JP2005279425A - Color screening machine for tea leaf - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a color screening machine for a tea leaf capable of performing color screening without enlarging a dimension in a slant direction of a chute and consistently accurately by suppressing a hop of the tea leaf introduced into the chute and making a fall track of the tea leaf from the bottom part of the chute constant. <P>SOLUTION: The color screening machine for screening a tea leaf having a predetermined color in the tea leaf to remove includes the chutes 1 and 2 capable of passing the tea leaf from the upper part to the lower part while lining up the tea leaf, a vibration feeder 9 for dropping the tea leaf on the upper part of the chute 1, CCD cameras 3 and 4 catching an image of a falling tea leaf to obtain the image, judging means 16 for judging whether the tea leaf has the predetermined color or not on the basis of the color of the image obtained by the image catching means, and air nozzles 7 and 8 for blowing the tea leaf judged the tea leaf having the predetermined color by the judging means 16, wherein the vibration feeder 9 and the upper part of the chute 1 are closely arranged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a tea leaf color sorter for sorting out and removing those having a predetermined color such as white stems in tea leaves.

  An example of a color sorter that sorts a detected object (work) such as tea leaf or rice grain into a non-defective product and a defective product based on the color is, for example, the one disclosed in Patent Document 1. In such a color sorter, a chute is arranged in an inclined manner, and the detected object is caused to flow while falling from the upper part of the chute to the lower part, while the color detecting unit detects the color of the falling detected object. Then, air was blown out and selected with a predetermined color.

  However, in order to apply the color sorter to the tea leaf sorting means, the present applicant forms a plurality of parallel groove portions in the vertical direction of the chute, flows the tea leaves downward along the groove portion, The tea leaves falling from the bottom of the camera are picked up by a CCD camera, and when it is determined that the picked-up tea leaves are, for example, white stems, the non-defective product and the defective product are selected by driving the air nozzle and blowing them off. It came to propose an apparatus.

Therefore, in the above color sorter, it is necessary to perform image pickup by the CCD camera and blow off by the air nozzle at a timely timing on the tea leaves falling from the lower part of the chute, so in order to perform color selection with high accuracy, It is necessary to make the fall trajectory constant. The present applicant has found that the flow of tea leaves while jumping on a chute is one of the main causes of disturbing the fall trajectory of tea leaves, and for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, the tea leaves flow while bouncing. A tea leaf color sorter with an interference member on the chute that can interfere with tea leaves was proposed.
JP-A-10-180195 JP 2004-16992 A

  However, in the conventional tea leaf color sorter, although the falling trajectory is converged by converging the splash of the tea leaf that flows while jumping on the chute by the interference member, there is a problem that the effect is still not sufficient. there were. That is, when a tea leaf falls on a chute from a feeding means such as a vibratory feeder that feeds tea leaves, the separation distance between the vibratory feeder and the chute is usually as large as about 100 mm. There are cases where the falling trajectories are not substantially the same only by the convergence of the splash.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by suppressing the jumping of the tea leaves supplied to the chute and making the fall trajectory of the tea leaves from the lower part of the chute constant, the size of the chute in the tilt direction is reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tea leaf color sorter that can always perform color sorting accurately without increasing the size.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a chute that is arranged at a predetermined angle and has a plurality of parallel groove portions in the vertical direction and can flow while aligning tea leaves from the upper part to the lower part thereof, Based on the color of the image obtained by the supply means for dropping the tea leaf on the upper part of the chute to supply the tea leaves, the imaging means for capturing the image of the tea leaves falling from the lower part of the chute, and the image obtained by the imaging means, A determination means for determining whether or not the object to be imaged has a predetermined color, and a thing determined to have the predetermined color by the determination means are blown off, and a trajectory different from the dropping trajectory by the chute is used. In a tea leaf color sorter for sorting out and removing tea leaves having a predetermined color, the supply means and the upper part of the chute are arranged close to each other. It is characterized in.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the tea leaf color sorter according to the first aspect, the supply means extends to the upper part of the chute and can drop the tea leaf by a groove corresponding to the groove of the chute. And at least the bottom shape of the drop mouth is a groove shape that can match the groove portion of the chute.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the tea leaf color sorter according to the first or second aspect, the drop port has a shape having a predetermined curvature from the supply means toward the top of the chute. It is characterized by that.

