JP2006055762A - Inspection method and inspection apparatus of small bulk material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inspection method and apparatus of a small bulk material, which is simple and easy-to-use, and in which a target is a small bulk test object, in particular, a soft test object having a viscosity, and various kinds of foreign materials mixed in the test objects can be detected accurately to remove the foreign materials in a high capability, and to prevent also the damages of the test objects removed together with the foreign materials. <P>SOLUTION: A suction-removing means of foreign materials 40 dispersion-arranges the small bulk test objects P on a proceeding belt conveyor 12, carries out the imaging of the test objects P from above to detect a foreign material PI mixed in the test objects P, and is constituted so as to cover the entire area of the width direction of the belt conveyor 12 in the specified downstream zone with a plurality of suction-removing members 45. By the suction-removing means 40, the suction-removing members 45 are control-operated separately, and the foreign material PI is sucked and removed corresponding to the width direction position on the belt conveyor 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for inspecting and eliminating foreign matters mixed in a small block-like object to be conveyed on a belt conveyor, and in particular, an inspection method and an inspection using a soft and sticky small object as an inspection object. Relates to the device.

  For example, when a small lump such as aloe leaf meat or mandarin orange is processed into a product, it is required to inspect and eliminate foreign matters mixed in the small lump.

  As a technique for removing foreign matter in such an object to be inspected, the particles conveyed on the belt are photographed with a television camera to detect the foreign matter, dropped on the downstream side of the belt, and then discharged from the air jet nozzle to high pressure air. There is a technique for removing foreign matters by ejecting a liquid (see Patent Document 1). However, this technology is intended to inspect grains with high hardness and low adhesion, such as rock salt, cereals, minerals, etc., and soft, sticky small objects such as aloe mesophyll and mandarin orange are used as test objects. In this case, the small objects do not fall smoothly from the belt because the small objects adhere to the belt, and the position of the foreign object fluctuates from the state photographed by the TV camera, and the foreign object is accurately detected by the jet of high-pressure air. Could not be excluded. Further, when the object to be inspected is soft, there is a problem that the object to be inspected which is removed together with the foreign matter by the jet of high-pressure air is damaged and it is difficult to select and reuse as a product.

  In addition, as a sorting box for agricultural products sorting or a sorting machine by color for cullet, there is a technology that picks up and identifies a sorting object to be transferred with a camera, adsorbs the sorting object according to the identification result, and moves to classify the object. Yes (see Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3). However, this type of technology requires the sorting object to be sucked to the tip of the suction device and moved out of the device together with the suction device, and a large number of sorting objects conveyed on a wide conveyor are continuously connected. Therefore, there was a limit to sorting with high capacity. In addition, it is difficult to move a small selection object or a soft small object by suction to the tip of the suction device and move it outside the device.

In addition, as a method and apparatus for inspecting small objects, the same applicant as the present invention distributes small objects to be inspected on a belt conveyor and performs imaging inspection with a camera to allow foreign matter to be mixed to be moved. There is a technique of sucking out of the belt conveyor and removing it by a suction member (robot) (see Patent Document 4). This technology is used to remove foreign matter directly from the belt conveyor when inspecting foreign matter in soft and sticky small objects. The problem of adhesion of the object to be inspected to the belt conveyor was eliminated, and there was a feature that there was little damage to small objects. However, there is a problem that the movable suction member (robot) and its control device used for removing foreign substances are complicated and expensive and difficult to operate and maintain. In addition, when a large number of foreign objects are detected in a concentrated manner on an inspection object conveyed on a wide belt conveyor, there is a problem that the suction member (robot) has a limitation on the foreign material removal capability and the capacity of the inspection device cannot be increased. there were.
JP 7-113751 A JP 7-237521 A JP-A-5-96250 JP 2001-70891 A

  The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described situation, and is intended for a small object to be inspected, particularly a soft and sticky small object to be inspected, and various foreign matters mixed in the object to be inspected. Is detected with high accuracy and is eliminated with high capacity.In addition, damage to the object to be inspected with foreign objects is prevented, and if necessary, good small objects with foreign objects are sorted and buried as a product. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and easy-to-use method and apparatus for inspecting small objects that can be used.

