JP2011098255A - Foreign substance selector of tea leaves - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a foreign substance selector of tea leaves which can certainly select and remove even a transparent foreign substance possessed condensing action and included in the tea leaf. <P>SOLUTION: The foreign substance selector of tea leaves includes the following components: (1) Chutes 1a and 1b which can make a flowing of the tea leaf from top to under part, (2) an imaging device 3, (3) a first luminescent tool 15 which can generate reflected light from an object to be imaged by irradiating the object with the light, (4) a second luminescent tool 16 which irradiates the object with the light from the background side of an image, (5) a decision device 10 which decides whether the object is a foreign substance or not, based on the reflected light from the first luminescent tool 15 and background light from the second luminescent tool 16 in the image obtained by the imaging device 3, and (6) an air nozzle 15 which selects the object decided as the foreign substance by blowing. In addition, the foreign substance selector of the tea leaf selects and removes the foreign substance included in the tea leaf by making a flowing of the tea leaf using the chutes 1a and 1b, and has a slit 19c formed within the image photographing range of the imaging device 3 and besides, between the second luminescent tool 16 and the object to be imaged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus for sorting out and removing foreign matter mixed in tea leaves by flowing tea leaves sequentially with a plurality of shoots.

  Conventionally, a tea leaf for illuminating a tea leaf with blue light and capturing an image obtained by the reflected light with an imaging means such as a line scan camera and sorting out foreign matters mixed in the tea leaf. A foreign matter sorting apparatus has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus includes an imaging unit such as a line scan camera, a first light emitting unit that can irradiate tea leaves with blue light, and a second light emitting that emits background light as a background of an image obtained by the imaging unit. Means.

  In addition, a determination unit that can determine a difference in level between reflected light and background light of the object to be imaged is provided to determine whether or not the imaged object to be imaged is a foreign object. However, in the above conventional tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus, when the tea leaves are irradiated with blue light, the blue light reacts with chlorophyll contained in the tea leaves and fluoresces red, and the red fluorescence When the image is picked up by the image pickup means, it is determined that it is a tea leaf. On the other hand, when there is no red fluorescence, it can be determined that it is a foreign material. it can.

JP 2005-66434 A

However, the conventional tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus has the following problems.
For example, when a transparent foreign material made of transparent resin or the like is mixed in the tea leaves, if the transparent foreign material is imaged by the imaging means, the background light from the second light emitting means is transmitted and whether or not the foreign material is a foreign material. There was a problem that it was difficult to distinguish between the two. In particular, a transparent foreign substance having a condensing function (condensing by a lens effect) collects light from the background, and therefore when reflected by the imaging means, the reflected light from the object to be captured and the background There is a problem that the difference in level with light becomes small, and it becomes more difficult to discriminate it as a foreign object.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a foreign matter sorting apparatus for tea leaves that can reliably sort and remove transparent foreign matters mixed in tea leaves and having a light collecting action. is there.

  The invention according to claim 1 is disposed at an inclination of a predetermined angle, a chute that can flow tea leaves from the upper part to the lower part, an imaging unit that takes an image of the tea leaves falling from the lower part of the chute, and obtains an image, and the imaging First light emitting means for irradiating light from the means side to obtain reflected light from the object to be picked up, second light emitting means for irradiating light from the background side of the image picked up by the image pickup means, and obtained by the image pickup means Based on the reflected light from the first light-emitting means and the background light from the second light-emitting means in the obtained image, and a determination means for determining whether or not the object to be imaged is a foreign object, and the determination means determines that the object is a foreign object An air nozzle that can be dropped and selected by a trajectory different from the trajectory of falling by the chute by blowing away the one that has been determined to be non-foreign or to blow tea leaves with the chute In a foreign matter sorting apparatus for tea leaves for further sorting out foreign matter mixed in tea leaves, a slit is provided between the second light emitting means and the object to be imaged in the imaging range of the imaging means. And