  According to the invention of claim 1, since the supply means and the upper part of the chute are arranged close to each other, the jumping of the tea leaves supplied to the chute is suppressed, and the fall trajectory of the tea leaves from the lower part of the chute is made constant. The color selection can always be performed accurately without increasing the size of the chute in the tilt direction.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since at least the bottom surface shape of the drop mouth is a groove shape that can match the groove portion of the chute, if the groove shape is matched above the groove portion, the drop mouth and the upper portion of the chute Can be very close to each other, and the jumping of the tea leaves supplied onto the chute can be effectively suppressed. Furthermore, a groove portion corresponding to the groove portion of the chute is formed in the upper portion of the groove shape, and the tea leaves are aligned in the groove portion of the supply means, so that the tea leaves supplied to the chute can be more accurately aligned. It is possible to make the trajectory of the tea leaves from the lower part of the chute more constant.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the drop mouth has a shape having a predetermined curvature from the supply means to the upper part of the chute, the tea leaf alignment effect in the groove portion at the drop mouth can be further enhanced. .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
The tea leaf color sorter according to the present embodiment is for sorting and removing white stems with white color in tea leaves, and as shown in FIG. 1, a frame fixed on the floor surface. 12, first chute 1 and second chute 2 arranged in two upper and lower stages, CCD cameras 3 and 4 as imaging means, fluorescent lamps 5 and 6, air nozzles 7 and 8, and judgment means 16 ( 3) and a vibration feeder 9 as supply means.

  An oscillating conveyor 10 is disposed on the upper part of the frame 9, and tea leaves supplied from a hopper (not shown) are conveyed to the oscillating feeder 9 while being oscillated by the oscillating conveyor 10. It is configured so that a predetermined amount can be evenly supplied. The first chute 1 and the second chute 2 are formed by bending a thin plate material as shown in FIG. 2 and inclining at a predetermined angle to form two upper and lower tiers. From the upper first chute 1 to the lower second chute. Tea leaves can be flowed sequentially over two.

  Due to such a bent shape, a plurality of grooves 1a and 2a are formed in parallel in the inclined direction (vertical direction), and the tea leaves are aligned from the upper part to the lower part of the chutes 1 and 2 along the groove parts 1a and 2a. It is comprised so that it can be poured. In addition, in this embodiment, although the cross-sectional shape of the groove parts 1a and 2a is made into a substantially U shape, as long as it can align the tea leaves, it is good also as another shape (cross-sectional substantially V shape etc.).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air nozzles 7 and 8 are disposed on the surface (upper surface) side of the first chute 1 and the second chute 2, respectively, and are determined to have a predetermined color by the determination means 16 described later. Boiled rice (white stalks in this embodiment) is blown off and dropped with a trajectory different from that of the first chute 1 or second chute 2.

  That is, a plurality of air nozzles 7 and 8 are arranged in parallel corresponding to the respective groove portions 1a and 2a of the first chute 1, and among the tea leaves falling from the first chute 1 or the second chute 2, the air nozzle 7 or 8 What is blown off by driving is configured to fall (fall to the far side) along a trajectory below the normal fall trajectory. The tea leaves blown off by the upper air nozzle 7 fall to the area 14a side in the vibration conveyor 14 (see FIG. 1) disposed below, and the tea leaves blown off by the lower air nozzle 8 14 falls to the area 14b side and is transported to a predetermined place.

  Note that the tea leaves that have not been blown away by the air nozzles 7 and 8 (tea leaves that have not been color-determined as white stems) reach the guide member 15 disposed below the second chute 2 and further drop and vibrate therefrom. It will be collected by the conveyor 13. Here, in the present embodiment, the air nozzles 7 and 8 blow out the color determined as white stem by the determination means 12, but the color determination is determined as good tea leaves (that is, tea leaves that are not white stems). You may comprise so that what was blown off with the air from the air nozzles 7 and 8. FIG.

  The fluorescent lamps 5 and 6 irradiate light to the respective imaging ranges of the CCD cameras 3 and 4, and each extend in the width direction of the first chute 1 and the second chute 2. By irradiating light from the fluorescent lamps 5 and 6, the images obtained by the CCD cameras 3 and 4 can be made clearer, and the determination by the determination means 16 described later can be performed with higher accuracy. Instead of the fluorescent lamps 5 and 6, other light sources (for example, a halogen lamp, a heat generating bulb, a xenon lamp, or an LED) may be used.

