JP2002365222A - Rice grain quality-sorting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rice grain quality-sorting apparatus where the discriminating accuracy of rice grain quality has been improved by improving the formation accuracy of the side image of total quality. SOLUTION: A side light reception means 20 receives light from a rice grain corresponding to the lighting switching of upper side illumination means 18a, 18b, and 18c, and lower side illumination means 24, and 26, and an imaging means 50 images the rice grain based on reception data which the side light reception means 20 has received.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rice grain quality discriminating apparatus for discriminating rice grains into a plurality of grades, and more particularly, to measuring the grain thickness of rice grains.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a rice grain quality discriminating apparatus of this type transports rice grains one by one to an optical measuring section by a plurality of concave portions provided on a rotating disk, irradiates the rice grains with irradiation light, and emits light from the rice grains. It is known that light is received by a light-receiving sensor, and the ratio of red and green light amounts of the received light is detected to determine the quality of rice grains. For example, the optical measuring unit of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-180369 has a linear sensor and a light source for reflected light above a rotating disk, and a linear sensor on the side of the rotating disk. Further, a light source for transmitted light is provided below the rotating disk. The rice grain quality determination device determines the color of the rice grain based on the light detected by each of the linear sensors, obtains the length, width and grain thickness of the rice grain by imaging the shape of the rice grain, and determines these lengths. , Determining the traits described below based on the area and volume determined based on the width and grain thickness, and comprehensively determining the quality of the rice grain based on the color determination result and the trait determination result It is. The trait judgment is one of the quality evaluation items of rice grains, and is an item for evaluating the degree of fulfillment, grain uniformity, and the like.

[0003]

In this rice grain quality discriminating apparatus, the rice grain is irradiated with irradiation light from above, and the linear sensor provided on the side of the rice grain receives reflected light emitted from the side surface of the rice grain, The shape of the side surface of the rice grain is imaged based on the received light data. However,
In particular, for varieties such as blue immature grains, dead rice, and tea rice, the reflected light obtained from the rice grain side can only obtain light excluding the light from the lower part on the rice grain side because the lower part of the rice grain side is shadowed. Therefore, the lower part of the side shape image is not formed. In determining the trait, it is desirable to use sample data regardless of the quality in order to increase the number of data. However, in the rice grain quality discriminating apparatus, since immature grains, dead rice, tea rice, and the like cannot be accurately imaged in the side shape, blue immature grains, dead rice, tea rice, etc. can be used as sample data. Did not. In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a rice grain quality discriminating apparatus which improves the accuracy of forming a side image of all grades and improves the accuracy of discriminating rice grain quality.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to a transfer device for transferring rice grains one by one, and upper and lower rice grains at predetermined positions transferred by the transfer means. An upper irradiating means and a lower irradiating means for irradiating light from the side, a planar light receiving means having a plurality of light receiving elements provided at one of upper and / or lower positions in the rice grain at the predetermined position; Side light receiving means having a plurality of light receiving elements provided at lateral positions of rice grains at a position, image means for imaging a rice grain shape based on light receiving data detected by the flat light receiving means and the side light receiving means, and the image Character data calculating means for calculating character data of rice grains based on the rice grain shape image imaged by the means; and light receiving data detected by the flat light receiving means and the side light receiving means. A rice grain quality determination device comprising: color information determination means for determining color information of rice grains; and determination means for determining the quality of rice grains based on each data from the trait data calculation means and the color information determination means. The side face light receiving means receives light from the rice grain corresponding to the switching of the lighting of the upper irradiating means and the lower side irradiating means, and the image means detects the rice grain based on the light receiving data received by the side face light receiving means. I took the technical steps of imaging.

