JP2007167766A - Spherical object-selecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spherical object-selecting device which efficiently inspects the external appearances of a large number of spherical objects at a low cost to select them when they are to be selected over a short period of time. <P>SOLUTION: In a selecting device which selects rugby ball-shaped chocolate confectionery while conveying it, a chocolate confectionery-conveying means is composed of a plurality of tubular slat rollers 11 on which the chocolate confectionery is placed, a pair of left and right chains 12C which moves each slat roller 11 with two adjacent slat rollers 11 of certain direction while rotatively supporting the chocolate confectionery at a chocolate confectionery-supportable interval, and an automatic conveyer 13 which rotates each slat roller 11 from below at a constant speed. Concave parts based on the shape of the lower part of the chocolate confectionery are provided across the outer peripheral surfaces of the slat rollers 11, the number of the concave parts corresponding to the number of pieces of the chocolate confectionery to be conveyed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a spherical material sorting device, and more particularly to a device for inspecting the appearance of the spherical material to sort spherical materials.

  In order to inspect whether there is an abnormality over the entire appearance of the spherical object, it is necessary to photograph the spherical object from all directions. An example of an inspection apparatus for inspecting the entire appearance of a spherical object that enables photographing of the spherical object from all directions is disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

  In Patent Literature 1, both ends of a uniaxial direction of a golf ball (spherical object) are supported, and light is emitted from a light source in a tangential direction of the uniaxial direction of the golf ball at an angle orthogonal to the light source. All directions are photographed by photographing the golf ball with the arranged line sensor, and the entire appearance of the golf ball is inspected.

Moreover, in patent document 2, it is equipped with the drive spool for carrying and rotating a fruit on the conveyor which conveys a fruit (spherical thing), and conveys a fruit with a conveyor, One hemisphere of a fruit with a 1st camera. , Followed by rotating the fruit while being conveyed by a conveyor to expose the other hemisphere of the fruit, photographing the other hemisphere with a second camera, and photographing the whole direction, inspecting the entire appearance of the fruit It is carried out.
JP 09-61134 A JP-T 09-512341

  However, all the conventional spherical object inspection devices are effective when the shape of the target spherical object is somewhat large, but the spherical object is small, for example, the width (major axis) is 25 mm and the height (short). In the case of a spherical object having a diameter of about 15 mm and a large amount that needs to be sorted in a short period of time, it cannot cope very much, and there is a problem that the appearance cannot be efficiently inspected and sorted.

  Therefore, the present invention has an object to provide a spherical object sorting device that can efficiently and inexpensively inspect the appearance of spherical objects and sort them when a large amount of small spherical objects must be sorted in a short time. It is what.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention may inspect the appearance of the spherical object conveyed by the conveying means for conveying the spherical object in a fixed direction and the spherical object. A spherical object sorting device comprising an appearance judging means for judging a defect and a defective product picking means for picking up a spherical object judged to be defective by the appearance judging means. Then, the conveying means is provided with a plurality of cylindrical slat rollers, and left and right end portions of each of the slat rollers perpendicular to the predetermined direction, respectively, by the two slat rollers in the predetermined direction and the spherical object. Each slat row in a region where a pair of left and right chains that can be supported in a rotatable and horizontally supported manner and moved in the predetermined direction, and at least the appearance judging means are arranged. The number of spherical objects conveyed by two front and rear slat rollers across the outer peripheral surface of the slat roller is formed with a recess based on the lower shape of the spherical object. It is characterized by providing according to.

  According to the above configuration, the spherical object is supported by the two front and rear slat rollers, and is transported while being rotated in the constant direction by the chain and at a constant speed by the rotating means. The appearance is inspected by the appearance determining means to determine whether the product is good or defective, and the spherical object determined to be defective is extracted by the defective product extracting means. While the spherical object is rotated, the appearance of the spherical object in all directions is determined by determining whether the spherical object is good or bad. Further, by using two slat rollers before and after being rotated, the appearance of the spherical object is efficiently and inexpensively inspected when a large amount of small spherical objects must be selected in a short time.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the appearance determining means is configured such that at least 3 minutes of the spherical object is passed while the spherical object passes a certain distance by the conveying means. The image pickup device includes an imaging unit capable of photographing the upper half hemisphere of the spherical object and photographing all directions of the rotating spherical object once for each rotation of the spherical object.

