JP2002174592A - Evaluation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an evaluation apparatus, capable of analyzing the interior quality of an object to be measured and reducing the cost, while permitting examination of the appearance of the object, and facilitating installation work and maintenance work. SOLUTION: The evaluation apparatus comprises a conveying means 2 for conveying the object M to be measured for passing a position 1 to be measured about the interior quality; an appearance detecting means 5 for detecting the appearance information of the object M, disposed at the position 4 to be inspected of an upstream side from the position 1 to be measured about the interior quality in the conveying direction of the object M of the means 2; and a control means 8 for examining the appearance of the object M, based on the detection information of the means 5 and managing the positional information of the object M to the position 1, based on the position information of the object M in the conveying means, when the appearance of the object M is examined to control a light-emitting and photodetecting means 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for transporting an object to be measured so as to pass through a portion to be measured for internal quality, and irradiates the object to be measured located at the portion to be measured with internal quality with light. And a light emitting and receiving means for receiving transmitted light or reflected light from the object to be measured, and controlling the operation of the light emitting and receiving means and controlling the internal quality of the object by the light received by the light emitting and receiving means. The present invention relates to an evaluation device including control means for analyzing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-described evaluation apparatus irradiates light to an object to be measured, such as fruits and vegetables, when the object passes through a portion to be measured for internal quality, and transmits light or light transmitted from the object to be measured. Activate the light emitting and receiving means to receive the reflected light,
An internal quality evaluation device for analyzing the internal quality of the object to be measured based on the light received by the light emitting and receiving means is provided. Then, for example, after the transmitted light or the reflected light from the object to be measured is separated by a concave diffraction grating, the light is transmitted and received by a charge storage type line sensor or the like in which light receiving elements including a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements are arranged in an array. Since the internal quality of the object to be measured such as fruits and vegetables is reflected in the spectral spectrum data measured by such light emitting and receiving means, the spectral spectrum data measured by the light emitting and receiving means is used. Based on this, the internal quality of an object to be measured such as fruits and vegetables is analyzed.

In the above internal quality evaluation apparatus, it is necessary to operate the light emitting and receiving means at the timing when the object to be measured conveyed by the conveying means is located at the internal quality measurement target location. A position information detecting unit that detects position information of the measured object in the transport direction, such as a position sensor that detects that the measured object has passed, on the upstream side of the internal quality measurement target point in the transport direction of the object, for example. The position information of the object to be measured with respect to the internal quality measurement target is managed based on the detection information of the position information detecting means, and the light emitting and receiving means is operated at an appropriate timing. In addition, when the shape or size of the measured object changes, the internal quality evaluation device changes the amount of transmitted light or reflected light from the measured object, and receives an appropriate amount of light set by the light emitting and receiving means. Adjustment of the measurement conditions when analyzing the internal quality of the object to be measured according to the shape and size of the object to be measured, since the internal quality of the object to be measured may not be able to be measured with high accuracy because it is not possible. Therefore, it is necessary to provide detection means to obtain information such as the shape and size of the measured object, and to measure the internal quality of the measured object based on the detection information of the detecting means. The conditions are adjusted.

In this type of evaluation apparatus, the object to be measured is conveyed by the conveying means so as to pass through the target position for appearance inspection measurement, and the appearance information of the object to be measured located at the target position for appearance inspection measurement is detected. Providing an appearance detection means, in addition to the internal quality device described above, based on the detection information of the appearance detection means, provided with an appearance inspection device for inspecting the appearance of the measured object,
In some cases, in addition to the analysis of the internal quality of the measured object, the appearance of the measured object is inspected. This appearance inspection apparatus uses, for example, imaging means for imaging the object to be measured as appearance detection means, operates the imaging means to image the object to be measured located at the appearance inspection measurement target location, and outputs an image of the imaging means. Based on the information, obtain the position information of the measured object in the transport direction, obtain the appearance information such as the shape and size of the measured object, and inspect whether the outer shape of the measured object is normal or abnormal. It is configured as follows.

As described above, this type of evaluation device is provided with an internal quality evaluation device for analyzing the internal quality of the object to be measured and an appearance inspection device for inspecting the appearance of the object to be measured, and the internal quality of the object to be measured is provided. In addition to analyzing the external appearance of the object to be measured, various types of information such as the position information of the object to be measured in the transport direction and the shape and size of the object to be measured are transmitted to the internal quality evaluation device. Each of them is managed separately by the visual inspection device, and these two devices are individually controlled.

[0006]

However, in the above-described evaluation device, various information such as the position information of the object to be measured in the transport direction and the shape and size of the object to be measured are stored in the internal quality evaluation device and the appearance inspection device. , Each of which is controlled separately, and since these two devices are individually controlled, it is necessary to provide a detection means for detecting various information in each device. The number of parts increases, which leads to an increase in cost and a troublesome installation work and maintenance work.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and aims to reduce the cost while analyzing the internal quality of the object to be measured and enabling the appearance of the object to be measured to be inspected. Another object of the present invention is to provide an evaluation device that can facilitate installation work and maintenance work.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transporting means for transporting an object to be measured so as to pass through a location to be measured for internal quality. By irradiating the object to be measured located at the internal quality measurement target location with light, and transmitting and receiving means for receiving transmitted light or reflected light from the object to be measured, and controlling the operation of the light emitting and receiving means, and A control unit for analyzing the internal quality of the object to be measured by the light received by the light emitting and receiving means, wherein the upstream of the internal quality measurement target portion in the transport direction of the object to be measured in the transport means. Appearance detection means for detecting the appearance information of the object to be measured located at the side of the appearance inspection measurement target side, the control means, based on the detection information of the appearance detection means, the appearance of the object to be measured Inspection And, based on the position information of the measured object in the transport direction when inspecting the appearance of the measured object, manages position information of the measured object with respect to the internal quality measurement target location, It is configured to control light emitting and receiving means.

