egg 1, and the percussion member 20 is pivotally supported by a bearing 22 on a single support shaft 21 along the conveyance width direction. The percussion members 20 are provided at two locations along the width direction so that multiple locations of the egg 1 can be percussed. The percussion member 20 includes a percussion portion 20a extending from the support shaft 21 in a direction along the lower side of the conveyance path, and a percussion portion 20a extending from the support shaft 21 in a direction along the upper side of the conveyance path and opposite to the percussion portion 20a. It has an extended action section 20c and a detection section 20b.

As a percussion member driving means for driving the percussion member 20, one support shaft 24 along the conveyance width direction is provided.
A substantially triangular cam member 23 provided on the support shaft 24 is provided, and the percussion member 20 is periodically driven by rotating the support shaft 24 counterclockwise in FIG. 2 by a motor (not shown). Can be. In other words, when the cam member 23 rotates, the percussion member 20 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2 by acting on the action portion 20c of the percussion member 20, and thereafter, the engagement between the action portion 20c and the cam member 23 is released. Then, the percussion member 20 is freely dropped on the egg 1 by its own weight, and the percussion unit 20c percusses (slaps) the eggshell surface of the egg 1.
The percussion unit 20c percusses the surface of the egg 1 from a substantially right angle direction.

When the percussion member 20 percusses a portion having no crack on the eggshell surface (or the back surface), the percussion member 20 jumps up vigorously. Also, when you hear the cracked part,
The percussion member 20 hardly jumps up or the amount of jumping up is small. Therefore, a cracked egg can be detected by detecting such a movement of the percussion member 20. Therefore, a sensor 25 (corresponding to a detecting means) is arranged so as to sandwich the detecting portion 20b of the percussion member 20.
The sensor 25 is a well-known optical sensor,
0 motion is detected.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a control block diagram.
In the control device 6, the signal input from each sensor 25 is analyzed by the signal analysis unit 6a, and the determination unit (determination unit) 6b determines whether the egg is a cracked egg. The control device 6 controls the sorting station 5y based on the weighing data from the weighing device 8.
The position of the egg 1 to be released is calculated, but the egg 1 determined as a cracked egg by the determination unit 6b is controlled to be released at the defective egg collection station 5x.

<Crack Egg Detection Apparatus According to Second Embodiment> Next, a crack egg detection apparatus according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4A is a plan view seen from above the transport path, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged view. FIG. 5 is a side view.

The cracked egg detecting device 30 includes one of the eggs 1
Six percussion members 31 are provided per unit along the transport width direction. The percussion member 31 includes a percussion section 31 a and an action section 3.
1b. The percussion member 31 is supported by a bearing on one support shaft 32 provided along the width direction. Further, as the percussion member driving means, the above-mentioned action portion 31b
The cam member 33 acting on the shaft supports one support shaft 34 along the width direction.
It is supported and provided. The percussion members 31 are arranged at intervals y (about 10 mm) in the transport width direction, but the number of arrangements is not particularly limited.

A sensor 35 for detecting the movement of the percussion member 31 is provided at an intermediate position between the tip of the percussion unit 31a and the support shaft 32.
Is provided. A zero-point correction sensor 36 is provided at an intermediate position between the support shaft 32 and the support shaft 34. this is,
It is provided for correcting (adjusting) the initial position of the percussion member 31. In other words, the size of the chicken egg 1 varies depending on the grade, and the percussion member 31 is placed on the chicken egg 1 from an appropriate height.
The initial position can be adjusted so that the patient can be consulted.

In FIG. 5, the support shaft 34 is rotated counterclockwise by a motor (not shown) to
By causing the percussion member 31 to act on the action portion 31b, the percussion member 31 is lifted up by rotating the percussion member 31 clockwise from the state of FIG.
The egg shell surface of the egg 1 is percussed by 1a. The method for detecting cracked eggs is the same as in the first embodiment. The control block diagram is the same as that in FIG. 3, and the description thereof is omitted.

<Another Embodiment> In the present embodiment, the surface of the chicken egg 1 is percussed (punched) from above, but the dull or sharp end of the chicken egg 1 is difficult to percuss from above, so the chicken egg 1 is percussed from the side. Such a percussion member may be additionally provided. Thereby, the detection accuracy of cracked eggs can be improved.

2. The configuration of the percussion member drive means may be such that the percussion member is driven by a solenoid. At the time of percussion, the solenoid is driven to drop the percussion member and percuss the surface of the egg. In this case, if a spring member for returning the percussion member to the initial position is provided, the percussion member can be quickly returned.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a plan configuration of an automatic egg sorting apparatus using a cracked egg detection apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a cracked egg detection device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration of a cracked egg detection device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a configuration of a cracked egg detection device according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Chicken egg 2 Egg feeding conveyor 5x Defective egg collection station 5y Sorting station 6 Control device 7 Defective egg detection device 30 Cracked egg detection device 20, 31 Percussion member 20a, 31a Percussion unit 20c, 31b Working unit 21, 32 Support shaft 23, 33 Cam member 24, 34 Support shaft 25, 35 Sensor 36 0-point correction sensor

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2F069 AA60 BB40 CC08 DD16 DD19 GG02 GG07 GG19 GG39 GG52 GG56 GG58 GG78 HH30 JJ02 JJ13 JJ19 JJ26 MM04 MM17 MM31 NN25 PP07 QQ05 2G047 AA12 GG10

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A transport means for transporting eggs while rotating in a predetermined direction along a transport path in a predetermined row, and a percussion member for percussing the surface of the eggs being transported while rotating; A percussion member driving means for driving the percussion member so that the percussion member can perceive the surface of the egg; a detection means for detecting the movement of the percussion member; and a cracked egg based on a signal detected from the detection means. A crack egg detecting device, comprising: a determination unit for determining whether or not the crack egg is present. 2. The cracked egg detecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the percussion members are provided for each row of the transport path so that a plurality of percussions can be percussed on the surface of the egg. 3. The percussion member is swingably supported by one support shaft along the width direction of the transport path, and includes a percussion section extending from the support shaft in a direction along the transport path. An operating portion extending in a direction along the transport path from the support shaft and in a direction opposite to the percussion portion, wherein the percussion member driving means acts on the operation portion, and 3. The cracked egg detection device according to claim 1, wherein the percussion member is configured to percuss the surface of the egg. 4. The percussion member drive means includes a cam member provided on one support shaft along the width direction of the transport path, and the cam member acts on the action portion. The cracked egg detecting device according to claim 3, wherein 5. The cracking egg according to claim 1, wherein the judging means judges the cracked egg based on a rebound amount of the percussion member after perching the egg surface. Cracked egg detection device. 6. The cracked egg detection device according to claim 1, wherein the percussion member is configured to percuss the surface of the egg by dropping under its own weight. . 7. The cracked egg detecting device according to claim 6, further comprising a spring member for returning the percussion member to an initial position. 8. The cracked egg detection according to claim 1, wherein the percussion member operates so as to percuss from a direction perpendicular to or substantially perpendicular to the surface of the egg. apparatus. 9. The cracked egg detecting device according to claim 1, further comprising a correction sensor for correcting an initial position of the percussion member. 10. A cracked egg detecting device according to claim 1, a weighing unit provided on a lower side of a transport path of the cracked egg detecting device, and a weighing result obtained by the weighing unit. A sorting station that automatically sorts eggs according to grades; and a defective egg collection station that collects cracked eggs detected by the cracked egg detection device.