JP2003299471A - Apparatus for cutting field crops to even length - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for cutting field crops to an even length, which can accurately and surely perform works for cutting off the undesired portions of the field crops in prescribed amounts and can improve the accuracy of the cutting works. <P>SOLUTION: Detection light B projected from an illumination lamp 12c is emitted on the lower side of a root portion Aa of Welsh onion A projected from the left side of the loading plate 3 of a carrying conveyer 2. The silhouette of the root portion Aa is imaged with an imaging camera 13a and then outputted into an image processing device 17. Detection light B projected from an illumination lamp 12b is emitted on the stem portion Ab of the Welsh onion A, and transmission light C transmitted on the upper side of the root portion Aa is imaged with an imaging camera 13b and then outputted into the image processing device 17. The cutting position of the root portion Aa is determined with a controller 18 on the basis of the image information outputted from the image processing device 17, and the root portion Aa of the Welsh onion A is cut off with a cutter 20 in a prescribed amount. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to, for example, leek, asparagus, cucumber, eggplant, carrot, potato, mandarin orange, apple,
The present invention relates to a crop trimming device used for trimming agricultural products such as persimmons (including fruit vegetables).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for cutting and slicing green onions in the above-mentioned example, for example, a root of green onions conveyed by a conveyor is
Device for cutting with a rotary blade that is arranged at a fixed position or moves to a fixed position (Japanese Patent No. 3118414, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-1)
No. 08657).

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned device, the rotary blade is pressed against the side surface of the root of the leek to cut out a predetermined amount, but the size and shape of the root vary depending on the growing condition of the leek. It is difficult to determine the size of the pedicle, where the fibers are dense, from the appearance and outer diameter of the root part, and the amount of excised pedicle may vary. In addition, when the amount of cutting the root pedicle is large, the internal liquid oozes out from the cut surface of the root, which accelerates the discoloration and decay, and the leeks lose their freshness in a short period of time. Also, if the amount of cutting off the pedicle of the root part is small, a large number of short hair roots remain on the root part, resulting in poor appearance and impaired commercial value. Moreover, when the unnecessary epidermis is peeled off to the root part, if there are many remaining parts of the epidermis connected to the root part, the epidermis will be stripped off or a part of the epidermis will remain on the root part, so the unnecessary epidermis There is a problem that inconvenience occurs when peeling off.

In view of the above problems, the present invention determines that the cutting position of the unnecessary portion of the crop is determined by the cutting position determining means based on the detection information detected by the silhouette detecting means and / or the transmitted light detecting means. An object of the present invention is to provide a crop trimming device capable of accurately and surely cutting a predetermined amount of a portion and improving the trimming accuracy.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a crop trimming device for cutting off unnecessary portions of agricultural products placed on a placing portion by cutting means, wherein the unnecessary light portions of the agricultural products are detected by a detection light irradiating means. Silhouette detection means for irradiating the detection light projected to detect the silhouette of the unnecessary portion, and irradiation of the detection light projected from the detection light irradiating means to the unnecessary portion of the crop, and transmitting the unnecessary portion Transmitted light detecting means for detecting the transmitted light, the cutting position determining means for determining the cutting position of the agricultural product based on the detection information output from the silhouette detecting means and the transmitted light detecting means, and the cutting position determining means. Based on the determination by the above, in a position where the cutting means is opposed to the cutting position of the agricultural product, a crop trimming device including a relative moving means that relatively moves the placing part and the cutting means. It is characterized in.

The above-mentioned agricultural products can be composed of long agricultural products such as leek, asparagus, cucumber, eggplant, carrot, potato, mandarin orange, apple and persimmon. The unnecessary part of the agricultural product is composed of, for example, the root part of the leek A and the stalk. Further, the mounting unit can be configured by, for example, a mounting table or a bucket of a transfer conveyor, a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, a free tray, or the like. Further, the detection light irradiation means,
For example, a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp, an ultraviolet lamp, a fluorescent lamp, an incandescent lamp, or other illumination lamp can be used. Further, the silhouette detecting means and the transmitted light detecting means can be configured by optical detecting means such as a monochrome imaging camera, a color camera, a digital camera, a video camera, or the like. Further, the cutting means can be constituted by, for example, a rotary blade, a fixed blade, scissors, a fluid spray type cutter, a laser cutter, or the like.