  That is, the invention of claim 1 disperses and disposes small objects to be inspected on a belt conveyor, images the inspection object from above, inspects the foreign matter mixed in the inspection object, and performs the imaging. Downstream of the position, a plurality of suction exclusion members arranged to share the width direction of the belt conveyor individually operate the suction exclusion members corresponding to the positions in the width direction of the belt conveyor to The present invention relates to a method for inspecting a small object, which sucks and removes the foreign matter from

  The invention of claim 2 relates to a method for inspecting a small object according to claim 1, wherein the object to be inspected is a light-transmitting small substance.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inspected object conveying means for conveying an inspected object in a lump shape on a belt conveyor, an inspected object dispersing means for distributing and arranging the inspected objects on the belt conveyor, and the belt conveyor. Image data acquisition means for acquiring an image data by imaging the inspection object to be conveyed from above, and a plurality of suction exclusion members that are arranged downstream of the imaging position and share the width direction of the belt conveyor. And suction exclusion means for sucking and removing foreign matters mixed in the inspection object, and data for processing the image data and the traveling speed data of the belt conveyor to transmit signals relating to the foreign matter suction exclusion means to the suction exclusion means The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus for small objects, comprising processing means.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the inspection object in the form of a lump is distributed and arranged on the traveling belt conveyor, the inspection object is imaged from above, and the foreign matter mixed in the inspection object is inspected. For this reason, the chance of foreign matter being exposed on the belt conveyor increases, and the foreign matter detection accuracy can be increased. Also, using a plurality of suction evacuation members installed above a designated location downstream of the belt conveyor, the suction evacuation members corresponding to the position of the foreign material in the width direction of the belt conveyor are individually operated, and the traveling foreign matter is belted. Remove the suction from the top of the carrier.

  For this reason, since foreign matter is directly sucked from the belt conveyor by the suction exclusion member and does not fall on the downstream side of the belt as described in Patent Document 1, an object to be inspected that adheres to the belt conveyor is also inspected. Therefore, the foreign matter can be suctioned and removed with high accuracy without changing from the foreign matter removal position based on the image data.

  In addition, a plurality of suction exclusion members share the entire width direction of the belt conveyor, and the suction exclusion member at the downstream position of the foreign matter sucks the foreign matter and conveys the foreign matter to an external designated location. To eliminate. For this reason, the suction exclusion member is configured to move the suction device corresponding to the position of the foreign substance described in Patent Documents 2 and 4 and to move the sorting object described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 outside the apparatus. Therefore, it is not necessary to move the adsorption device to eliminate the above. As a result, the structure and control of the suction exclusion means are remarkably simplified, and operation and maintenance can be easily performed at low cost.

  In addition, even when a large number of foreign objects are detected in a concentrated manner on an object to be conveyed on a wide belt conveyor, a plurality of suction exclusion members operate individually corresponding to the plurality of foreign objects. As in the case of the movable suction member (robot) described in item 4, it is not required to rapidly move in many directions for the removal of a large number of foreign matters, and the foreign matter removal capability can be improved. As a result, the durability of the suction exclusion member is improved and maintenance is facilitated, and the capacity of the entire inspection exclusion apparatus is improved.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the object to be inspected is a light-transmitting small mass, a belt conveyor having a white surface or the like and having high light reflectivity is used. By installing an illumination light source on the lower side of the belt conveyor using a belt conveyor having a high height, it is possible to accurately increase the foreign matter mixed in the inside or back side of the inspection object when the inspection object is imaged from above. It is possible to exclude foreign substances by inspection with ability. For this reason, it is possible to provide an accurate and high-performance inspection method for many products having soft adhesiveness and light transmittance such as various kinds of flesh and leaf meat, which conventionally have been difficult to inspect and eliminate contamination. effective.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the inspection object dispersing means for dispersing and arranging small blocks of the inspection object on the belt conveyor of the inspection object conveying means, and the inspection object are imaged to obtain the image data. Image data acquisition means for acquiring, suction exclusion means comprising a plurality of suction exclusion members that cover and cover the entire width direction of the belt conveyor, and data processing means for outputting a foreign matter suction exclusion signal to the suction exclusion means The inspection apparatus for small objects provided with the apparatus can suck and eliminate foreign matter with high accuracy without displacement from the calculation position based on image data even for an inspection object that adheres to the belt conveyor. .