When the upper irradiating means is turned on, reflected light is emitted from the side of the rice grain excluding the lower part of the side, and the reflected light is optically detected by the side light receiving means. Next, by switching the lighting from the upper irradiating means to the lower irradiating means, reflected light is emitted from the side of the rice grain excluding the upper part of the side, and the reflected light is optically detected by the side light receiving means. In this way, the upper irradiating means and the lower irradiating means are sequentially switched, and in response to this switching, reflected light from the side surface of the rice grain is optically detected by the side light receiving means, and the received light data is transmitted to the image means. Then, the image means removes the reflected light (including the reflected light from the upper part of the rice grain side) data from the portion excluding the lower part of the rice grain side and the upper part of the rice grain side which are alternately transmitted to the image means. Based on the light reflected from the part (including the light reflected from the lower part of the rice grain side), the image of the rice grain side shape is complemented by the insufficient upper reflected light or lower reflected light at the rice grain side for each reflection data. To form The present invention sequentially switches the upper irradiation means and the lower irradiation means to sequentially receive the reflected light from the rice grain side surface, so that the upper reflected light and the lower reflected light on the rice grain side surface can be supplemented, It is possible to accurately image the shape of the rice grain side surface for quality. The plane shape image of the rice grain is formed by the image means based on the light receiving data from the flat light receiving means. As a result, the area and volume of rice grains can be obtained accurately and for all grades based on the number of pixels based on the rice grain shape image and the number of pixels based on the rice grain side shape image. The quality of rice grains can be improved. In addition, if the plane light receiving means is provided on both the upper side and the lower side of the rice grain at the predetermined position, light receiving data on both the front and back of the rice grain can be obtained, so that the quality determination of the rice grain is further improved. be able to.

The side light receiving means uses a linear sensor, detects light from rice grains in accordance with the alternate lighting of the upper irradiating means and the lower irradiating means, and transmits light receiving data to the image means. To

Further, the transfer means is a rotating disk provided with a plurality of concave portions on a peripheral portion for transferring rice grains one by one, and the concave portions are configured to receive light emitted from the rice grains in the concave portions by the side light receiving means. It is formed so that light can enter.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a side view of the rice grain quality discriminating apparatus 1 of the present invention, showing the portable rice grain quality discriminating apparatus 1. Rice Grain Quality Discriminator 1
Is provided with a leg 1b on the bottom side of the apparatus main body 1a for tilting the apparatus main body 1a. The rear side (upper side in FIG. 2) of the apparatus main body 1a is in a state of being lifted by the legs 1b. When the rice grain quality determining device 1 is not used, the leg portion 1b is rotated around the shaft 1c in the direction of the arrow so as to be disposed on the side surface of the device main body 1a.

The apparatus main body 1a is provided with a disk (transfer means) 2 for transferring rice grains one by one. The disk 2 is mounted on a rotating shaft 3 of a drive motor (not shown) and is moved in the direction of arrow B. Is rotatable. A concave portion 4 for accommodating one grain of rice is continuously provided in a peripheral portion of the disk 2, and the concave portion 4 has a shape in which a side wall on a peripheral side of the disk 2 is opened. On the open side of each recess 4, an upright wall 5 is provided upright on a base surface 7 of the apparatus main body 1 a so as not to contact the peripheral edge of the disk 2.
The rotation of the disk 2 prevents the rice grains from being released out of the recess 4 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). This standing wall 5
In the periphery of the disk 2, it is disposed at a location except for a portion of a discharge shutter 8 described below and above an opening 12 described later (see FIG. 2). The upright wall portion 5 is formed of a transparent material so that there is no problem when light is received from the side surface of the rice grain, which is performed in a first optical measurement section 16 described later. The discharge shutter 8 also functions as the upright wall 5. Since the standing wall 5 is not provided above the opening 12 (hereinafter, this part is referred to as a “discharge part 5 a”), the rice grains transferred above the opening 12 after the optical measurement are stored in the recess 4. , Falls into the opening 12 and is discharged out of the apparatus main body 1a as described later, or is accommodated in a box 13 described later. In addition, disk 2
For example, only the bottom surface 4a of the concave portion 4 is formed of a transparent material such as a polycarbonate carbonate resin having high wear resistance. In addition, at least the other side wall 4b of the recess 4 may be coated with a black or blue material or a black or blue coating in order to provide a background when receiving light from the side surface of the rice grain. .