Further, the cutting position determining means can be composed of, for example, a personal computer or a control device having a CPU, a ROM and a RAM. Further, the relative moving means can be composed of, for example, a motor, a solenoid, an air cylinder, a chain feeding mechanism, a screw feeding mechanism, a cam feeding mechanism or the like.

That is, the detection light projected from the detection light irradiating means is applied to an unnecessary part of the agricultural product placed on the placing part, and the silhouette of the unnecessary part of the agricultural product is detected by the silhouette detecting means. The transmitted light transmitted through the unnecessary portion of the agricultural product is detected by the transmitted light detecting means, and the detection information detected by each detecting means is output to the cutting position determining means. And, based on the detection information output from each light detection means, the cutting position of the crops is individually determined by the cutting position determining means, and the cutting position of the crops and the cutting means are opposite to each other, and the mounting portion and The cutting means is relatively moved by the relative movement means, and the unnecessary portion of the agricultural product is cut out by a predetermined amount by the cutting means.

As an embodiment, one of the silhouette detecting means and the transmitted light detecting means is arranged in a first cut-and-align section on a transfer path for transferring the crop, and the other is arranged in a second cut-and-align position on the transfer path. It can be arranged in sections. Also,
One of the silhouette detecting means and the transmitted light detecting means may be switchably provided. Further, foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matter attached to unnecessary portions of the agricultural products (for example, a discharge nozzle for spraying a single or complex fluid of air and a liquid, a wiping tool such as a flexible elastic body or a brush), A projecting part removing means for removing a projecting part projecting to an unnecessary part of the agricultural product (for example, a rough cutting device for cutting out a plurality of roots projecting on the root part of leeks) and a preceding stage of the silhouette detecting means and the transmitted light detecting means. Can be provided.

[0010]

According to the present invention, even if it is difficult to detect by any one of the silhouette detecting means and the transmitted light detecting means, by using the detection information detected by both detecting means in combination, The cutting position of can be detected accurately and reliably. In addition, the cutting position of the crop can be determined according to the growth condition of the crop without being affected by the external shape and outer diameter of the crop, and the work of cutting a predetermined amount of unnecessary parts of the crop is easy and easy. Therefore, the alignment accuracy can be improved.

In addition, when the amount of foreign matter adhering to the unnecessary portion of the agricultural product is small and the protruding amount of the protruding portion is small, it is possible to detect the cutting position by either the silhouette detecting means or the transmitted light detecting means. Therefore, it is not necessary to use both detection means together, and by switching to either one of the detection means, it is possible to excise a predetermined amount of unnecessary parts of the crop, that is, the growth status of the crop and the amount of foreign matter attached, the roots. The method of using both detecting means in combination and the method of using either one of the detecting means independently can be selected according to the amount of protrusion and the like.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

The drawings show an agricultural crop trimming device used for trimming green onions, which is an example of agricultural crops, and having a silhouette type and a transparent type cutting position detecting function. In FIG. 1 and FIG. The crop trimming device 1 is arranged in a preceding stage of a peeling process for separating unnecessary epidermis of the leek A, and the green onion A placed on the mounting table 3 of the transport conveyor 2 is set on the transport path as a pretreatment section. a, the first trimming section b, the second
When it is conveyed to the trimming section c, the root Aa of the leek A is trimmed to a state suitable for the peeling process.

In the above-mentioned transfer conveyor 2, the concave mounting table 3 on which the long green onion A is mounted in a posture substantially orthogonal to the transfer direction is provided with the root Aa side relative to the left side of the mounting table 3. A cradle 3 that supports the projecting length (for example, about 3 cm)
a, a receiving portion 3b that supports the stem portion Ab in a substantially horizontal direction, and a receiving portion 3c that supports the leaf portion Ac in a substantially horizontal direction.
Further, the projecting dimension of the root portion Aa may be set to, for example, about 3 cm or more or below.