That is, since the external appearance detecting means detects the external appearance information of the object to be measured which is located at the external inspection measurement object position upstream of the internal quality measurement object position in the transport direction of the object to be measured, the control means comprises: Based on the detection information of the appearance detecting means, the appearance of the measured object is inspected, and based on the detection information of the appearance detecting means, the position information of the measured object in the transport direction when inspecting the appearance of the measured object is inspected. Can be obtained. Then, based on the position information of the measured object in the transport direction obtained when inspecting the appearance of the measured object, the control unit manages the position information of the measured object with respect to the internal quality measurement target location. With this configuration, it is possible to operate the light emitting and receiving means at the timing when the object to be measured conveyed by the conveying means is located at the internal quality measurement target location. In this way, the control means operates the light emitting and receiving means at the timing of being located at the internal measurement target position, whereby the internal quality of the object to be measured can be analyzed by the light received by the light emitting and receiving means. Become.

Therefore, even if no position information detecting means for detecting the position information of the object to be measured in the transport direction is provided,
The control unit utilizes the positional information of the measured object in the conveying direction obtained when inspecting the appearance of the measured object, and the measured object conveyed by the conveying unit is located at the internal quality measurement target position. By operating the light emitting and receiving means at the timing, it is possible to analyze the internal quality of the measured object.

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to analyze the internal quality of an object to be measured and to inspect the appearance of the object to be measured while reducing the cost. In addition, an evaluation device capable of facilitating the installation work and the maintenance work can be provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transporting means for transporting the object to be measured so as to pass through the internal quality measurement target location, and the transport means is provided for the internal quality measurement target location. Irradiating light, light emitting and receiving means for receiving transmitted light or reflected light from the object to be measured, and controlling the operation of the light emitting and receiving means and controlling the operation of the light emitting and receiving means by light received by the light emitting and receiving means. An evaluation device having control means for analyzing the internal quality, wherein the measurement target object is located at an appearance inspection measurement target position upstream of the internal quality measurement target position in the conveyance direction of the measurement target in the conveyance means. Appearance detection means for detecting the appearance information of is provided, the control means, based on the detection information of the appearance detection means,
The external appearance of the object to be measured is inspected, and a measurement condition for analyzing the internal quality of the object to be measured is adjusted based on the detection information of the external appearance detecting means.

That is, since the appearance detecting means detects the appearance information of the object to be measured which is located at the appearance inspection measurement point upstream of the internal quality measurement object point in the transport direction of the object to be measured, the control means: In addition to inspecting the appearance of the object to be measured based on the detection information of the appearance detection means, it is possible to obtain appearance information such as the shape and size of the object to be measured from the detection information of the appearance detection means. The control means is configured to adjust measurement conditions when analyzing the internal quality of the measured object based on the appearance information of the measured object obtained when inspecting the appearance of the measured object. Therefore, the control means sets the measurement conditions when analyzing the internal quality of the measured object according to the appearance information of the measured object to the measurement conditions that enable the internal quality of the measured object to be accurately measured. It can be adjusted.

Therefore, the control means uses the appearance information of the measured object obtained from the detection information of the appearance detecting means without providing a detecting means for obtaining information such as the shape and size of the measured object. By adjusting the measurement conditions when analyzing the internal quality of the measured object according to the appearance information of the measured object,
It is possible to accurately measure the internal quality of the object to be measured.

As described above, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to analyze the internal quality of the object to be measured and to inspect the appearance of the object to be measured while reducing the cost. In addition, an evaluation device capable of facilitating the installation work and the maintenance work can be provided.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the control means analyzes the internal quality of the object to be measured based on the detection information of the appearance detecting means, and the amount of light emitted and received by the light emitting and receiving means. Is configured to be adjusted.

That is, for example, when the amount of light emitted and received by the light emitting and receiving means for analyzing the internal quality of the object to be measured is fixed to a fixed amount, when the appearance of the object changes, There is a possibility that the amount of received light changes and the proper amount of light cannot be received by the light emitting / receiving means, so that the internal quality of the object to be measured cannot be accurately measured. On the other hand, the control unit analyzes the internal quality of the measured object based on the appearance information such as the shape and size of the measured object obtained from the detection information of the appearance detecting unit. Since the light amount is configured to be adjusted, it is possible to adjust the light emitting and receiving amount of the light emitting and receiving means so that the light emitting and receiving means receives the appropriate amount of light according to the appearance information of the measured object. It becomes possible. Therefore, even if the appearance of the measured object changes, the internal quality of the measured object can be analyzed in a state corresponding to the change, and the internal quality of the measured object is measured with higher accuracy. It becomes possible.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control means controls the internal quality measurement target portion and the light emitting / receiving means based on the size information of the object to be measured in the detection information of the appearance detecting means. It is configured to adjust the relative positional relationship with the.

