JP2012237706A - Egg quality inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an egg quality inspection device capable of acquiring a rational arrangement configuration of a configuration member by achieving the miniaturization of the device.SOLUTION: A laser beam irradiating part and a laser beam receiving part are installed in a housing, and one reflector plate is installed at the angle of 45 degrees at a position where the outgoing and incident directions thereof cross. In a laser sensor, the width w and the depth d thereof are (w<d), and inner widths h, H from the outer side of a part where a movable carriage enters and leaves to the left and right outer walls of the housing are (w<h) and (d<H) in (h<H). A load cell is installed in the housing of the part of the inner width H, outgoing and incident directions of laser sensors installed in the respective housings of the inner widths h, H are parallel with or perpendicular to a direction where the movable carriage enters and leaves, and an opening part of the housings are provided closably by a shield plate.

Description

  The present invention relates to an egg quality inspection apparatus, and in particular, the quality of an egg such as a chicken egg is calculated based on the inspection value of the egg weight and egg white height of the egg to be inspected, and further the egg quality capable of classifying and determining egg yolk It relates to an inspection device.

  In this kind of egg quality inspection apparatus, one that automatically measures egg freshness and egg yolk is known. For example, the egg quality automatic inspection device previously proposed by the applicant of the present application includes a weight measurement sensor (load cell), a movable table that can be moved in and out of the housing, and an inspection tray mounted on the movable table. An egg white height measuring device that measures the egg white height of the split egg body in a non-contact manner, a freshness calculating unit that calculates the freshness of the egg based on the egg weight and egg white height, and an egg yellow determining unit that determines the egg yellow (Patent Document 1), and the implementation device is actually manufactured as an Egg multitester.

  Applicant's implementation device has the above-described configuration, electronically measures egg weight, egg white height, and egg yolk in a non-contact manner, automates how unit value calculation and ranking, and further measures these The value and calculated value are displayed and printed. As a result, high quality measurement accuracy of eggs was obtained, and constantly stable measurement without individual differences by the measurer could be performed in a short time.

  Specifically, in the above-described implementation apparatus, the power switch is turned on, the open / close button (open button) is pressed to move the moving table to the near side, the inspection tray is installed on the moving table, and the open / close button (close button) is pressed. Press to move the platform into the housing and press the start button. Furthermore, place the egg on the weighing pan (egg weight measurement), when the moving table opens, insert the egg on the inspection tray, turn the inspection tray so that the thick egg white is at the back, and open / close button (close button) push. Thereby, the measurement of egg white height, egg yellow color, and how unit value is performed. Then, the moving table is opened, the measurement is finished, and the measurement value is printed out.

  In addition, in the shape inspection of an object, as is well known, in view of the fact that measurement accuracy can be improved by irradiating laser light, there are also those that use laser light to measure egg white height when measuring How Unit values. It has been proposed (Patent Document 2).

JP-A-9-178728 JP 2008-32678 A

  According to Patent Document 2, when moving the mounting table on which the test target egg is placed, the test target egg on the mounting table is in a semi-liquid state. It has been pointed out that there is a risk that the inspection accuracy may be lowered. In this regard, the implementation apparatus corresponding to Patent Document 2 fixes a mounting table on which the egg breaking body is installed, and projects and receives a light using a laser beam (a unit composed of a projecting unit and a light receiving unit). The system is used to move horizontally in the front-rear direction.

  Further, the light projecting and light receiving unit in the implementation apparatus corresponding to Patent Document 2 is configured as follows.

