JP2005270042A - Method for processing welsh onion - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for the processing of Welsh onion to receive the outer skin and attached soil or sand of a Welsh onion skinned by a tubular skinning apparatus smoothly in an outer skin holding apparatus without depositing the skin, or the like, during transportation. <P>SOLUTION: The Welsh onion 3 placed on a bucket 2 intermittently transported by a bucket conveyor 1 is subjected to root-cutting and the outer skin of the Welsh onion 3 is peeled by the tubular skinning apparatus 20. In the skinning process, the tip end of a tube 20b of the apparatus 20 to receive the Welsh onion 3 on a placing table 2 is protruded from the outer skin holding apparatus 21 and is supported in a manner to enable the insertion of the onion into the outer skin holding apparatus 21 according to the axial movement of the tube 20b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for long leeks that removes the outer skin of harvested leeks, and unnecessary materials such as soil and sand attached to the surface.

  Various onion processing devices have been proposed and put to practical use according to processing items. Among them, the following are known as prior arts with particular emphasis on mass processing (automation) other than manual processing.

  (1) Concerning conventional treatments such as peeling, root cutting, and leaf cutting of a long onion, transport means for transporting the long onion horizontally on the support, and the leaf side and root side of the long onion on the support A moving body that is reciprocated between the two, a spray nozzle that is provided on the moving body and oscillates at a predetermined angle while ejecting a pressure fluid toward the stem of the long onion, and a skin of the long onion peeled off by the spray nozzle. A peeling device (Patent Document 1).

  This long leek processing device has the great effect of being able to process large leek continuously in large quantities, but when peeling long leek with a spray nozzle, peeled skin, soil, sand, etc. are scattered around and the surroundings Scattered objects may also adhere to the device, requiring cleaning after work.

  (2) As for mud and debris adhering to the peeled outer skin and the long onion, these scattered objects may adhere to all parts of the device during the work and affect the original function. As a structure that eliminates the problem as much as possible, when peeling long onions, the leek is peeled off in a cylinder to prevent the outer skin from scattering around. (Patent Document 2).

In this processing apparatus, the outer skin peeled off by the peeling process portion of the cylindrical body is fed into a storage housing (storage box) via an elastic bellows hose provided at the tip of the cylindrical body. It has become. Thus, since the cylinder is connected to the housing case via the bellows type hose, even when the cylinder moves along the longitudinal direction of the long leek when peeling the outer leek of the long leek, By following the movement, the bellows-type hose expands and contracts, maintains the sealed state, and sends the outer skin and the like in the cylinder into the housing case.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-191679 JP 11-187855 A

  In the conventional long onion processing apparatus described in Patent Document 2 described above, the bellows type hose connected to the housing case that houses the peeled outer skin is configured to expand and contract as the cylinder moves, and Since the bellows type hose is turned 90 degrees downward and connected to the housing case, when the peeled long onion skin is accumulated in the stretchable part of the bellows and solidifies, the bellows type hose is smoothly stretched In extreme cases, the stretchable part itself may even harden.

  Also, the work of removing the peeled skin stuck to the stretchable part of the bellows type hose is troublesome because the hose itself is bellows type.

  Further, the peeling skin moves at high speed in the bellows type hose by the jet air and easily collides with the turning portion bent 90 degrees downward, so that the peeling skin easily adheres to the turning portion.

  On the other hand, the processing equipment of the long onion is a natural object that is handled in the soil, there are no two of the same shape, and the long vegetable vegetable has a complicated three-dimensional shape. Therefore, it is important to grasp the complex and differently shaped long onions in the process before performing the peeling work of the long onion. But there is.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point of view, and most of the outer skin, soil, sand and the like peeled off from the long onion in the cylinder can be smoothly fed into the storage housing, and adhesion of the peeled skin and the like can be greatly reduced. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a long onion processing apparatus capable of reducing maintenance such as cleaning and inspection.

  The structure which achieves the object of the present invention is, as described in claim 1, mounted on the mounting table of the long onion that intermittently transports the mounting table in which the mounting direction of the long onion is orthogonal to the transport direction, A cylindrical body in which the long onion is stored, the cylinder is moved along the axial direction while the long onion is stored in the cylinder, and the outer leek skin is peeled off by blowing compressed air A skin peeling device, and a skin housing device for housing a skin transported by compressed air flow in the cylinder, wherein the cylindrical body has a distal end side on which the long leek on the mounting table is housed. The long leek processing apparatus is characterized in that it is supported so as to be able to be inserted into the outer casing accommodation device as the cylindrical body moves in the axial direction.

  In the above-described configuration, a plurality of the cylindrical skinning devices are installed, and the long onion transporting device moves the plurality of mounting tables at a time according to the number of the skinning devices in one intermittent transport.

  In the configuration described above, the moving distance that the cylindrical body moves to store the long onion on the mounting table may be determined based on a skin peeling position determined by processing an image obtained by photographing the long onion. it can.