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus according to the first aspect, the imaging means includes a line scan camera in which an imaging range is configured in a line shape, and the line-shaped imaging range is arranged along the line-shaped imaging range. A slit is formed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the slit includes a pair of light shielding members capable of shielding light of the second light emitting means from the imaging means. The slit width can be arbitrarily adjusted by changing the separation dimension of the light shielding member while being formed with a predetermined dimension separation.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the first light emitting means emits blue light and the blue light emitted from the first light emitting means. The red light is emitted from the tea leaves to obtain red fluorescence from the tea leaves, and the determination means determines that the object to be imaged is a foreign object based on the presence or absence of the red fluorescence imaged by the imaging means. It is characterized in that it is determined whether or not there is.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the background light from the second light emitting means is reflected by a reflector and is reflected by the imaging means. In addition to being imaged, the background light level can be arbitrarily adjusted by changing the angle of the reflector.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the slit is provided between the second light emitting means and the object to be imaged in the imaging range of the imaging means, the background light from the second light emitting means is focused on the transparent foreign matter. As a result, it is possible to suppress reaching the imaging means, and it is possible to reliably determine and sort out transparent foreign substances having a light collecting effect mixed in tea leaves.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the imaging means is composed of a line scan camera in which the imaging range is configured in a line shape, and the slit is formed along the line-shaped imaging range, thereby preventing the imaging means from imaging. Thus, reliable imaging and foreign object determination can be performed.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the slit is formed by separating the pair of light shielding members capable of shielding the light of the second light emitting means with respect to the imaging means by a predetermined distance, and changing the separation dimension of the light shielding member. Since the slit width can be arbitrarily adjusted, the slit width of the slit can be arbitrarily adjusted in accordance with the detection accuracy of the imaging means or the light emission capability of the first light emitting means and the second light emitting means. Transparent foreign substances having a light collecting effect mixed in tea leaves can be more reliably selected and removed.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the first light emitting means emits blue light, and the blue light from the first light emitting means is applied to the tea leaves to obtain red fluorescence from the tea leaves. In addition, since the determination unit is configured to determine whether or not the object to be imaged is a foreign substance based on the presence or absence of the red fluorescence imaged by the imaging unit, the determination of the foreign substance mixed in the tea leaf is performed. This can be performed with higher accuracy.

  According to the invention of claim 5, the background light from the second light emitting means is reflected by the reflecting plate and picked up by the image pickup means, and the angle of the reflecting plate is changed to arbitrarily adjust the background light level. Therefore, the background light level can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the detection accuracy of the imaging means or the light emission capabilities of the first light emitting means and the second light emitting means, and the light collecting effect mixed in the tea leaves It is possible to more reliably sort and remove transparent foreign matters having

The front view which shows the foreign material selection apparatus of the tea leaf which concerns on embodiment of this invention Schematic diagram showing the state of the internal structure of the foreign matter sorting device of the tea leaves as seen from the side Top view showing the foreign matter sorting device for the tea leaves Side view showing a vertical bucket applied to the foreign matter sorting apparatus for the tea leaves The block diagram which shows the connection relationship of the line scan camera (imaging means), the determination means, and an air nozzle in the foreign material selection apparatus of the tea leaf Explanatory drawing for showing the sorting operation in the foreign matter sorting device of the tea leaves Front view showing a supply box applied to the foreign matter sorting apparatus for the tea leaves Side view showing the supply box Schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the feeding means (feeding feeder) and the vertical wall surface in the foreign matter sorting apparatus for the tea leaves The enlarged schematic diagram which shows the positional relationship of the 1st light emission means, the 2nd light emission means, a slit, etc. in the foreign material selection apparatus of the tea leaf The schematic diagram which shows the shielding member which comprises the slit in the foreign material selection apparatus of the tea leaf (A) A graph showing an imaging result (level) of the imaging means in the foreign matter sorting apparatus for tea leaves according to the present embodiment, (b) a graph showing an imaging result (level) of the imaging means when no slit is formed

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
The tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment is for sorting and removing foreign matter mixed in tea leaves by sequentially flowing tea leaves with a plurality of chutes. As shown in FIGS. Mainly from 1 chute 1a and 2nd chute 1b, line scan camera 3 as imaging means, air nozzle 4, determination means 10 (refer to FIG. 5), first light emitting means 15 and second light emitting means 16. It is configured. Reference numeral 2 denotes a box-shaped detection / determination unit that houses the line scan camera 3 and the air nozzle 4. In the present embodiment, a vertical bucket 6, a tea feeder 7, an input feeder 8, and a supply box 9 that can store a predetermined amount of tea leaves to be sorted are installed in the vicinity of the foreign matter sorting device for tea leaves.

