JP2003035669A - Method and apparatus for nondestructive judgment of ripe level of fruit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for the nondestructive judgment of the ripe level of a fruit wherein the ripe level of the fruit is judged quickly and nondestructively by a simple mechanism usable in a fruit sorting place or the like. SOLUTION: The fruit F as a measuring object is irradiated with light (irradiation light) from a light source S, and the intensity of scattered light from the fruit F is measured by a photodetector D from a direction at an angle θwith reference to its irradiation optical axis. At this time, the influence of the scattered (or reflected) light on the surface of the fruit F which does not contain scattering information on the side of the fruit F is suppressed to be low, the surface of the fruit F is irradiated with the irradiation light nearly perpendicularly to the surface (an irradiation optical axis pass the center of the fruit F), a measuring optical axis shifted up to a position in which the reflected light from the surface is not incident on the photodetector D, the focal position of a lens is placed at the inside of the measuring object, and the scattered light mainly from the inside is detected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for determining the nondestructive maturity of fruits and an apparatus therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Providing "delicious fruits" is a desire of producers engaged in fruit tree agriculture. For this purpose, in addition to devising the production method, quality judgment is important from the following two viewpoints.

The quality of products supplied to the market is guaranteed, and as a result, product value is increased.

By determining when to eat, the shipping time is adjusted (unripe fruits are shipped after ripening is promoted), and high quality is maintained.

[0005] Although the quality standard corresponding to "deliciousness" varies depending on the type of fruit, high sugar content is an important factor for high quality in many fruits. Therefore,
From the viewpoint of the above, the sugar content in the sampled fruits has been conventionally measured. In recent years, it has become possible to nondestructively measure sugar content in many fruits by optical measurement, and it is actually used for quality inspection in apples and the like (the measurement principle will be described later).

However, in peaches, kiwifruits, pears, etc., the "deliciousness" varies greatly depending on the ripeness (ripeness) even if the values measured by a sugar content meter are the same. There are various factors involved in this maturity, and it is not possible to determine the sugar content when eating.

[0007] In these fruits, the sugar changes as the ripening progresses in the storage process after harvesting, and the structure of the flesh tissue also changes, greatly decreasing the hardness. In particular, many pears require additional ripening (accelerating the ripening process such as storage at low temperature and high temperature) after harvesting, and their appearance hardly changes and sugar content does not increase much during the ripening process. At this time, the decrease in hardness becomes the maximum maturity index. In other words, it is necessary to measure the hardness to determine when to eat, and at the present time, the fruit hardness meter is widely used.

However, since this method is a destructive measurement method, it cannot be shipped after measuring the hardness, and can be applied only to quality control by a fixed number of sampled tests. For example, among the pears, La France has the taste and aroma of the pulp at the time of eating, which is called "Queen of Fruits", but changes in sugar content and appearance due to ripening are extremely scarce. Therefore, it is difficult to supply ready-to-eat products in distribution, which is a major factor that the number of sales of'Queen of Fruits' La France is about 1/10 of that of apples.

[0009] The following is a summary of past studies on attempts to nondestructively determine fruit quality by optical measurement.

(1) From the 1960s to the 1970s, there were some reports using the spectrophotometric method. Nor
ris et al. are the light reflectances of fruits in the wavelength range from ultraviolet light to infrared light (Reflectance).
And the maturity of fruits were examined (Reference 1). It is shown that, regarding fruits having different harvest times (different maturity), the reflectance spectrum obtained by the spectrophotometric measurement in a wide wavelength range (250-2100 nm) and the harvest time correspond well.

[0011] Their research was near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR s) which was being established as a method for analyzing the components of agricultural products at this time.
It was an attempt to apply the basic principle of "electroscopy" to nondestructive measurement of fruits, and indicated the direction of many subsequent studies. However, only the change in color during the ripening process of fruits such as apples is represented as measurement data (reflectance spectrum), and its practicality for judging the ripeness inside fruits is poor.