  That is, the light projecting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged so that the parallel light emitting direction of the light projecting unit and the incident direction of the parallel light of the light receiving unit are parallel to each other. On the optical path, one reflector and another reflector are arranged opposite to each other, and the parallel light emitted from the light projecting means is 45 degrees with respect to the traveling direction of the emitted parallel light. The traveling direction is changed by 90 degrees by the reflecting surface of one reflector arranged at an angle, and the parallel light whose traveling direction is changed by 90 degrees is at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the traveling direction of the parallel light. The advancing direction is further changed by 90 degrees by the reflecting surface of the other reflecting plate arranged, and the light is incident on the light receiving means. In other words, a light path having a U-shape is formed, and light projecting means and light receiving means are disposed at both ends thereof, and the parallel light emission direction and the parallel light incident direction of the light receiving means are arranged in parallel. The Then, reflectors (one reflector and another reflector) are arranged at 45 ° angles at the corners of the optical path.

  In an apparatus for fixing a mounting table on which such an egg breaking body is installed, the mounting table is placed in an exposed state because the egg to be inspected is cast on the mounting table. For this reason, when determining the yolk color of a split egg, unintended light is irradiated and this becomes noise, resulting in inconvenience that an accurate test result cannot be obtained.

  In addition, when a method of moving the light projecting and receiving unit using laser light in the front-rear direction is used, subtle vibrations are generated due to the movement, and this becomes noise for detecting the amount of light, and an accurate inspection result can be obtained. It causes the inconvenience of not. In particular, when an optical path is formed in a U shape using a reflector, an error occurring in the optical path is enlarged. In order to avoid this, the moving structure is firmly formed as in the above-described implementation device. However, when configured in this way, the weight increases and the labor saving of the structure and the device should be achieved. This is contrary to the trend and causes a problem that it is difficult to carry the apparatus.

  Therefore, the present invention basically employs a method of driving a mounting table (moving table) on which an inspection tray is mounted and fixing a light projecting and light receiving unit, and intends to reduce the size of the apparatus. It is. That is, in the case of the moving table drive system of the present invention, it has been found that there is no problem in the accuracy of the inspection depending on the way of movement, such as gradually accelerating the initial movement to a small amount. In addition, moving the light receiving unit may cause an inaccurate inspection result as described above, or increase the size of the apparatus. Furthermore, the present invention proposes a device layout that can provide a rational arrangement of inspection components (inspection components) in order to reduce the size of the device.

The invention described in claim 1 of the present application includes a moving table that can be moved in and out of a housing, a load cell, an inspection tray that is placed on the moving table and has a concave portion for positioning egg yolk in the center, and the inspection tray. A laser sensor for measuring the egg white height of the casted broken egg, a calculation unit for processing the egg white height signal from the laser sensor to calculate a freshness measurement value, and a determination unit for determining the egg yolk color of the cracked egg In the egg quality inspection apparatus comprising
In the housing, with the part where the moving table enters and exits, the laser light irradiation part of the laser sensor is installed on one of the left and right sides, and the laser light receiving part of the laser sensor is installed on the other, respectively, Arranged so that the emission direction of the laser beam irradiation unit and the incident direction of the laser beam receiving unit intersect in the orthogonal direction, and at this intersecting location, a single reflector disposed at an angle of 45 degrees,
The laser sensor has a lateral width w and a depth d (w <d), and the internal widths h and H from the outside of the part where the moving table enters and exits to the left and right outer walls of the housing are determined by the reflector. (H <H) and (w <h) and (d <H) in the inner width h on the installed side and the inner width H on the non-installed side, and within the housing of the portion having this inner width H And install the load cell,
The emitting direction or the incident direction of the laser sensor installed in the housing having the internal width h is provided in parallel to the direction in which the moving table enters and exits, and is installed in the housing having the internal width H. The emitting direction or the incident direction of the laser sensor is provided in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the moving table enters and exits,
The opening portion of the housing through which the moving table enters and exits is an egg quality inspection device configured to be closed by a shielding plate provided in the housing or the moving table.

  The invention described in claim 2 of the present application is that, in claim 1, the load cell is installed in a housing having the internal width H, and a weighing table linked to the load cell is provided on an upper portion of the housing. It is the egg quality inspection apparatus of the structure which has.