  Each of the first chute 1a and the second chute 1b is inclined at a predetermined angle and can flow tea leaves from the upper part to the lower part thereof, and in the width direction of the apparatus (left and right direction in FIG. 1). In contrast, two are provided in parallel. Under the first chute 1a and the second chute 1b, as shown in FIG. 6, receiving members 5a and 5b are respectively arranged and flowed through the first chute 1a and the second chute 1b (that is, The tea leaves that have slid on the surface can fall into the receiving members 5a and 5b, respectively.

  The line scan camera 3 (imaging means) captures the tea leaves falling from the first chute 1a and the second chute 1b to obtain a digital image, and the width in the vicinity of the lower part of the first chute 1a or the second chute 1b. The imaging range is set in the direction line. That is, of the images obtained by the line scan camera 3, a line-shaped (straight line extending in the left and right) sensing range to be selected is set as an imaging range.

  Further, since the line scan camera 3 holds the captured image as pixel data, the line-shaped pixels in the width direction in the vicinity of the lower portions of the first chute 1a and the second chute 1b form the imaging range. It becomes. It should be noted that the height at which the imaging range is set is determined as appropriate, and is most suitable for determining foreign matter based on the positions and orientations of the air nozzle 4, the first light emitting means 15, and the second light emitting means 16. It is preferable to adjust to an appropriate height.

  The first light emitting unit 15 is configured to irradiate light from the line scan camera 3 (imaging unit) side to obtain reflected light from the object to be imaged (for example, a light emitting diode. In the present embodiment, the first light emitting unit 15 is provided). ), The second light emitting means 16 is composed of an object (for example, a fluorescent lamp) that emits light from the background side of the image captured by the line scan camera 3 (imaging means). In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, the background light from the second light emitting means 16 is reflected by the reflecting plate 17 and picked up by the line scan camera 3, and the angle of the reflecting plate 17 is changed. An angle changing means 18 for changing is provided, and the background light level can be arbitrarily adjusted by changing the angle of the reflection plate 17 by the angle changing means 18. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 21 denotes a glass plate, and reflected light and background light reach the line scan camera 3 through the glass plate 21.

  Further, the line scan camera 3 is electrically connected to the determination means 10 as shown in FIG. The determination means 10 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer, and based on the imaging level (the intensity of reflected light) of the image obtained by the line scan camera 3 (that is, the pixels in the imaging range), whether the object to be imaged is a tea leaf. Or it is determined whether it is a foreign material. That is, it is configured to determine whether the object to be imaged is a foreign object based on the reflected light from the first light emitting means 15 and the background light from the second light emitting means 16 in the image obtained by the line scan camera 3. -ing More specifically, a graph with the input level of reflected light (difference in input level between background light and reflected light) of an image captured by the line scan camera 3 as a vertical axis and the position in the width direction in the imaging range as a horizontal axis is graphed. Then, as shown in FIG. 12A, a predetermined waveform is obtained, but a portion of the waveform having an input level lower than a predetermined threshold is regarded as a foreign object.