(2) Birth et al. Have proposed some spectrophotometers for measuring the light transmittance / light reflectance spectra of biological samples since the 1970s (Reference 2). As application examples, we have reported a method for measuring the ripeness of papaya (Reference 3) and a method for determining the dry matter rate of onions (Reference 4). Papaya's measurement aims to separate'ripe fruits whose appearance does not change but the flesh inside is yellowing 'and'ripe fruits whose inside remains white' from the internal light transmission spectrum measurement. As a result,
It has succeeded in detecting an internal color change (whether it is ripe or not) as a difference in light absorption rate from a light transmission spectrum.

In the onion as well, the light absorptance parameter contributing to the dry matter rate was successfully calculated by measuring the light transmission spectrum, and it is considered that these are due to the light absorption by the carbohydrate. However, in each case, the spectrum is acquired and the amount (content rate) of the corresponding light-absorbing component is obtained from this analysis, and it is assumed that the light-absorbing component (eg, sugar) changes greatly during the ripening process. I am trying. In this respect, the basic idea is different from the “method of measuring the maturity by paying attention to the light scattering characteristics” which we propose later.

(3) Many fruit measurement methods similar to the above method have been reported from the late 1980s to the 1990s, and most of them measure sugar content by near infrared spectrophotometry ( Reference 5). In recent years, Muram has been trying to make new measurements using other light.
Laser Doppler vibrometer (Lase
r Doppler Vibronmeter; LD
The fruit hardness measurement method using V) was developed (Reference 6).

According to this method, the fruit placed on the shaking table is 5-2.
A vibration of 000 Hz is applied, the vibration transmitted through the fruit is detected by the LDV at the upper part of the fruit, and the frequency is analyzed by the fast Fourier transform meter. The resonance frequency obtained from the frequency spectrum showed a good correlation with the hardness of pulp in kiwi apple. However, when considering the maturity judgment at the fruit distribution site, for example, a fruit sorting field, both the LDV and the fast Fourier transform meter used are expensive equipment,
Moreover, since it is necessary to acquire the frequency spectrum derived from vibration, it is difficult to speed up the measurement, and the application is not easy.

Furthermore, this year, a method for simultaneously evaluating light absorption and light scattering of fruits by time-resolved reflectance measurement using a pulse laser was reported (Reference 7). Although this method has the possibility of becoming the most effective optical measurement method for fruits in the future, it is not easy to put it to practical use as with the previous method because the measurement device is extremely expensive.

(Reference 1) Bittner, D.M. R. an
d K. H. Norris (1968) "Optica
l properties of selected
fruits vs. maturity ”Tran
action of the American S
ociety of Agricultural En
gineer, 11 (4): 534-536. (Reference 2) Birth, G .; S. and G.D. L. Za
charahh (1973) "Spectrophoto
ometer for biologicalappl
ications ”Transaction of
the American Society of A
graticular engineer, 16
(2): 371-373. (Reference 3) Birth, G .; S. , G. G. Dull,
J. B. Magee, H .; T. Chan, and C.I.
B. Cavaletto (1983) "Anopic
al method for estimating
“Papamathurity” Journal o
f the American Society fo
r Horticultural Science, 1
09 (1): 62-66. (Reference 4) Birth, G .; S. , G. G. Dull,
W. T. Renfroe and S.M. J. Kays
(1985) "Nonstructural Spec.
trometric Determination o
f Dry Matter in Onions "Jo
urnal of the American Soc
yety for Horticultural Sc
ience, 110 (2): 297-303. (Reference 5) Sumio Kono (1999) "Non-destructive selection of fruits and vegetables" Book title: Near-infrared sensing technology for biological / environmental measurement Editors: Kikuro Takeuchi, Satoshi Seki, Masao Makiuchi, Hideo Takahashi, No. 1 Chapter 1, Section 4 p. 210-217. (Reference 6) Muramatsu, N. et al. , N .; Sakura
ai, N.N. Wada, R.M. Yamamoto, K .; Ta
naka, T .; Asakura, Y .; Ishikawa
-Takano, D .; J. Nevins (2000)
"Remote sensing of fruit t
external changes with a la
ser Doppler vibrometer "J
individual of the American So
city for horticultural S
science, 125 (1): 120-127. (Reference 7) Cubeddu, R .; , C. D'Andre
a, A. Pifferi, P.P. Taroni, A .; T
orricelli, G .; Valentini, C.I. D
over, D.I. Johnson, M .; Ruiz-Alt
isent and C.I. Valero (2001)
"Nonstructural quantitative
ation of chemical and phy
social properties of fruits
by time-resolved reflect
ance spectroscopy in the
wavelength range 650-1000
nm "Applied Optics, 40 (4): 5
38-543.