Further, the receiving portions 3a to 3c are attached to the lower portion of the conveying path at a predetermined interval with respect to the entire length of the revolving chain 4, and the revolving chain 4 is driven by a motor with a reduction gear (not shown). Thus, it rotates in the carrying direction to move the mounting tables 3 ... Circularly continuously or intermittently in the carrying direction. In addition, the mounting tables 3 may be arranged as a plurality of sets,
The size and shape of the mounting table 3 and the installation interval may be changed.

The cleaning device 6 disposed in the above-mentioned pretreatment section a is a discharge nozzle connected to both an air supply source such as an air blower and a compressor, and a water supply source such as water and a tank. 6a is disposed on the upper left side of the conveyance path so as to face the upper surface of the root Aa of the leek A protruding to the left side of the mounting table 3, and air (atmosphere) discharged from the discharge nozzle 6a.
Then, water (tap water) is mixed and sprayed onto the upper surface of the root portion Aa obliquely from above to wash and remove foreign matter (such as mud and dust) covering the upper surface of the root portion Aa. Also, either air or water may be sprayed.

A gas such as nitrogen or an inert gas may be used instead of the above-mentioned air, and a liquid such as distilled water or a solvent may be used instead of water. In addition, a plurality of the above-mentioned gas, liquid, and wiping tool may be combined.

On the other hand, the rough cutting device 7 arranged at the rear of the cleaning device 6 has a rotary blade 7a rotated by a motor (not shown), and a root part of a green onion A protruding to the left side of the mounting table 3 of the conveyor 2. Arranged on the left side of the transport path facing the tip of Aa,
The root Aa tip and a plurality of long roots protruding to the tip are cut by the rotary blade 7a, and rough cutting is performed.

The silhouette detecting type aligning device 10a arranged in the first trimming section b and the transmitted light detecting type aligning device 10b arranged in the second trimming section c have substantially the same structure. Since they are present, the substantially same configuration and operation will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each of these devices blocks external light other than the detection light B emitted by the illumination lamps 12a, 12b, 12c (for example, a halogen lamp) and is mounted on the mounting table 3. Light-shielding chambers 11a, 11 surrounding the root Aa side of the green onion A
b is disposed on the left side of the conveyance path, and the high-intensity detection light B necessary to pass through the inside of the green onion A inside the light-shielding chambers 11a and 11b.
The illumination lamps 12a, 12b for irradiating the slab are opposed to the upper surface of the stem Ab which is separated from the tip of the root Aa of the green onion A placed on the placing table 3 by a predetermined distance (for example, a distance included in the range of approximately 5 cm to approximately 8 cm). Are arranged. It is preferable that the position is about 5 cm or about 8 cm away from the tip of the root portion Aa, but it may be arranged at a position about 5 cm or more or about 8 cm or less.

Further, the image pickup cameras 13a and 13b are arranged so as to face the upper surface of the root Aa of the leek A protruding to the left side of the mounting table 3, and the image pickup camera 13c is disposed to the left side of the mounting table 3 to project. It is arranged to face the tip of the root Aa. The imaging cameras 13a to 13c are, for example, monochrome CCD cameras.

The cutting and aligning device 10a shown in FIG.
A substantially cylindrical (for example, drum-shaped) comparison member 1 having a color (for example, blue) and a light-transmitting property in which the silhouette of a is clear.
4a is arranged on the lower left side of the conveyance path so as to face the lower surface of the root Aa of the leek A protruding to the left side of the mounting table 3, and the high-intensity detection light B necessary for passing through the comparison member 14a is provided therein. The illumination lamp 12c for irradiating the
While rotating 4a in a specific direction by a motor (not shown), a foreign matter (for example, skin of leeks, internal liquid, water droplets, dust, etc.) adhering to the peripheral surface of the comparison member 14a is wiped by the wiping body 15a which is in contact with the peripheral surface. Remove by wiping.