That is, for example, when the relative positional relationship between the internal quality measurement target portion and the light emitting and receiving means is fixed to an appropriate relative positional relationship with respect to a large object to be measured, When the size is reduced, light that circulates around the object to be measured out of the light applied to the object to be measured is generated, and the diverted light is received by the light emitting and receiving means, and S / N
There is a possibility that the (signal to noise) ratio becomes small and the internal quality of the object to be measured cannot be accurately measured. On the other hand, the control means is configured to adjust the relative positional relationship between the internal quality measurement target portion and the light emitting and receiving means based on the size information of the measured object in the detection information of the appearance detecting means. It is possible to adjust the relative positional relationship between the internal quality measurement target portion and the light emitting and receiving means so that the light emitting and receiving means does not receive the light circling around the object to be measured according to the size of the object to be measured. Become. Therefore, even if the size of the measured object changes, the internal quality of the measured object can be analyzed in a state corresponding to the change, and the internal quality of the measured object can be measured more accurately. It is possible to do.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The evaluation apparatus according to the present invention is provided, for example, in a fruit sorting facility for sorting and sorting mandarin oranges as objects to be measured, and inspects the appearance of the mandarin oranges, that is, the external shape and size. A case where the present invention is applied to a configuration for measuring internal quality information of oranges, that is, a sugar content, an acidity, and the like, will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] As shown in FIG. 1, this evaluation apparatus includes a transport conveyor 2 as a transport means for transporting an object to be measured M (citrus) so as to pass through an internal quality measurement target location 1. A light projecting / receiving section 3 as a light projecting / receiving means for irradiating the object M located at the internal quality measurement target position 1 with light and receiving transmitted light from the object M, and a transport conveyor 2
The appearance detection unit 5 and the like as appearance detection means for detecting the appearance information of the measurement object M located at the appearance inspection measurement target position 4 upstream of the internal quality measurement target position 1 in the transport direction of the measurement target M in It is provided and configured.

The evaluation device includes an appearance inspection processing unit 6 for inspecting the appearance such as the outer shape and size of the measured object M based on the detection information of the appearance detection unit 5, and an operation of the light emitting and receiving unit 3. And an internal quality analysis processing unit 7 that controls the internal quality of the measured object M with the light received by the light emitting and receiving unit 3. Further, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 performs the internal quality measurement target location 1 based on the positional information of the measured object M in the transport direction obtained when the appearance inspection processing unit 6 inspects the appearance of the measured object M. , And controls the light emitting / receiving means 3.

The object M to be measured is arranged and conveyed in a line in a line at a set speed by the conveyor 2 so that the appearance inspection measurement target portion 4 and the internal quality measurement target portion 1 are sequentially arranged. It is configured to pass through.
The conveyor 2 is provided with an endless rotating belt 2a and an electric motor 2b.
Endless rotation belt 2
A rotary encoder 39 is provided for detecting the rotation state of the rotating shaft of the rotating body 2c that winds a. The detection information of the rotary encoder 39 is input to the control unit 8.

First, the appearance inspection of the object M to be measured at the appearance inspection measurement point 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5, the appearance inspection unit 5 is provided for a color three-panel color CCD camera 9 and an object M to be imaged by the color CCD camera 9. An illumination unit 10 for illumination is provided, and the appearance inspection processing unit 6
Based on the image information of the color CCD camera 9, a defective portion of the measured object M is determined. Note that a setting unit 11 is provided for the appearance inspection processing unit 6 to artificially set reference information for appearance inspection and the like.

The illumination unit 10 includes a color CCD camera 9.
Is configured so as to provide indirect illumination so as not to generate reflected light of strong light in a specific direction with respect to the measurement object M during the imaging by. That is, the color CCD camera 9
A reflective paint is applied to the inner wall to form a reflective wall surface 12, and is mounted via a support 14 inside a housing-type reflective cover 13 located above the conveyor 2, and is attached to the color CCD camera 9. Illumination light source 16 provided with curved reflectors 15 at peripheral portions (four locations) separated by a predetermined distance
Are supported via a support arm 17.

The illumination light from the light source 16 is reflected directly on the reflecting wall 12 formed on the upper peripheral wall without directly reaching the object to be measured M below, and the curved reflecting plate 1
The light reflected at 5 and further reflected at the upper peripheral wall is combined, and the reflected and diffused reflected light irradiates the object to be measured M located below the covering body 13, so that uniform and soft indirect illumination is achieved. It is configured. As a result, there is no disadvantage such as obtaining imaging information as erroneous information due to strong reflected light in a specific direction, and accurate imaging of the measurement target M can be performed. In addition, the image of the measurement target M by the color CCD camera 9 is not only directly photographed from the upper side, but also imaging information of the right and left sides of the measurement target M is obtained through the reflecting mirrors 18 arranged on both sides in the transport direction. It is configured as follows.

In the field of view (imaging area) of the object M to be measured by the color CCD camera 9, a plurality (for example, five) of the objects M are imaged at the same time, and the range of the imaging area is one.
The transport speed of the transport conveyor 2, the relative position of the color CCD camera 9 with respect to the imaging area, and the like are set so that one measurement object M passes for a set time (for example, about 1 second). Incidentally, since the transport speed of the transport conveyor 2 can be detected by the rotary encoder 39, it is also possible to adjust the imaging timing of the color CCD camera 9 based on the detection information of the rotary encoder 39. Also, color CCD
The camera 9 is provided with a high-speed electronic shutter to obtain a still image of the continuously moving object M, and while the object M passes through the imaging region, the object M The image capturing process can be performed so that a plurality of divided images obtained by dividing the entire circumference into a plurality of images can be obtained.

As shown in FIG. 2, the visual inspection processing section 6 is constructed using a microcomputer, and outputs image signals of three primary colors (R, R) output from the color CCD camera 9.
G, B). Then, based on the image captured by the color CCD camera 9, the appearance inspection processing unit 6 performs saturation information indicating the saturation of the object M, brightness information indicating the brightness of the object M, and lightness information indicating the brightness of the object M. Chromaticity information representing the chromaticity of the target object M is determined based on the chroma information, the brightness information, and the chromaticity information.
Based on the image captured by the D camera 9, it is configured to execute a defective portion determination process for determining outer shape information of the measured object M, for example, a maximum dimension and an outer shape distortion.