  The invention described in claim 3 of the present application is that, in claim 1, the irradiation LED for injecting inspection light from a predetermined upper angle with respect to the yolk of the cracked body positioned in the recess of the inspection tray, and the yolk It is an egg quality test | inspection apparatus of the structure by which the R * G * B sensor part which receives the reflected light from is provided.

  In the egg quality inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the laser beam irradiation part of the laser sensor is provided on one of the left and right sides of the part where the moving table enters and exits in the housing, and the laser beam of the laser sensor is provided on the other side. Since each light receiving part is installed and arranged so that its exit / incident direction intersects the orthogonal direction, and one reflecting plate arranged at an angle of 45 degrees is installed at this intersecting location, Compared with the case where two reflectors are installed as described above, it is possible to save the labor of the constituent members, further reduce the occurrence of errors due to reflection, and one reflector can be installed. Therefore, production is facilitated.

  Furthermore, the present invention uses a laser sensor having a lateral width w and a depth d (w <d), the internal widths h and H of the housing are (h <H), and (w <h) and (d <H The load cell is installed in the housing of the part having the internal width H, and the emission direction or the incident direction of the laser sensor installed in the housing having the internal width h enters and exits the moving table. The emission direction or incidence direction of the laser sensor installed in the housing having the internal width H is provided in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the moving table enters and exits. Therefore, even if the inside of the housing is a relatively narrow space, the space can be used effectively.

  Further, in the present invention, the opening of the housing through which the moving table enters and exits is provided so as to be closed by a shielding plate provided on the housing or the moving table. Unnecessary light intrusion into the device can be prevented, thereby maintaining the accuracy of egg quality inspection.

1 is a front external view showing an egg quality inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows an egg quality test | inspection apparatus. It is a side view which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows an egg quality test | inspection apparatus. It is a top view which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows the moving stand and test | inspection tray of an egg quality test | inspection apparatus. It is the figure seen from the front direction which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows the moving stand and test | inspection tray of an egg quality test | inspection apparatus. It is a side view which shows the drive device of the movable stand and inspection tray in the Example of this invention. It is a top view which shows the arrangement configuration of the laser sensor which concerns on the Example of this invention and is installed in an egg quality test | inspection apparatus. It is a side view which shows the internal structure of the egg yolk test | inspection apparatus in the Example of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The egg quality inspection apparatus of the present example includes a movable table 2 that can enter and exit the housing 1 in a housing 1 that covers the entire apparatus. An inspection tray 3 is placed on the movable table 2. The inspection tray 3 has an egg yolk positioning recess at the center. Furthermore, the load cell 4 as a weight measurement sensor, the laser sensor 5 for measuring the egg white height of the egg split cast on the inspection tray 3, and the egg white height signal from the laser sensor 5 are processed to calculate the freshness measurement value. The calculation part and the determination part which determines the egg yolk of a split egg are comprised.

  The egg quality inspection apparatus of the present example provided with each of the above-described components is basically the same as the conventional apparatus, the egg weight measuring unit for testing the egg quality (freshness) described above, the egg white height measuring unit, It includes an egg yolk determination unit, and a display / recording unit for inspection results obtained by calculating the measurement / determination output from each unit. A laser sensor 5 is provided inside the housing 1. The laser beam is irradiated to the measurement point of the egg white part of the egg breaking body on the inspection tray 3, and the reflected wave from the egg white surface is received by the reception sensor. Then, the output is processed by the calculation unit to measure the egg white height. Further, the weight signal of the shell egg from the sensor of the load cell 4 and the egg white height signal from the laser sensor 5 are amplified and A / D converted, then input to the calculation unit, processed, and displayed on the display unit. . It can also be output and recorded on the printer of the recording unit.