  According to the above configuration, the imaging means captures the hemisphere (upper half) of the spherical object once while the spherical object is rotated by a third while the spherical object passes through a certain distance. With this, all directions of the spherical object are photographed, and the appearance of the entire spherical object can be inspected.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the defective product extracting means is arranged at a position downstream of the appearance determining means, and the two front and rear slat rollers are provided. The defective product is extracted by blowing off the spherical object supported by the air by the air blown out through the gap between the slat rollers.

According to the said structure, the spherical object determined to be inferior goods is extracted from the flow of non-defective goods by being blown off with the air which ejects from the clearance gap between two front and back slat rollers.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the rotating means moves the belt moving in the fixed direction or the opposite direction to the slat. It is comprised by the autorotation conveyor which rotates the said slat roller by making it contact below a roller, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the above configuration, when the belt of the rotating conveyor is brought into contact with the lower part of the slat roller, the slat roller is rotated in the predetermined direction or the opposite direction, and accordingly, the spherical object supported by the slat roller is rotated. .

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a groove is formed in the left-right direction in the recess of the slat roller. To do.

  According to the said structure, rotation of a spherical object is assisted by the groove | channel in the hollow of a slat roller, and it becomes possible to make it rotate reliably.

  The spherical object sorting apparatus according to the present invention is capable of sorting a large amount of small spherical objects in a short time by judging the appearance of the spherical object in all directions while rotating using two front and rear slat rollers. Even when it is necessary, the appearance of the spherical object can be inspected and sorted efficiently and inexpensively.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 is a side view of a spherical object sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the spherical object sorting apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a rear view of the spherical object sorting apparatus.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the object to be inspected is an elliptic sphere-shaped (rugby ball-shaped) chocolate confectionery (an example of a sphere) in which almonds are coated with chocolate. The standard size of chocolate confectionery has a width (major axis) of 25 mm and a height (minor axis) of about 15 mm, and a large amount of, for example, 10,000 or more grains are conveyed in one minute.

The appearance inspection items for sorting are as follows.
a. Bad size b. Deformation failure (bump-shaped, inflection point, almond not completely filled)
c. Scratch defect (linear scratch, impact contact trace)
d. Adhering black spots (those with black stains on the surface above a specified angle)
e. Skin adhesion (white or brown skin with a predetermined angle or more adhered to the surface)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the spherical material sorting device 1 is a chain drive type slat conveyor device (an example of a conveying means) that conveys chocolate confectionery M while rotating it in a certain direction X and in a certain direction X. 2, an appearance determination device (an example of an appearance determination unit) 3 that determines the quality of the chocolate confectionery M that is conveyed while rotating in the slat conveyor device 2, and the chocolate confectionery M that is determined to be defective It is composed of a defective product extracting device (an example of defective product extracting means) 4 that extracts (removes) the chocolate confectionery M, and enables the omnidirectional appearance inspection by moving the chocolate confectionery M while being rotated. The chocolate confectionery M can be extracted. The direction perpendicular to the fixed direction X is referred to as the left-right direction Y.
[Slat conveyor device 2]
The slat conveyor device 2 includes a plurality of slat rollers 11 made of milky white resin in a cylindrical shape (roller shape) for placing chocolate candy, a pair of left and right drive sprockets 12A disposed at the outlet of the sorting device 1, and sorting. A pair of left and right driven sprockets 12B disposed at the inlet of the apparatus 1 and two slat rollers 11 which are stretched between the sprockets 12A and 12B, and the left and right end portions of each slat roller 11 are front and rear in a fixed direction X, respectively. The chain 12C is driven by driving a pair of left and right chains (endless rotating body) 12C that supports the chocolate confectionery M at an interval that can be supported rotatably and horizontally, and a drive sprocket 12A, and the slat roller 11 is fixed. In a predetermined area where the motor 12D for moving in the direction X and the appearance determination device 3 are arranged (An example of a rotating means) a pair of right and left rotation conveyor rotating at a constant speed slat roller 11 from below 13 is provided.