The control operation of the appearance inspection processing section 6 will be described in further detail. Image signals (R, G, B) of three primary colors output from the color CCD camera 9 are input, and
Based on the image signals (R, G, B) of the primary colors, an HSI conversion process of converting the image signals into information representing respective information of chromaticity (H), saturation (S), and brightness (I) is executed. . Specifically, arithmetic processing is performed on the image signals (R, G, B) of the three primary colors output from the color CCD camera 9 based on the arithmetic expressions of the following [Equation 1] to [Equation 3]. , Chromaticity (H), saturation (S), and lightness (I).

[0030]

## EQU1 ## I = 0.3R + 0.59G + 0.11B

[0031]

H = tan ^-1 (C1 / C2) (where C1 = RI, C2 = BI)

[0032]

S = √ (C1 ² + C2 ² ) (where C1 = RI, C2 = BI)

Next, based on the HSI conversion output information, an area of the object to be measured M in the image is extracted by comparing each signal with a preset threshold value, for example. Based on the image information of the measured object M, the outer shape determination processing of the measured object M is executed. As shown in FIG. 6, the contour discrimination processing extracts the contour L of the contour of the measured object M, calculates the center of gravity G of the contour L by calculation, and locates the contour L on the contour L from the center of gravity G. A change state of the distance to the point in the direction along the contour L is obtained by Fourier transform, and based on the change state of the distance,
Whether the external shape of the object to be measured M is abnormal (whether there is distortion)
It is determined whether or not.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the distance from the position of the center of gravity G to a point located on the contour L is changed in the direction along the contour L, as shown in FIG.
And the angle θ between the line connecting the contour from the position of the center of gravity and the reference line
And can be expressed as a function of At this time, if the surface of the object to be measured has a smooth arc shape, the function also becomes a smooth curve as shown in FIG. 7A, and when its Fourier transform is obtained, only the low frequency component of the spatial frequency is obtained. But
If the surface of the object to be measured has irregularities, the function in FIG. 7 becomes a sharply changing curve, and the Fourier transform is performed at the spatial frequency f
Contains many high frequency components. Therefore, by determining the state of such a high frequency component, it is possible to determine the distortion of the external shape of the measured object.

Further, based on the information of the contour L, the object M
Is determined. Note that although a plurality of images of the object to be measured actually exist on the captured image, FIG. 6 shows only one piece of image information for easy understanding.

Next, based on the HSI conversion output information, a defective portion determining process for determining a defective portion of the measured object M is executed. In the defective portion determination processing, first, a target pixel is set among a plurality of pixels in the region extracted as the region of the measurement target M. If the value of the saturation (S) at the pixel is smaller than the preset saturation threshold S0 and the brightness (I) is smaller than the first set value I1, the pixel is a defective portion. Is determined. In other words, when the saturation (S) is low and the lightness (I) is considerably low, the surface of the measurement target M may be discolored black or stained black due to, for example, being pinched by a bird. This is because it is possible.

The value of the saturation (S) is smaller than a preset saturation threshold value S0, and the lightness (I) is the first.
When the pixel is within the set range of not less than the set value I1 and not more than the second set value I2, it is determined that the pixel is a defective portion. That is, when the saturation (S) is low and the lightness (I) is in an intermediate setting range, for example, when the surface is in a “scab” state due to a disease or the like, This is because it is conceivable that it is in the state.

Even if the value of the saturation (S) is smaller than the preset saturation threshold S0, if the brightness (I) is larger than the second set value I2, for example, Since there is a possibility that a medicine or the like remains on the surface of the measurement object M or a decrease in saturation due to a variation in illumination, it is not determined that a malfunction occurs in such a case. If it is not determined to be defective, it is determined to be normal, and such a determination operation is performed for all pixels in the extracted area.

When the location determined to be defective by the above-described processing satisfies a specific condition, specifically, the low-saturation portion is substantially circular and the object to be measured is When the size is close to a predetermined ratio with respect to the outer diameter of M, such a portion is determined to be a portion referred to as a scab or a navel of the measured object M (citrus), and such a portion is determined. Are excluded from defects.

Next, an average value of the saturation of all pixels (excluding the above-mentioned part of the head and the navel) in the region of the object to be measured is obtained by calculation, and the average saturation and a preset standard saturation are calculated. Compare. This standard saturation is set as follows. That is, the chromaticity (H) and the saturation (S) generally have a correlation. For example, in the case of chromaticity of a bright color tone, the saturation tends to increase.

Therefore, such a general correlation between chromaticity and saturation in the object to be measured M (citrus) to be inspected is measured in advance, and based on the result obtained by the color CCD camera 9, Setting the saturation having the above correlation as the standard saturation corresponding to the actually measured chromaticity,
The standard saturation is compared with the average value of all pixels of the measured object M having the actually measured saturation. If the average saturation is lower than the standard saturation by a set amount or more, it is considered that the surface of the measured object M is, for example, withered, and therefore, it is determined as a defect.

The analysis of the internal quality of the measurement object M at the internal quality measurement target location 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the light emitting and receiving unit 3 irradiates light to the object to be measured M (citrus), and separates the light transmitted through the object to be measured M to receive the separated light. And a light receiving unit 20 that obtains spectral spectrum data. In addition, the light projecting unit 19 is configured such that the light projected from the light projecting unit 19 is transmitted through the measured object M and received by the light receiving unit 20 with respect to the measured object M located at the internal quality measurement target location 1. 19 and light receiving unit 20
Are distributed to the left and right sides of the internal quality measurement target location 1.

The light projecting section 19 has a halogen lamp 22 that emits light with power supplied from a power supply circuit 21 and a concave surface that reflects the light emitted from the halogen lamp 22 downward so as to condense the light. In addition to a reflection plate 23 having a shape, a reflection mirror 24 for reflecting light reflected by the reflection plate 23 and changing the reflection direction to the measuring object M located at the measurement target location in the horizontal direction is provided. A shutter mechanism 25 is provided which can be switched between a state where the light reflected by the reflecting mirror 24 is irradiated on the internal quality measurement target portion 1 and a state where the light is blocked.