  The quality of the egg to be inspected is obtained as a How unit value HU by processing each value obtained by measuring the weight of the test subject (with shell) and the egg white height of the split egg by a predetermined arithmetic expression. It is done. Further, in the egg quality inspection apparatus of this example, as in the case of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the egg yolk of the test egg that is actually measured is compared with the reference egg yolk division table prepared in advance. By automatically measuring, the discriminant value is displayed and recorded.

  The movable table 2 enters and exits the inside and outside of the housing from the opening 11 of the housing 1. The movable table 2 is supported by a pair of left and right linear guides 12, 12 provided in the housing 1 and moves in and out. The linear guides 12 and 12 are fixed to the supports 13 and 13, respectively, and the movable table 2 is provided with long shaft members 21 and 21 that engage with the linear guides 12 and 12. A rolling roller is disposed between the linear guide 12 and the long shaft member 21.

  The movable table 2 is driven by a driving device provided between the linear guides 12 and 12. This drive device is a known device, and in the case of this example, it is constituted by pulleys 22 and 22 and a winding belt 23 provided at the front and rear. As described above, the movable table 2 is driven by the pulleys 22 and 22 and the winding belt 23 provided approximately in the middle between the linear guides 12 and 12, so that the driving in and out can be smoothly performed with a good balance.

  The opening 11 of the housing 1 is provided so as to be closed by a shielding plate provided on the housing 1 or the movable table 2. In the case of this example, as shown in FIG. 6, the shielding plate 14 is rotatably provided in the housing 1 below the opening 11. In this example, the shielding plate 14 is normally urged to rotate by a coil spring 15 in a direction to close the opening 11. When the movable table 2 is driven from the housing 1 to the outside, the movable table 2 is pressed by the movable table 2 and rotates in the opening direction. Further, after the movable table 2 moves into the housing 1, it is biased by the coil spring 15, so that it rotates to close the opening 11. The shielding plate is not limited to the structure described above, and may be a structure that is fixed to the tip of the movable table 2 and moves with the movable table to open and close the opening 11.

  Thus, since the opening part 11 is provided in the apparatus of this example so that the opening part 11 can be obstruct | occluded by the shielding board 14, it can prevent the intrusion of unnecessary light in the apparatus from the outside at the time of egg quality inspection. Thus, the accuracy of egg quality inspection can be maintained.

  The laser sensor 5 and its analysis calculation processing unit used in the egg quality inspection apparatus of this example are generally known ones suitable for measuring the shape of an article. In the present invention, the laser sensor 5 is installed in the housing 1. The layout is devised.

  That is, in the present invention, in the housing 1, the laser beam irradiation unit 51 of the laser sensor 5 is installed on one of the left and right sides of the part where the movable table 2 enters and exits, and the laser beam receiving unit 52 is installed on the other side. To do. And it arrange | positions so that the output direction of the laser beam irradiation part 51 and the incident direction of the laser beam light-receiving part 52 may cross in an orthogonal direction, and one reflector which is arrange | positioned at an angle of 45 degree | times at this crossing location 6 is installed.

  In the case of this example, as shown in FIG. 7, the laser beam irradiation unit 51 is installed on the right side of the part where the moving table 2 enters and exits, the laser beam receiving unit 52 is installed on the left side, and the reflection plate 6 is installed on the left side. doing. Further, the laser beam irradiation unit 51 is provided in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the moving table 2 enters and exits, and the laser beam receiving unit 52 has an incident direction in the direction in which the moving table enters and exits. It is provided in parallel. The laser beam irradiation part 51 and the reflection plate 6 are provided in the vicinity of the opening 11 of the housing 1.

  The laser sensor 5 (laser light irradiation part 51 and laser light receiving part 52) has a lateral width w and a depth d (w <d), from the outside of the part where the moving table 2 enters and exits to the left and right outer walls of the housing 1. The internal widths h and H of each of the above are the internal width h on the side where the reflecting plate 6 and the laser light receiving unit 52 are installed, and the internal width H on the side where the reflecting plate 6 and the laser beam irradiation unit 51 are installed. (H <H) and (w <h) and (d <H).