  The CCD cameras 3 and 4 capture the tea leaves falling from the first chute 1 and the second chute 2 from the back surface (lower surface) side of the chute 1 and 2 to obtain a digital image. The imaging range is set in a line in the width direction immediately below the second chute 2. That is, among the images obtained by the CCD cameras 3 and 4, the sensing range that is the target of color selection is defined as the imaging range. Note that an analog image in the imaging range may be obtained by the CCD cameras 3 and 4.

  The CCD cameras 3 and 4 are electrically connected to the determination means 16 as shown in FIG. The determination means 16 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer, and based on the color of the images obtained by the CCD cameras 3 and 4 (that is, pixels in the imaging range), whether or not the captured tea leaves are white stems (to be imaged) Whether or not the object has a predetermined color). That is, it is sufficient if the white stem can be identified by image processing of the captured image, and binarization processing may be performed to determine black and white, or image processing that takes into account color tone (shading) may be performed.

  Further, the determination unit 16 is also electrically connected to the air nozzles 7 and 8, and is configured such that the air nozzles 7 and 8 are controlled based on the color determination by the determination unit 12. Thereby, when the determination means 12 determines that it is a white stem, it can be selected by driving the air nozzle 7 or 8 and blowing it to make the fall trajectory different.

  Here, the vibration feeder 9 as the supply means according to the present embodiment sequentially feeds the tea leaves supplied from the hopper through the vibration conveyor 10, while dropping the tea leaves on the first chute 1 by vibration. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the storage unit 9 a is disposed at a predetermined angle and receives tea leaves from the vibration conveyor 10. It has an outlet 17 that extends to the top of the chute 1. And the tea leaf accommodated in the accommodating part 9a moves to the drop mouth 17 side by the provided vibration (vibration of the arrow direction in FIG. 6), and reaches the upper part of the 1st chute 1 from the front-end | tip of this drop mouth 17. It becomes.

  A plurality of groove portions 17b corresponding to the groove portions 1a of the first chute 1 are formed in the drop mouth 17 in the traveling direction of the tea leaves (the direction from the housing portion 9a toward the projecting end of the drop mouth 17), and the tea leaves of the housing portion 9a are formed. It is supplied to the upper part of the first chute 1 while being aligned by the groove 17b. Thereby, compared with what aligns a tea leaf only by the groove part 1a of the 1st chute | shoot 1, more tea leaves can be aligned and color selection accuracy can be improved.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the bottom surface shape (lower surface shape) of the drop port 17 is a shape that follows the groove portion 17 b and is a groove shape 17 a that can match the groove portion 1 a of the first chute 1. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7, if the upper surface of the first chute 1 and the drop port 17 are arranged so as to coincide with each other, the separation dimension t can be made extremely small. It is possible to suppress jumping of the tea leaves falling from the tip of the drop port 17 to the first chute 1.

  However, the tea leaf fall trajectory from the lower portion of the first chute 1 can be made more constant by the tea leaf alignment effect of the groove portion 1a and the close placement effect of the drop port 17 with the first chute 1, and the tea leaf can be made more accurate. Color selection can be performed. In addition, although it is preferable to make it close to the dimension which the protrusion of the drop mouth 17 and the upper part of the 1st chute | shoot 1 do not contact as vibration arrangement of the vibration feeder 9, for example, the said dimension is good also as 30 mm or less. This is because the length of the tea leaves shaped into needles is approximately 15 to 20 mm, and therefore it is preferable to make the above-mentioned separation dimension close to twice the length of the tea leaves.

  In addition, by arranging the drop port 17 and the upper part of the first chute 1 close to each other, the potential energy of the tea leaf that has reached the tip of the drop port 17 with respect to the upper part of the first chute is conventional (with a separation dimension of about 100 mm). ) And the jumping of the tea leaves falling on the first chute 1 can be extremely reduced, so that the tea leaves can be quickly accommodated in the groove portion 1a of the first chute 1 and the alignment effect can be increased. . The drop port 17 in the present embodiment is a separate member (for example, a molded product made of resin or the like) separate from the storage unit 9a and is connected to the storage unit 9a. 17 may be integrated.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the pit 17 according to the present embodiment has a shape having a predetermined curvature from the housing portion 9 a toward the upper portion of the first chute 1 (a portion indicated by reference sign A in the figure). Has been. Thereby, compared with what the drop mouth 17 had the bending shape, the alignment effect of the tea leaf in the groove part 17b in the said drop mouth 17 can be improved more.