  Here, in this embodiment, the 1st light emission means 15 shall consist of a blue light emitting diode (LED) which irradiates blue light (light with a wavelength of about 460 nm). That is, when the blue light from the first light emitting means 15 is irradiated onto the tea leaves, the chlorophyll contained in the tea leaves reacts to emit red fluorescence (light having a wavelength of about 645 to 660 nm: red fluorescence). Based on the presence or absence of the red fluorescence imaged by the line scan camera 3, it can be determined by the determination means 10 whether or not the object to be imaged is a foreign object.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the second light emitting means 16 emits red light (light having substantially the same wavelength as that of red fluorescence), and between the line scan camera 3 and the object to be imaged. A filter (not shown) that transmits only red light is disposed. Thus, when the tea leaves are imaged, the input level from the background level is not reduced at all or is extremely small. On the other hand, foreign substances such as metal (red fluorescent light reacts with blue light such as chlorophyll). When imaging a foreign object that cannot be obtained), since red fluorescence cannot be obtained, the reduction of the input level from the background level is significantly large and exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Can be determined.

  On the other hand, the determination unit 10 is also electrically connected to the air nozzle 4 and is configured such that the air nozzle 4 is controlled based on foreign matter determination by the determination unit 10. Thereby, when the determination means 10 determines that it is a foreign material, the air nozzle 4 is driven and blown away to make the drop trajectory different so that selection can be made. That is, when it is determined by the determination means 10 that there is no foreign matter (that is, it is a tea leaf), the air nozzle 4 is not driven, and the fall trajectory of the tea leaf from the first chute 1a or the second chute 1b as shown in FIG. On the other hand, if it is determined that the foreign object is a foreign object, the air nozzle 4 is driven to change its fall trajectory.

  As described above, the air nozzle 4 blows away what is determined to be a foreign substance by the determination means 10 and drops it according to a trajectory different from that of the first chute 1a or the second chute 1b. A plurality of air nozzles 4 are arranged in parallel in the lower width direction of the first chute 1a and the second chute 1b. When the judging means 10 determines that foreign matter is mixed in the falling tea leaves, the air nozzle 4 is driven. Thus, the foreign matter can be blown off toward the collecting means B1.

  Here, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, a slit 19 c is provided between the second light emitting unit 16 and the object to be imaged in the imaging range of the line scan camera 3 (imaging unit). ing. The slit 19c is composed of a gap formed by separating a pair of upper and lower light shielding members 19a, 19b that can shield light from the second light emitting means 16 with respect to the line scan camera 3 (imaging means). As shown in FIG. 11, the tea leaves and the foreign matter are imaged by the line scan camera 3 through the slit 19c.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the second light emitting means 16, the reflecting plate 17, and the light shielding members 19a and 19b are fixedly housed in the housing member 20 fixed to the foreign matter sorting apparatus. Each of the light shielding members 19a and 19b is formed with a long hole (not shown). A screw (not shown) is inserted into the long hole and fixed by screwing, and the screw insertion position is changed. Thus, the mounting positions of the light shielding members 19a and 19b can be changed. That is, by changing the mounting positions of the light shielding members 19a and 19b, the separation dimension of the light shielding members 19a and 19b can be changed, and the slit width of the slit 19c can be arbitrarily adjusted. Reference numeral 20a denotes a window portion in the housing member 20, and the light (background light) of the second light emitting means 16 reaches the line scan camera 3 through the window portion 20a.

  According to the above embodiment, since the slit 19c is provided between the second light emitting means 16 and the object to be imaged in the imaging range of the line scan camera 3 (imaging means), the background light from the second light emitting means 16 is provided. Can be prevented from condensing on transparent foreign matter and reaching the line scan camera 3 (imaging means), and transparent foreign matter having a condensing function mixed in tea leaves can be reliably determined and selected and removed. it can.

  That is, by forming the slit 19c as in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12A, a transparent nylon thread (thin and thick) (transparent foreign matter having a condensing function) was imaged. As shown in the graph in FIG. 6B, when the slit is not formed, it is possible to reliably reduce the input level. It can be determined as a foreign object.

  Further, the imaging means is composed of the line scan camera 3 in which the imaging range is configured in a line shape, and the slit 19c is formed along the line-shaped imaging range, so that the imaging of the line scan camera 3 is surely prevented. Imaging and foreign object determination can be performed. Instead of the line scan camera 3, a camera having a wider imaging range (CCD camera or the like) may be used.

