JP2013242190A - Inspection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inspection apparatus with high maintenability and high versatility to inspect a plurality of objects by optical inspection.SOLUTION: The inspection apparatus performs inspection in a state that a plurality of objects capable of transmitting light are aligned on respective predetermined positions. The inspection apparatus includes: a light irradiation part for irradiating the objects with light; light passing parts each passing only light having been transmitted through the inside of each object out of light irradiated from the light irradiation part; and light receiving parts each receiving light having passed the light passing part. Each of the light passing parts is provided with a cap spaced from the light receiving part and allowed to be separated. The cap includes a first aperture brought into contact with the object, a second aperture spaced from the first aperture and a repeating part present between the first aperture and the second aperture. The repeating part is formed so as to be extended/contracted from the first aperture in an approximately vertical direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus that inspects an object based on light that irradiates the object and transmits the object, and more particularly, to an inspection apparatus that inspects a plurality of objects having individual differences in outer shape. .

  For inspection of an object using optical measurement technology, the object is irradiated by irradiating the object having the property of transmitting light, and analyzing the information such as the light quantity and frequency component of the light transmitted through the object. There are things that inspect the internal state of things. Examples of these inspection objects include agricultural and livestock products such as fruits, vegetables, and eggs. For example, sugar content of fruits, freshness of vegetables, and life and death of eggs are transmitted through these objects. Inspected by information contained in light.

In an inspection apparatus that performs inspection based on such light information, when a light receiving unit that receives light transmitted through an object receives other light, the other light is disturbed, and accurate inspection is hindered. Is done. Therefore, it is desirable for the light receiving unit to receive only light transmitted through the object.

  For example, there are inspection apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 as inspection apparatuses in which only the light transmitted through the object is received by the light receiving unit. The inspection devices described in these are inspection devices for inspecting eggs in the middle of hatching, and in order to make the light receiving unit receive only the light that has passed through the eggs, a light receiving unit is provided inside the cap having light shielding properties, and the cap It is an inspection apparatus which inspect | inspects by making this opening closely_contact | adhere to a egg.

  The cap in the inspection apparatus of Patent Document 1 is formed in a truncated cone and is composed of a flexible suction cup, in which a photodiode as a light receiving element is arranged. In this inspection apparatus, since the sucker has flexibility, the opening of the sucker is in close contact with the seed eggs. However, when trying to inspect a plurality of eggs at once, if the outer dimensions of the eggs are greatly different due to individual differences of each egg, the sucker can not adapt to the difference in the outer dimensions only by having flexibility, May not be able to adhere to the egg.

  There exists an inspection apparatus of patent document 2 as an inspection apparatus with which this problem was eliminated. This inspection apparatus includes a plurality of caps that are in close contact with a plurality of eggs, and each cap has a bellows-like side surface that extends and contracts substantially perpendicularly to an opening that is in close contact with the eggs. According to this cap, even when a plurality of eggs are to be inspected at once, the degree of contraction of the bellows-shaped side peripheral surface according to the outer dimensions of the eggs changes, so that each cap Compensate for differences in external dimensions due to individual differences, and ensure close contact with eggs.

  However, the cap described in Patent Document 2 is intended not only to shield the light emitted from the seed eggs from other light, but also to adsorb the seed eggs to transport the seed eggs. The interior must be maintained at a low pressure. For this reason, in the cap described in Patent Document 2, the light receiving element disposed in the cap is installed by being fitted into the top of the cap in order to improve the airtightness of the cap. The cap described in Patent Document 1 is also provided with a light receiving element inside the cap so as to shield the light receiving element from light outside the cap. Therefore, in the inspection apparatuses of Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is impossible to separate the cap and the light receiving element and remove only the cap.