The light receiving section 20 includes a condenser lens 26 for condensing the light transmitted through the object M, a reflecting mirror 27 for reflecting the light upward, and only a light in a wavelength region to be measured as described later. A color filter 28 that allows light to pass therethrough, a shutter mechanism 29 that can be switched between an open state that allows light to pass through and a closed state that blocks light, and light that passes through the shutter mechanism 29 that is in the open state is split into light. And a spectroscope 30 for measuring the spectral data.

As shown in FIG. 9, the spectroscope 30 includes a reflecting mirror 32 for reflecting light incident from a light entrance 31 and a concave diffraction grating 33 for separating the reflected light into light of a plurality of wavelengths.
And a light-receiving sensor 34 for measuring spectral data by detecting the light intensity of each wavelength separated by the concave diffraction grating 33 are arranged in a dark box 35 made of a light-shielding material for shielding external light. It is configured to be.

The light receiving sensor 34 includes a concave diffraction grating 33
1024, simultaneously receive the transmitted light spectrally reflected at each wavelength, convert the transmitted light into a signal for each wavelength, and output the signal.
It is configured by a bit MOS type line sensor. Although not described in detail, this line sensor outputs a photoelectric conversion element such as a photodiode for each unit pixel, a capacitor for storing the charge obtained by the photoelectric conversion element, and outputs the stored charge to the outside. And a driving circuit therefor. In addition, the above-mentioned line sensor
The charge storage time by the capacitor can be changed from the outside via a drive circuit, and is 700 nm to 1100 nm
Is configured to be able to detect light having a wavelength in the range of

The light projecting section 19 and the light receiving section 20 are integrally supported by a frame 36 provided so as to detour above the internal quality measurement target location 1 through which the object M passes. The frame 36 can be changed and adjusted in its entirety in the vertical direction with respect to the conveyor 2 by a vertical adjusting mechanism 37. Although not described in detail, the up-down adjustment mechanism 37 is installed in a fixed position with respect to the fixed portion F, and is configured to be moved up and down by a screw feed mechanism 37b driven by an electric motor 37a. .

A reference filter 38, which is an example of a reference body, is provided above the place where the object to be measured M passes on the conveyor 2 and is fixed at a fixing portion F. The reference filter 38 is constituted by an optical filter having a predetermined absorbance characteristic, and is specifically constituted by using opal glass.

Then, by adjusting the position of the entire frame body 20 in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG.
The normal measurement state in which the light from the light projecting unit 19 is received by the light receiving unit 20 after passing through the object to be measured M placed on the conveyor 2 and, as shown in FIG. It is configured to be able to switch to a reference measurement state in which the light from the unit 19 is received by the light receiving unit 20 after passing through the reference filter 38.

As shown in FIG. 2, the internal quality analysis processing section 7 is constructed using a microcomputer, and controls the change of the power supply voltage supplied to the halogen lamp 22 and the light projecting section 19 and the light receiving section. The operation of each part such as the opening and closing operation of each of the 20 shutter mechanisms and the operation of the vertical adjustment mechanism 37 is controlled. Further, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 performs, based on the measurement result obtained by the spectroscope 30,
It is configured to execute arithmetic processing for analyzing the internal quality of the measurement object M.

The control operation by the internal quality analysis processing section 7 will be described. The internal quality analysis processing unit 7 is configured to be freely switchable between a reference data measurement mode and a normal data measurement mode. The reference data measurement mode is
The measurement is performed prior to the normal measurement of the measurement object M, and the light from the light projecting unit 19 is irradiated on the reference filter 38 instead of the measurement object M, and the transmitted light from the reference filter 38 is received by the light receiving unit. The apparatus is configured to obtain the spectral data obtained by spectrally separating the light at 20 and receiving the separated light as reference spectral data. In the normal data measurement mode, the light projecting unit 19 moves the object M to be conveyed by the conveyor 2.
Irradiates light to obtain measured spectral data, and analyzes the internal quality of the measured object M based on the measured spectral data and the reference spectral data.

Each of the above modes will be described below. First, in the reference data measurement mode, the frame 36 is switched to the reference measurement state by operating the up / down adjustment mechanism 37 while the conveyance of the measurement object M by the conveyor 2 is stopped. Then, each shutter mechanism is switched to the open state, and the light from the light projecting section 19 is replaced with the object to be measured M, and the reference filter 38 is turned on.
Then, the transmitted light from the reference filter 38 is separated by the light receiving unit 20 and the spectral light data obtained by receiving the separated light is measured as the reference spectral data.

In the reference data measurement mode, the detection value (dark current data) of the light receiving sensor 34 in a non-light state where light to the light receiving section 2 is blocked is also measured. That is, the shutter mechanism of the light receiving unit 20 is switched to the closed state, and the detected value of the light receiving sensor 34 for each unit pixel at that time is obtained as dark current data.

Next, in the normal data measurement mode, the frame 36 is switched to the normal measurement state by operating the up / down adjustment mechanism 37, and the object M to be measured is conveyed by the conveyor 2, and each object M is measured. Each time M passes through the measurement target location, each measurement spectrum data is measured. Note that the light projecting amount in the light projecting means 19 and the charge storage time of the line sensor are set to constant values.

Then, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 performs an internal quality analysis based on the position information of the object M in the transport direction on the transport conveyor 2 when the appearance inspection processing unit 6 inspects the external appearance of the object M. Measurement object M for quality measurement target location 1
Is configured to control the light projecting section 19 and the light receiving section 20 by managing the position information of the light emitting section.