Further, the trimming device 10b shown in FIG.
The substantially plate-shaped (for example, plate-shaped) comparison member 14b having a color (for example, blue) that makes the silhouette of a clear is opposed to the lower surface of the root Aa of the leek A protruding to the left side of the mounting table 3 and the lower left side of the transport path. And rotating the comparison member 14a in a specific direction by a motor (not shown),
Foreign matter adhering to the upper surface of the comparison member 14b is wiped and removed by the wiping body 15b that is in contact with the member. In addition, the comparison member 1 described above
4a is composed of, for example, a substantially plate-shaped member, and the comparison member 14b
May be composed of, for example, a substantially cylindrical member.

Further, the light-shielding belt 16 is attached to the illumination lamp 12
Stem A irradiated with detection light B emitted from a and 12b
While being stretched between the upper surface of the c and the upper surface of the root portion Aa, the light shielding belt 16 is rotated in the transport direction substantially in synchronization with the transport speed of the above-described transport conveyor 2 so that the root portion Aa of the leek A of the mounting table 3 is placed. The illumination lamp 12 is pressed against the pedestal 3a.
The detection light B projected from the a, 12b toward the imaging cameras 13a, 13b is blocked.

The above-mentioned image pickup cameras 13a, 13b, 13c
The image processing device 17 connected to the image capturing device 13 is connected to the image capturing device 13b, 1 and the silhouette image output from the image capturing camera 13a.
The transmission image output from 3c is binarized, and the image information of only the root portion Aa excluding the light shielding belt 16 is output to the control device 18.

The control device 18 (for example, a personal computer) connected to the image processing device 17 determines the cutting position of the root Aa based on the image information of the silhouette image and the transparent image output from the image processing device 17. To do. That is, when the cutting position is determined from the silhouette image, as shown in FIG. 6, the stem width and the root amount of the root portion Aa are calculated from the silhouette image captured by the imaging camera 13a, and the root portion protruding to the left side of the mounting table 3 is calculated. From the tip position (projection size or projection distance) of Aa, the number obtained by multiplying the stem width and the coefficient (proportional constant required to calculate the cutting position) and the number obtained by multiplying the root amount and the coefficient were added. The total number is subtracted to calculate the cutting position of the root Aa.

On the other hand, when the cutting position is determined from the transmission image, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cutting position of the root Aa is determined based on the transmission amount of the transmitted light B imaged by the imaging camera 13b. That is, the transmission amount of the transmitted light B transmitted through the root portion Aa is high when the fibers are rough, and the transmittance is decreased as the fibers are denser. Therefore, the root portion Aa and the stem portion A where the fibers are rough are reduced.
This means that the transmission amount of the transmission light B transmitted through the pedicle Ad where the fibers are densely reduced is significantly smaller than the transmission amount of the transmission light B transmitted through b.

A boundary portion (cutting reference position) with the highest degree of separation is calculated based on the image density data obtained from the amount of transmitted light B, and the cutting reference position is used as a reference, for example, the pedicle. The cutting position where Ad is left about 2/3 is determined. The cutting position determined from the silhouette image and the transmission image can be variably adjusted in a plurality of stages (for example, three stages of large, medium and small, or three or more stages) substantially according to the stem diameter size of the leek A.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the amount of the tip transmitted through the tip of the root Aa captured by the imaging camera 13c is determined by the projection size of the root Aa protruding to the left side of the mounting table 3 and the root Aa. After dividing by the number multiplied by the stem diameter,
The divided number is multiplied by a predetermined coefficient (proportional constant required to calculate the cutting position) to calculate the cutting position, and the cut amount and the uncut amount of the pedicle Ad are calculated based on the transmission amount. calculate. That is, when the remaining amount of the pedicle Ad is large, the transmission amount of the transmitted light B becomes small, and the area value of the dark portion becomes larger than the predetermined threshold value. On the other hand, when the remaining amount of the pedicle Ad is small, the transmission amount of the transmitted light B increases, and the area value of the bright portion becomes smaller than the predetermined threshold value. Therefore, the pedicle Ad is determined from the difference between the transmission amount and the area value. It is possible to determine whether or not a predetermined amount has been excised.