  That is, when observing the tea leaves flowing across the adjacent groove portions 17b, it was found that the orientation changed 90 degrees at the shape portion A having a predetermined curvature and was accommodated in the groove portions 17b. In order to demonstrate this phenomenon, the movement of tea leaves at the pit was observed for about 1 minute and summarized in Table 1 below. From Table 1, it can be seen that the shape of the drop mouth is higher in the tea leaf alignment effect when it has a predetermined curvature than when it has a bent corner. In the table, a is the number of tea leaves flowing across adjacent grooves, b is the number of tea leaves that have changed direction at the curvature part A of c, and c is the ratio of b to a. It is a representation.

  According to the tea leaf color sorter according to the above embodiment, the vibratory feeder 9 serving as the supply means and the upper portion of the first chute 1 are arranged close to each other, so that the jumping of the tea leaf itself supplied to the upper portion of the first chute 1 is detected. It can be suppressed, and the trajectory of the tea leaves from the lower part of the chute can be made uniform while downsizing the apparatus. That is, in the conventional case, the tea leaves supplied to the first chute 1 are subjected to an impact at the time of dropping, and in the case of jumping, it is necessary to increase the length of the chute and flow the tea leaves until the jumping is settled. In the present embodiment, the jumping of the tea leaf itself can be suppressed, so that highly accurate color selection can be performed without increasing the size of the chute.

Next, the operation of the tea leaf color sorter will be described.
When the worker puts the tea leaves into the hopper, the tea leaves sequentially fall into the accommodating portion 9a of the vibration feeder 9 via the vibration conveyor 10 and the guide member 11. The tea leaves of the housing portion 9a reach the drop opening 17 due to the applied vibration, and move to the groove portion 1a of the first chute 1 while staying in the groove portion 17b of the drop opening 17. At this time, the groove shape 17a of the drop port 17 and the groove portion 1a of the first chute 1 are matched, and the separation distance t thereof is extremely small, so that the tea leaves are prevented from jumping due to the impact caused by falling. .

  Further, because the tea leaves that move across the adjacent groove portions 17b are aligned within the groove portions 17b due to the portion A having the predetermined curvature of the drop mouth 17, the tea leaves that have flowed through the groove portions 17b are surely the first. The chute 1 flows into the groove 1 a of the chute 1. Then, the tea leaves that have flowed through the first chute 1 fall along a predetermined trajectory from below, and reach the imaging range of the CCD camera 3.

  At this time, the CCD camera 3 captures an imaged range illuminated by the fluorescent lamp 5 to obtain a digital image, and transmits the image data to the determination means 16. When the determination means 16 determines that the color of the falling tea leaf is not a white stem, the air nozzle 7 is maintained in a stopped state. On the other hand, if it is determined that the color is a white stem, the air nozzle 7 is driven to Air is blown onto the tea leaves. As a result, the white stem that has been blown with air is blown away, the falling trajectory is made different, and the white stem falls to the area 14 a side of the vibration conveyor 14. Note that the tea leaves to which air is not blown fall as they are and flow through the second chute 2.

  On the other hand, the tea leaves that have not been sorted and fall on the second chute 2 are captured by the CCD camera 4 while being illuminated by the fluorescent lamp 6 in the process of falling from the lower part of the second chute 2 after flowing through the second chute 2. The At this time, as described above, the digital image data obtained by the CCD camera 4 is transmitted to the determination means 16, and the same color determination as described above is performed. And when it determines with the determination means 16 not being a white stem, the stop state of the air nozzle 8 is maintained, and the tea leaf falls as it is and reaches the vibrating conveyor 13 through the guide member 15, while it is determined to be a white stem. In the case where the air nozzle 8 is driven, the white stem is blown off to the area 14b side in the vibration conveyor 14 by blowing air.

  Tea leaves determined to be non-defective products that have fallen on the vibration conveyor 15 will be transported to the next step in the tea making process, and tea leaves determined to be white stems that have fallen to the vibration conveyor 16 will be transported to a predetermined location. . Thus, since the color-sorted ones are dropped on the vibrating conveyor, the subsequent carrying work can be facilitated. Instead of such a vibration conveyor, a collection box may be provided and each may be collected.

  Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the drop of the vibration feeder is a plate that does not form a groove and a groove, and the drop is formed at the top of the chute. It is good also as what makes it adjoin. As a proximity mode, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper part of the chute and the top end of the chute 1 and the upper end of the chute 1 are not overlapped as shown in FIG. Both members may be brought close to each other while being separated by a minute clearance m. The clearance m preferably has a minimum dimension from which tea leaves do not spill out and the tip of the spout 17 and the upper portion of the chute 1 do not contact with each other due to the vibration of the vibration feeder 9.