  Compared with the case where a movable suction member (a robot or the like) described in Patent Document 4 is used, the structure and control of the foreign matter suction exclusion means are simple and inexpensive, and operation and maintenance can be easily performed. Furthermore, even when a large number of foreign objects are concentrated and detected in the inspection object conveyed on a wide belt conveyor, a plurality of suction exclusion members share and eliminate the suction. Therefore, the capacity of the entire inspection apparatus can be improved by improving the capacity of the suction exclusion member. In addition, it is possible to accurately inspect the small inspected object having adhesiveness.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view as an embodiment of an inspection apparatus for a small object according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1 including a partial cross-sectional view, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the suction exclusion means of FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 3 showing the operating state of the suction exclusion member, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line YY in FIG.

  As shown in the plan view of FIG. 1, the small object inspection apparatus 10 includes an inspection object transport unit 11 and an inspection object in which the inspection object P is distributed and arranged on a belt conveyor 12 constituting the inspection object transport unit 11. Dispersion means 20, image data acquisition means 30 for acquiring image data by imaging the inspection object P conveyed on the belt conveyor 12 from above, and suction exclusion means 40 for suctioning and removing foreign matter PI from the belt conveyor 12. And the data processing means 50 for calculating the image data and the traveling speed data of the belt conveyor 12 and transmitting the exclusion signal of the foreign matter PI to the suction exclusion means 40. Further, the vacuum pump 15 and the foreign matter storage tank 16 suck foreign matters on the belt conveyor 12 as a part of the suction exclusion means 40 as described later in detail.

  In the front view of FIG. 2, the conveyor frame 13 and the inspected object dispersing means 20 each show an internal cross section, but the inspected object conveying means 11 includes a conveyor frame 13 on a gantry 14 and a wide belt conveyor 12. The belt conveyor 12 is driven by a driving device (not shown) and proceeds in the direction of the arrow at a predetermined speed.

  The inspection object dispersing means 20 includes a water tank 21, a water supply pipe 22, and a water surface control device (not shown) that controls the water surface height, and detects the water surface height in the water tank 21 by a known means to control the water supply amount. Then, the small test object P floating with water is caused to overflow from the weir 23 onto the belt conveyor 12. Further, the inspection object P is introduced into the water tank 21 from the pipe 24 at the upper part of the water tank 21 by a substantially predetermined amount per unit time. It should be noted that a stirring device is provided in the water tank 21 as necessary to achieve uniform mixing of the input inspection object P in water.

  With the above-described configuration, the inspection object P overflows from the weir 23 together with the water, and is dispersed almost uniformly on the belt conveyor 12 and falls. At this time, the dispersion density of the inspection object P on the belt conveyor 12 is determined by operating conditions such as the mixing ratio of the inspection object P floating in water, the amount of overflow water, and the traveling speed of the belt conveyor 12. If it is overly dense, the probability that the foreign matter PI will be hidden in the shadow of the small object is increased and the inspection accuracy is lowered. If the dispersion is too small, the processing capability of the foreign matter inspection apparatus is lowered. For this reason, the operation conditions are set so as to obtain an appropriate dispersed state in consideration of the operation capability of the foreign substance inspection apparatus and the required inspection accuracy. In addition, the water tank outlet guide 21a is provided so that the inspection object P does not move significantly in the traveling lateral direction of the belt conveyor 12 due to the water flowing down on the belt conveyor 12, and a small hole is provided on the surface of the belt conveyor 12. It is set as the structure which water permeate | transmits below.

  In FIG. 2, the camera 31 constituting the image data acquisition unit 30 is installed above the belt conveyor 12, images the inspection object P being conveyed, and transmits the image data to the data processing unit 50. Further, the data processing means 50 detects the foreign matter PI mixed in the inspection object P, and transmits the data necessary for suctioning and removing the foreign matter PI, such as the position of the foreign matter PI and the timing to remove the foreign matter PI, to the suction removing means 40. . Note that the image data acquisition method includes a method of acquiring a rectangular area by a line sensor in addition to imaging of a rectangular area by the camera 31, and corresponds to the type of the image data for detection of a foreign substance PI. Many known means can be used.