The slit 19c is formed by separating a pair of light shielding members 19a and 19b that can shield the light from the second light emitting means 16 from the line scan camera 3 by a predetermined distance, and separating the light shielding members 19a and 19b. Since the slit width can be arbitrarily adjusted by changing the dimensions, the slit is selected according to the detection accuracy of the line scan camera 3 (imaging means) or the light emission capability of the first light emitting means 15 and the second light emitting means 16. The slit width of 19c can be arbitrarily adjusted, and transparent foreign matters having a light collecting effect mixed in tea leaves can be more reliably selected and removed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the first light emitting means 15 emits blue light, and the blue light from the first light emitting means 15 is irradiated on the tea leaves to obtain red fluorescence from the tea leaves. In addition, since the determination means 10 determines whether or not the object to be imaged is a foreign object based on the presence or absence of the red fluorescence imaged by the line scan camera 3, the determination means 10 is mixed in the tea leaves. It is possible to determine foreign matters with higher accuracy.

  Furthermore, the background light from the second light emitting means 16 is reflected by the reflecting plate 17 and picked up by the line scan camera 3, and the angle of the reflecting plate 17 is changed to arbitrarily adjust the background light level. Therefore, the background light level can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the detection accuracy of the line scan camera 3 (imaging means) or the light emission capabilities of the first light emitting means 15 and the second light emitting means 16, and the tea leaves. Transparent foreign substances having a light collecting effect mixed in can be more reliably selected and removed.

  In the present embodiment, in the vicinity of the foreign matter sorting apparatus, a conveying means comprising a vertical bucket 6 and a tea feeder 7, a feeding means comprising an input feeder 8, and a supply box 9 capable of accommodating a predetermined amount of tea leaves to be sorted, Is arranged. Hereinafter, these applied means will be described in detail.

  The feeding feeder 8 supplies tea leaves to the top of each chute (the first chute 1a and the second chute 1b) while making the dropping conditions substantially uniform so as to sequentially supply the tea leaves to the first chute 1a and the second chute 1b. As shown in FIG. 3, two tea leaf supply paths 8a and 8b corresponding to each chute are formed. That is, the input feeder 8 is composed of a single vibration feeder, and the two feeding paths 8a and 8b are formed by dividing the conveyance surface (upper surface) of the vibration feeder into two in the conveyance direction. is there.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 9, the vertical wall surface 14 comprised with predetermined | prescribed separate members, such as a vinyl sheet, is formed in the division part and edge part of the conveyance surface in the input feeder 8 (vibration feeder). . Specifically, as shown in the figure, a column body 12 is erected on the outer peripheral side portion of the input feeder 8 and a frame body 13 that connects the column bodies 12 is suspended, and the input feeder in the frame body 13 is suspended. The vertical wall surface 14 is formed by hanging a vinyl sheet from a position corresponding to the upper portion of the partition portion and the edge of the eight.

  By such a vertical wall surface 14, the tea leaves flowing through one supply path (8 a or 8 b) can be surely avoided from jumping out to other adjacent supply paths (8 a or 8 b) or outside the input feeder 8. Can do. The vinyl sheet constituting the vertical wall surface 14 is preferably provided with an antistatic function, or the vertical wall surface may be formed of another conductive material (metal or the like). .

  The vertical bucket 6 is capable of transporting the tea leaves conveyed by the supply box 9 and the tea leaves guided by the guide portion 6c to the upper side of the apparatus, and the first conveying path 6a and the second conveying path with respect to the conveying direction. Two conveyance paths of the path 6b are formed. That is, the tea leaves transported from the supply box 9 are transported upward by the first transport path 6a, while the tea leaves guided by the guide member 6c from the receiving member 5a are transported upward by the second transport path 6b. It is comprised so that.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the vertical bucket 6 has a plurality of accommodating portions 6f that can circulate from below to above, so that the tea leaves accommodated in the accommodating portions 6f are sequentially conveyed upward. It has become. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, two discharge ports 6d and 6e are formed in the upper part of the vertical bucket 6, and the tea leaves transported in the accommodating portion 6f of the first transport path 6a are one discharge port 6d. The tea leaves that are discharged from the second transfer path 6b and are transported by the storage portion 6f of the second transport path 6b are discharged from the other discharge port 6e.