The cutting position information determined for each of the above-mentioned leek A and the address information of the mounting table 3 read by the address reading device 19a described later are stored in association with each other. Further, the cutting amount of the root portion Aa can be changed, for example, to a position where about 2/3 or more of the pedicle Ad is left or a position where it is left below.

Further, address reading devices 19a and 19b for reading the address information set for each mounting table 3 or the address information that moves substantially corresponding to the mounting table 3 are arranged at the lower part of the conveyance path, and the image pickup camera 13a is provided. , 13b, and the address reading device 19b provided in the cutting section of the cutting device 20 outputs the address information read to the control device 18.

Incidentally, as another example of the identification means in place of the above-mentioned address information, for example, it is attached to the mounting table 3 itself or the mounting table 3 is provided.
A recording medium that moves substantially corresponding to (for example, a barcode, I
Specific information of D card, magnetic card, etc.) may be read, cutting position information and other measurement information may be recorded. Further, the leek A whose cutting position has been determined is the cutting device 20.
The time lag until reaching the time is reached, and when the time lag is timed, the rotary blade 20a of the cutting device 20 is moved to the cutting position determined for each leek A, and the root Aa of the leek A is moved.
May be excised by a predetermined amount.

The image pickup camera 13 in the first trimming section b described above.
Since the cutting device 20 disposed immediately after the a and the imaging camera 13b in the second trimming section c have the same structure, the structure and operation of one cutting device 20 will be described. In this device, for example, a rotary blade 20a that is inclined in two-dimensional directions such as a vertical direction and a horizontal direction is attached to a root portion A of a leek A that protrudes to the left side portion of the mounting table 3.
It is attached to a movable table 20c arranged on the left side of the conveyance path so as to face a, and is rotated at a constant speed by a motor 20b fixed to the movable table 20c.

Further, the movable table 20c is attached to a support table 20d arranged on the left side of the conveyance path, and a motor 20e having a movement amount detection function (for example, a servo motor or a stepping motor) fixed to the support table 20d is used to change the conveyance direction. The rotary blade 20a is moved back and forth stepwise by a predetermined movement amount (for example, in a unit of about 0.25 mm) in a direction substantially orthogonal to the rotary blade 20a.
11, as shown in FIG. 11, is moved stepwise at high speed (for example, about 0.3 seconds) in the direction facing the tip of the root Aa.
Further, a side portion and an upper portion of the rotary blade 20a are surrounded by a cover 20f.

As another example of the cutting means in place of the rotary blade 20a, for example, a cutter or a wire cutter,
Band saws, scissors and the like may be used. Also, the motor 20
As another example of the moving means instead of e, for example, a solenoid, an air cylinder, a cam, a chain, or the like may be used.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a control circuit of the crop trimming device 1, wherein the control device 18 (for example, a personal computer) has a built-in CPU, ROM, RAM.
The CPU follows the program stored in the ROM (or PROM) to convey the conveyor 2, the cleaning device 6, the rough cutting device 7, the imaging cameras 13a, 13b, 13c, the light shielding belt 16, and the image processing device 17. And address reading device 1
Driving and stopping of 9a and 19b and the cutting device 20 are controlled.

In the RAM, the image information output from the image processing device 20, the cutting position information determined for each leek A, the address information of the mounting table 3 read by the address reading devices 19a and 19b, and the cutting device. The moving amount information of the rotary blade 20a output from 20 is stored in association with each other.

Based on the pulse signal output from the motor 20e, the control device 18 uses the tip of the root portion Aa protruding to the left side of the mounting table 3 as the cutting reference position and the root portion Aa.
The moving distance of the rotary blade 20a is calculated and calculated until the pedicle Ad reaches a position where it is excised by a predetermined amount (for example, about 2/3 remains).

Further, the address reading device 1 obtains the address information of the mounting table 3 which is moved to the imaging section of the imaging cameras 13a and 13b.
9a, the address information is output to the control device 18, and the control device 18 associates the above-mentioned movement amount information with the address information of the mounting table 3 read by the address reading device 19.
Remember.