  By the way, these inspection apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 inspect a plurality of eggs for a plurality of times, and the cap comes into contact with the eggs for an enormous number of times. When the cap comes into close contact with the seed egg many times, the possibility that the cap will be contaminated by contact with the seed egg is increased, such as transfer of dirt attached to the seed egg to the cap or explosion of the seed egg. However, the cleaning of the cap cannot be performed in a state where a light receiving element such as a photodiode is attached. When the cap is contaminated, it is necessary to remove and clean the light receiving element. Therefore, if the cap cannot be separated from the light emitting element and removed, the maintainability of the inspection apparatus is lowered.

  In addition, in such an inspection apparatus, the inspection apparatus can be made versatile by enabling inspection corresponding to various inspection objects by selectively exchanging the cap according to the inspection object. Can do. However, if the light receiving element is attached to the cap, the light emitting element must be exchanged together with the cap when the cap is exchanged, and the exchange of the cap is bypassed, and the versatility of the inspection apparatus is reduced.

JP 2011-106882 A US Pat. No. 5,071,003

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an inspection device having high maintainability and versatility in an inspection device that inspects a plurality of objects by optical inspection.

  The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus that inspects a plurality of objects that transmit light in a state where they are aligned at predetermined positions. The inspection apparatus according to the present invention includes a light irradiation unit configured to irradiate light toward the target, and each target out of the light irradiated from the light irradiation unit, each positioned so as to correspond to the predetermined position. The light passage part for allowing only the light which permeate | transmitted the inside to pass through, and the light-receiving part which light-receives the light which passed this light passage part are included.

  Each light passing portion includes a cap that is spaced apart from the light receiving portion and is separable. The cap includes a first opening that contacts the object, a second opening portion that is spaced apart from the first opening, and a relay portion that is interposed between the first and second opening portions. Is provided.

  The first opening portion is formed so as to be in close contact with the outer surface of the object and so that light transmitted through the inside of the object enters through the outer surface of the object, and the relay portion is The light entering from the first opening portion is formed so as to pass toward the second opening portion and extend and contract in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the first opening portion, The second opening portion is formed so that light that has passed through the relay portion exits toward the light receiving portion.

  The present invention also relates to an inspection apparatus that inspects a plurality of objects that transmit light. The inspection apparatus according to the present invention allows a light irradiating unit that irradiates light toward the single target object, and allows only light transmitted through the inside of the target object to pass through the light irradiated from the light irradiating unit. And a light receiving unit that receives the light that has passed through the light passing unit.

  The light passage portion includes a cap that is spaced from the light receiving portion and is separable. The cap includes a first opening that contacts the object, a second opening portion that is spaced apart from the first opening, and a relay portion that is interposed between the first and second opening portions. Is provided.

  The first opening is in close contact with the outer surface of the object, and is formed so that light transmitted through the inside of the object enters through the outer surface of the object. The relay portion is formed so that light incident from the first opening portion passes toward the second opening portion and expands and contracts in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first opening portion. Has been. The second opening portion is formed so that light that has passed through the relay portion exits toward the light receiving portion.

  According to the inspection apparatus of the present invention, the cap that is in close contact with the object has a relay portion that can be expanded and contracted, is spaced from the light receiving unit, and can be separated from the light receiving unit. Despite being able to handle inspection, only the cap can be removed. Therefore, since only the cap can be cleaned and only the cap can be replaced, the maintainability and versatility of the inspection apparatus for inspecting a large number of objects can be enhanced.

It is a side view which shows typically the structure of the inspection apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. In the embodiment, it is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the carrying-in part in a test | inspection apparatus, a test | inspection part, and a carrying-out part. In the embodiment, it is a partial side view including a partial cross section of an inspection apparatus for inspecting an egg. In the embodiment, it is a side view including a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of an inspection unit. In the embodiment, it is a perspective view which shows a cap mounting part. In the same embodiment, it is a sectional side view showing a cap. It is a sectional side view which shows the cap in the inspection apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. In 1st Embodiment, it is the 1st partial perspective view for demonstrating the characteristic of the cap mounting part in a test | inspection part. In 1st Embodiment, it is a 2nd partial perspective view for demonstrating the characteristic of the cap mounting part in a test | inspection part. It is a partial side view including a partial sectional view for explaining inspection of an inspection device concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention, (A) shows the 1st state and (B) is the 2nd state. (C) shows the third state, and (D) shows the fourth state.