  In the above-described configuration, the number of rooting devices corresponding to the cylindrical skinning device, which is arranged in the previous stage of the cylindrical skinning device and cuts the root of the long onion placed on the mounting table, A number of cutting position determination devices corresponding to the root cutting device, which are arranged in front of the root cutting device and specify the root cutting position by the root cutting device, and the cutting portions of the root cutting device are moved to the root cutting position And a drive control device to be provided.

  In the above-described configuration, the cutting position determination device specifies at least an imaging device that captures a range from a stem portion to a root portion of a long onion, and a boundary between the stem portion and the root portion of the long onion by processing an image of the imaging device. The image processing apparatus can determine the boundary as a cutting position.

  In the configuration described above, the cutting position determination device can determine the cutting position by specifying the boundary between the stem and the root by estimating the length of the root based on the thickness of the leaf sheath of the long leek. it can.

  In the above-described configuration, a cleaning device for polishing the stem portion near the root portion of the long onion can be provided upstream of the cutting position determining device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the skin of the long onion is peeled off by the cylindrical skinning device, the cylindrical body is moved so as to be freely inserted into the skin housing device. Soil, sand, and the like can be discharged straight into the outer shell container, and the outer shell that has been easily accumulated in the bellows type hose, which has been a problem in the past, can be smoothly discharged into the outer container. For this reason, maintenance such as cleaning and inspection of the cylindrical body and the like can be reduced.

  Further, by making the discharge direction of the peeling air of the outer skin straight, clogging is eliminated and air escape is improved, and the peeling effect of the outer skin is increased.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily realize a multi-unit configuration of two or three or more units, and to realize a large amount of long leek processing in a short time.

  According to the invention which concerns on Claim 3, the peeling of an outer skin can be performed in the optimal position.

  According to the invention according to claim 4, in the state where the root cutting position of the long onion is determined and the long onion is rooted, the outer skin of the long onion is peeled off by the cylindrical skinning device. Without being caught, the outer skin is peeled off from the long onion vigorously and discharged from the cylinder.

  According to the invention which concerns on Claim 5, the cutting position of root cutting can be determined correctly and rapidly by the non-contact system by image processing.

  According to the invention which concerns on Claim 6, the cutting position of root cutting can be determined by a simple method.

  According to the invention according to claim 7, when photographing the long onion, the soil attached to the leaf sheath near the root is removed, and the image recognition of the boundary between the stem and the root (the stem portion) is improved. The accuracy of determining the cutting position can be increased.

  The present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

First Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 10 show a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a top view showing the overall configuration of a long leek processing apparatus, FIG. 2 is a view taken along arrows AA in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view taken along arrows BB in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line DD in FIG. 1, FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining a method for determining the root cutting position of a long onion by image processing, and FIG. 8 is an epidermis (outer skin of the long onion by image processing) ) FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a method for determining the peeling position, FIG. 9 is a view taken along the line EE of FIG. 1, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG.

  A long leek processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Reference numeral 1 denotes a bucket conveyor in which a plurality of rectangular flat-plate-like buckets 2 on which long leeks are placed are connected in parallel to a chain that rotates endlessly. Intermittent feed in the F direction.

  As shown in the figure, each bucket 2 has its longitudinal direction aligned with the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the bucket conveyor 1, and the long leek 3 has the leaf sheath part (stem part) 3a directed to one end side 2a in the length direction of the bucket 2, Accordingly, the leaf portion 3 b of the long leek 3 is determined so as to be placed toward the other end 2 b in the length direction of the bucket 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the bucket 2 is configured such that a pair of retractable mounting tables 2 d and 2 e are disposed on one end side so as to be spaced apart from each other on a rectangular base portion 2 c, and the stem portion of the long onion 3 3c is supported at two locations along the length direction. The upper parts of the pair of mounting tables 2d and 2e are formed in a concave shape as shown in FIG. 2, and the movement of the long leek 3 in the conveying direction can be prevented by fitting the stem 3c of the long leek 3. The retractable mounting bases 2d and 2e are located between an upright position standing substantially perpendicular to the base part 2c and a fall position parallel to the base part 2c toward the other end 2b of the base part 2c. Is attached to the base portion 2c so as to be rotatable about the lower end portion, and is always held in an upright position by a spring (not shown). And it rotates toward the said fall position by contact | abutting with the opening edge part of the cylinder which moves later, and when contact | abutting with this cylinder is cancelled | released, it will return to the original upright position again.

  Further, a fixed mounting table 2f on which the leaf portion 3b of the long onion 3 is mounted is fixed to the other end side of the base unit 2c, and the fixed mounting table 2f and a pair of retractable mounting tables 2d and 2e are used. The long leek 3 is supported in a substantially horizontal posture.