[0018]

As described above, development of a method for nondestructively capturing the eating season (ripening level) of fruits is awaited. The present invention is intended for fruits such as peaches, kiwifruits, pears (especially La France) whose sugar content and appearance hardly change during the post-harvest ripening process and whose maturity is difficult to determine. The present invention relates to a non-destructive ripeness judgment method for fruit and a device for giving a judgment index of ripeness corresponding to a decrease in hardness, which is the largest index of ripeness. An object of the present invention is to provide a fruit nondestructive maturity determination method and device for quickly and nondestructively determining a fruit ripeness with a simple mechanism that can be used.

[0019]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides [1] a method for determining the nondestructive maturity of a fruit, which comprises irradiating the fruit with a narrowed irradiation light to ripen the fruit. The change in the fruit tissue due to the condition, by measuring the intensity of the light scattered by the fruit with a photodetector,
It is characterized by nondestructively determining the ripeness of fruits.

[2] In the fruit nondestructive maturity determination method described in [1] above, the scattering of the irradiation light on the fruit surface is
Since it is influenced by the condition of the skin that has a low correlation with the maturity, it is characterized by excluding it as much as possible and extracting the change in the scattering characteristics of the pulp.

[3] The method for determining the nondestructive maturity of a fruit according to the above [1], characterized in that depolarization due to scattering from the fruit is detected by using irradiation light having a polarization property.

[4] In the nondestructive fruit ripeness judging device, means for irradiating the narrowed irradiation light toward the center of the fruit, and the intensity of the light scattered by the fruit corresponding to the change in the fruit tissue of the fruit. And a photodetector for measuring.

[5] The nondestructive ripeness judging apparatus for a fruit according to the above [4], characterized by having a means for excluding scattered light from the pericarp of the fruit.

[6] In the fruit non-destructive maturity determination device described in [4], the position of the photodetector is set on an axis deviated by a predetermined angle from the irradiation optical axis.

[7] In the apparatus for determining the nondestructive maturity of fruit according to the above [6], a means for excluding scattered light from the skin of the fruit is a plurality of sheets interposed between the skin of the fruit and the photodetector. It is a pinhole plate of.

[8] In the fruit nondestructive maturity determination device according to [6], the means for eliminating scattered light from the fruit skin is an optical fiber interposed between the fruit skin and the photodetector. It is characterized by being.

[0027]

[9] In the fruit nondestructive maturity determination device according to [6], the means for eliminating scattered light from the fruit skin is a photodetector arranged in direct contact with the fruit skin. Characterize.

[10] In the fruit non-destructive maturity judging device according to the above [4], a lens having a focal position inside the fruit is arranged between the photodetector and the fruit.

[11] In the fruit non-destructive maturity determination device according to the above [4], the backscattered light in the irradiation optical axis direction is introduced into the photodetector via a beam splitter and detected. Is characterized by.

[12] In the fruit nondestructive maturity determining device described in [11], a polarizing beam splitter is arranged in the optical path of the irradiation light instead of the beam splitter.