In addition, since the appearance detection unit 5 detects the appearance information of the measurement object M located at the appearance inspection measurement target location 4, the appearance inspection processing unit 6 Based on the detection information of the appearance detection unit 5, based on the detection information of the measurement object M, to obtain the position information of the measurement object M in the transport direction when inspecting the appearance of the measurement object M Can be done. Then, based on the positional information of the object M in the transport direction obtained at the time of inspecting the appearance of the object M, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 The position information is managed, and the light emitting / receiving unit 3 is operated at a timing when the object M conveyed by the conveyor 2 is located at the internal quality measurement target location 1.

Thus, the internal quality analysis processing section 7
However, by operating the light emitting and receiving unit 3 at a timing located at the internal measurement target location 1, the internal quality of the measured object M is analyzed by the light received by the light emitting and receiving unit 3. Therefore, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 can analyze the internal quality of the measured object M without providing a position information detecting unit for detecting the position information of the measured object M in the transport direction. In addition to analyzing the internal quality of the measured object M and inspecting the appearance of the measured object M, the cost can be reduced, and the installation work and the maintenance work can be facilitated. It became.

More specifically, when inspecting the appearance of the measurement object M, the appearance inspection processing unit 6 determines the measurement object M based on the photographing timing of the measurement object M by the color CCD camera 9 and the like.
Is configured to obtain the timing at which the object M has passed through the appearance inspection measurement target, that is, the position information of the object M in the transport direction. In addition, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 is based on the position information of the workpiece M in the transport direction obtained by the appearance inspection processing unit 6 and the transport speed of the transport conveyor 2 detected by the rotary encoder 39. The timing at which the center position in the transport direction of each object M conveyed to the internal quality measurement target location 1 passes through the internal quality measurement target location 1 is determined.

Incidentally, the transport speed of the transport conveyor 2 is set such that one object to be measured M passes through the range of the imaging area for a set time (for example, about 1 second). Without providing, it is also possible to obtain, as the set transport speed, the timing at which the center position in the transport direction of each workpiece M transported to the internal quality measurement target location 1 passes through the internal quality measurement target location 1. is there.

Then, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 determines that the center position of the object M in the transport direction is set to the position of the target object M before the set time before the center position of the object M in the transport direction passes through the target position. Is set as the charge storage time of the line sensor from the timing of passing through the sensor, and the amount of light received by each of the light receiving sensors 18 is measured each time each measurement object M passes through the measurement target location. To measure the measured spectral data. Before measuring the light receiving amount of the light receiving sensor 18, the light receiving sensor 18
The idle reading operation for idle reading the detected value may be performed to extract the electric charge already stored in the capacitor.

The internal quality analysis processing section 7 is configured to execute a calculation process for analyzing the internal quality of the object M by using a spectroscopic analysis method based on the various data thus obtained. I have. That is, based on the measured spectral data, the reference spectral data, and the dark current data, an absorbance spectrum is obtained for each wavelength that has been separated, and a second derivative value in the wavelength region of the absorbance spectrum is obtained. It is configured to execute an analysis calculation process for calculating a component amount corresponding to the sugar content or a component amount corresponding to the acidity contained in the measured object M based on the value.
Assuming that the absorbance d is Rd for the reference spectral data, Sd for the measured spectral data, and Da for the dark current data,

[0062]

D = log {(Rd-Da) / (Sd-Da)}

The internal quality analysis processing unit 7 calculates the amount of components contained in the measured object M based on the multiple regression analysis according to the following equation (5).

[0064]

Y = K0 + K1 · A (λ1) + K2 · A (λ2)

Where: Y; component amounts K0, K1, K2; coefficients A (λ1), A (λ2); second derivative of absorbance spectrum at specific wavelength λ

In the internal quality analysis processing section 7, a specific component amount calculation formula, specific coefficients K0, K1, K2, wavelengths λ1, λ2, etc. are set in advance for each component whose component amount is to be calculated. The component amount of each component is calculated using a specific component amount calculation formula for each component.

[Second Embodiment] The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the control operation when the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 analyzes the internal quality of the workpiece M. The internal quality analysis processing unit 7
Will be described. In the second embodiment, since other configurations other than the control operation of the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment are used. Therefore, the description is omitted.

The internal quality analysis processing section 7 is configured to adjust measurement conditions when analyzing the internal quality of the object M based on the detection information of the appearance detection section 5.
That is, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 is configured to adjust the light emission / reception amount of the light emission / reception unit 3 when analyzing the internal quality of the measured object M based on the detection information of the appearance detection unit 5. .

In general, for example, the larger the size of the object M, the smaller the amount of light transmitted through the object M, such as the shape and size of the object M, When the appearance of the object M changes, the amount of transmitted light of the object M changes, and the light receiving unit 20 cannot receive a proper amount of transmitted light of the object M. There is a possibility that the internal quality cannot be measured accurately. Therefore, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 performs analysis when analyzing the internal quality of the measurement target M based on the appearance information such as the shape and size of the measurement target M obtained from the detection information of the appearance detection unit 5. Light receiving unit 3
The light emitting and receiving amount of the light emitting and receiving unit 3 is adjusted so that the light emitting and receiving unit 3 receives an appropriate amount of light in accordance with the appearance information of the object M to be measured. It is configured.

That is, in order to improve the internal quality of the measured object M, it is possible to obtain an external appearance of the measured object M without providing a dedicated means for detecting the appearance information of the measured object M. Using the appearance information of the object to be measured M, the light emitting and receiving amount of the light emitting and receiving unit 3 is adjusted so that the light emitting and receiving unit 3 receives a set appropriate amount of transmitted light of the object to be measured M. I have.
Specifically, the appearance inspection processing unit 6 inspects the appearance of the measurement object M based on the detection information of the appearance detection unit 5, and at that time, the shape and size of the measurement object M The internal quality analysis processing unit 7 can obtain, for example, based on the obtained appearance information of the object M,
The power supply voltage supplied to the halogen lamp 6 is changed and adjusted such that the greater the size of the object to be measured M, the greater the intensity of light emitted by the light emitting unit 19.