[0010] A storage portion 6 for the rice grains to be measured is provided at a lower position on the disk 2 at a lower slope. The storage section 6 is formed by joining a discharge shutter 8 provided along a peripheral portion of the disk 2 and a blocking plate 9 for blocking rice grains in the storage section 6 (see FIG. 2). ). The discharge shutter 8
As shown in FIG. 2, an arrow C
It is configured to be rotatable in the direction. With this configuration, after the measurement, the rice grains remaining in the storage unit 6 flow down the discharge groove 11 formed in the base surface 7 by the manual rotation of the discharge shutter 8 in the direction of arrow C.
The horizontally elongated opening 12 continuous with the lower end of the discharge groove 11
Through the device body 1a. A box 13 is provided below the opening 12 so as to be able to be taken in and out of the side of the apparatus main body 1a (see FIG. 1). The box 13
Is disposed with the bottom surface 13a of the box 13 facing the opening 12 side. An opening 14 is provided on the side of the apparatus main body on the lower side of the inclination near the bottom surface 13a, and the opening 14 is opened and closed by an opening / closing lid 15 that rotates about an upper shaft. At the lower part of the discharge shutter 8, there is provided an interlocking engagement portion 8a that opens the opening 14 in conjunction with the manual rotation of the discharge shutter 8 in the direction of the arrow C. A connecting portion 15a that engages with the interlocking engaging portion 8a at the upper end of the opening / closing lid 15 and opens the opening / closing lid 15 in conjunction with the rotation of the discharge shutter 8 in the direction of arrow C.
Is formed.

When the discharge shutter 8 rotates in the direction of the arrow C, the cover 15 opens, and the rice grains in the storage section 6 flow down through the discharge groove 11 and then pass through the opening 12 into the apparatus main body 1a. , And is released from the opening 14 by contacting the bottom surface 13a of the box 13 which is inclined toward the opening 14. In this way, the remaining rice grains discharged outside the apparatus main body 1a by manually rotating the discharge shutter 8 can be observed by taking them into a container such as a carton.
When the box 13 is inserted upside down into the apparatus main body 1a, rice grains falling from the opening 12 are removed from the box 13 by the box 13.
Can be housed within.

A first optical measuring section 16 and a second optical measuring section 17 are provided on the upper side of the disk 2 on the slope.

The first optical measuring section 16 aims at a predetermined position through which each of the recesses 4 passes, and provides a red (R) light source 18a and a green (G) A light source 18b and a blue (B) light source 18c are provided (FIG. 3).
reference). A linear RGB line sensor (upper light receiving unit) 22 is disposed above the concave portion 4 via a condenser lens 21. On the other hand, a storage room 23 is provided in the base 7 below the recess 4, and inside the storage room 23,
A blue (B) light source (lower irradiation means) 24 disposed vertically below the recess 4 via a diffusion plate 25 and a red (R) light source (lower irradiation) obliquely below the recess 4. Means 26). A linear RGB line sensor (side light receiving means) 20 is disposed on the side of the recess 4 via a condenser lens 19. The upright wall portion 5 is provided between the concave portion 4 and the condenser lens 19, but since the upright wall portion 5 is formed of a transparent material as described above, it is possible to detect light from rice grains without any problem. Can be. The upper opening of the storage room 23 is closed with a transparent glass 23a.

The second optical measuring section 17 also aims at a predetermined position through which each of the recesses 4 passes, and above the recesses 4, a blue (a blue light) disposed vertically above the recesses 4 via a diffusion plate 27. B) and a red (R) light source 29 provided diagonally above the recess 4 (see FIG. 4). On the other hand, a storage chamber 30 is provided in the base 7 below the recess 4, and a linear RGB line sensor 32 is disposed in the storage chamber 30 via a condenser lens 31.
Further, a red light source 33 is also arranged diagonally below the recess 4. The upper opening of the storage room 30 is closed with a transparent glass 30a.