[13] In the fruit nondestructive maturity determining apparatus described in [11], a beam splitter and a polarizing beam splitter are arranged in the optical path of the irradiation light.

[0032]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a fruit non-destructive maturity judging device showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

In this figure, S is the light source, L1 is the first lens (collimating lens), A is the neutral density filter, and P is
1 is the first polarizing plate, L2 is the second lens (condensing lens), F is the fruit to be measured, P2 is the second polarizing plate,
L3 is a third lens (condenser lens), and D is a photodetector.

Therefore, the light (irradiation light) from the light source S is irradiated onto the fruit F to be measured, and the intensity of the scattered light from the fruit F is measured by the photodetector D from the direction of the angle θ with respect to the irradiation optical axis. taking measurement. At this time, in order to suppress the influence of scattered (reflected) light on the surface of the fruit F that does not include scattering information inside the fruit, the irradiation light is almost perpendicular to the surface of the fruit F (the irradiation optical axis is almost Mainly by irradiating (through the center of the fruit F), shifting the measurement optical axis to a position where the reflected light from the surface does not enter the photodetector D, and further placing the focal position of the lens inside the measurement target. Detects scattered light from inside.

When the angle θ is around 0 °, the reflected light on the surface hinders the measurement, and around 90 °, the scattered light from the inside becomes weak, so that the range of about 20 ° to 70 ° is appropriate. is there.

In this embodiment, a laser, a laser diode, a super luminescent diode, a light emitting diode, a lamp light source or the like can be used as the light source S, but in the case of a light source having a low directivity of output light, Collimating lens L1 and condenser lens L2
Is required. However, the light source S and the collimating lens L
When the luminous flux collimated by the performance of 1 is sufficiently small, the condenser lens L2 is not necessary.

The neutral density filter A has a power of the irradiation light when the output light amount of the light source S is too large and the fruit F is damaged by the irradiation light or the scattered light exceeds the detection limit of the photodetector D. Used to damp. The light wavelength of the irradiation light desirably satisfies the following condition, and the candidate wavelength bands are 600-650 nm and 700-1200n.
m. (A) Out of the main absorption wavelength band of the light-absorbing components (for example, chlorophyll and polyphenol) contained in the skin / flesh, (b) Out of the main absorption wavelength band of water, (c As long as these conditions are satisfied and detectable scattered light is obtained, shorter wavelength light is better.

When the depolarization degree due to scattering is measured by using light having a polarization property as incident light, the polarization plane of the irradiation light is fixed by the first polarizing plate P1 and the polarization plane measured by the second polarizing plate P2. And the polarization characteristics of scattered light (correlation between polarization angle and light intensity) are measured. However, the measurement method using this polarized light is not always effective. For example, fruit F
When most of the polarization of the irradiation light is lost due to the shape of the surface, it is meaningless to obtain the polarization characteristics of the scattered light from the inside, and it only leads to a decrease in measurement accuracy. .

As the photodetector D, a CCD, a photodiode, a photomultiplier tube or the like can be used. As a detection system, in addition to the photodetector D, the measurement field of view is limited in order to minimize the influence of the reflected light from the surface of the fruit F when introducing the scattered light from the fruit F into the photodetector D. Requires an optical system.

In FIG. 1, the third condenser lens L3 plays that role. In addition to this, as shown in FIG. 2, pinhole plates P ₁ and P ₂ are used, as shown in FIG. 3, an optical fiber OF is used, and as shown in FIG. With the attachment, the measurement field of view can be similarly limited (excluding reflected light from the surface). In FIG. 2, the measurement field of view is limited by using two pinhole plates, but when the light receiving surface of the photodetector D is sufficiently small, only one pinhole plate can extract only scattered light in the measurement axis direction. It is possible.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a fruit non-destructive maturity judging device showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

In this figure, BS is a beam splitter (polarizing beam splitter: PBS may be used), L4 is a fourth lens (condensing lens), and other parts are shown in FIG.
The first embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The fruit F is irradiated with the light from the light source S, and the fruit F
The backscattered light in the direction of the irradiation optical axis is measured by the photodetector D via the beam splitter BS. The light source S of the irradiation system, the collimating lens L1, the neutral density filter A, and the condenser lens L2 are the same as in the first embodiment.

