JP2020142193A - Viable seed sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a viable seed sorter which can secure accuracy and high speed in sorting when a viable seed is sorted.SOLUTION: A viable seed sorter 1 includes a rotary drum 4 having a plurality of suction ports 3 for sucking seeds 2 at intervals in a circumferential direction, and a vibration feeder 5 which supplies the seeds 2 to the suction ports 3 of the rotary drum 4. When the rotary drum 4 rotates, the seeds 2 supplied from the vibration feeder 5 are sucked by the suction ports 3. The seeds 2 sucked by the suction ports 3 of the rotary drum 4 are irradiated with near infrared rays from an irradiation part 6, and reflected lights reflected from the seeds 2 are condensed by a condenser lens optical system 7, are sent to a determination part, and are determined to be either viable seeds or sterile seeds by the determination part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a solid seed device that sorts solid seeds and sterile seeds mainly for coniferous seeds such as Japanese cedar, cypress, and larch.

The seeds of coniferous trees such as Japanese cedar, Japanese cypress, and Karamatsu are a mixture of solid seeds with germination ability and sterile seeds without germination ability, and it is necessary to select only solid seeds from these. ..
In Patent Document 1, as a method for determining whether a seed is solid or sterile, a certain coniferous tree seed is solidified by a non-destructive operation by irradiating near infrared light and observing the absorption of light. It describes a method of selecting solid seeds from a seed group in which solid seeds and sterile seeds are mixed.

International Publication WO 2016/084452

The method described in Patent Document 1 utilizes the property that light of a specific wavelength is absorbed by the fat contained in the solid seeds, and can discriminate more accurately than the conventional wind selection method or specific gravity method. It is possible.

In order to construct a device for sorting solid seeds by such a sorting method using light irradiation and absorption as a measurement method, the accuracy of sorting is the most important, and the seeds do not overlap at the measurement point. It is important to ensure that one seed is sent. Unlike industrial products that are produced uniformly, seeds differ in size and shape one by one, so a corresponding transport method is required, and if seed transport is not performed accurately, seed selection will be accurate. I can't do it. If sterile seeds are mixed in the seeds selected as solid seeds, the subsequent use will be greatly hindered. In addition, since the number of seeds to be sorted is large, ensuring the speed of sorting is also an important factor.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a solid seed sorting apparatus capable of ensuring the accuracy and high speed of sorting when sorting solid seeds. ..

In order to solve the above problems, the solid seed sorting apparatus of the present invention measures the spectrum of near-infrared light that is irradiated on the seed and reflected by the seed, and acquires the reflectance data at each wavelength. This is a solid seed sorting device that sorts only solid seeds from a mixture of solid seeds with germination ability and sterile seeds without germination ability, and the adsorption ports that adsorb seeds are spaced in the circumferential direction. With a plurality of rotating drums provided, a vibration feeder that supplies seeds to the adsorption port of the rotating drum, an irradiation unit that irradiates the seeds adsorbed on the adsorption port of the rotating drum with near-infrared light, and seeds. The vibration feeder has a bowl-shaped shape, equipped with a determination unit that determines whether the seeds are solid seeds or sterile seeds based on the reflected reflected light, and a blowout nozzle that separates the seeds determined to be solid seeds from the rotating drum by the determination unit. It has a spirally formed guide to carry the seeds from the bottom to the top of the vibrating feeder, the seeds are transported over the vibrating feeder and the seeds are lined up at the site where the vibrating feeder contacts the rotating drum. It is characterized in that it is aligned with and is adsorbed on the suction port.

The seeds to be sorted are supplied to a vibrating feeder having a bowl-shaped shape, transported from the bottom of the vibrating feeder toward the top along a spirally formed guide, and rise to a position in contact with the rotating drum. , Is attracted to the suction port of the rotating drum. The rotating drum rotates at high speed, and the seeds are sorted by the irradiation unit that irradiates near-infrared light and the judgment unit that determines whether the seeds are solid or sterile, so that the speed of sorting can be ensured. Even if the number of seeds to be sorted is large, the sorting efficiency can be improved and a large number of seeds can be sorted.