  Each rotating conveyor 13 is a belt conveyor that rotates the slat roller 11 at a constant speed in a direction opposite to the constant direction X by contacting a belt 14A moving in the constant direction X below the end of each slat roller 11. Thus, the belt 14A is stretched between a driving roller 14B disposed at the downstream end of the predetermined area where the appearance determination device 3 is disposed and a driven roller 14C disposed at the upstream end of the predetermined area where the appearance determination device 3 is disposed. A motor 14D for driving the drive roller 14B is provided. In addition, although the slat roller 11 is rotated to the fixed direction X by the autorotation conveyor 13, it may be a reverse direction.

The roller shape of the slat roller 11 is shown in FIG.
Since the chocolate confectionery M is coated on the chocolate so as to follow the shape of the almond, the shape of the almond has a great influence on the formation of the chocolate confectionery M, and the position of the center of gravity differs depending on the individual. Therefore, when the chocolate confection M is rotated, the chocolate confection M is shaken, and the camera image is shaken, which becomes a large obstacle to sorting accuracy.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the number of chocolate confectionery M transported in the left-right direction Y (one line) to the slat roller 11 (12 in this embodiment) (12 in this embodiment) (12 in this embodiment). ) Depressions (recesses) 15 are provided. Each recess 15 extends over the outer peripheral surface of the slat roller 11, and the cross-sectional shape thereof is a shape along the outer periphery of the chocolate confectionery M below in the major axis direction. Further, in the recess 15, one groove 16 is formed in the left-right direction, and assists the rotation of the chocolate candy M.

  Further, the front-rear interval of the slat rollers 11 is an interval at which the chocolate confectionery M can be supported in the minor axis direction. By narrowing the interval, the chocolate confectionery M is reliably supported by the front and rear slat rollers 11 and does not rotate. The chocolate candy M is made not to exist.

  The rotational speed of the slat roller 11 and the diameter of the slat roller 11 are set by actually measuring the mass of the chocolate confectionery M and rotating the slat roller 11 to determine whether or not shaking occurs.

With the above configuration, the chocolate confectionery M conveyed from the upstream side of the sorting device 1 is dropped on the slat roller 11, aligned with the recess 15 of the slat roller 11, and supported by the two front and rear slat rollers 11. It is conveyed in the form. When the slat roller 11 is rotated at a constant speed in a direction opposite to the constant direction X by the belt 14A of the rotating conveyor 13, the chocolate confectionery M is indented 15 as it is conveyed to the appearance determining device 3. Accordingly, the sheet is conveyed while being rotated at a constant speed in a certain direction X.
[Appearance determination device 3]
The appearance determination device 3 includes three inspection devices arranged in order from the upstream to the downstream of the slat conveyor device 2 according to the inspection items described above, that is, the primary shape inspection device 21, the secondary black spot inspection device 22, and the tertiary color inspection. The apparatus 23 and the image processing apparatus 24 (FIG. 5) that actually determines the quality of the chocolate confectionery M based on the images captured by the inspection apparatuses 21, 22, and 23. The functions of the appearance determination device 3 are defined by the range that can be imaged (the range on the slat roller 11), the capture speed of an image captured by an imaging means such as a camera, and the image processing speed.

  The primary shape inspection device 21 is an inspection device for determining “size defect” and “deformation failure” among five inspection items, and a slat roller at a rate of one unit in a plurality of rows (four rows in the embodiment). A black and white camera (an example of an imaging unit) 26 disposed above 11, and an indirect illumination device 27 including a halogen lamp disposed above the slat roller 11 and indirectly illuminating the chocolate confectionery M on the slat roller 11; The slat conveyor device 2 includes a roller backup illuminating device 28 which is disposed below the slat roller 11 and is composed of a white LED lamp for illuminating the chocolate confectionery M from below, and the black and white camera 26, the indirect illuminating device 27 and the roller backup illuminating device 28. It is comprised from the support frame 29 supported above and below.