Next, a control block will be described with reference to FIG. The RGB line sensor 22 for detecting light from the front side of the rice grain is connected to the first image processing means 34. The first image processing means 34 includes an amplifier 35 for amplifying a signal from the RGB line sensor 22 and an amplifier 35.
An A / D converter 36 converts an analog signal from the A / D into a digital signal, and an image processing unit (image means) 37 that performs image processing based on the signal from the A / D converter 36.

The first image processing means 34 is connected to a quality judgment means 38 for judging the quality based on the image signal of the rice grain from the first image processing means 34. The quality determining means 38 is provided with an input / output circuit 39 for inputting / outputting an image signal from the first image processing means 34, and a CPU (central processing element) 40 is connected to the input / output circuit 39. .
The CPU 40 includes a ROM (read only storage unit) 41
, A RAM (read / write storage unit) 42, an output circuit 43 that outputs signals to the printing unit 44 and the display unit 45, and a second input / output circuit 54. The second input / output circuit 54 is connected to the first optical measurement unit 16.
Light sources 18a, 18b, 18c and light sources 24, 26,
The light sources 28 and 29 and the light source 33 of the second optical measurement unit 17
And are connected via a drive circuit 54 respectively. The ROM 41 stores control programs, comparison data for judging the quality of rice grains, comparison data for judging traits, and the like. The RAM 42 stores rice grain image data from the first image processing means 34 and data such as the area and volume of rice grains calculated based on the image data.

The RGB for detecting light from the side of rice grains
A second image processing means 46 is connected to the line sensor 20, and a third image processing means 47 is connected to the RGB line sensor 32 for detecting light from the back side of the rice grain. Second image processing means 46 and third image processing means 4
7 are the same as those of the first image processing means 34, and the description is omitted. The second image processing means 46 and the third image processing means 47 are each connected to the input / output circuit 39 of the quality determining means 38 in the same manner as the first image processing means 34.

Next, the operation of the rice grain quality discriminating apparatus 1 will be described. Due to the rotation of the disk 2, the rice grains S stored in the storage unit 6 enter each recess 4 one by one, pass through the first optical measurement unit 16, and are then transferred to the second optical measurement unit 17.

The CPU 40 executes a control program stored in the ROM 41, and serves as an upper irradiation unit.
A light source (red) 18a, a light source (green) 18b, and a light source (blue) 18c of the first optical measurement unit 16 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "first reflected light"), and a light source (red ) 26 and light source (blue) 24 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “first
The driving circuit 55 so as to alternately light the “transmitted light”).
Send a signal to The rice grains transferred to the first optical measuring unit 16 are alternately irradiated with the first reflected light and the first transmitted light, and each time the rice is turned on, the RGB line sensor 22 and the RGB line sensor 20 perform optical detection. I do.

The RGB line sensor 22 receives light in a linear manner with a predetermined optical detection width in a small subdivision of the transport direction in response to the alternate lighting of the first reflected light and the first transmitted light. RGB
The received light data detected by the line sensor 22 is sent to the first image processing unit 34 and transmitted to the image processing unit 37 via the amplifier 35 and the A / D converter 36. The image processing unit 37 performs a binarization process by comparing the light reception amount of each pixel K with a threshold value. At this time, since there is a difference in the amount of the first transmitted light received between the rice grain and the bottom surface 4a of the recess 4, the binarization process is performed on the rice grain portion and the portion other than the rice grain by the threshold value set during this time. Then, the shape of rice grains is imaged.