  The harvested long leeks 3 with roots are placed on the bucket 2 by hand in the long leeks supply unit 4 arranged on the upstream side of the bucket conveyor 1 so that the root side is the front side (lower side in FIG. 1) when viewed from the operator. However, an abutment plate 5 that abuts the root side of the long onion 3 supported in a horizontal posture is attached to the frame 1a on the near side of the bucket conveyor 1 in the long onion supply unit 4. Since the abutting plate 5 intermittently feeds two buckets 2 at a time, the root sides of the two long leeks 3 placed on the two parallel buckets 2 are abutted at a time.

  A cleaning unit is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the long onion supply unit 4 when viewed in the transport direction of the bucket conveyor 1, and this cleaning unit is the root side of the stem 3 a of the long onion 3 mounted on the bucket 2. Rotating brushes 6 for cleaning mud and the like are disposed on the front side of the bucket conveyor 1 corresponding to the two buckets 2, and supported by the two buckets 2 on the back side of the bucket conveyor 1. A holding device 16 is provided for holding the leaf portions 3b of the two long spring onions 3 so as to hold them simultaneously from the vertical direction. When the bucket conveyor 1 intermittently feeds two buckets 2 at a time, the pair of rotating brushes 6 rotate the brush from the stem 3c side of the long onion 3 toward the root portion 3a for a predetermined time. The pair of rotating brushes 6 may be always rotated.

  In this embodiment, the root cutting position of the long leek 3 is determined by photographing at least the root portion 3a and the root range of the long leek 3 with a camera, and performing image processing (edge processing) on the root portion 3c. The boundary between the root and the root (cutting stem part) is specified, and root cutting is performed at the root portion of the root as much as possible. At that time, if mud or the like adheres to the root part 3a of the long onion 3 (although the root part 3a of the harvested long onion has a difference, most of the mud adheres to it). Since it is difficult to identify the root portion of the root spring, the rotating brush 6 removes mud and the like from the root portion 3a of the long onion 3 in advance so that the root portion 3a of the long onion 3 is exposed. At that time, the long leek 3 is pressed by the pressing device 16 so that the long leek 3 is not pulled toward the front side by the rotation of the rotating brush 6.

  Next, as viewed in the conveying direction of the bucket conveyor 1, an imaging unit is provided on the downstream side of the rotating brush 6, and includes a root portion 3 a of the long onion 3 placed on one bucket conveyor 2, and A root portion photographing camera 7a and a leaf portion photographing camera 7b for photographing the hairline portion of the leaf portion 3b along the longitudinal direction are attached to the upper camera fixing frame 9, respectively. Further, in the present embodiment, in order to simultaneously photograph the root portion 3a of the long onion 3 and the hairline portion of the leaf portion 3b mounted on the two buckets 2, the root portion photographing camera 7a and the leaf portion photographing camera are used. The root portion photographing camera 8a and the leaf portion photographing camera 8b are fixed to the camera fixing frame 9 along with 7b.

  Then, the image information captured by the root portion photographing camera 7a and the leaf portion photographing camera 7b, the root portion photographing camera 8a and the leaf portion photographing camera 8b is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 10, and the root cutting position is determined. And it is used for determination of a skin peeling position. The image processing method for determining the root cutting position based on the image information from the root photographing cameras 7a and 8a is the same, and the skin peeling position based on the image information from the leaf photographing cameras 7b and 8b is the same. Since the image processing method for determination is the same, image processing based on the image from the root photographing camera 7a and the image from the leaf photographing camera 7b will be described.

  First, image processing for determining a root cutting position based on an image from the root portion photographing camera 7a will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  The root portion photographing camera 7a photographs the root portion 3a of the long onion 3 from above, and the root portion 3a of the long onion 3 cleaned with the rotating brush 6 is substantially white, whereas the root of the root portion 3a Only the root is photographed from the beginning. In this case, the surface of the base portion 2c of the bucket 2 is black, and a black background portion is provided in a lower portion corresponding to the root from the root of the bucket conveyor 1 in this photographing region, thereby clearly photographing the root portion of the long onion 3. can do.

  The image processing apparatus 10 performs, for example, edge image processing on an image photographed by the root portion photographing camera 7a to obtain the contour of the root portion 3a and the contour of the root. Although this edge image processing will not be described in detail, the root part 3a merely draws the outline of the root part 3a of the long onion 3, so the number of outlines is small. Since many roots extend, the number of outlines increases accordingly. Therefore, it can be determined that the part where the number of outlines (edges) abruptly changes is the root of the root.

  If such edge image processing is performed over the entire region where the root extends from the root portion 3a, the time is also increased. In addition, for determining the root cutting position, observing the radial central portion of the root portion 3a of the long onion 3 along the longitudinal direction may be said to be the determination method with the least failure in knowing the root of the root. it can.

  Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the image processing apparatus 10 specifies the center position P in the radial direction from the edge of the root portion 3 a of the long leek 3 by calculation.