In addition, since the seeds are aligned in a row and adsorbed to the suction port at the part where the vibration feeder is in contact with the rotating drum, even seeds of different sizes and shapes are accurately adsorbed to the suction port of the rotating drum. can do.

The solid seed sorting apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality of vibration units arranged in the circumferential direction under the vibration feeder, and the vibration units include a fixed base, a vibration unit located above the base, and a base. It is equipped with a connecting part that connects the vibrating part in an oblique direction and an electromagnet that is arranged along the connecting part and causes vibration in the connecting part. The vibration is caused in the connecting part by the operation of the electromagnet, and the vibrating part is It can be configured to vibrate in an oblique direction and the seeds on the vibration feeder are transported on the vibration feeder.

By the operation of the vibrating portion, a force is applied to the seeds on the vibrating feeder in the tangential direction of the vibrating feeder, so that the seeds can be transported and aligned.

In the solid seed sorting apparatus of the present invention, a first inclined portion for returning the seeds remaining without being adsorbed to the suction port of the rotating drum to the vibration feeder is provided at the upper end portion of the guide. It can be configured.

If the seeds remain on the guide without being adsorbed by the suction port of the rotating drum, the seeds fall down the first inclined portion and return to the bottom of the vibration feeder. Therefore, continuous supply is easily possible without using new machines and parts.

In the solid seed sorting apparatus of the present invention, a narrow portion having a narrowed guide width may be provided on the upper side of the guide.

By providing a narrow portion with a narrow guide width, even if there is a part on the guide where the seeds are not aligned in a row, excess seeds will fall from the guide when passing through the narrow portion. Therefore, it is possible to promote the alignment of seeds in a row on the guide.

In the solid seed sorting apparatus of the present invention, the seed delivery portion of the guide to the rotating drum is provided with a second inclined portion that inclines downward toward the outer peripheral side of the vibration feeder. be able to.

Since the seeds approach the rotating drum at the delivery portion due to the second inclined portion, the seeds are easily adsorbed on the suction port of the rotating drum, and the accuracy of adsorption can be ensured.

According to the present invention, when sorting solid seeds, it is possible to realize a solid seed sorting device capable of ensuring the accuracy and high speed of sorting.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the solid seed sorting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the structure and function of a vibration feeder. It is a figure explaining the structure of the vibration mechanism and the principle of carrying a seed.

Hereinafter, the solid seed sorting apparatus of the present invention will be described based on the embodiment thereof.
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the solid seed sorting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The solid seed sorting apparatus 1 measures the spectrum of near-infrared light reflected by the seed 2 when the seed 2 is irradiated, and acquires the data of the reflectance at each wavelength to obtain a solid seed having germination ability. This is a solid seed sorting device that sorts only solid seeds from a mixture of sterile seeds that do not have germination ability.

As shown in FIG. 1, the solid seed sorting apparatus 1 has a rotating drum 4 in which a plurality of suction ports 3 for adsorbing seeds 2 are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction, and seeds 2 in the suction ports 3 of the rotating drum 4. It is provided with a vibration feeder 5 to be supplied. As the rotating drum 4 rotates, the seeds 2 supplied from the vibration feeder 5 are sequentially adsorbed on the suction port 3.

Near-infrared light is applied to the seed 2 adsorbed on the suction port 3 of the rotating drum 4 from the irradiation unit 6 provided with a light source, and the reflected light reflected by the seed 2 is collected by the condensing lens optical system 7. It is illuminated and sent to the determination unit, and the determination unit determines whether the seed is a solid seed or a sterile seed. As an example of the method for determining whether the seed is a solid seed or a sterile seed, the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be used.