  An embodiment of an inspection apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The inspection apparatus according to the present invention is used for optical measurement of an object that transmits light. Examples of objects that transmit light include agricultural and livestock products such as fruits, vegetables, and eggs. In the following description, an explanation will be given based on an inspection apparatus that inspects eggs, that is, an egg inspection apparatus.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the egg inspection apparatus 1 includes a carry-in unit 2 that receives an egg E as an inspection object from a previous process of the egg inspection apparatus 1, and an egg E carried from the carry-in part 2. An inspection unit 3 to be inspected and an unloading unit 4 that receives the egg E inspected by the inspection unit 3 and sends it out to the next process. A plurality of eggs E, which are objects to be inspected, are sent from the carry-in unit 2 to the inspection unit 3 as indicated by an arrow a, and after being inspected, from the inspection unit 3 to the carry-out unit 4 as indicated by an arrow b. Sent.

  The plurality of eggs E to be inspected by the egg inspection apparatus 1 are, for example, egg storage containers 5 such as trays having egg storage seats (not shown) arranged in m rows × n columns (m and n are integers). Is filled. In the illustrated example, each egg E is filled in the egg container 5 with its sharp end directed downward and the blunt end directed upward. The plurality of eggs E filled in the egg container 5 are carried in, inspected, and carried out for each egg container 5. At the time of inspection, the egg container 5 is stopped in the inspection unit 3, whereby the plurality of eggs E are arranged in a predetermined position.

  Next, the inspection unit 3 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inspection unit 3 includes an inspection apparatus body 7 having a transport path 6 (see FIG. 4) through which the egg container 5 is transported. As shown by the arrow c, the upper part of the inspection device 7 can move relative to the lower part in the vertical direction. The inspection apparatus main body 7 has a light irradiation unit 8 that irradiates light toward the egg E, and a plurality of light passages for allowing only the light transmitted through the egg E out of the light irradiated from the light irradiation unit 8 to pass therethrough. Unit 9, a plurality of light receiving units 10 that receive light that has passed through the plurality of light passing units 9, and a light receiving unit protection unit 11 that protects the light receiving unit 10. The plurality of light passage portions 9 are configured to shield light passing through the inside from other light.

  In the example shown in the drawing, the light irradiation unit 8 is disposed below the transport path 6, that is, below the inspection apparatus main body 7 in a state of irradiating light upward. The plurality of light passage portions 9 are positioned above the inspection apparatus body 7 with a space above the light irradiation portion 8 with the conveyance path 6 interposed therebetween. The plurality of light receiving units 10 are provided above the respective light passing units 9 and on the upper portion of the inspection apparatus main body 7 so as to correspond to the respective light passing units 9. Thereby, since the egg E, the light passage part 9 and the light receiving part 10 are aligned in a straight line in the traveling direction of the light irradiated from the light irradiation part 8, the light irradiated from the light irradiation part 8 is arranged in the traveling direction of the light. Then, it passes through the light passage portion 9 and is effectively received by the light receiving portion 10. The light receiving unit protection unit 11 is provided below the light receiving unit 10.

  In the illustrated example, the light irradiation unit 8 includes a plurality of light emitting portions 12, and the plurality of light emitting portions 12 are arranged so as to correspond to the plurality of eggs E aligned at predetermined positions. Each light emitting portion 12 is composed of a light emitting element such as one or a plurality of diodes, and the light emission intensity and the like are adjusted by the irradiation light control unit 13 (see FIG. 4). The irradiation light control unit 13 can adjust the light emission intensity for each one or a plurality of light emitting elements.