  The black and white camera 26 is arranged in four rows at a height at which three chocolate candies M per row on the four slat rollers 11, that is, a total of 12 chocolate candies M can be clearly photographed, One chocolate confectionery M moving while rotating based on the conveying speed and rotation speed of the chocolate confectionery M by the slat conveyor device 2, the image capturing speed of the black and white camera 26, and the image processing speed of the image processing device 24. The number of image photographing processes is secured at least 3 times (5 times in the embodiment). As a result, at least once the chocolate candy M is rotated by one third, the upper half hemisphere of the chocolate candy M is photographed, and the appearance of the rotating chocolate candy M in all directions can be photographed. It has become.

  In the image processing device 24, the “size defect” and “deformation defect” for each chocolate candy M are determined by recognizing the outline shape of the chocolate candy M from the monochrome image captured by the black and white camera 26, This is done by determining the width dimension, finding out the inflection point (part deviated from the standard displacement) by the outline tracking spline curve (calculation), and finding the one having the inflection point exceeding a certain dimension.

  The secondary black spot inspection apparatus 22 is an inspection apparatus for determining “black spot adhesion” (“size defect” is possible) among five inspection items, and 1 in a plurality of rows (two rows in the embodiment). The 3CCD (color) camera (an example of the imaging means) 31 disposed above the slat roller 11 and the chocolate confectionery M on the slat roller 11 are indirectly illuminated at a ratio of the table. An indirect illumination device 32 composed of a halogen lamp, a roller backup illumination device 33 disposed below the slat roller 11 and illuminating the chocolate confectionery M from below, the color camera 31, the indirect illumination device 32 and the roller. The backup illumination device 33 is constituted by a support frame 34 that supports the slat conveyor device 2 above and below the slat conveyor device 2.

  The color camera 31 is arranged in two rows at a height at which three chocolate candies M per row on the four slat rollers 11, that is, a total of six chocolate candies M can be clearly photographed, One chocolate confectionery M that is moving while rotating based on the conveyance speed and rotation speed of the chocolate confectionery M by the slat conveyor device 2, the image capturing speed of the color camera 31, and the image processing speed of the image processing device 24. The number of image photographing processes is secured at least three times (six times in the embodiment). Thus, at least once the chocolate confection M is rotated by one third, the upper half hemisphere of the chocolate confection M is photographed, and the appearance in all directions can be photographed.

  The determination of “black spot adhesion” for each chocolate candy M in the image processing device 24 is performed by recognizing black from the color image captured by the color camera 31. Since the target chocolate confectionery M has a chocolate surface, reflection of the illumination light source (reflection due to gloss) may occur and it may be determined as a foreign substance such as skin white, but an indirect illumination device comprising a halogen lamp 32 (halogen indirect lighting) and roller back-up lighting device 33 consisting of halogen lamp eliminates the reflection of the illumination light source and clears the color of the chocolate. In image processing, the lightness image and the saturation image are combined. Stable determination is ensured by performing determination as an image.

  The tertiary color inspection device 23 is a stage for determining “scratch failure” and “skin adhesion” (“size failure” is possible) among the five inspection items, and is similar to the secondary black spot inspection device 22. A 3CCD (color) camera (an example of an imaging unit) 36 disposed above the slat roller 11 and a plurality of columns (two in the embodiment) at a rate of one unit, and disposed above the slat roller 11; An indirect illumination device 37 composed of a halogen lamp that indirectly illuminates the chocolate confectionery M on the slat roller 11 and a roller backup illumination device 38 disposed below the slat roller 11 and composed of a halogen lamp that illuminates the chocolate confectionery M from below. The color camera 36, the indirect illumination device 37, and the roller backup illumination device 38 are arranged above and below the slat conveyor device 2. And a support frame 39 which supports.