The seed 2, which is determined to be a solid seed by the determination unit, is separated from the suction port 3 of the rotary drum 4 by the blowing nozzle 8 and is housed in the solid seed storage box 9. The blowing nozzle 8 is set to operate only for the seed 2 determined to be a solid seed. Therefore, the blow-out nozzle 8 does not operate on the seed 2 determined to be a sterile seed. The seed 2, which is determined to be sterile seed by the determination unit, is peeled from the suction port 3 of the rotary drum 4 by the peeling unit 10 and stored in the sterile seed storage box 11. In this way, the rotation of the rotary drum 4 sequentially performs the steps of seed supply, measurement, sorting, and discharge.

The structure and function of the vibration feeder 5 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A is a front view of the rotary drum 4 and the vibration feeder 5, and FIG. 2B is a plan view of the rotary drum 4 and the vibration feeder 5.

The vibration feeder 5 is a bowl-shaped bowl feeder and includes a spirally formed guide 20 for carrying the seeds 2 from the bottom 22 to the top of the vibration feeder 5. Seeds 2 are arranged in a row on the guide 20 at the portion where the guide 20 of the vibration feeder 5 is in contact with the rotating drum 4. By realizing the one-row alignment of the seeds 2, it is possible to prevent a plurality of seeds 2 from being adsorbed to the suction port 3 of the rotary drum 4 at a time, and it is possible to improve the accuracy of solid seed selection.

At the upper end of the guide 20, a first inclined portion 21 for returning the seed 2 remaining without being adsorbed by the suction port 3 of the rotating drum 4 to the vibration feeder 5 is provided. If the seed 2 remains on the guide 20 without being adsorbed by the suction port 3 of the rotary drum 4, the seed 2 falls down the first inclined portion 21 and returns to the bottom 22 of the vibration feeder 5. Therefore, continuous supply is easily possible without using new machines and parts.

A narrow portion 23 having a narrowed guide width is provided on the upper side of the guide 20. The narrow portion 23 can be formed by forming an inclined surface 26 that inclines downward toward the bottom 22 side of the vibration feeder 5. Since the narrow portion 23 having a narrowed guide width is provided, even if there is a portion on the guide 20 where the seeds 2 are not aligned in a row, the extra seed 2 is passed through the narrow portion 23. As the seeds fall from the guide 20 through the inclined surface 26, it is possible to promote the alignment of the seeds 2 in a row on the guide 20.

Further, the delivery portion 24 of the seed 2 to the rotary drum 4 is provided with a second inclined portion 25 that inclines downward toward the outer peripheral side of the vibration feeder 5. Since the seed 2 approaches the rotary drum 4 at the delivery portion 24 by the second inclined portion 25, the seed 2 is easily attracted to the suction port 3 of the rotary drum 4.

The base 30 located at the lower part of the vibration feeder 5 is provided with a vibration mechanism for giving vibration to the vibration feeder 5. The structure of the vibration mechanism and the principle of transporting seeds will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A shows the structure of the vibration unit, and FIG. 3B shows the arrangement of the vibration unit.

The vibrating unit 31 is arranged along the fixed base 32, the vibrating portion 33 located above the base 32, the connecting portion 34 that diagonally connects the base 32 and the vibrating portion 33, and the connecting portion 34. The connecting portion 34 is provided with an electromagnet 35 that causes vibration.

The operation of the electromagnet 35 causes vibration in the connecting portion 34, and the connecting portion 34 vibrates in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof. Since the connecting portion 34 is located obliquely with respect to the vibrating portion 33, the vibration of the connecting portion 34 propagates to the vibrating portion 33, and the vibrating portion 33 vibrates in the oblique direction. By receiving such vibration of the vibrating portion 33, the seed 2 on the vibrating feeder 5 repeatedly rises diagonally upward and falls downward, and is conveyed on the vibrating feeder 5.