  The center position P is specified by the first fixed window 12. The first fixed window 12 is set at a predetermined position with respect to the bucket 2, and its reference position is Q. The image processing apparatus 10 counts the edge of the root and the edge of the root portion 3a by the root position determination window 13 centering on the longitudinal extension line of the center position P indicating the radial center of the root portion 3a of the long leek 3.

  The root position determination window 13 is formed as a region surrounded by a rectangular shape from a position away from the reference position Q by a predetermined distance R toward the root side, and a boundary line T1 provided in the root position determination window 13 for each interval S. It is divided into a plurality of small window portions 13-1 to 13-10 at ~ T10. Therefore, the number of edges in the root position determination window 13 is counted for each of the plurality of small window portions 13-1 to 13-10.

  Since the root cutting position only needs to be found out, the number of edges in the small window portions 13-1 to 13-10 is counted in order from the reference position Q side, and the number of edges in the next small window portion is determined. In comparison, if the difference in the number of edges exceeds a predetermined value, it is determined that the small window part is the root position, and the small window part immediately before is determined as the tip of the root part 3a.

  The root cutting position of the long onion 3 is preferably the root of the root as much as possible (cutting with sufficient margin from the root of the root toward the leaf, the central part of the long onion grows and jumps out from the cut surface. In the present embodiment, such a situation does not occur at the hairline and the merchandise value is not impaired. In the present embodiment, the small window portion determined as the tip of the root portion 3a and the small window determined as the root position Is determined as a root cutting position, and a distance from the reference position Q to the root cutting position and the determined boundary line is obtained.

  Therefore, the long leek 3 may be rooted by moving a root cutting device described later to the root cutting position obtained here.

  Taking FIG. 6 as an example, since the first small window portion 13-1 to the fourth small window portion 13-4 correspond to the root portion 3a of the long leek 3, the roots of the long leek 3 are in these small window portions. The edge that is the outline of the portion 3a does not exist, but in the fifth small window portion 13-5, since it is close to the tip of the root portion of the long leek 3, the edge of the tip of the root portion is slightly applied, and several edges are counted. Will be. Subsequently, in the sixth small window portion 13-6, since the edge of the tip of the root portion of the long leek 3 and the edges of a plurality of roots are counted, the number of edges counted in the fifth small window portion 13-5 is calculated. Since the difference is large, it is determined that a root line exists in the region corresponding to the sixth small window portion 13-6. Then, the boundary line T5 is determined as the root cutting position. The distance from the reference position Q to the boundary line T5 can be easily obtained by R + 5 × S.

  The example shown in FIG. 6 assumes the ideal case where the long onion 3 has a straight shape without bending, and actually there is no such ideal and most of them have a bending. is there.

  Therefore, the presence or absence of bending of the long onion 3 is determined. If there is a bending, the bending angle is obtained, and if the root position determination window 13 described above is applied in accordance with the bending of the long onion 3, the root growth is similar to the above case. I can know.

  FIG. 7 explains the determination of the presence or absence of bending of the long onion 3 and the calculation of the bending angle. The first fixed window 12 and the stem 3c side of the long onion 3 with respect to the first fixed window 12 The second fixed window 14 is set at a predetermined distance U. In the second fixed window 14, the central position V in the radial direction (thickness direction) of the stem portion 3 c is obtained in the same manner as the first fixed window 12.

  Assuming that the conveyance direction of the bucket conveyor 1 is the y-axis and the direction orthogonal to the y-axis is the x-axis, both end positions of the first fixed window 12 and the second fixed window 14 in the y-axis direction are relative to the bucket 2. Since it is determined in advance, the difference Δy between the reference position P and the reference position V in the y-axis direction is obtained, and the bending angle θ is obtained. The bend angle θ obtained here is an angle with respect to the x-axis, and by rotating the root position determination window 13 by the bend angle θ, an edge is formed in the range from the root portion 3a to the root through its tip as in the case shown in FIG. Processing is performed, the number of edges is counted for each small window portion from the stem 3c side toward the root side, and the number of edges is compared with the small window portion on the root side. In the case of FIG. 7, the number of edges is zero until the first to third small window portions 13-1 to 13-3, and the fourth small window portion 13-4 is close to the tip of the root portion of the long leek 3. The edge at the tip of the root portion is applied, and several edges are counted. Subsequently, in the fifth small window portion 13-5, the edge of the tip of the root portion of the long leek 3 and the edges of a plurality of roots are counted, and therefore the number of edges counted in the fourth small window portion 13-4 Since the difference is large, it is determined that a root line exists in the region corresponding to the fifth small window portion 13-6. Then, the boundary line T4 is determined as the root cutting position. Here, in the case shown in FIG. 6, since the root cutting position is determined only by the x-axis direction component, the root cutting device described later may be simply moved to the position determined in the x-axis direction. Even in the case shown in FIG. 7, if the direction of the blade of the root cutting device is changed by an angle θ with respect to the x axis, the root portion 3a of the long onion 3 can be cut at a substantially right angle. At this time, since the distance R ′ from the reference position P to the first boundary line T0 of the root position determination window 13 is determined in advance, the movement distance in the x-axis direction of the root cutting device is obtained from the angle θ. .