  In this embodiment, the egg storage seats (not shown) of the egg storage container 5 are formed in m rows × n columns, and accordingly, the plurality of light emitting portions 12 of the light irradiation unit 8 correspond to m rows × n columns. Arranged in n columns. However, the light irradiation unit 8 may irradiate light so as to emit light toward the plurality of eggs E. The light emitting element may be a laser light emitting element, a fluorescent lamp or the like. If a diode or a laser light-emitting element is used as the light-emitting element, it is easy to adjust the wavelength of light irradiated to the object.

  The plurality of light receiving units 10 are configured by light receiving elements such as photodiodes, and are above the light passing unit 9 and above the inspection apparatus main body 7 so as to receive light traveling upward through the light passing unit 9. Is provided. The plurality of light receiving units 10 are respectively arranged so as to correspond to the positions of the plurality of eggs E placed at predetermined positions so as to receive the light transmitted through the eggs E filled in the egg container 5. . In this embodiment, since the egg storage seat (not shown) of the egg storage container 5 is formed in m rows × n columns, a plurality of light receiving portions 10 are arranged in m rows × n columns corresponding thereto. Yes.

  The light received by each light receiving unit 10 is photoelectrically converted into an electrical signal and sent to the determination unit 14 (see FIG. 4). The determination unit 14 obtains information on the light emitted from the light irradiation unit 8 from the irradiation light control unit 13 and determines the internal state of the egg E from the relationship with the electrical signal from the light receiving unit 10 (that is, inspects). ). For example, when the egg E is an egg in the middle of hatching, whether it is unfertilized or whether the growth has been stopped is determined (see Patent Document 1). The light receiving element may be another element for reading light information. Further, the light receiving sensitivity of each light receiving unit 10 can be adjusted in the determination unit 14.

  The light receiving unit protection unit 11 is provided on the inspection object side, that is, the lower side of the light receiving unit 10 in order to prevent the light receiving unit from being damaged or contaminated. Thereby, for example, the contamination of the light receiving unit 10 such that the egg E placed in the conveyance path 6 at the time of inspection bursts and the contents of the egg adhere to the light receiving unit 10 is prevented. The light-receiving part protection part 11 is formed in a plate shape from a glass material that transmits light and has rigidity. However, the light receiving unit protection unit 11 may be formed of a plastic material, an acrylic material, or the like, or may be formed in a film shape.

  In addition, although the light receiving unit protection unit 11 is intended to protect the light receiving unit 10, the light receiving unit protection unit 11 may be provided with a function of adjusting light received by the light receiving unit 10. For example, the light receiving unit protection unit 11 may transmit only light in a specific wavelength region, or may be capable of adjusting the amount of light passing through a liquid crystal, a polarizing plate, or the like, or polarization. For example, if only light in a specific wavelength region is transmitted, the wavelength region of light received by the light receiving unit 10 is limited, so that the light detection sensitivity can be increased.

  The plurality of light passage portions 9 are in a predetermined position corresponding to the plurality of eggs E placed above the egg E and in a predetermined position so as to contact the egg E filled in the egg container 5. Is formed. In this embodiment, since the egg storage seat (not shown) of the egg storage container E is formed in m rows × n columns, the plurality of light passage portions 9 are located in m rows × n columns.

  The light passage portion 9 includes a cap 19 that contacts the corresponding egg E. The cap 19 includes a first opening portion 15 and a second opening portion 16, and a relay portion 17 interposed between the first opening portion 15 and the second opening portion 16, and is integrally formed. Further, the cap 19 is separated from the light receiving unit 10 and the light irradiation unit 8 with an interval from the light receiving unit 10.

  The first opening portion 15 is formed such that the opening 18 is in close contact with the outer surface of the egg E, and light transmitted through the inside of the egg E enters through the outer surface of the egg E. The relay portion 17 is formed so that light incident from the first opening portion 15 passes toward the second opening portion 16 and expands and contracts in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the first opening portion 15. Has been. The second opening portion 16 is formed such that light that has passed through the relay portion 17 exits toward the light receiving unit 10. Thereby, the light passage part 9 for light to pass from the outer surface of the egg E to the light-receiving part 10 is formed.