  The green tea feeder 7 is composed of a vibrating conveyor, and its conveying surface is partitioned corresponding to the supply paths 8a and 8b of the input feeder 8, and as shown in FIG. 3, the tea leaves discharged from the discharge port 6d are input. It has the 1st conveyance path 7a which conveys to the 1st supply path 8a of the feeder 8, and the 2nd conveyance path 7b which conveys the tea leaf discharged from the discharge outlet 6e to the 2nd supply path 8b of the input feeder 8. . That is, the tea leaves discharged from the discharge ports 6d and 6e are transported by the green tea feeder 7 in the first transport path 7a and the second transport path 7b, respectively, and fall from the leading ends 7aa and 7ba of these transport paths, Each of them reaches the first supply path 8a and the second supply path 8b of the input feeder 8.

  As shown in the figure, the leading ends 7aa and 7ba of the conveying path in the green tea feeder 7 are formed to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the conveying direction of the feeding feeder 8, thereby the first supply path 8a and the first feeding path 8a. 2 The tea leaves are configured to drop substantially uniformly in the width direction of the supply path 8b. However, the tea leaves that have fallen on the first supply path 8a fall on the top of the first chute 1a, flow on the first chute 1a, and the tea leaves that have fallen on the second supply path 8b fall on the top of the second chute 1b. It falls and flows on the second chute 1b.

  The supply box 9 is for storing a predetermined amount of tea leaves to be selected and for supplying the stored tea leaves to the first transport path 6a of the vertical bucket 6 sequentially. As shown in FIGS. It is mainly comprised from the accommodating part 9a which can accommodate the tea leaf which should be carried out, the screw 9b arrange | positioned in this accommodating part 9a, the leaf | plate spring S and the drive mechanism 11 for vibrating the accommodating part 9a. Yes. A supply port 9c that communicates with the first transport path 6a of the vertical bucket 6 is formed on one side surface of the accommodating portion 9a.

  The screw 9b extends in the longitudinal direction of the accommodating portion 9a, and one end of the screw 9b is rotatable while being positioned at the supply port 9c. The tea leaves in the accommodating portion 9a are sequentially supplied by the rotational operation of the screw 9b. It is configured to be conveyed to the port 9c and supplied to the vertical bucket 6 therefrom. The accommodating portion 9a is configured to vibrate with respect to the frame F by the drive mechanism 11 and the leaf spring S, and the tea leaves inside are conveyed to the supply port 9c by the vibration.

  Usually, the screw 9b is rotationally driven to supply tea leaves sequentially to the vertical bucket 6, and after the tea leaves in the accommodating portion 9a are reduced and difficult to be transported by the screw 9b, the drive mechanism 11 is operated. The remaining tea leaves can be supplied to the vertical bucket 6 by driving and vibrating the housing portion 9a by the driving force and the action of the leaf spring S. Thereby, the tea leaves accommodated in the accommodating part 9a can be supplied to the vertical bucket 6 without leaving them.

Next, the operation of the tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus and peripheral means will be described.
When tea leaves are put into the accommodating portion 9a of the supply box 9 and the screw 9b is rotated in a state where a predetermined amount is accommodated, the tea leaves in the accommodating portion 9a sequentially reach the supply port 9c, from which the vertical bucket 6 Is fed to the first transport path 6a and transported upward. The transported tea leaves are discharged from the discharge port 6 d and reach the first transport path 7 a of the green tea feeder 7.

  The tea leaves that have reached the first transport path 7a are sequentially transported by the vibration action of the green tea feeder 7, fall from the tip 7aa, reach the first supply path 8a of the input feeder 8, and then vibrate of the input feeder 8. It is sequentially conveyed by the action, dropped from its tip, and supplied to the upper part of the first feeder 1a. Thus, in the process where the tea leaves flow on the first feeder 1a and fall from the lower part thereof, imaging by the line scan camera 3, determination by the determination means 10, and selection by the air nozzle 4 are performed, and foreign matter is collected by the air nozzle 4. Only the tea leaves whose fall trajectory has not been changed by the air nozzle 4 while blowing to the means B1 reach the receiving member 5a. Thus, the first sorting operation is completed.