  Data such as a root cutting position determined by the image processing apparatus 10 is transmitted to the control device 11 and used for driving control of the root cutting apparatus described later.

  As a motor for moving the root cutting device in the x-axis direction, for example, a pulse motor is used, and when the root cutting device can be moved by, for example, a pitch S of a small window portion by energizing a plurality of pulses, When the boundary lines (T0 to T10) are determined, the rooting device can be moved to a predetermined position simply by energizing the pulse motor with the number of pulses corresponding to the boundary lines. In addition, when considering the bending angle as shown in FIG. 7, if a table of angle θ and the number of pulses is prepared for each boundary line, the root to the root cutting position is obtained with the number of pulses obtained from the table. The cutting device can be moved.

  In the determination of the root cutting position, the case where the long leek 3 shown in FIG. 6 is straight and the case where there is a bend shown in FIG. 7 have been described separately. However, images obtained by shooting with the root portion shooting cameras 7a and 8a. On the basis of the above, the image processing apparatus 10 sets the first fixed window 12 and the second fixed window 14 shown in FIG. Based on the determination of the root cutting position, if it is determined that there is a bend, the root cutting position is determined based on the above-described FIG.

  By the way, in the conventional long leek processing apparatus (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8-191679), the long leek has a V-shaped groove provided at one end of the support when the leek is supported in a horizontal position on the support. Only the root protrudes outward from the abutting plate to the root cutting position, and the root cutting is performed inside the corresponding plate.

  However, in such a configuration, it is not always easy to place the long onion on the support while passing through the roots of the veneered groove plate while paying attention to the bent long onion.

  On the other hand, as in the present embodiment, photographing is performed from the stem portion 3c of the long onion 3 to the root portion 3a, and this is image-processed to accurately identify the root of the bent long onion. Since the cutting position can be determined, it is possible to perform root cutting of the long onion that is conveyed and has various bends.

  Next, image processing for determining the skin peeling position based on the image from the leaf photographing camera 7b will be described below with reference to FIG.

  The leaf photographing camera 7b captures an image so as to cover a region in the short direction of the bucket 2 from the stem 3c to the leaf 3b of the long onion 3, and transmits the captured image to the image processing apparatus 10. In the image processing apparatus 10, a skin peeling position determination window 15 is set as shown in FIG. The skin peeling position determination window 15 is started from a predetermined distance J from a reference position such as a predetermined position of a peeling device to be described later, a predetermined position on the front side of the bucket conveyor 1, and the root cutting position determination window 13 described above. Similarly, the rectangular frame is divided into a plurality of skin peeling position determining small window portions (15-1 to 15-5) at an equal pitch K. Then, only the contour (edge) of the image is extracted from the image in the skin peeling position determination window 15 by edge processing similar to the root cutting position determination.

  In the present embodiment, the diameter of the stem and the maximum width of the leaf portion are calculated from the extracted edges in each skin peeling position determination small window portion (15-1 to 15-5). As shown in FIG. 8, in the skin peeling position determination small window portions 15-1 to 15-3, the stem diameters d1 to d3 are obtained from two edges (contours indicating the outer shape of the stem) separated in the y-axis direction. . Further, since the skin peeling position determination small window portion 15-4 covers the leaf portion and the two edges separated in the y-axis direction are curved, the distance d4 between the edges in the center in the x-axis direction is obtained. . Further, in the skin peeling position determination small window portion 15-5, there are a plurality of edges in the y-axis direction. In such a case, the distance d5 between the outermost edges at both ends in the y-axis direction is obtained.

  The peeling position of the epidermis is assumed to be near the boundary between the stem and the leaf. As shown in FIG. 8, the boundary between the stem and the leaf has a characteristic that the gradient changes greatly.

  Therefore, the gradient (dy / dx) of the outline (edge) extending from the stem to the leaf is examined, and the greatly changing portion is set as the peeling position of the epidermis.

  In the present embodiment, the stem diameter or leaf width values d1 to d5 obtained in the skin peeling position determination small window portion are compared in order from the stem to the leaf (d2 / d1, d3 / d2, d4 / d3, d5 / d4), if the comparison value is, for example, 1.5 or more, it is determined that the position is the boundary between the stem and the leaf, and the boundary lines (M0 to M5) forming the boundary of the epidermis peeling position determination small window part are determined. Determined as the skin peeling position. In the case of FIG. 8, since the difference between the calculated value d3 in the third small window portion 15-3 and the calculated value d4 in the fourth small window portion 15-4 is large, the third small window portion 15-3. And the boundary line M3 between the fourth small window portion 15-4 and the fourth small window portion 15-4 are determined as the skin peeling position. In this case, the distance to the skin peeling position is determined by J + 3K. And the distance information to this skin peeling position is transmitted to the control apparatus 11, and is used for drive control of the peeling apparatus mentioned later.