  According to the cap 19, since the relay portion 17 is formed in a shape that expands and contracts substantially perpendicularly to the opening 18, that is, the first opening portion 15, the first opening portion 15 contacts the corresponding egg E. As a result, the relay portion 17 expands and contracts. That is, the relay portion 17 of each light passage portion 9 contracts appropriately according to the outer dimensions of the eggs E with which the first opening portion 15 is in contact. Thereby, it contracts greatly for eggs having a relatively large outer diameter, and contracts small for eggs having a relatively small external dimension. Therefore, the test | inspection part 3 can test | inspect collectively the some egg E from which an external dimension differs by an individual difference.

In the inspection unit 3, when the first opening portion 15 is appropriately in close contact with the egg E, light entering from the outside to the inside of the cap 19 at the contact portion with the egg E is prevented. The light transmitted through the egg E is not limited to light that travels straight through the egg E and enters the first opening portion 15 via the outer surface of the egg, but is scattered inside the egg and is reflected on the outer surface of the egg. The light that has entered the first opening portion 15 via the light is also included.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cap 19 is detachably attached to the cap mounting portion 22 by fitting to the plurality of annular members 20 and attaching the plurality of annular members 20 to the cap mounting portion 22. . Accordingly, one light passing portion 9 includes a part of the cap mounting portion 22, one annular member 20, and one cap 19. The cap mounting part 22 is detachably incorporated in the inspection part 3 (see FIG. 8). A normal pressure space 26 is formed between the annular member 20 and the light receiving unit 10 in a state where the cap mounting unit 22 is incorporated in the inspection unit 3 (see FIG. 3). The normal pressure space 26 is shielded from the exterior of the inspection apparatus body 7 by the exterior of the inspection apparatus body 7.

  In the illustrated example, when the cap 19 is fitted to the annular member 20, the third opening portion 21 of the annular member 20 is fitted into the second opening portion 16 of the cap 19. The third opening portion 21 communicates. Thereby, the annular member 20 acts as a fixed opening portion having the third opening portion 21 which is a fixed opening. The fixed opening portion is not limited to the annular member 20 attached to the cap mounting portion 22, but may be formed integrally with the cap mounting portion 22, and the cap 19 may be directly fitted to the cap mounting portion.

  When the annular member 20 is fitted to the cap 19, the cap 19 is disposed so as to be separable from the light receiving unit 10 so as to be separable from the light receiving unit 10. Further, the cap 19 can be detached from the inspection unit 3 by being separated from the light receiving unit 10 and the light irradiation unit 8 by removing the cap 19 from the fitted annular member 20. Thereby, the cleaning of the cap becomes easy, and the maintainability of the inspection apparatus is improved.

  The cap 19 is made of a resin material having elasticity and flexibility such as rubber. However, only the first opening portion 15 of the cap may be made of a material such as a resin having flexibility, and the relay portion 17 may be made of a metal material having rigidity. By forming the first opening portion 15 from a material having flexibility, the first opening portion 15 is in close contact with the egg E. The annular member 20 is made of a material having rigidity such as metal or plastic. The cap 19 and the annular member 20 have light shielding properties.

  The cap 19 and the annular member 20 are attachable to and detachable from the cap mounting portion 22 and thus the inspection apparatus main body 7. Thereby, for example, the first and third opening portions 15 and 21 of the light passage portion 9 are formed of one cap 19 or one annular member 20 with another cap diameter or another annular member having a different opening diameter. The opening diameter can be changed. If the first and third opening portions 15 and 21 are changed, the amount of light entering the light passage portion 9 or the amount of light exiting from the light passage portion 9 can be adjusted. Thereby, the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 10 can be adjusted.