Next, the formation of a lateral shape image of rice grains, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described. As shown in FIG. 6A, the RGB line sensor 20 divides the transfer direction P by the optical detection width Y to correspond to the alternate lighting of the first reflected light and the first transmitted light. Optical detection is performed repeatedly. When the first reflected light is turned on (light sources 18a, 18
b, 18c), the reflected light is emitted from the portion excluding the lower part of the rice grain side surface,
When the first transmitted light is turned on (when the lower irradiating means including the light sources 26 and 24 is turned on), reflected light is emitted from a portion excluding the upper part of the rice grain side surface. In response to the switching of the lighting, the RGB line sensor 20 receives the reflected light, and the detected light reception data is sent to the second image processing means 46, and the image processing is performed via the amplifier 48 and the A / D converter 49. Part 50
Is transmitted to In the image processing unit 50, the light reception amount of each pixel K is compared with a threshold value, and is subjected to a binarization process as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 shows a case in which a variety such as “blue immature grain”, for which it is difficult to form a side shape image accurately, is taken as an example. In FIG. 6B, reference symbol D indicates a pixel row that has been binarized based on the first reflected light, and reference sign E indicates a pixel row that has been binarized based on the first transmitted light. In FIG. 6B, the dashed line S1 shows the image of the rice grain. At the end of each pixel row, the side other than the rice grain (white part in the figure) is the rice grain part but the light receiving amount is below the threshold value. ) Produces a binarized pixel. Pixels that have been binarized on the non-rice grain side and that are sandwiched between pixels that have been binarized on the rice grain side in adjacent pixel rows (the hatched portions in FIG. 6C) The binarization process is performed on the rice grain side (see FIG. 6D). In this way, a side shape image of the rice grain is formed. In addition, FIG.
The rice grain image shown in (1) has an uneven contour, which can be solved by increasing the number of pixels.

The rice grains thus optically detected by the first optical measuring section 16 are then transferred to the second optical measuring section 17 and optically detected. Also in the second optical measurement unit 17, a light source (red) 33 that becomes reflected light by a signal sent from the CPU 40 to the drive circuit 55
"Second reflected light"), a light source (red) 29 to be transmitted light
And light source (blue) 28 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “second transmitted light”)
And are alternately lit. Also in the second optical measurement unit 17,
When each of the second reflected light and the second transmitted light is turned on, the RGB line sensor 32 operates as described above.
Similarly to the optical detection of No. 2, a predetermined optical detection width is subdivided in the transport direction and optically detected by repeating linearly, and the received light data detected by the RGB line sensor 32 is transmitted to the amplifier 51 and the A / D converter 52. Transmitted to the image processing unit 53 via
The image processing unit 53 images the back shape of the rice grain in the same manner as the processing performed by the image processing unit 37 described above.

The rice grain shape image data on the front, side and back of the rice grain thus obtained is transmitted to the CPU 40 via the first input / output circuit 39 of the quality determining means 38. The CPU 40 counts the number of pixels of each of the planar shape image (or the back surface shape image) and the side shape image of each rice grain, and calculates the volume and area of the rice grain based on the counted number. Further, the light color ratio and the like are calculated from the detected light data of each pixel of the rice grain planar shape image, back surface shape image, and side surface shape image. Then, the calculated volume / area of the rice grain is compared with the trait comparison data stored in advance in the ROM 41 to determine the trait of the rice grain of all grades. Based on this, the quality of the rice grains is determined. The determination is performed by comparing with the quality determination comparison data stored in the ROM 41 in advance.

The print unit 44 and / or the display unit are obtained by determining the quality determination result of the determined rice grain and the rice grain trait determination result, the distribution of the area and volume of the rice grain, and the distribution of the length, width and thickness of the rice grain. 45 may be output.

An oblique light source (light source 26, light source 29) for detecting body cracks and a light source (light source 2) for recognizing rice grain shapes, which are transmitted light of the first optical measuring section 16 and the second optical measuring section 17, respectively.
4, the light source 28) is a light color corresponding to each of the RGB line sensors, which is red, green and blue. Light can be accurately identified (detected) by each of the RGB line sensors.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, each arrangement of the RGB line sensor 22 and the condenser lens 21 and / or the RGB line sensor 32 and the condenser lens 31 controls the light from the side wall 4 b of the recess 4. The optical axis Q may be inclined toward the center of the disk 2 so that light does not enter. Thereby, each R
Since the GB line sensors 22 and 32 do not receive the light from the side wall 4b, it is possible to easily image a rice grain shape.