  A root cutting part is provided on the downstream side of the photographing part for photographing the long onion 3 on the two buckets 2 arranged in parallel with the camera for determination of the root cutting position and the skin peeling position, and the photographing part includes the photographing part. A first root cutting device 17 and a second root cutting device 18 are arranged corresponding to the two buckets 2 that are sent more intermittently. Although the first root cutting device 17 and the second root cutting device 18 are driven and controlled by the control device 11 separately, since they have the same structure, the first root cutting device 17 will be described.

  The first root cutting device 17 is disposed on the near side of the bucket conveyor 1 and above the bucket conveyor 1 and is disposed in a direction (x-axis direction) orthogonal to the conveying direction (y-axis direction) of the bucket conveyor 1. A rectilinearly moving body 17b is movably driven along the support rail 17a. The rectilinearly moving body 17b is movable in the vertical direction (z-axis direction orthogonal to the x-axis and the y-axis) and the z-axis is moved. A lifting device 17d having a turning shaft 17c that can turn as a center is attached. A root cutting blade 17e is attached to the lower end of the turning shaft 17c with the blade facing downward.

  The image processing apparatus 10 calculates the bending angle θ and the distance information to the root cutting position from the image based on the root portion shooting camera 7a, and transmits this information to the control device. When the bucket 2 supporting the long onion 3 is intermittently fed and stopped, the first root cutting device 17 receives the angle command and the movement distance command from the control device 11, turns the turning shaft 17 c by the angle θ, and moves straight. The root portion 3a of the long onion 3 is cut at the base of the root by moving the body 17b by the distance information and lowering the turning shaft 17c. When the cutting is completed, a cutting end signal is output to the control device 11 and returned to a predetermined position to prepare for the next cutting.

  In this way, the bucket conveyor 1 intermittently feeds the bucket 2 two by two in the direction of the arrow F, the operation of supplying the long leek 3 to the bucket 2, the root portion 3 a of the long leek 3 with the rotary brush 6 in the cleaning unit Cleaning and removing mud, taking a picture of the long leek 3 with the photographing part, and removing the long leek 3 with the root cutting part are performed on the long onion 3 on the two buckets 2 at once. Such a dual configuration is also applied to the skin peeling device in the skin peeling part.

  When viewed in the conveying direction F of the bucket conveyor 1, the skin peeling devices 19, 20 are disposed in correspondence with the two buckets 2 to which the skin peeling devices 19, 20 are intermittently fed. Although the two epidermis peeling devices 19 and 20 are independently driven independently, since they have the same configuration, the second epidermis peeling device 20 will be described, and the explanation for the first epidermis peeling device 19 will be omitted. To do. The same members of the first skin peeling device 19 are given the same subscripts as a to f attached to the second skin peeling device 20.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the second skin peeling device 20 has a rail member 20 a at a position above the bucket conveyor 1 in a direction (x-axis direction) orthogonal to the conveying direction (y-axis direction) of the bucket conveyor 1. Is provided. The rail member 20a has a cylindrical cylindrical body 20b in which both the front end of the long leek 3 inserted from the base portion 3a side and the rear end of the long leek 3 inserted into the dust collection box 21 constituting the outer skin storage device described later are opened. It is suspended and supported through the runner member 20c so as to be laterally movable (in the x-axis direction).

  The cylindrical body 20b is aligned so that the support position of the long onion 3 in the bucket 2 substantially coincides with the central position of the inner diameter of the cylindrical body 20b, and the cylindrical body 20b collects the tip while the bucket 2 is intermittently fed. It protrudes from the dust box 21 and retracts to the standby position where it is accommodated in the dust collection box 21 as a whole, and contacts the root 3a of the long onion 3 supported by the bucket 2 to which the tip of the cylindrical body 20b is conveyed. I try not to.

  The cylindrical body 20b is driven from the standby position shown in FIG. 9 toward the back side of the bucket 2 by a drive mechanism (not shown), and the skin determined by the image processing apparatus 10 based on the photographed image by the leaf photographing camera 8b. Drive control is performed by the control device 11 so as to drive to the separation position distance.

  The dust collection box 21 accommodates the outer skin discharged from the rear end of the cylinder 21b, and is formed with a hole 21a through which the cylinder 20b is inserted, and through the sliding member 21b through the hole 21a, The cylindrical body 20b is slidably provided in the hole 21a, and allows the cylindrical body 20b to move in the x-axis direction.

  The cylindrical body 20b has a straight shape, and the inner peripheral surface is smooth over the entire circumference without irregularities such as bellows.