As shown in FIG. 3B, a plurality of vibration units 31 having the above-mentioned structure and function are arranged at the lower portion of the vibration feeder 5 at intervals in the circumferential direction. The seed 2 on the vibration feeder 5 is conveyed in the circumferential direction by the vibration operation of the vibration unit 33. Although FIG. 3B shows an example in which four vibration units 31 are arranged, the number of vibration units 31 can be appropriately changed depending on the situation. Further, in FIG. 3A, only the vibration unit 31 and the seed 2 are shown in order to briefly explain the seed transport principle.

In this way, the seed 2 to be sorted is supplied to the vibration feeder 5 having a bowl shape, and is conveyed along the guide 20 spirally formed from the bottom 22 to the top of the vibration feeder 5. , It rises to a position in contact with the rotary drum 4, and is sucked by the suction port 3 of the rotary drum 4. Since the rotary drum 4 rotates at a high speed and the seeds are sorted by the determination unit that determines whether the seeds are solid seeds or sterile seeds, the speed of sorting can be secured and the number of seeds 2 to be sorted can be increased. Even if the amount is large, the sorting efficiency is improved and a large amount of seeds 2 can be sorted.

According to the present invention, when sorting solid seeds, it can be widely used in the forestry field such as afforestation as a solid seed sorting device capable of ensuring the accuracy and high speed of sorting.

1 Full seed sorting device 2 Seed 3 Suction port 4 Rotating drum 5 Vibration feeder 6 Irradiation part 7 Condensing lens optical system 8 Blow-out nozzle 9 Full seed storage box 10 Peeling part 11 Sterile seed storage box 20 Guide 21 First inclined part 22 Bottom 23 Narrow part 24 Passing part 25 Second inclined part 26 Inclined surface 30 Base 31 Vibration unit 32 Base 33 Vibration part 34 Connecting part 35 Electromagnet

Claims (5)

By measuring the spectrum of near-infrared light that is irradiated on the seeds and reflected by the seeds and acquiring the reflectance data at each wavelength, solid seeds with germination ability and sterile seeds without germination ability can be obtained. It is a full seed sorting device that sorts only solid seeds from a mixture of
A rotating drum with multiple suction ports for adsorbing seeds at intervals in the circumferential direction, a vibration feeder that supplies seeds to the suction port of the rotating drum, and close to the seeds adsorbed on the suction port of the rotating drum. An irradiation unit that irradiates infrared light, a determination unit that determines whether the seed is a solid seed or a sterile seed based on the reflected light reflected by the seed, and a blowout nozzle that separates the seed determined to be a solid seed by the determination unit from the rotating drum. The vibrating feeder has a bowl-shaped shape and is equipped with a spirally formed guide to carry the seeds from the bottom to the top of the vibrating feeder, the seeds are carried over the vibrating feeder and vibrated. A solid seed sorting device characterized in that seeds are aligned in a row and adsorbed to a suction port at a site where the feeder is in contact with a rotating drum. A plurality of vibration units arranged in the circumferential direction are provided in the lower part of the vibration feeder, and the vibration unit is a connection that connects a fixed base, a vibration part located above the base, and the base and the vibration part in an oblique direction. It is equipped with a part and an electromagnet that is arranged along the connecting part and causes vibration in the connecting part. The operation of the electromagnet causes vibration in the connecting part, and the vibrating part vibrates in an oblique direction on the vibration feeder. The fulfilling seed sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the seeds are transported on a vibration feeder. Claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the upper end portion of the guide is provided with a first inclined portion for returning the seeds remaining without being adsorbed to the suction port of the rotating drum to the vibration feeder. The described full seed sorting device. The solid seed sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a narrow portion having a narrowed guide width is provided on the upper side of the guide. Any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the seed delivery portion of the guide to the rotating drum is provided with a second inclined portion that inclines downward toward the outer peripheral side of the vibration feeder. Full seed sorting device described in.

Images