  The tea leaves that have reached the receiving member 5a are guided to the second transport path 6b of the vertical bucket 6 by the guide portion 6c, and are transported upward again. The transported tea leaves are discharged from the discharge port 6 e and reach the second transport path 7 b of the green tea feeder 7. The tea leaves that have reached the second transport path 7b are sequentially transported by the vibration action of the powdered tea feeder 7, fall from the tip 7ba, reach the second supply path 8b of the input feeder 8, and then vibrate of the input feeder 8. It is sequentially transported by the action, falls from its tip, and is supplied to the upper part of the second feeder 1b.

  Thus, in the process where the tea leaves flow on the second feeder 1b and fall from the lower part thereof, imaging by the line scan camera 3, determination by the determination means 10, and selection by the air nozzle 4 are performed. Only the tea leaves that have not been changed reach the receiving member 5b. The tea leaves that have reached the receiving member 5b fall as they are and are accommodated in the collecting means B2. This completes the second sorting operation.

  As described above, the tea leaves are sequentially circulated with the two shoots (the first shoot 1a and the second shoot 1b), so that the foreign matter in the tea leaves can be selected and removed twice, and thus mixed into the tea leaves. This makes it possible to more reliably sort out foreign substances. In the present embodiment, two chutes are arranged side by side, but three or more chutes may be arranged side by side so that tea leaves are selected three or more times.

  According to the foreign matter sorting apparatus for tea leaves, a plurality of (two) chutes are provided in parallel in the width direction of the apparatus, and tea leaves are sequentially placed on the plurality of chutes (first chute 1a and second chute 1b). Since the feeding feeder 8 that can drop tea leaves on the upper part of each chute is provided so that the dropping conditions are substantially uniform to supply, the height of the apparatus can be kept small, and the sorting accuracy can be improved. be able to. That is, since the tea leaves are dropped from the same charging feeder 8 onto the first chute 1a and the second chute 1b provided in parallel, the dropping conditions are made substantially uniform.

  The feeding feeder 8 is formed with a plurality of tea leaf supply paths (first supply path 8a and second supply path 8b) corresponding to each chute (first chute 1a and second chute 1b). It is possible to ensure that the drop conditions at are substantially uniform. The feeding feeder 8 as a supply means is composed of a single vibration feeder, and a plurality of supply paths (a first supply path 8a and a second supply path 8b) are formed by dividing the conveying surface of the vibration feeder into a plurality of parts. Since it is formed, it is possible to use a single supply means for dropping tea leaves on a plurality of chutes, thereby simplifying the device configuration, reducing manufacturing costs and running costs, and facilitating maintenance.

  In the present embodiment, the vertical bucket 6 and the green tea feeder 7 as the conveying means are also each composed of a single vibration feeder, and a plurality of conveying paths are formed by dividing the conveying surface and conveying parts into a plurality (two). Therefore, it is possible to have two transport paths with a single transport means, and, like the input feeder 8, simplification of the device configuration, reduction in manufacturing cost and running cost, and easy maintenance. Can be planned.

  Furthermore, it corresponds to each of a plurality of tea leaf supply paths (first supply path 8a and second supply path 8b) in the input feeder 8, and a plurality of transport paths (first in the vertical bucket 6) for transporting tea leaves to each supply path. Since the 1st conveyance path 6a, the 2nd conveyance path 6b, and the 1st conveyance path 7a in the green tea feeder 7 and the 2nd conveyance path 7b) were provided, the conveyance means (the vertical bucket 6 and the green tea feeder 7) was provided. It is possible to more easily and reliably carry the tea leaves to the input feeder 8 when performing multiple selections.

  Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the first light emitting means emits light of a color other than blue, and the reflected light and the background light from the second light emitting means It is good also as what detects the difference of these and determines by a determination means whether the to-be-photographed object is a foreign material. That is, in the present embodiment, the characteristics of tea leaves that fluoresce red when irradiated with blue light are used, but even if those characteristics are not used, the reflected light from the first light emitting means and the second light emission. Any form may be used as long as it determines foreign matter based on background light from the means.

  In the present embodiment, the foreign matter is selected a plurality of times (twice), but the foreign matter may be selected only once or three times or more. Further, in this embodiment, the air nozzle is blown away what is determined to be a foreign object, but the air nozzle determines that it is not determined to be a foreign object (that is, brown leaves), and drops it with a trajectory different from the fall trajectory due to the chute. The tea leaves and foreign substances may be selected.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the conveying means applied to the foreign matter sorting apparatus is such that the input feeder 8 and the green tea feeder 7 are vibration feeders, but instead of this, other conveying means (belt conveyor or the like). It is good. Similarly, instead of the vertical bucket 6 according to the present embodiment, other general-purpose transport means that can transport tea leaves upward may be used. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the supply means is a single input feeder 8 having the first supply path 8a and the second supply path 8b. However, separate supply means (vibration having the first supply path) are provided. It is good also as a vibration feeder etc. which have a feeder and a 2nd supply path.

  As long as it is an imaging range of the imaging means and the tea leaf foreign material sorting device is provided with a slit between the second light emitting means and the object to be imaged, the one having a different appearance shape or having other functions added, etc. Can be applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Chute 1a 1st chute 1b 2nd chute 2 Detection determination part 3 Line scan camera (imaging means)
4 Air nozzle 5a, 5b Receiving member 6 Vertical bucket (conveying means)
6a 1st conveyance path 6b 2nd conveyance path 7 Green tea feeder (conveyance means)
7a 1st conveyance path 7b 2nd conveyance path 8 Input feeder (supply means)
8a 1st supply path 8b 2nd supply path 9 Supply box 10 Judgment means 11 Drive mechanism 12 Column body 13 Frame body 14 Vinyl sheet (vertical wall surface)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 1st light emission means 16 2nd light emission means 17 Reflector 18 Angle changing means 19a Light shielding member 19b Light shielding member 19c Slit 20 Housing member 21 Glass plate

Claims (5)

A chute that is disposed at a predetermined angle and can flow tea leaves from the upper part to the lower part,
Imaging means for capturing an image of tea leaves falling from the lower part of the chute, and obtaining an image;
First light emitting means for irradiating light from the imaging means side to obtain reflected light from the object to be imaged;
Second light emitting means for irradiating light from a background side of an image picked up by the image pickup means;
A determination unit that determines whether the object to be imaged is a foreign object based on the reflected light from the first light emitting unit and the background light from the second light emitting unit in the image obtained by the imaging unit;
An air nozzle that can be selected by being dropped along a trajectory different from the fall trajectory by the chute by blowing away what is determined to be a foreign object by the determining means or blowing away what is determined not to be a foreign object;
In the tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus for sorting and removing foreign matter mixed in tea leaves by flowing tea leaves with the chute,
An apparatus for sorting foreign matter of tea leaves, wherein a slit is provided between the second light emitting means and the object to be imaged in the imaging range of the imaging means.   2. The tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit includes a line scan camera in which an imaging range is configured in a line shape, and the slit is formed along the line-shaped imaging range. .   The slit is formed by separating a pair of light shielding members capable of shielding the light of the second light emitting means from the imaging means by a predetermined distance, and changing the separation dimension of the light shielding member to arbitrarily set the slit width. The tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the tea leaf foreign matter sorting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein   The first light emitting unit emits blue light, and the blue light from the first light emitting unit is irradiated on the tea leaf to obtain red fluorescence from the tea leaf, and the determination unit includes: 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether the object to be imaged is a foreign object based on the presence or absence of the red fluorescence imaged by the imaging unit. Foreign matter sorting device for tea leaves.   The background light from the second light emitting means is reflected by the reflecting plate and picked up by the imaging means, and the background light level can be arbitrarily adjusted by changing the angle of the reflecting plate. The tea leaf foreign matter sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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