The internal quality analysis processing unit 7 performs the measurement in the transport direction on the transport conveyor 2 when the appearance inspection processing unit 6 inspects the external appearance of the workpiece M, as in the first embodiment. Based on the position information of the object M, the position information of the measured object M with respect to the internal quality measurement target location 1 is managed, and the light projecting unit 19 and the light receiving unit 20 are controlled.

In the second embodiment, an optical passage sensor for detecting the passage of the object M is provided on the upstream side of the internal quality measurement target in the transport direction of the transport conveyor 2, and the internal quality is measured. Based on the detection information of the passage sensor and the detection information of the rotary encoder 39, the analysis processing unit 7 determines the central position in the transport direction of each measurement object M transported to the internal quality measurement target location 1 by the internal quality measurement. It is also possible to configure and implement so as to obtain the timing of passing through the target location 1.

[Third Embodiment] The third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in the control operation when the internal quality analysis processing section 7 analyzes the internal quality of the measured object M. The internal quality analysis processing unit 7
Will be described. In the third embodiment, since the other configuration other than the control operation of the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 is the same as that of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals as those in the second embodiment are used. Therefore, the description is omitted.

The internal quality analysis processing section 7 is configured to adjust the measurement conditions when analyzing the internal quality of the measuring object M based on the detection information of the appearance detecting section 5.
That is, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 adjusts the relative positional relationship between the internal quality measurement target location 1 and the light emitting and receiving unit 3 based on the size information of the measurement target M in the detection information of the appearance detection unit 5. Is configured.

In addition, for example, when the relative positional relationship between the internal quality measurement target location 1 and the light emitting and receiving unit 3 is fixed to a relative positional relationship suitable for a large object to be measured M, When the size of the measurement target M is reduced, light that circulates around the measurement target M among the light applied to the measurement target 1 occurs,
The diverted light is received by the light emitting and receiving unit 3, and the S / N (signal-to-noise) ratio is reduced, so that there is a possibility that the internal quality of the measured object M cannot be measured accurately. . Therefore, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 performs, based on the size information of the measured object M in the detection information of the appearance detection unit 5,
The relative positional relationship between the internal quality measurement target location 1 and the light emitting and receiving unit 3 is adjusted, and the light emitting and receiving unit 3 is adjusted according to the size of the measurement target M.
Are configured not to receive light that has passed around the object M.

That is, in order to improve the internal quality of the object M, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated means for detecting the size information of the object M, but it is necessary to inspect the external appearance of the object M. The relative positional relationship between the internal quality measurement target location 1 and the light emitting and receiving unit 3 is adjusted using the size information of the object M to be measured, and the light emitted and received by the light emitting and receiving unit 3 around the object M is adjusted. It is configured not to receive light.

More specifically, the appearance inspection processing unit 6 inspects the appearance of the measurement object M based on the detection information of the appearance detection unit 5. As shown in FIG. 11, based on the obtained size information of the measured object M, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 The light emitting / receiving section 3 is adjusted by the up / down adjusting mechanism 37 so that the light emitting / receiving section 3 is disposed on the upper side, and the light emitting section 19 is centered on the central portion of the measured object M.
Is configured to irradiate the object M to be measured.

Incidentally, in the third embodiment, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 determines the internal quality measurement target location 1 and the light emitting / receiving unit based on the size information of the object M in the detection information of the appearance detection unit 5. In addition to the adjustment of the relative positional relationship with the light emitting and receiving unit 3, the light emitting and receiving unit 3 analyzes the internal quality of the measured object M based on the detection information of the appearance detecting unit 5 as in the second embodiment. By adjusting the amount,
It is also possible to configure so as to adjust the measurement conditions when analyzing the internal quality of the measured object M based on the detection information of the appearance detection unit 5.

Further, the internal quality analysis processing unit 7 performs the measurement in the transport direction on the transport conveyor 2 when the appearance inspection processing unit 6 inspects the external appearance of the workpiece M, as in the first embodiment. Based on the position information of the object M, the position information of the measured object M with respect to the internal quality measurement target location 1 is managed, and the light projecting unit 19 and the light receiving unit 20 are controlled.

In the third embodiment, an optical passage sensor for detecting the passage of the object M is provided on the upstream side of the internal quality measurement target in the transport direction of the transport conveyor 2 so as to provide the internal quality. Based on the detection information of the passage sensor and the detection information of the rotary encoder 39, the analysis processing unit 7 determines the central position in the transport direction of each measurement object M transported to the internal quality measurement target location 1 by the internal quality measurement. It is also possible to configure and implement so as to obtain the timing of passing through the target location 1.

[Another Embodiment] (1) In the above embodiment, the color C
Although an example using the CD camera 9 has been described, various imaging means such as an inter-imaging camera and a device that obtains only black and white images can be applied. Any device that can detect information may be used.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the light emitting and receiving unit 3 is configured separately from the light emitting unit 19 and the light receiving unit 20, but the light emitting and receiving unit 3 is configured by one light emitting and receiving unit. It is also possible to carry out.

(3) In the above embodiment, the charge storage time of the line sensor as the light receiving sensor is set to a fixed value. For example, according to the measurement conditions such as the type and size of the measuring object M, The charge storage time of the line sensor may be changed.

(4) In the above embodiment, the light received by the light projecting / receiving unit 3 is separated and the internal quality of the object M is analyzed based on the spectral data. The method of analyzing the internal quality of the measurement target M is not limited to the method using the spectroscopic analysis, and the internal quality of the measurement target M may be analyzed using other various analysis methods. .