[0027]

According to the present invention, the side light receiving means receives the light from the rice grain corresponding to the switching of the upper irradiation means and the lower irradiation means, and the image means receives the light received by the side light receiving means. Since the rice grain is imaged on the basis of the data, the upper reflected light and the lower reflected light on the side surface of the rice grain can be supplemented, and the shape of the rice grain side surface for all qualities can be accurately imaged. This allows
The number of pixels based on the rice grain shape image and the number of pixels based on the rice grain side shape image allow the area and volume of the rice grain to be determined accurately and for all qualities, thereby improving the accuracy of trait judgment. And the quality of rice grains can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a rice grain quality determination device 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view from the AA direction in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the first optical measurement unit 16;

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a second optical measurement unit 17;

FIG. 5 is a schematic control block diagram of a rice grain quality determination device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a process of imaging the side shape of rice grains.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a modification of the first optical measurement unit 16;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a modification of the second optical measurement unit 17.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Grain quality discriminating apparatus 1a Device main body 1b Leg 1c shaft 2 Disk 3 Rotating shaft 4 Concave part 4a Bottom surface 4b Side wall 5 Standing wall part 6 Storage part 7 Base surface 8 Discharge shutter 8a Interlocking engaging part 9 Closure plate 10 Rotation Shaft 11 Discharge groove 12 Opening 13 Box 13a Bottom 14 Opening 15 Opening lid 15a Connecting part 16 First optical measuring unit 17 Second optical measuring unit 18a Light source (red) 18b Light source (green) 18c Light source (blue) 19 Optical lens 20 RGB line sensor 21 Condenser lens 22 RGB line sensor 23 Storage room 23a Transparent glass 24 Light source (blue) 25 Diffuser 26 Light source (red) 27 Diffuser 28 Light source (blue) 29 Light source (red) 30 Storage room 30a Transparent glass 31 Condensing lens 32 RGB line sensor 33 Light source (red) 34 First image processing means 35 Amplifier 3 6 A / D converter 37 Image processing unit 38 Quality discrimination means 39 First input / output response 40 CPU (Central processing element) 41 ROM (Read only storage unit) 42 RAM (Read / write storage unit) 43 Output circuit 44 Printing unit 45 display unit 46 second image processing unit 47 third image processing unit 48 amplifier 49 A / D converter 50 image processing unit 51 amplifier 52 A / D converter 53 image processing unit K pixel S rice grain Y optical detection width

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Yoichi Kawamura 2-30 Saijo Nishihonmachi, Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Pref. Satake Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) in Satake Co., Ltd. EA11 EA17 EC01 ED07 2G059 AA05 BB11 DD12 DD13 EE01 EE02 EE13 FF01 JJ11 JJ26 KK04 MM01 MM09

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transferring means for transferring rice grains one by one, an upper irradiating means and a lower irradiating means for irradiating light from upper and lower sides to rice grains at predetermined positions transferred by the transferring means, respectively. Planar light receiving means having a plurality of light receiving elements provided at one of the upper and / or lower positions in the rice grain at a predetermined position; and side light receiving means having a plurality of light receiving elements provided at a lateral position in the rice grain at the predetermined position. Means, image means for imaging a rice grain shape based on the light reception data detected by the plane light receiving means and side light receiving means, and a character for calculating character data of the rice grain based on the rice grain shape image imaged by the image means Data calculating means; color information determining means for determining color information of rice grains based on the light receiving data detected by the flat light receiving means and the side light receiving means; Discriminating means for discriminating the quality of rice grains based on each data from the calculating means and the color information discriminating means, a rice grain quality discriminating device comprising: A rice grain quality discriminating apparatus, wherein light from a rice grain is received in response to lighting switching, and said image means images a rice grain based on light reception data received by said side face light receiving means. 2. The side light receiving means uses a linear sensor, detects light from rice grains in response to the alternate lighting of the upper irradiating means and the lower irradiating means, and transmits light receiving data to the image means. The rice grain quality determination device according to claim 1. 3. The transfer means is a rotating disk provided with a plurality of recesses on a peripheral portion for transferring rice grains one by one, and the recess is configured to receive light emitted from the rice grains in the recesses on the side face light receiving means. 3. The rice grain quality determination device according to claim 2, wherein the rice grain quality determination device is formed so as to be able to enter light.