  The cylindrical body 20b has a structure in which an injection nozzle cylinder 20e having the same inner diameter is concentrically fixed to the tip of the cylinder main body portion 20d. The injection nozzle cylinder 20e is compressed via an electromagnetic on-off valve (not shown). A ring-shaped compressed air passage 20f connected to the air source is formed. Further, the injection nozzle cylinder 20e is formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the plurality of injection nozzle portions 20g from which the injection air is jetted toward the rear end and is jetted toward the center of the inner diameter. 20 g communicates with the compressed air passage 20 f and opens and closes the electromagnetic on-off valve by the control device 11, so that the surface of the long leek 3 inserted through the cylinder 20 b from the front end side to the rear end side is inserted. The compressed air is jetted or the jetting is stopped.

  When the two buckets 2 are intermittently driven and conveyed to the skin peeling portion by intermittent driving, the two cylinders 19b and 20b move from the standby position to the skin peeling position by the distance determined by the image processing apparatus 10, respectively. When the cylinders 19b and 20b start to move, the electromagnetic on-off valve is already open, and compressed air is injected into the cylinders 19b and 20b from the front end side toward the rear end side by a plurality of injection nozzles 19g, It is in the state injected from 20g. At this time, the cylinders 19b and 20b are inserted into the front end openings of the long spring onion 3 from the root side. Thus, the long onion 3 is floated and supported while maintaining a substantially horizontal posture by the compressed air flowing through the cylinders 19b and 20b. Then, when the cylinders 19b and 20b move the distance to the skin peeling position, the skin 3c is peeled off as shown in FIG. 10, and rooting is performed at the root of the root cutting portion at the previous stage. Therefore, the rolled up epidermis is peeled off from the stem portion 3a as it is, and is thrown into the dust collection box 21 through the cylinders 19b and 20b.

  Opposite to the two cylinders 19b and 20b, the leaf 3b of each long onion 3 inserted into the cylinders 19b and 20b is located further back than the frame 1b on the back end side of the bucket conveyor 1. A pressing device 22 that presses in the vertical direction at a time is arranged, and the long leek 3 is pressed so as not to fly by the compressed air injected from the plurality of injection nozzle portions 20g. In this pressing device 22, a pressing body 22c which is moved up and down by the lifting device 22b is positioned above the fixed lower base 22a. The pressing device 23 is driven until the skin peeling work by compressed air is completed. Is lowered so that the tip of the leaf portion 3b is strongly pressed against the lower base 22a. A leaf cutting device 23 is arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction alongside the pressing device 22, and when the long leek 3 for which the skin peeling work has been completed is intermittently fed next, the leaf cutting device 23 presses the pressing device. Since the leaf portion 3b is cut closer to the root side than the portion pressed by 22, the leaf portion 3b damaged by the pressing device 22 is cut off.

  In a state in which the two cylinders 19b and 20b are inserted into the standby position in the dust collection box 21, the rear ends of the two cylinders 19b and 20b have a fixed gap with respect to the rear wall 21c of the dust collection box 21. Compressed air is discharged into the dust collection box 21 from the rear end openings of the two cylinders 19b and 20b without hindrance. When the two cylinders 19b and 20b start to move horizontally from the dust collection box 21 toward the bucket 2 for the skin peeling work, the rear ends of the two cylinders 19b and 20b are connected to the dust collection box 21. The skin 3c from which the long leek 3 is peeled off is discharged into the dust collection box 21 from the rear end openings of the two cylinders 19b, 20b.

  The two cylinders 19b and 20b move horizontally so as to extend from the dust collection box 21 in order to insert the long leek 3 into the inside, but the rear ends of the two cylinders 19b and 20b come out of the dust collection box 21. It is set to no length.

  In the dust collection box 21, a mesh 21d is arranged above the two cylinders 19b and 20b so that the outer skin or the like does not pass through, and the exhaust of soil, dust, etc. that has passed through the mesh 21d is upward. The exhaust tube 21e is discharged into an external storage box.

  Moreover, the lower part of the dust collection box 21 is formed in a hopper shape, and the peeled skin 3c falls from the rear end openings of the two cylinders 19b, 20b to the lower part. The dust collection box 21 that forms the outer casing storage device can be provided with a storage box or the like on the bottom to store the peeled skin that falls. In the present embodiment, the dust collection box 21 is provided in the lower opening 21f of the dust collection box 21. A dust collecting conveyor 21g is arranged, and the skin 3c dropped and discharged onto the dust collecting conveyor 21g is sent to another dust collecting section.

  As described above, when the two cylinders 19b and 20b move for the skin peeling work, the two cylinders 19b and 20b move with respect to the dust collection box 21. Thus, the bellows type hose is not required, and the skin, mud, etc. clogged in the bellows type hose are solidified, so that there is no occurrence of malfunction and free from troublesome cleaning work.