  Further, in this embodiment, when imaging by the camera 31, in the present embodiment, light is irradiated from above the inspection object P, and the inside of the light-transmitting small mass substance is used by using the belt conveyor 12 having high light reflectivity on the surface. Although it is possible to detect foreign matter hidden on the back side, by using the belt conveyor 12 with high light transmittance, an illumination light source is installed on the lower side of the belt conveyor 12 and the object P is imaged from above, It is also possible to further increase the detection accuracy of foreign matters mixed in the inside or back side of the inspection object P.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the suction evacuation means main body 41 constituting the suction evacuation means 40 is arranged on the downstream side of the belt conveyor 12, and a plurality of suction evacuation members 45 as components are connected to the intake pipe 17 and the foreign matter. It is connected to a vacuum pump 15 (FIG. 1) via a storage tank 16. Further, as shown in the enlarged plan view of FIG. 3, in order to eliminate foreign matters in the entire width direction of the belt conveyor 12, the plurality of suction exclusion members 45 are arranged in a staggered manner in two rows like the suction exclusion member members 45a and 45b. It is established. Note that the arrangement of the suction exclusion members 45 is not particularly limited to a two-row zigzag arrangement, and the adjacent suction exclusion members 45 are arranged according to the properties of the object to be inspected P, the operation capability of the apparatus, and the like. Can be arranged in a single row.

  4A shows a state in which the suction component 46 constituting the suction exclusion member 45 is lifted and separated from the belt conveyor 12, and FIG. 4B is a view in which the suction component 46 is lowered. The suction component tip 46a approaches the belt conveyor 7 to show that the foreign matter PI can be removed by suction. As shown in FIG. 4A, the suction component 46 is held by a guide member 43 fixed to the support plate 42 so as to be movable up and down, and is driven by an air cylinder 44 coupled at the upper part of the suction component 46 to move up and down. Move in the direction. Further, a piping component 47 is fixed to the guide member 43 having a gas communication portion with the suction component 46 and is connected to the tube 48. The tube 48 is connected to the vacuum pump via the intake piping 17 shown in FIG. 15 is connected. Further, a solenoid valve (not shown) for connecting or blocking negative pressure air from the intake pipe 17 to the tube 48 based on an instruction from the data processing means 50 is provided on the upstream side of each pipe 48 of the suction exclusion member 46. Has been placed.

  As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5, the suction eliminating member 45 has a square shape in order to efficiently remove foreign matter PI from the conveyor. As shown in FIG. 3, on the upper surface of the belt conveyor 12, the tips 46a of the square-shaped suction parts 46 described above are arranged in a line at equal intervals in the width direction of the belt conveyor 12, and the other intervals are arranged between the pitches. -The suction component tips 46a in the row are arranged in a staggered manner so that the foreign matter PI can be sucked and removed without leaking in the entire width direction of the belt conveyor 12.

  With the configuration described above, the small-bulk substance inspection apparatus 10 according to the present invention images the dispersed inspection object P conveyed on the belt conveyor 12 with the camera 31 and transmits it to the data processing means 50 for data processing. The means 50 processes the image data to detect the foreign matter PI, and selects each suction exclusion member 45 to be operated according to the position in the width direction of the foreign matter PI on the belt conveyor 12. Then, at the timing when the foreign substance PI advances below the selected suction exclusion member 45, the air cylinder 44 is operated based on the signal of the data processing means 50, and the suction component 46 is lowered as shown in FIG. 4B. At the same time, the corresponding solenoid valve is operated to suck the foreign substance PI from the suction component tip 46a with a negative pressure, and is removed from the belt conveyor 12 through the internal piping.

  The foreign matter PI sucked from the suction component tip 46a is transported along with the air through the piping component 47, the tube 48 and the intake piping 17, and falls into the foreign matter storage tank 16 where the flow rate of the air is reduced and stored therein. The As described above, in the inspection apparatus 10 for a small lump substance according to the present invention, the foreign matter PI mixed in the inspection object P is detected, and a plurality of suction exclusion members 45 are connected to the belt of the foreign matter PI in the downstream portion. Corresponding to the position in the width direction of the conveyor 12, the foreign substances PI are sucked and removed by individually operating and sharing them.