  The load cell 4 is installed in a housing 1 having an internal width H (inside the right housing in FIG. 7). The inside of the housing having the internal width H is provided wider than the portion of the housing having the internal width h on the left side of FIG. 7, and the internal width H is larger than the lateral width 4w of the load cell 4 (4w <H). 4 will not be hindered. A weighing table 7 linked to the load cell 4 is provided above the housing 1 above the load cell 4.

  Furthermore, an irradiation LED 8 and an R / G / B sensor unit 9 are provided inside the housing 1. The irradiation LED 8 is for injecting inspection light from a predetermined upper angle with respect to the egg yolk of the cracked body positioned in the concave portion of the inspection tray 3, and the R / G / B sensor unit 9 is connected to the egg yolk. A sensor unit that receives reflected light.

  In addition, the irradiation to the yolk from the irradiation LED 8 is incident from the direction of about 45 ° with respect to the inspection plane in the same manner as in the case of the color inspection of a normal printed matter, and the reflected light in the vertical direction is reflected by the R, G, Light is received by the B sensor unit 9. Further, the surface of egg yolk has a curved surface, and if the irradiated light is incident on the curved surface with a certain degree of spread angle, an accurate color inspection value may not be obtained. It is preferable to make it incident on the yolk surface as a spot.

  In the egg quality inspection apparatus of the present example configured as described above, the power switch 16 shown in FIG. 1 is turned on, the open button of the open / close buttons 17 and 17 is pushed to move the moving table to the near side, and the inspection tray is moved. It is installed on the moving table, the closing button of the open / close button is pushed, the moving table is moved into the housing, and the start button 18 is pushed. In addition, place the egg on the weighing pan (egg weight measurement), when the platform is opened, insert the egg on the inspection tray, turn the inspection tray so that the thick egg white is at the back, and press the open / close button close button. Push. Thereby, the measurement of egg white height, egg yellow color, and how unit value is performed. Then, the moving table is opened, the measurement is finished, and the measurement value is printed out. Reference numeral 19 denotes a display unit.

  Obviously, the egg quality inspection apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the specific examples described above, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the present invention.

  The egg quality inspection device according to the present invention is excellent in arranging the constituent members in a compact and appropriate manner by rationalizing the device layout, and particularly as an inspection device for classifying and judging the quality of eggs such as chicken eggs and the egg yolk color. It can be suitably used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 11 Opening part 12 Straight guide 13 Support body 14 Shielding board 15 Coil spring 16 Power switch 17 Open / close button 18 Start button 19 Display part 2 Moving base 21 Long shaft member 22 Pulley 23 Winding belt 3 Inspection tray 4 Load cell 4w Width 5 Laser sensor 51 Laser light irradiation unit 52 Laser light receiving unit 6 Reflector 7 Weighing table 8 Irradiation LED
9 R / G / B sensor part w Width d Depth h Internal width H Internal width

The invention described in claim 1 of the present application includes a movable table that can be moved in and out of the housing , a load cell, an inspection tray that is placed on the movable table and has a concave portion for positioning egg yolk in the center, and the inspection tray. A laser sensor for measuring the egg white height of the casted broken egg, a calculation unit for processing the egg white height signal from the laser sensor to calculate a freshness measurement value, and a determination unit for determining the egg yolk color of the cracked egg In the egg quality inspection apparatus comprising
The housing includes a housing portion having respective internal widths h and H from the outside of the portion where the moving table enters and exits to the left and right outer walls of the housing with the portion where the moving table enters and exits in between. In addition, the internal widths h and H of these housing parts are (h <H),
Of the housing parts having the internal widths h and H, the laser light irradiation part or the light receiving part of the laser sensor is provided in the housing part having the internal width H, and the laser light reception of the laser sensor is provided in the housing part having the internal width h. the parts or illumination part, we established respectively, arranged so that the incident direction of the emission direction and the laser beam receiving portion of the laser beam irradiation section intersects the perpendicular direction, the position of this intersection, 45 degree angle in a one to place the placed one reflector,
The laser sensor has a lateral width w and a depth d (w <d), and between the lateral width w and depth d of the laser sensor and the internal widths h and H of the housing portions (w <d). h) and (d <H),
The load cell has a lateral width 4w with respect to the internal width H (4w <H) and is installed in a housing part having the internal width H, and a weighing unit linked to the load cell is provided on the upper part of the housing part. There is a table,
The emission direction or the incident direction of the laser sensor installed in the housing part having the internal width h is provided in parallel to the direction in which the movable table enters and exits, and the housing part having the internal width H The emitting direction or the incident direction of the laser sensor to be installed is provided in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the moving table enters and exits,
The opening portion of the housing through which the moving table enters and exits is an egg quality inspection device configured to be closed by a shielding plate provided in the housing or the moving table.