  For example, in a seed egg inspection apparatus, there are a case where a seed egg immediately before hatching such as the 18th or 19th day of incubation is inspected, and a case where a seed egg around the 10th day of incubation is to be tested. In the case of eggs just before hatching, it is difficult for light to pass through the eggs. For this reason, in the inspection unit 3, the light emission intensity of the light emitting portion 12 is set to be relatively strong or the light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving unit 10 is set to be relatively sensitive so as to cope with such a situation.

  On the other hand, the eggs that are around the 10th day of incubation are in a situation where light is more likely to pass through the eggs than the eggs just before hatching. Therefore, in an inspection apparatus in which the light emission intensity or the light receiving sensitivity is adapted to the egg immediately before hatching, the accuracy of the determination of the life or death of the egg is reduced because the light emission intensity of the egg hatched around 10 days of incubation is too strong. There is a fear.

  According to the inspection unit 3, by adjusting the amount of light entering the light passage unit 9 or the amount of light emitted from the light passage unit 9, that is, the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 10, the egg just before hatching is adjusted. Even in an inspection apparatus in which the light emission intensity, the light receiving sensitivity, etc. are adapted, it is possible to easily and accurately inspect eggs that are around 10 days of incubation. Therefore, by replacing the cap or the annular member used for the examination of the eggs immediately before hatching with a cap or an annular member having a smaller opening diameter of the first or third opening portion than these, the eggs hatched around 10 days of incubation can be obtained. Can be inspected. That is, since the inspection unit 3 can be separated from the light receiving unit 10 and can be removed, the cap can be replaced according to the inspection contents, and versatility is improved.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the cap may be a cap 29 having a telescopic relay portion 27 instead of the bellows-like relay portion 17. Even with this structure, the relay portion 27 can be contracted in accordance with the external dimensions due to individual differences of the eggs E. However, it is easier to make the first opening portion 15 closely contact the egg E because the relay portion can be given an appropriate elasticity to the relay portion than the telescopic structure of the relay portion. .

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the caps 19 and 29 may include a light receiving portion protection region 23 in a part of the light path. The light receiving portion protection region 23 is made into a plate shape with a glass material or the like that is optically transparent and rigid. By providing the light receiving portion protection region 23, it is possible to prevent the light receiving portion from being damaged or contaminated. For example, it is possible to prevent the egg from rupturing during the inspection and the contents of the egg from adhering to the light receiving portion and being contaminated. Further, similarly to the light receiving unit protection unit 11, the light receiving unit protection region may have a function of adjusting light received by the light receiving unit.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the cap mounting portion 22 to which the plurality of caps 19 are attached is detachable from the inspection apparatus body 7. For example, the cap mounting portion 22 is removed from the inspection apparatus body 7 for cleaning the cap. In the illustrated example, the cap mounting portion 22 is slidably held on the guide rail 25, and the cap mounting portion 22 is removed from the inspection apparatus body 7 by sliding the cap mounting portion 22 in the direction of the arrow d.

  The cap mounting portion 22 is detachable from the inspection apparatus main body 7, and thus is detached from the light receiving section and the light irradiation section incorporated in the inspection apparatus main body 7. As a result, it is possible to clean a plurality of caps attached to the cap mounting portion at once or replace them with other caps (see FIG. 9). Therefore, maintainability and versatility of the inspection unit 3 are improved. Further, if the cap mounting part 22 is detachable from the inspection apparatus main body 7, the cap 19 is installed on the cap mounting part 22, that is, even if the cap mounting part 22 is not removable, the cap 19 It can be detached from the light receiving unit 10 incorporated in the inspection apparatus main body 7.

  In the present embodiment, the cap 19 having a cylindrical member is illustrated to be in close contact with the egg, but for an object other than the egg, a triangular prism shape, a square shape is adapted to the shape of the object. A prismatic cylindrical member such as a column may be used. Further, the light passing portion is not limited to the cylindrical member, and may be a truncated cone member having a truncated cone shape.