  For this reason, even when a large number of foreign substances PI are concentrated and detected in the inspection object P conveyed on the wide belt conveyor 12, the plurality of suction exclusion members 45 share the respective foreign substances without being buried. It is possible to improve the ability to remove foreign substances. As a result, there is an effect that the foreign matter removing ability is improved as compared with the conventional technique, and the ability as the inspection removing apparatus can be improved. Further, since it is not necessary to move the suction evacuation member 45 in a planar manner, the operation of the suction evacuation member 45 is not unreasonable compared to the case of using a robot or the like, and the structure and control of the foreign matter suction evacuation means 40 is remarkably simple. Therefore, operation and maintenance can be easily performed.

  In addition, since the foreign matter PI is directly sucked out from the belt conveyor 12 by the suction exclusion member 45, the inspected object P, which is easily adhered, does not change from the position of the belt conveyor 12 at the time of imaging, and the foreign matter PI is sucked out with high accuracy. can do. Further, when the inspection object P is light transmissive, the foreign matter PI mixed in the inspection object P or the back side can be detected using a belt conveyor having high light reflectivity. Compared with the conventional high-pressure jet removing means, the small-sized substance removed by suction together with the foreign substance PI is less damaged even if it is a soft substance, and a good small-sized substance in the foreign substance storage tank 16 is required if necessary. Substances can be separated and reused as products.

  In the above description, the method of using the water tank 21 as the dispersion means 20 for the test object P with high adhesiveness has been described. However, the water tank 21 or the like is not used for the test object P with low adhesiveness. The inspection object P can be inspected and removed by supplying the small block material from the supply pipe or the upstream belt conveyor or the like directly onto the belt conveyor 12.

  In addition, the technology of the present invention is not limited to the above-described highly adherent small inspected object P, but is mixed into the inside or back of the inferior object P such as cereals and agricultural products and various industrial products. The present invention can be applied to the detection and removal of a foreign object PI. Further, if necessary, the inspection process of the present invention can be repeated a plurality of times including the process of disposing the inspection object P on the belt conveyor 12 to improve the detection accuracy of the foreign matter PI.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, The aspect which added the various change, correction, improvement, etc. which are implemented in the range of the meaning of this invention is included.

The top view as an Example of the inspection apparatus of the small block-shaped object which concerns on this invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1 including a partial cross-sectional view. FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the suction exclusion unit in FIG. 1. XX sectional drawing of FIG. 3 which shows the action | operation state of a suction exclusion member. FIG. 5 is a YY cross-sectional view of FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Inspection apparatus 11 Inspected object conveyance means 12 Belt conveyor 13 Conveyor frame 14 Base 15 Vacuum pump 16 Foreign substance storage tank 17 Intake piping 20 Inspected object dispersion means 21 Water tank 21a Water tank outlet guide 22 Water supply piping 23 Weir 24 Piping 30 Image data acquisition Means 31 Camera 40 Suction exclusion means 41 Suction exclusion means main body 42 Support plate 43 Guide member 44 Air cylinder 45, 45a, 45b Suction exclusion member 46 Suction part 46a Suction part tip 47 Piping part 48 Tube 50 Data processing means P Inspected object PI Foreign matter

Claims (3)

Disperse small objects on a belt conveyor that travels,
Inspect the foreign matter mixed in the inspection object by imaging the inspection object from above,
Downstream of the imaging position, a plurality of suction evacuation members arranged to share the width direction of the belt conveyor can individually operate the suction evacuation members corresponding to the belt conveyor width direction position of the foreign matter. A method for inspecting a small block-like object, wherein the foreign matter is sucked and removed from the belt conveyor.   2. The method for inspecting a small object according to claim 1, wherein the object to be inspected is a light-transmitting small substance. Inspected object conveying means for conveying a small block of inspected object on a belt conveyor,
Inspection object dispersing means for distributing and inspecting the inspection object on a belt conveyor;
An image data acquisition means for acquiring an image data by imaging the inspection object conveyed on the belt conveyor from above;
A suction exclusion means that is disposed downstream of the imaging position, shares the width direction of the belt conveyor with a plurality of suction exclusion members, and sucks and excludes foreign matters mixed in the inspection object;
And a data processing means for processing the image data and the belt conveyor speed data, and transmitting a signal related to the suction exclusion of the mixed foreign matter to the suction exclusion means. Inspection device.

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