The invention described in claim 2 of the present application is that in claim 1, the laser beam irradiation part of the laser sensor is provided in the housing part having the internal width H, and the laser light reception of the laser sensor is provided in the housing part having the internal width h. The egg quality inspection apparatus has a configuration in which the laser beam irradiation unit and the reflection plate are provided in the vicinity of the opening of the housing .

In the case of this example, as shown in FIG. 7, the laser beam irradiation unit 51 is located on the right housing portion of the part where the movable table 2 enters and exits, the laser beam receiving unit 52 is located on the left housing portion , and the reflecting plate 6. Are also installed in the left housing part . Further, the laser beam irradiation unit 51 is provided in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the moving table 2 enters and exits, and the laser beam receiving unit 52 has an incident direction in the direction in which the moving table enters and exits. It is provided in parallel. The laser beam irradiation part 51 and the reflection plate 6 are provided in the vicinity of the opening 11 of the housing 1.

Claims (3)

Measures the egg white height of the split egg cast on the moving tray that can be moved in and out of the housing, the load cell, the inspection tray that is placed on the moving table and has a concave part for positioning the yolk in the center. In an egg quality inspection apparatus, comprising: a laser sensor to perform, an arithmetic unit that calculates an egg white height signal from the laser sensor to calculate a freshness measurement value, and a determination unit that determines an egg yellow color of the split egg,
In the housing, with the part where the moving table enters and exits, the laser light irradiation part of the laser sensor is installed on one of the left and right sides, and the laser light receiving part of the laser sensor is installed on the other, respectively, Arranged so that the emission direction of the laser beam irradiation unit and the incident direction of the laser beam receiving unit intersect in the orthogonal direction, and at this intersecting location, a single reflector disposed at an angle of 45 degrees,
The laser sensor has a lateral width w and a depth d (w <d), and the internal widths h and H from the outside of the part where the moving table enters and exits to the left and right outer walls of the housing are determined by the reflector. (H <H) and (w <h) and (d <H) in the inner width h on the installed side and the inner width H on the non-installed side, and within the housing of the portion having this inner width H And install the load cell,
The emitting direction or the incident direction of the laser sensor installed in the housing having the internal width h is provided in parallel to the direction in which the moving table enters and exits, and is installed in the housing having the internal width H. The emitting direction or the incident direction of the laser sensor is provided in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the moving table enters and exits,
An egg quality inspection apparatus, wherein an opening of the housing through which the moving table enters and exits is provided so as to be closed by a shielding plate provided on the housing or the moving table. 2. The egg quality inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the load cell is installed in a housing having the internal width H, and a weighing table linked to the load cell is provided at an upper portion of the housing. . An irradiation LED for injecting inspection light from a predetermined upper angle with respect to the yolk of the egg breaking body positioned in the concave portion of the inspection tray, and an R / G / B sensor unit for receiving reflected light from the yolk are provided. The egg quality inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the egg quality inspection apparatus is provided.

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