Further, the address information of the mounting table 3 moved to the cutting section of the cutting device 20 is read by the address reading device 19b, and the address information is output to the control device 18. The control device 18 controls the mounting table 3 output from the address reading device 19b.
And the address information stored in the RAM are compared to determine whether the address information is the same.

Further, the cutting position information corresponding to the address information read by the address reading device 19b is read from the RAM,
Based on the cutting position information stored in the RAM, the motor 20e is intermittently rotated by a predetermined amount to rotate the rotary blade 20
a is gradually moved to a position where the pedicle Ad of the root Aa is excised by a predetermined amount. Further, the disconnection information stored in the RAM is erased or overwritten when returning from the end side to the start side.

The illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, and the root part Aa of the green onion A by the crop trimming device 1 will be described below.
The work of trimming is explained.

First, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the conveyed conveyors are arranged so that the leeks A that have been received or harvested are aligned so that the root Aa side is leftward with respect to the conveying direction, and are regressively moved to the starting end side. The two mounting tables 3 ... Are mounted one by one substantially orthogonal to the transport direction. Further, the tip of the root portion Aa is pressed against an aligning portion (not shown) such as a belt or a plate, and is conveyed to the pretreatment section a while being aligned so as to project to the left side portion of the mounting table 3 by a predetermined length. Further, when the amount of protrusion of the root portion Aa is small, the entire length of the green onion A is moved to the left side portion of the conveyance path and corrected to a state in which it protrudes by a substantially predetermined amount.

Next, in the pretreatment section a, the air and water discharged from the discharge nozzle 6a of the cleaning device 6 are sprayed on the upper surface of the root Aa to wash and remove the foreign matter covering the upper surface of the root Aa, and the tip of the root Aa. Since a plurality of long roots protruding in the direction are cut by the rotary blade 7a of the rough cutting device 7 to perform rough cutting,
Image information necessary for determining the cutting position of the root portion Aa can be obtained without being hindered by the imaging cameras 13a and 13b described later.

Next, in the first trimming section b, as shown in FIG. 3, the light shielding belt 16 is placed on the root Aa side of the leek A.
It is conveyed while pressing it against the mounting table 3 by the illumination lamp 1
The detection light B emitted from 2c is transmitted through the comparison member 14a and is applied to the lower surface of the root Aa of the leek A protruding to the left side of the mounting table 3, and the silhouette of the root Aa is imaged by the imaging camera 13a. , The image information of the image processing device 17
Output to.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the control device 18 calculates the stem width and the root amount of the root portion Aa based on the silhouette image output from the image processing device 17, and
The calculated information is compared with the previously stored reference information to calculate the cutting reference position of the root portion Aa. Further, the cutting position information and the address information of the mounting table 3 read by the address reading device 19a are stored in the control device 18 in association with each other.

Next, the address information of the mounting table 3 is read by the address reading device 19b, and the mounting table 3 of the address information corresponding to the determination is read.
Is moved to the cutting section, the control device 18 reads the cutting position information corresponding to the address information of the mounting table 3 read by the address reading device 22, and based on the cutting position information,
The motor 20e of the cutting device 20 is driven by a predetermined amount.

That is, based on the determination by the control device 18, the rotary blade 20a of the cutting device 20 is moved stepwise to the cutting position determined for each leek A, and as shown in FIG. After cutting Aa to such an extent that the pedicle Ad remains in a predetermined amount, the pedicle-cut Leek A is conveyed to the next second trimming section c.

Next, in the second trimming section c, as shown in FIG. 4, the root Aa side of the leek A is conveyed while being pressed against the mounting table 3 by the light shielding belt 16, and the illumination lamp 12 is fed.
The detection light B emitted from b is applied to the upper surface of the stem Ab of the leeks A placed on the placing table 3, and the root A of the leeks A is radiated.
The transmitted light C transmitted to the upper surface of a is captured by the image capturing camera 13b, and the transmitted light C transmitted to the tip of the root portion Aa is captured by the image capturing camera 13b.
The image is picked up at c and the image information is output to the image processing device 17.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the control device 18 determines the cutting position of the root Aa for each leek A based on the image information output from the image processing device 17, and the transmission Based on the amount, the cut amount and the uncut amount of the pedicle Ad are calculated, and it is determined whether or not the pedicle Ad has been cut to the extent that a predetermined amount remains. At the same time, the cutting position information and the address information of the mounting table 3 read by the address reading device 19a are stored in the control device 18 in association with each other.