  In the present embodiment, the cap 19 communicates with the normal pressure space 26. Therefore, the cap 19 does not have the purpose of adsorbing the egg E by making the inside low pressure, and it is not necessary to consider the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the cap, that is, the rigidity of the cap in the selection of the material of the cap. . Therefore, the selectivity of the material of the cap 19 is increased. That is, in the inspection unit 3, a material that is sufficiently flexible to be in close contact with the egg E can be selected without considering that the cap is deformed due to the pressure difference.

  In the present embodiment, the egg inspection unit 3 has a structure in which a light irradiation unit 9 disposed below the conveyance path 6 of the inspection apparatus body 7 emits light upward toward the egg E (FIG. 3 and FIG. 4). However, the light irradiation unit 8 may be arranged in the horizontal direction of the transport path 6 (for example, the paper back direction in FIG. 3) and irradiate the egg E placed in the transport path 6 with light. Further, the light passage portion 9 and the light receiving portion 10 may be arranged in the horizontal direction with respect to the egg E.

  Next, the operation of the egg inspection unit 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 10A, the egg container 5 filled with a plurality of eggs E to be inspected is carried in from the carry-in part 2 in the direction of arrow e. Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, the egg container 5 is transported from the carry-in unit 2 to the inspection unit 3, and is placed at a predetermined position between the light irradiation unit 8 and the light passage unit 9 of the inspection unit 3. Stop. Thereafter, the upper part of the inspection unit main body 7 is lowered in the direction of the arrow f, so that the light passing unit 9 advances toward the egg E.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10C, at this time, the extendable relay portion 17 contracts and the first opening portion comes into close contact with the outer surface of the egg E. Multiple eggs have individual differences in external dimensions, but for example, the relay portion contracts greatly for large eggs, and the relay portion contracts small for small eggs. The first opening portion 15 is firmly attached to the outer surface of the egg without being affected. Thereby, the eggs E are inspected without light other than the light transmitted through each egg E reaching the light receiving unit 10.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10D, the light passing part is detached from the egg E by raising the upper part of the inspection body 7. The plurality of eggs E that have been inspected are sent to the carry-out unit 4 while being filled in the container 5. Thereafter, the egg E is sent from the carry-out unit 4 to the next transfer process. Moreover, the egg in which abnormality was discovered in the test | inspection may be removed in the carrying-out part 4.

  In the above-described embodiment, the inspection apparatus 3 corresponds to the plurality of eggs E so as to inspect the plurality of eggs E at a time, and the plurality of light emitting portions 12, the plurality of light passing portions 9, and the plurality of light receiving portions 10. Is provided. However, the inspection apparatus may have a structure including a single light emitting portion, a single light passage portion, and a single light receiving portion so as to inspect a single egg. In this inspection apparatus for inspecting a single egg, a plurality of eggs are inspected in a plurality of times. At this time, even in the inspection apparatus for inspecting a single egg E, the light passage portion expands and contracts, so that the outer dimension due to the individual difference of the egg E is not affected in each inspection, and the light passage portion 9 One opening portion 15 can be in close contact with the egg E. Further, even if the cap is contaminated by a plurality of inspections, the cap can be easily cleaned by being separated from the light receiving portion.

  In such an inspection apparatus for inspecting a single inspection object, the relay portion formed to be stretchable contracts so that the first opening portion is brought into close contact with the egg that is the inspection object. As a result, the distance from the outer shell of the egg to the light receiving portion is different for each egg under the influence of the individual difference of the egg. However, in this embodiment, at the time of inspection, a set of light emitting portions, light passing portions, and light receiving portions function for each egg E. Thereby, the light emission intensity of a light emission part or the light reception sensitivity of a light-receiving part can be adjusted for every egg by the light irradiation part control part or the determination part. Therefore, even if the distance from the outer shell of the egg to the light receiving part changes, the light intensity or light receiving sensitivity is adjusted for each egg, so that the inspection is not affected by the distance from the outer shell of the egg to the light receiving part. It can be performed.