  The color camera 36 is arranged in two rows at a height at which three chocolate candies M per row on the four slat rollers 11, that is, a total of six chocolate candies M can be clearly photographed, One chocolate confectionery M moving while rotating based on the conveying speed and rotation speed of the chocolate confectionery M by the slat conveyor device 2, the image capturing speed of the color camera 36, and the image processing speed of the image processing device 24. The number of image photographing processes is secured at least 3 times (8 times in the embodiment). As a result, at least once the chocolate candy M is rotated by one third, the upper half hemisphere of the chocolate candy M is photographed, and the appearance of the rotating chocolate confection M in all directions can be photographed. It has become.

  In the image processing device 24, the determination of “scratch defect” and “skin adhesion” for each chocolate confectionery M is made from a color image picked up by the color camera 36, which is different from a color that is regarded as a good product (brown, white, etc.). Of recognition).

With the above configuration, all directions of the chocolate confectionery M being conveyed while rotating are photographed by the cameras 26, 31, and 36 of the inspection devices 21, 22, and 23, and the image processing device 24 is based on the images photographed by these cameras. Therefore, when the quality of the chocolate candy M is determined and determined to be defective, the position coordinates of the chocolate candy M when determined as defective for each of the inspection devices 21, 22, and 23 (the coordinates in the left-right direction Y, A defect detection signal consisting of data indicating the number of the depression 15 of the slat roller 11 is reported to a general PC (personal computer) 44 (described later) of the defective product extraction device 4.
[Defective product extraction device 4]
The defective product extracting device 4 is disposed at the end of the slat conveyor device 2 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6, and the left and right drive sprockets 12A correspond to the positions of the recesses 15 of the slat roller 11. Between the front and rear slat rollers 11, there are provided two rows of air pipes 42 provided with air nozzles 41 for jetting air obliquely upward, with the positions shifted in the front-rear direction (24 air nozzles 41 in total). ). The air nozzles 41 of the two rows of air pipes 42 have different angles at which air is ejected.

  The timing of the ejection of air from each air nozzle 41 is set by the general PC 44 (FIG. 5) that drives the air driving device 43 (FIG. 5) corresponding to each air nozzle 41. A defect detection signal is input to the overall PC 44 from the image processing device 24.

  In addition, in order to detect an accurate timing, the pulse encoder 45 (FIG. 5) is connected to the drive shaft of the drive sprocket 12A of the chain 12C, and the overall PC 44 counts the pulses output from the pulse encoder 45 so that each slat roller is counted. 11 is identified, and the pair of front and rear slat rollers 11 and the depressions 15 on which the defective chocolate confection M is placed are identified by the timing and position coordinates at which the defect detection signal is input, and this identification (defects) When a pair of front and rear slat rollers 11 (with chocolate confection M placed thereon) pass through the position of each air nozzle 11, air is ejected.

  The chocolate confection M determined to be defective by the above configuration is blown by the air ejected from the air nozzle 41 immediately before dropping from the terminal end of the slat conveyor device 2, and is different from the chocolate confection M determined to be good. By being separated into 45, it is extracted (removed).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the chocolate confectionery M is supported by the two front and rear slat rollers 11 and is conveyed in a certain direction by the chain 12C and while being rotated at a constant speed by the rotating conveyor 13. Can be rotated while transporting a large amount of small chocolate confectionery M. By photographing these chocolate confectionery M from above, the appearance of all directions of the large amount of chocolate confectionery M can be inspected in a short time to determine pass / fail it can. In addition, by using a rotating slat roller 11, a spherical object sorting device can be configured efficiently and inexpensively. Thus, in the case where a large amount of small chocolate confectionery M has to be sorted in a short time, the appearance of the spherical object can be inspected and sorted efficiently and inexpensively.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, at least one third of the chocolate candy M is rotated by the cameras 26, 31, and 36 of the inspection devices 21, 22, and 23 while the chocolate candy M passes a certain distance. During shooting, the hemisphere (upper half) of the chocolate confectionery M is photographed once, so that all directions of the chocolate confectionery M can be photographed reliably, and the appearance of the entire chocolate confectionery M is surely inspected. Can do.