Next, the address information of the mounting table 3 is read by the address reading device 19b, and the mounting table 3 of the address information corresponding to the determination is read.
Is moved to the cutting section, the control device 18 reads the cutting position information corresponding to the address information of the mounting table 3 read by the address reading device 22, and based on the cutting position information,
The motor 20e of the cutting device 20 is driven by a predetermined amount.

That is, when it is determined that the predetermined amount has been cut, the rotary blade 20a of the cutting device 20 is not moved and the standby state or the rest state is maintained. The leek A, which has been determined to have undergone pelvic excision, is transported to the next step.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the predetermined amount or more remains, the cutting device 2 is determined based on the determination by the control device 18.
After gradually rotating the rotary blade 20a of 0 to the cutting position determined for each leek A, as shown in FIG. 11, after finishing cutting off the root Aa of the leek A to the extent that the pedicle Ad remains a predetermined amount. Then, the green onion A, which has undergone the pedicle cutting, is conveyed to the next step (for example, a peeling step or a sorting step). And the pedicle A of the root Aa
Since d is cut into a state suitable for removing unnecessary epidermis, when the epidermis is peeled off to the root Aa, the root Aa
Since the remaining portion of the epidermis connected to is small, the process of peeling off the epidermis can be performed easily. Thereafter, the same as above, the green onion A
Continue the trimming work.

As described above, the trimming devices 10a, 10b
Even if it is difficult to detect with one of the devices,
Root A imaged by the imaging camera 13a of the trimming device 10a
By using the silhouette image information of a and the transmission image information of the root Aa taken by the imaging cameras 13b and 13c of the trimming device 10b together, the control device 18 can accurately and surely detect the cutting position of the root Aa. You can In addition, the cutting position of the root Aa can be determined according to the growth condition of the green onion A without being influenced by the external shape and outer diameter of the green onion A, and the work of cutting the root Aa of the green onion A by a predetermined amount. Can be done easily and easily.

Further, since the foreign matter adhering to the root Aa of the leek A is washed and removed by the washing device 6 and a plurality of roots protruding to the root Aa are cut by the rough cutting device 7, the cutting position is detected, so that the image pickup camera The work of imaging with 13a, 13b, and 13c is not hindered, and accurate image information necessary for determining the cutting position of the root portion Aa is obtained, so that the alignment accuracy can be improved.

Further, when the amount of foreign matter attached to the root Aa of the leek A is small and the amount of protrusion of the root is small, the trimming device 10a,
Since the cutting position can be detected by any one of the devices 10b, it is not necessary to use the cutting and aligning devices 10a and 10b together, and it is possible to switch to either one of the devices.
A predetermined amount of the root Aa of the leek A can be excised. That is, a method of using the trimming devices 10a and 10b in combination and a method of independently using one of the devices are selected according to the growth status of the leek A, the amount of foreign matter attached, the amount of root protrusion, and the like. be able to.

FIG. 12 shows another example of the trimming device 10a having the above-mentioned silhouette detecting function and transmitted light detecting function. The silhouette of the root portion Aa protruding to the left side of the mounting table 3 and the transmission to the upper surface of the root portion Aa are shown. The transmitted light C to
Since the control device 18 individually determines the cutting position of the root Aa on the basis of the silhouette image and the transmission image captured by 3a, it is possible to obtain substantially the same operation and effect as the above-described embodiment.