The condenser lens L3 is used for detecting the scattered light from the inside of the fruit F mainly by placing the focus position inside the fruit F, thereby suppressing the influence of the scattered (reflected) light on the surface of the fruit F. The light from the condenser lens L3 is introduced into the photodetector D by the condenser lens L4. Here, in order to collect the scattered light from the inside without being disturbed by the reflected light from the surface as much as possible, the condenser lens L3 must have a large numerical aperture (a large lens diameter and a small focal length). desirable. The larger the numerical aperture, the more difficult it is for scattered light from other than near the focus (inside the fruit F) to become a parallel light flux by the condenser lens L3, and as a result, the photodetector D by the condenser lens L4.
It becomes difficult to be focused on.

Further, in order to suppress the influence of reflected light on the surface, the following measurement / data processing is performed using a two-dimensional photodetection system such as a CCD camera as the photodetector D.

First, a two-dimensional light intensity distribution (scattered light profile) [data S] of scattered light is measured. Separately from this, the focusing lens L3 is focused on the fruit surface, and the scattered light profile [data R] from the fruit surface is measured. The intensity profile of the internal scattered light is obtained by removing the contribution of the data R from the data S.

When polarized light is incident on the fruit F and the polarization information of the scattered light is measured, the polarized light is converted into P polarized light by using the polarized beam splitter PBS instead of the beam splitter BS, and the scattered light S is scattered. The polarization component is measured by the photo detector D.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a fruit nondestructive maturity judging device showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

In this figure, PBS is a polarization beam splitter, L5 is a fifth lens (condensing lens), L6 is a sixth lens (condensing lens), D1 and D2 are photodetectors, and other parts. Is the same as the above-mentioned embodiment.

According to this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
It is possible to detect the P-polarized component and the S-polarized component of the scattered light at the same time. The irradiation light is converted into P-polarized light by the polarization beam splitter PBS, and the scattered light is passed through the polarization beam splitter PBS and the beam splitter BS to detect photodetectors D1 and D, respectively.
Introduce to 2. At this time, the photodetector D1 detects the P-polarized component and the photodetector D2 detects the S-polarized component. From the obtained light intensities of the two polarization components, the state of the polarization plane can be obtained as a vector, and this is used to determine the maturity. [Example of measurement] Among the pears, an experiment in which the measurement method of the present invention is carried out will be described below, targeting La France, which is a variety having a small change in appearance and sugar content during the ripening process.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the experimental measurement system of the present invention.

He-Ne laser (λ = 633 nm) 10
The output light of No. 1 is applied to the La France fruit sample 104 through the neutral density filter 102 and the polarizing plate 103, and the polarizing plate (the polarization plane is the polarizing plate 10) at an angle of 60 ° with respect to the irradiation optical axis.
The scattered light transmitted through 90 ° with respect to 3 was detected by the CCD camera 106 with a condenser lens.

The position of the measuring optical axis and the focal position of the condenser lens were set as follows. After the measurement optical axis and the focus of the condenser lens are matched with the irradiation light incident portion on the surface of the fruit (sample) 104, the detection system is moved in parallel with the fruit (sample) 104. In this setting, the focus of the condenser lens is located within about 10 mm from the surface of the sample 104.

As an experimental sample, 1 to 2 ° C. immediately after harvesting
La France fruit stored for 2 months (also serving as low temperature treatment) was used. The additional ripening was started by transferring the low temperature-treated fruit to 15 ° C and storing it. Measurements were performed on 3 identical individuals every 3-5 days for approximately 3 weeks until fully ripe. For each individual, 2 to 5 points were measured, and the average value was used as the measured value. Similar treatment as an indicator of ripening progress
For stored fruit samples, every 3-5 days during the same period, 3
The hardness of the flesh was determined according to a standard method using a fruit hardness tester for each 4 pieces.