  Moreover, according to this Embodiment, the chocolate confectionery M determined to be inferior goods is blown by the air that is ejected from the gap between the two front and rear slat rollers 11, so that the small chocolate confectionery M extends over 1 row and 12 columns. Even when the gap is small and conveyed in large quantities, it can be reliably extracted and can be distinguished from non-defective products.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the slat roller 11 is rotated in the fixed direction X or the opposite direction by bringing the belt 14A of the rotating conveyor 13 into contact with the lower side of the slat roller 11, so that each slat roller 11 is rotated. Compared with the case where the rotary mechanism is equipped with, the configuration can be made much cheaper and more efficiently.

  Moreover, according to this Embodiment, the rotation of chocolate candy M can be reliably rotated by the groove | channel 16 in the hollow 15 of the slat roller 11, and the external appearance of all directions can be surely performed. Can do.

  In this embodiment, the rotating conveyor 13 is used as the rotating means for rotating the chocolate confectionery M. However, the rotating conveyor 13 is not limited to such a rotating conveyor, and the slat roller 11 is driven from below. A roller may be provided to rotate the slat roller. Moreover, although the autorotation conveyor 13 is arrange | positioned only in the area | region where the external appearance determination apparatus 3 is arrange | positioned, you may arrange | position also in the area | region before and behind that, and you may make it rotate the slat roller 11. FIG.

It is a side view of the spherical material sorting device in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the sorting device of the same spherical thing. It is a rear view of the sorting device of the same spherical thing. It is a figure of the slat roller of the same spherical material sorter, (a) is a front view, and (b) is a side view. It is a principal part control block diagram of the sorting device of the same spherical thing. It is a figure of the inferior goods extraction apparatus of the sorting device of the spherical object, (a) is a top view, (b) is a side view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sorting apparatus of chocolate confectionery M (spherical object) 2 Slat conveyor apparatus 3 Appearance determination apparatus 4 Defective product extraction apparatus 11 Slat roller 12C Chain 13 Rotating conveyor 14A Belt 15 Depression 16 Groove 21, 22, 23 Inspection apparatus 24 Image processing apparatus 26 , 31,36 Camera 41 Air nozzle 44 General PC

Claims (5)

Conveying means for conveying the spherical object in a certain direction, Appearance determining means for inspecting the appearance of the spherical object conveyed by the conveying means to determine good / bad, and the spherical object determined to be defective by the appearance determining means A device for sorting out spherical objects, which is composed of defective product extracting means for extracting
The conveying means;
A plurality of cylindrical slat rollers;
The left and right end portions of each slat roller perpendicular to the certain direction are respectively supported by the two slat rollers in front and rear in the certain direction at an interval at which the spherical object can be supported, and can be rotated horizontally. A pair of left and right chains that move in the fixed direction;
At least in the region where the appearance determining means is arranged, the slat rollers are constituted by rotating means for rotating at a constant speed from below,
A spherical object sorting device, wherein the slat roller is provided with a depression based on the shape of the lower surface of the spherical object in accordance with the number of spherical objects conveyed by two front and rear slat rollers over the outer peripheral surface thereof. The appearance determining means takes an image of the upper half of the spherical object at least once every time the spherical object is rotated by a third while the spherical object passes a certain distance by the conveying means. The apparatus for sorting spherical objects according to claim 1, further comprising imaging means capable of photographing all directions of the rotating spherical objects. The defective product extracting means is disposed at a downstream position from the appearance determining means, and the spherical object supported by the two front and rear slat rollers is blown by the air ejected from the gap between the slat rollers, thereby causing a defective product. The apparatus for sorting spherical objects according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein The said rotation means is comprised by the autorotation conveyor which rotates the said slat roller by making the belt which moves to the said fixed direction or the reverse direction contact the downward direction of the said slat roller. The apparatus for sorting spherical objects according to any one of claims 3 to 4. The spherical object sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a groove is formed in a left-right direction in the recess of the slat roller.

Images