In the correspondence between the constitution of the present invention and the above-mentioned embodiment, the agricultural products (including fruit vegetables) of the present invention are the green onion A and asparagus of the embodiment, cucumber, eggplant, carrot, potato, mandarin orange, apple. , Persimmons, and the like, and the like, the unnecessary parts of the agricultural products correspond to the root Aa of the green onion A and the stalk Ad, and the mounting portion is the mounting table 3 or the bucket of the conveyor 2, the belt conveyor, the roller conveyor. , A free tray or the like, the silhouette detecting means corresponds to the imaging camera 13a or other optical detecting means, the transmitted light detecting means corresponds to the imaging cameras 13b, 13c or other optical detecting means, The cutting position determining means corresponds to a device provided with the control device 18 (personal computer), CPU, ROM, RAM, and a program stored in the CPU, and the cutting means is the cutting device 20 and Utateha 20a and the fixed blade, scissors,
Compatible with fluid spray type cutters, laser cutters, etc.
The relative moving means corresponds to the motor 20e, the solenoid, the air cylinder, the chain feeding mechanism, the screw feeding mechanism, the cam feeding mechanism, and the like, and the foreign matter removing means is the cleaning device 6, the discharge nozzle 6a, and a flexible elastic body or brush. However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

The configuration of the crop trimming device 1 described above can also be applied to the work of trimming the root portion Aa of the green onion A held substantially vertically, for example. Further, the transmitted light detection type trimming device 10b may be arranged in the first trimming section b, and the silhouette detection type trimming device 10a may be arranged in the second trimming section c.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a crop trimming device including two trimming devices.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a leek trimming operation by the crop trimming device.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a silhouette type cutting position detecting method.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a transmissive cutting position detecting method.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the crop trimming device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a cutting position detection method based on a silhouette image.

FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing the amount of transmitted light that is transmitted to the upper surface of the root portion.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a transmission image and density projection data of a root portion.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a cutting position detection method based on a transmission image of a root tip.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a transmission image of the root tip.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a cutting operation of the root portion by the cutting device.

FIG. 12 is a front view showing a trimming device having a silhouette type function and a transparent type function.

[Explanation of symbols]

A ... Leek Aa ... root Ad ... Stem board B: Detection light C ... transmitted light 1 ... Crop trimming device 2 ... Conveyor 3 ... Stand 6 ... Cleaning device 7 ... Rough cutting device 10a, 10b ... Cutting and aligning device 12a, 12b, 12c ... Illumination lamp 13a, 13b, 13c ... Imaging camera 17 ... Image processing device 18 ... Control device 20 ... Cutting device

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Tsutomu Takekuni             66, Takaoka-cho, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture Ishii Industry Co., Ltd.             In the company F-term (reference) 4B061 AA01 AA02 AB04 AB06 AB08                       BA02 BA03 BB07 BB11 BB13                       CB05 CB07 CB13 CB16

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A crop trimming device that cuts off unnecessary portions of a crop placed on a placing section by a cutting means, and irradiates the unnecessary portions of the crop with detection light projected from a detection light irradiation means. Then, silhouette detection means for detecting the silhouette of the unnecessary portion, and transmitted light for irradiating the unnecessary portion of the crop with the detection light projected from the detection light irradiation means and detecting the transmitted light transmitted through the unnecessary portion. Based on the detection information output from the detection means, the silhouette detection means and the transmitted light detection means, the cutting position determining means for determining the cutting position of the agricultural product, based on the determination by the cutting position determining means, the crop A crop trimming device comprising: the above-mentioned placing part and a relative movement means for relatively moving the cutting means, at a position where the cutting means faces the cutting position. 2. One of the silhouette detecting means and the transmitted light detecting means is provided on a conveyance path for conveying the agricultural products.
The crop trimming device according to claim 1, wherein the crop trimming device is arranged in one trimming section, and the other is arranged in a second trimming section on the conveying path. 3. The crop trimming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one of the silhouette detecting means and the transmitted light detecting means is switchably provided. 4. The crop trimming device according to claim 1, wherein foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matter adhering to unnecessary portions of the crop is provided before the silhouette detecting means and the transmitted light detecting means. 5. The crop trimming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising projecting part removing means for removing a projecting part projecting to an unnecessary portion of the crop, in front of the silhouette detecting means and the transmitted light detecting means.