  In the above description, the egg is described as an example of the target object. However, the egg includes various eggs such as a chicken egg, a duck egg, and a quail egg, and may be either a fertilized egg or an infertile egg. Further, the objects include those having the property of transmitting light, such as agricultural products and livestock products.

  The embodiment disclosed this time is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the scope described above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The present invention is applied to an object that transmits light, and is used for inspection of an object having a difference in external dimensions due to individual differences of the object.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inspection apparatus, 2 carrying-in part, 3 inspection part, 4 carrying-out part, 5 container, 6 conveyance path, 7 inspection apparatus main body, 8 light irradiation part, 9 light passage part, 10 light-receiving part, 11 light-receiving part protection part, 12 Light emission part, 13 Irradiation light control part, 14 Judgment part, 15 1st opening part, 16 2nd opening part, 17 Relay part, 18 opening, 19 cap, 20 Annular member, 21 3rd opening part, 22 cap Mounting part, 23 light receiving part protection area, 25 guide rail, 26 atmospheric pressure space.

Claims (9)

An inspection apparatus that inspects a plurality of objects that transmit light in a state in which the objects are aligned at predetermined positions,
A light irradiator that irradiates light toward the object, and a light irradiator that is positioned so as to correspond to the predetermined position, and only the light that has passed through the interior of the object among the light emitted from the light irradiator Including a light passage part for passing through and a light receiving part for receiving the light that has passed through the light passage part,
Each light passage part includes a cap that can be separated from the light receiving part and separated,
The cap includes a first opening that contacts the object, a second opening portion that is spaced apart from the first opening, and a relay portion that is interposed between the first and second opening portions. With
The first opening portion is formed so as to be in close contact with the outer surface of the object, and light that has passed through the inside of the object enters through the outer surface of the object;
The relay portion is formed so that light incident from the first opening portion passes toward the second opening portion and expands and contracts in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first opening portion. Has been
The inspection apparatus, wherein the second opening portion is formed such that light that has passed through the relay portion exits toward the light receiving portion.   The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object is an egg.   The light passage section further includes a fixed opening portion material to which the cap is detachably fixed, and the fixed opening member has a third opening portion communicating with the second opening portion. Or the inspection apparatus of 2.   The inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the relay portion is formed in a bellows shape that expands and contracts in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the first opening portion. 5. The amount of light directed toward the light receiving unit is adjusted by changing a diameter of the opening diameter of at least one of the first and second opening portions. Inspection equipment.   6. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each light passing portion includes a light receiving portion protection portion that protects the light receiving portion.   The light irradiating unit includes a light emitting portion corresponding to each of the objects aligned at the predetermined position, and each light emitting portion irradiates light corresponding to a light amount adjusted to the corresponding object. The inspection apparatus according to any one of 1 to 6. In addition, an inspection apparatus main body including the light irradiation unit and the light receiving unit, and a cap mounting unit that is detachably held on the inspection apparatus main body,
The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cap mounting portion includes a plurality of the fixed openings. An inspection apparatus for inspecting a plurality of objects that transmit light,
A light irradiating unit that irradiates light toward the single object, a light passing unit for allowing only light transmitted through the object out of the light irradiated from the light irradiating unit, and Including a light receiving unit that receives light that has passed through the light passing unit,
The light passage portion includes a cap that is spaced apart from and separated from the light receiving portion,
The cap includes a first opening that contacts the object, a second opening portion that is spaced apart from the first opening, and a relay portion that is interposed between the first and second opening portions. With
The first opening portion is formed so as to be in close contact with the outer surface of the object, and light that has passed through the inside of the object enters through the outer surface of the object;
The relay portion is formed so that light incident from the first opening portion passes toward the second opening portion and expands and contracts in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first opening portion. Has been
The inspection apparatus, wherein the second opening portion is formed such that light that has passed through the relay portion exits toward the light receiving portion.

Images