Second Embodiment FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the first embodiment described above, the root cutting position of the long onion 3 is determined by image processing. However, in this embodiment, the determination of the root cutting position is simplified. For example, in the first embodiment In the same manner as described above, the stalk 3c of the long leek 3 is photographed with a camera, and this is image-processed to determine the diameter of the stalk 3c, and the root cutting position is determined directly from this diameter. As a method for obtaining the diameter of the stem portion 3c, in addition to the method based on the above-described image processing, a method of directly measuring the stem portion 3c by contacting the stem portion 3c from both sides in the radial direction of the stem portion or the like may be used. it can. Furthermore, this method can also be configured using a photoelectric sensor.

  When the long leek 3 is placed on the bucket 2 such that the root side abuts against the abutment plate 5 disposed in the supply unit 4, there is a proportional relationship between the root extension and the stem 3a. As shown in FIG. 11, when the length of the root is L and the diameter of the stem 3a is W, the root length L1 can be estimated from the diameter W1 of the thick long onion 3-1, The root length L2 can be estimated from the diameter W2 (W2 <W1) of the thin long onion 3-2. Then, the distance to the root cutting position is obtained based on the estimated root lengths L1 and L2, and a command is issued to the root cutting devices 17 and 18.

  Each of the above embodiments has exemplified the case where the two buckets 2 are moved by one intermittent drive of the bucket conveyor 1 which is a conveying means. However, this is a cylindrical skinning device constituted by a cylindrical body. When the number of the cylindrical skinning device is one, one bucket 2 is moved by one intermittent drive, and the cylindrical skinning device is 3 If it is a series or more, three or more buckets 2 may be moved by one intermittent drive in accordance with this.

  And the long onion supply part 4, the cleaning part, the photographing part, the root cutting part, and the skin peeling part, which are arranged along the conveying direction of the bucket conveyor 1 according to the number of the cylindrical skinning devices, move at once. What is necessary is just to arrange | position according to the number of two.

The top view which shows the whole structure of the processing apparatus of the long leek in the 1st Embodiment of this invention AA arrow view of FIG. BB view of Fig. 1 1C-C arrow view DD view of Fig. 1 The figure explaining the method of determining the root cutting position of a long leek by image processing The figure explaining the method of determining the root cutting position of a long leek by image processing The figure explaining the method of determining the skin (skin) peeling position of a long leek by image processing EE arrow view of FIG. Cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. The figure which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention and illustrates the determination method of a root cutting position

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bucket conveyor 2 Bucket 3 Long leek 4 Long leek supply part 5 Butting board 6 Rotating brush 7a, 8a Stem part photographing camera 7b, 8b Leaf part photographing camera 9 Camera fixed frame 10 Image processing apparatus 11 Control apparatus 16, 23 Holding device 12 First fixed window 13 Root position determining window 14 Second fixed window 15 Skin peeling position determining window 17 First root cutting device 18 Second root cutting device 19 First skin peeling device 20 Second skin Peeling device 21 Dust collection box 23 Leaf cutting device

Claims (7)

A transport device for long onions that intermittently transports a mounting table having the mounting direction of the long onions in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction;
It has a cylindrical body in which the long onion mounted on the mounting table is stored, and moves the cylindrical body along the axial direction while storing the long onion in the cylindrical body, and sprays compressed air to blow the long onion skin A cylindrical skinning device to peel off
A skin housing device for housing a skin transported by compressed air flow in the cylindrical body;
With
The cylindrical body is supported so that the tip side on which the long leek on the mounting table is stored protrudes from the outer casing accommodation device and can be inserted into the outer casing accommodation device with the axial movement of the cylindrical body. A long leek processing device.   A plurality of the cylindrical skinning devices are installed, and the long onion transporting device moves the plurality of mounting tables at a time according to the number of the skinning devices in one intermittent transport. Item 2. A processing apparatus for long onions according to item 1.   The moving distance by which the cylindrical body moves to store the long onion on the mounting table is determined based on a skin peeling position determined by processing an image obtained by photographing the long onion. Item 3. An onion processing apparatus according to item 1 or 2. A number of rooting devices corresponding to the cylindrical skinning device, which is arranged in the front stage of the cylindrical skinning device and cuts the roots of the long onions placed on the mounting table,
A number of cutting position determination devices corresponding to the number of root cutting devices, which are arranged in a preceding stage of the root cutting device and specify root cutting positions by the root cutting device;
A drive control device for moving the cutting portion of the root cutting device to the root cutting position;
The processing apparatus of the long onion in any one of Claim 1 to 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The cutting position determining device specifies at least an imaging device that captures a range from a stem portion to a root portion of a long onion, and processes the image of the imaging device to identify a boundary between the stem portion and the root portion of the long onion, and cuts the boundary The long leek processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an image processing apparatus that determines a position.   The cutting position determination device determines the cutting position by specifying the boundary between the stem and the root by estimating the length of the root based on the thickness of the stem of the long onion. The processing apparatus of the long onion of 4. The long leek processing apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein a cleaning device for polishing a stem portion in the vicinity of a root portion of the long leek is provided upstream of the cutting position determining device.

Images