FIG. 8 shows the fruit during the ripening process (black circle, solid line).
As a control, changes in hardness (Lbs) of fruits (white circles, dotted line) stored at 2 ° C. are shown. The horizontal axis indicates the number of days elapsed from the start of additional ripening and the number of days of storage. The hardness of the fruit stored at low temperature hardly decreased, but the hardness of the fruit subjected to the ripening treatment significantly decreased from the start of the treatment to 12 days, and decreased to about 1/5 in 16 days. From this decrease in hardness, it was confirmed that the ripeness of the sample fruit was increased by the additional ripening treatment performed in this experiment. The fruits on the 16th day, which had a sufficiently reduced hardness, exhibited a sufficient “deliciousness” in the taste.

FIG. 9 shows the transition of the light scattering measurement value (arbitrary unit) of the fruit during the ripening treatment period. # 1 to # 3 in the figure are
It corresponds to each fruit individual for which the ripening measurement was performed. The measurement value on the vertical axis corresponds to the amount of scattered light. The measured value of each fruit is
It increased significantly by about 10 days after the start of additional ripening, and increased or decreased about 10% in the period thereafter. The transition of these measured values is in good agreement with the increase in maturity represented by the decrease in hardness (see FIG. 8). It is considered that the change of the tissue structure inside the fruit during the ripening process contributes to the increase of the side scattered light amount. Based on the obtained experimental data, the correspondence between the measured value by the scattered light measuring device and the hardness of the La France fruit is: (Hardness of the La France fruit) =-0.0158 × (measured value) +10. 4 is expressed as (1).

FIG. 10 shows the actually measured values of the flesh hardness of fruits in the ripening process and the predicted values of the hardness obtained from the scattered light measurement values using the above relational expression (1). Both measured and predicted values were not obtained for the same fruit individual, but for each sample 3
The average value for each was used, but it was confirmed that there was good agreement.

The relational expression used here is a correspondence relation obtained only for the data of this embodiment regarding La France.
If the number of measured individuals is increased, a more effective correspondence relational expression can be obtained, but as shown in FIG. 10, the above expression (1) can also be sufficiently used.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the spirit of the present invention, and these modifications are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

[0063]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be achieved.

(A) The ripeness of fruits can be measured non-destructively with a simple device, and it becomes possible to judge when to eat.

(B) By carrying out at a sorting field,
It is expected that prices will increase by guaranteeing the quality of products that are supplied to the market. Furthermore, by selecting the fruits that have not reached the time of eating by uniform ripening treatment and processing until the time of eating, unlike mere grading, it creates positive value for both producers and consumers. become.

(C) Since it is a non-destructive measuring method, it is possible to follow a continuous change of a single fruit.
Therefore, when it is used in the field of research related to fruit ripening, the elucidation of the'ripening mechanism 'and the improvement of the ripening treatment method can be greatly promoted.

(D) From a long-term perspective, it is possible to give economic benefits to fruit tree farming and to give consumers the joy of'buying delicious fruits with peace of mind '. Economic effects in agriculture and commerce are remarkable through the expansion of fruit distribution that spreads from here.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a fruit nondestructive maturity determining apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a modification (No. 1) of the portion of the fruit nondestructive maturity determining apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a modified example (No. 2) of the portion of the fruit nondestructive maturity determining apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a modification (No. 3) of the portion of the fruit nondestructive maturity determining apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a fruit nondestructive maturity determining apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a fruit nondestructive maturity determining apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an experimental measurement system of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing a change in hardness (Lbs) of a fruit that has been subjected to ripening treatment and a fruit that has been stored at 2 ° C. as a control.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing changes in the measured values of fruits during the ripening treatment period.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an actual measurement value of flesh hardness and a predicted hardness value obtained from scattered light measurement values using the relational expression (1) for fruits in the ripening process.