  In addition, the tea leaf discharge port in the vibration feeder may be arranged close to the chute without having a drop mouth, and even in this case, the impact of the tea leaf falling from the supply means to the chute is relieved, Jumping can be suppressed, and the fall trajectory from the lower part of the chute can be made constant.

  In addition, it is sufficient that the bottom of the groove has a groove shape that can match at least the bottom surface shape with the groove portion of the chute. If the groove portion on the top surface is formed at a position corresponding to the groove portion of the chute, the depth and shape are sufficient. Etc. may be different. Further, in addition to the one having a predetermined curvature at the outlet as in the present embodiment, the one that is bent toward the chute (having a corner) may be used. Furthermore, it is good also as what made the upper surface flat while making the bottom face shape of a drop mouth into groove shape. In other words, the bottom shape of the drop mouth is the groove shape as in this embodiment, so that the supply means and the upper portion of the chute can be arranged close to each other with extremely small dimensions, and the jumping of the tea leaves can be suppressed. The fall trajectory from the bottom can be made constant.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the chute is arranged over two upper and lower stages, but the chute is arranged over a plurality of stages of three or more to increase the number of color selections, thereby improving the selection accuracy. It may be further improved, or a single chute may be provided to perform one color selection. However, when a plurality of chutes are arranged, it is necessary to arrange the upper part of the uppermost chute and the supply means close to each other.

  Of course, the object to be selected is not limited to the white stems contained in the tea leaves as in this embodiment, but various things having a predetermined color such as yellow leaves, red bars or foreign substances are determined by the determining means, and the air nozzle is used. You may make it remove. In this case, it is necessary to appropriately change the sensitivity setting of the CCD camera. In addition to white stems contained in tea leaves, so-called defective products and foreign substances can be selected and removed.

  Any tea leaf color sorter in which the supply means and the upper part of the chute are arranged close to each other can be applied to one having a different external shape or having another function added.

Side surface schematic diagram which shows the color sorter of the tea leaf which concerns on embodiment of this invention The perspective view which shows the chute in the color sorter of the tea leaves The block diagram which shows the connection state of CCD camera, air nozzle, and a determination means in the color sorter of the tea leaves Top view showing the vibration feeder in the tea leaf color sorter VV line sectional view in FIG. Side schematic diagram showing the mouth of the vibration feeder in the tea leaf color sorter The cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the positional relationship with the groove part and groove shape which were formed in the drop mouth of the vibration feeder in the color sorter of the tea leaf, and the groove part formed in the chute | shoot The schematic diagram which shows the proximity | contact form of the drop mouth and chute in the color sorter of the tea leaf which concerns on other embodiment of this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st chute 2 2nd chute 1a, 2a Groove part 3, 4 CCD camera (imaging means)
5, 6 Fluorescent lamp 7, 8 Air nozzle 9 Vibrating feeder 10 Vibrating conveyor 11 Guide member 12 Frame 13, 14 Vibrating conveyor 15 Guide member 16 Judging means 17 Drop port 17a Groove shape 17b Groove portion

Claims (3)

A chute that is arranged at a predetermined angle and has a plurality of parallel grooves in the vertical direction and can flow while aligning the tea leaves from the upper part to the lower part,
Supply means for dropping tea leaves on top of the chute to supply tea leaves on the chute;
Imaging means for capturing an image of tea leaves falling from the lower part of the chute, and obtaining an image;
Determination means for determining whether or not the object to be imaged has a predetermined color based on the color of the image obtained by the imaging means;
An air nozzle that blows away what has been determined to have a predetermined color by the determining means, and causes the air nozzle to drop on a trajectory different from the trajectory of falling by the chute;
In a tea leaf color sorter for sorting out and removing tea leaves having a predetermined color,
A tea leaf color sorter characterized in that the supply means and the upper part of the chute are arranged close to each other.   The supply means includes an outlet that extends to the top of the chute and can drop tea leaves by a groove corresponding to the groove of the chute, and at least the bottom shape of the outlet matches the groove of the chute. 2. A tea leaf color sorter according to claim 1, wherein the tea leaf color sorter is formed into a groove shape.   3. The tea leaf color sorter according to claim 1, wherein the drop mouth has a shape having a predetermined curvature from the supply means toward an upper portion of the chute.

Images