(5) In the above embodiment, the conveyor 2
Is configured to drive the endless rotating belt 2a by the electric motor 2b, but various transporting means such as configuring the transporting conveyor 2 as a roller conveyor can be applied.

(6) In the first embodiment, the transport speed of the transport conveyor 2 is set so that one object to be measured M passes through the range of the imaging area for a set time (for example, about 1 second). The transport speed of the transport conveyor 2 may be configured to be changeable. In this case, the imaging timing of the color CCD camera 9 is adjusted based on the detection information of the rotary encoder 39.

(7) In the second embodiment, the object to be measured M
The power supply voltage is adjusted based on the appearance information of the object to be measured M obtained at the time of inspecting the appearance of the light-emitting device M, and the light-emitting intensity of the light-emitting unit 19 is adjusted.
Is provided as a constant amount, a diaphragm mechanism having a plurality of diaphragm portions with different diaphragm amounts is provided, and based on appearance information of the measured object M obtained when inspecting the appearance of the measured object M,
The light from the light projecting unit 19 may be configured and adjusted so as to adjust the amount of stop by the stop mechanism. In this case, a dimming mechanism including a plurality of dimmers having different dimming amounts may be provided instead of the aperture mechanism.

(8) In the third embodiment, the object to be measured M
The vertical position of the light projecting unit 19 and the light receiving unit 20 is adjusted based on the size information of the measured object M obtained when inspecting the external appearance of the internal quality measurement target portion 1 and the light projecting / receiving unit. 3, the position of the light projecting unit 19 and the light receiving unit 20 in the horizontal direction is adjusted based on the size information of the object M to be measured. It is also possible to configure so as to adjust the relative positional relationship between 1 and the light emitting and receiving unit 3.

(9) In the above embodiment, a filter made of opal glass was used as the reference body. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a filter having a predetermined absorbance characteristic other than a diffusion plate such as ground glass may be used. The material is not limited. Further, the light receiving sensor is not limited to the MOS type line sensor, and other detecting means such as a CCD type line sensor may be used.

(10) In the above embodiment, the spectral spectrum is measured based on the transmitted light from the object M. However, instead of this configuration, the spectral spectrum is measured based on the reflected light from the object M. It is also possible to configure and implement so as to measure a spectrum.

(11) In the above embodiment, the sugar content and the acidity are exemplified as the internal quality of the measured object M. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other internal quality such as taste information may be measured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a transfer state by a transfer conveyor in an evaluation device.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of an evaluation device.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the evaluation device in a transport direction at a location to be measured for appearance.

FIG. 4 is a side view in a direction orthogonal to a transport direction at a location to be measured for appearance of the evaluation device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an appearance measurement target portion of the evaluation device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the control means.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the control means.

FIG. 8 is a side view in the transport direction of the internal quality measurement target portion of the evaluation device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a main part at a location to be measured for internal quality of the evaluation device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a vertical position change state of a part to be measured for internal quality of the evaluation device;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a vertical position change state at an internal quality measurement target portion of the evaluation device according to the third embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Internal quality measurement target location 2 Transport means 3 Light emitting and receiving means 4 Appearance inspection measurement target location 5 Appearance detection means 8 Control means

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 2G051 AA05 AB20 AC02 BA01 BA06 BA10 BB15 CA03 CA04 CA07 CB01 CB02 CB06 DA01 DA06 EA16 EA17 EA23 EA25 EB01 EB02 EC03 EC06 ED07 ED23 2G059 AA01 AA05 BB11 EE12 EE01 EE01 JJ05 JJ11 JJ13 JJ23 KK01 KK04 LL04 MM01 MM03 MM05

Claims (4)

[Claims] A transporting means for transporting an object to be measured so as to pass through an internal quality measurement target location; irradiating light to the object to be measured located at the internal quality measurement target location; Light transmitting and receiving means for receiving transmitted light or reflected light from an object, and control means for controlling the operation of the light transmitting and receiving means and analyzing the internal quality of the object to be measured by the light received by the light transmitting and receiving means. An appearance device for detecting appearance information of the object to be measured, which is located at a position of a visual inspection measurement upstream of the position of the internal quality measurement in the direction of conveyance of the object to be measured by the conveyance means. Detection means is provided, and the control means inspects the appearance of the object to be measured based on the detection information of the appearance detection means, and in the transport direction when inspecting the appearance of the object to be measured. Suffered An evaluation device configured to manage the position information of the object to be measured with respect to the internal quality measurement target position based on the position information of the object to control the light emitting and receiving means. 2. A device for transporting an object to be measured so as to pass through an internal quality measurement target location, irradiating the object to be measured located at the internal quality measurement target location with light, Light transmitting and receiving means for receiving transmitted light or reflected light from an object, and control means for controlling the operation of the light transmitting and receiving means and analyzing the internal quality of the object to be measured by the light received by the light transmitting and receiving means. An appearance device for detecting appearance information of the object to be measured, which is located at a position of a visual inspection measurement upstream of the position of the internal quality measurement in the conveyance direction of the object to be measured by the conveyance means. Detecting means is provided, and the control means inspects the appearance of the object to be measured based on the detection information of the appearance detecting means, and detects the inside of the object to be measured based on the detection information of the appearance detecting means. An evaluation device configured to adjust measurement conditions when analyzing quality. 3. The control means is configured to adjust an amount of light emitted and received by the light emitting and receiving means when analyzing the internal quality of the object to be measured, based on information detected by the appearance detecting means. The evaluation device according to claim 2. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to determine, based on size information of the object to be measured in detection information of the appearance detection unit,
4. The evaluation device according to claim 2, wherein the evaluation device is configured to adjust a relative positional relationship between the internal quality measurement target portion and the light emitting and receiving unit. 5.