[Explanation of symbols]

A Dark filter D, D1, D2 Photodetector F Fruit to be measured S Light source L1 First lens (collimating lens) L2 Second lens (condensing lens) L3 Third lens (condensing lens) L4 Fourth lens (collective lens) L5 Fifth lens (collective lens) L6 Sixth lens (collective lens) P1 First polarizing plate P2 Second polarizing plate P ₁ , P ₂ Pinhole plate OF Optical fiber BS Beam splitter PBS Polarization beam splitter 101 He-Ne laser 102 Dark filter 103, 105 Polarizing plate 104 La France fruit sample 106 CCD camera

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Chang Kimpui             5-27-12 Josaimachi, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture (72) Inventor Hideaki Nakano             64 Yachi, Hebei-cho, Nishimurayama-gun, Yamagata Prefecture F term (reference) 2G059 AA05 BB11 EE02 EE05 FF01                       GG01 GG02 GG04 HH01 HH02                       JJ11 JJ19 JJ22 JJ25 JJ30                       KK04 LL04 MM01 NN01 PP10

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. By irradiating a narrowed irradiation light onto a fruit and measuring the change in the fruit tissue derived from the ripening condition of the fruit, the intensity of the light scattered by the fruit is measured by a photodetector. A method for determining the non-destructive maturity of a fruit, which comprises destructively determining the maturity of the fruit. 2. The method for determining the non-destructive maturity of fruit according to claim 1, wherein the scattering of the irradiation light on the fruit surface is greatly affected by the state of the pericarp, which has a low correlation with the maturity. The method for determining the non-destructive maturity of fruits, which comprises removing as much as possible and extracting changes in scattering characteristics of pulp. 3. The fruit nondestructive maturity determination method according to claim 1, wherein depolarization due to scattering from the fruit is detected by using irradiation light having a polarization property. Maturity judgment method. 4. (a) A means for irradiating a focused irradiation light toward the center of the fruit, and (b) a light detection for measuring the intensity of the light scattered by the fruit corresponding to the change in the fruit tissue of the fruit. An apparatus for determining the nondestructive maturity of fruit, which comprises a container. 5. The fruit nondestructive maturity determination device according to claim 4, further comprising means for excluding scattered light from the fruit skin. 6. The fruit nondestructive ripeness determination device according to claim 4, wherein the position of the photodetector is set on an axis deviated from the irradiation optical axis by a predetermined angle. Maturity determination device. 7. The fruit nondestructive maturity determining device according to claim 6, wherein the means for eliminating scattered light from the fruit skin is a pinhole plate interposed between the fruit skin and the photodetector. A nondestructive maturity determination device for fruits, characterized by being present. 8. The fruit non-destructive maturity determining device according to claim 6, wherein the means for eliminating scattered light from the fruit skin is an optical fiber interposed between the fruit skin and the photodetector. Non-destructive maturity determination device for fruits. 9. The fruit nondestructive maturity determining device according to claim 6, wherein the means for eliminating scattered light from the fruit skin is a photodetector arranged in direct contact with the fruit skin. Non-destructive maturity determination device for fruits. 10. The fruit nondestructive ripeness determination apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a lens having a focal position inside the fruit is arranged between the photodetector and the fruit. Degree determination device. 11. The fruit nondestructive maturity determination device according to claim 4, wherein the backscattered light in the irradiation optical axis direction is introduced into the photodetector through a beam splitter and detected. Non-destructive maturity determination device for fruits. 12. The fruit nondestructive maturity determination device according to claim 11, wherein a polarizing beam splitter is arranged in the optical path of the irradiation light instead of the beam splitter. apparatus. 13. The fruit nondestructive maturity determination device according to claim 11, wherein a beam splitter and a polarization beam splitter are arranged in an optical path of the irradiation light.