JP7322823B2 - optical sorter - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an optical sorting machine that allows a user to easily set the operation of an ejector nozzle of the optical sorting machine.

Conventionally, in an optical sorter, in order to remove grains determined as defective products, the grains determined as defective products are removed by injecting compressed air from an ejector nozzle. If it is desired to reliably remove rejects and obtain high quality grain after sorting, the rejects may be exposed to compressed air over a long period of time and over a wide area. However, if this is done, the non-defective sized grains are removed by the compressed air, resulting in a decrease in yield. Therefore, when it is desired to increase the yield by reducing the involvement of the above-described sizing, it has been set to apply compressed air to the defective product for a short time and in a narrow range (for example, Patent Document 1). .

Japanese Patent No. 4206522

However, although the operation settings of the ejector nozzle in the above-mentioned conventional optical sorting machine can be set for each item such as delay time and injection time, when adjusting the yield level, it is difficult to achieve high yield and high yield. Depending on whether to select normal or high quality, a specialized maintenance engineer must spend time setting the ejector nozzle for each item by repeating trial and error. It has been difficult for ordinary users to simply and easily make settings.

Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an optical sorting machine that allows a user to easily set the operation of the ejector nozzle of the optical sorting machine.

The invention according to claim 1 of the present application is characterized by: an inspection unit that optically inspects the granular material transferred by the transfer means; an ejector control unit that has a plurality of ejector nozzles and that blows compressed air from the ejector nozzles onto the defective products to sort out the defective products from the good products; a sorting intensity setting unit capable of setting a sorting intensity, wherein the sorting intensity is composed of a plurality of sorting intensity levels, and the sorting intensity setting unit controls the operation of the ejector nozzle for each of the sorting intensity levels. This optical sorting machine is characterized in that it is possible to preset a plurality of types of operation setting parameters to be controlled.

The invention according to claim 2 of the present application is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the ejector control unit can vary the injection range of the compressed air by the plurality of ejector nozzles according to the plurality of selection strength levels. It is an optical sorting machine.

In the invention according to claim 3 of the present application, the ejector control unit has defective area specifying means capable of specifying a defective area in the defective product, and the defective area specifying means detects area defective pixels that are continuous in the lateral direction. 3. The optical sorting machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein thinning processing is performed to leave the center line portion of the area defective pixels as defective pixels.

In the invention according to claim 4 of the present application, the plurality of types of operation setting parameters are the ejection time of the ejector nozzle and the width of an overlap area that straddles the ejection ranges of the adjacent ejector nozzles across a boundary line. and an overlap value of , wherein the ejector control unit causes the adjacent ejector nozzles to perform an ejection operation together when at least part of the defect area is within the overlap area. is an optical sorting machine.

In the invention according to claim 5 of the present application, the sorting intensity setting unit is connected to setting input means for allowing a user of the optical sorter to select the sorting intensity level, and the sorting intensity level is set according to the selected sorting intensity level. 5. The optical sorting machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the yield can be adjusted by

The invention according to claim 6 of the present application is the optical sorting machine according to claim 5, wherein the setting input means is capable of presetting the operation setting parameters for each of the sorting intensity levels.

The invention according to claim 7 of the present application is characterized in that the setting input means sets the operation setting parameters at another sorting strength level in response to the operation of presetting the operation setting parameters at one sorting strength level without presetting the operation setting parameters at another sorting strength level. An optical sorting machine according to claim 6, which is possible.

According to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to remove defective granular materials by a plurality of ejector nozzles controlled in accordance with the sorting intensity level set by the sorting intensity setting unit. The intensity level is configured so that a plurality of types of operation setting parameters for controlling the operation of the ejector nozzle can be preset for each of the plurality of sorting intensity levels. Therefore, there is no need to spend time setting the operation of the ejector nozzle as in the past, and the user can very easily set the optical sorting machine according to the yield and quality desired by the user. Become.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the ejection ranges of compressed air from the plurality of ejector nozzles are adjusted to differ according to the plurality of sorting strength levels, it is possible to select an appropriate range according to the yield and quality required by the user. It is possible to sort and remove defective products.

According to the third aspect of the invention, it is possible to specify a defective area in a defective product, and to perform a thinning process that leaves the center line portion of the area defective pixel that is continuous in the horizontal direction as a defective pixel. It has become. By performing such processing, it becomes possible to narrow the injection range of the compressed air by the plurality of ejector nozzles, and it becomes possible to increase the yield.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the operation setting parameters for the ejector nozzle are the ejection time by the ejector nozzle and the size of the overlap area that straddles the ejection ranges of the adjacent ejector nozzles across the boundary line. At least the overlap value and are settable, and when at least a part of the defective area in the granular material enters the overlap area, two adjacent ejector nozzles are configured to perform an ejection operation together. By adjusting the wrap value, it becomes possible to adjust the injection range of the compressed air, and it is possible to select and remove according to the yield and quality desired by the user.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the user of the optical sorting machine uses the setting input means, for example, by using the operation screen as shown in FIG. It is possible to select the intensity level.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, a maintenance engineer or the like can easily preset operation setting parameters for each sorting strength level, for example, from an operation screen as shown in FIG.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, by presetting operation setting parameters for one sorting intensity level, operation setting parameters for other sorting intensity levels are automatically set based on predetermined setting rules. It is With such a configuration, it is possible to save the trouble of presetting operation setting parameters individually for all sorting intensity levels.

1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of an optical sorting machine in one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a block diagram of the control processing means of an optical sorting machine in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an overview of sorting strength levels in one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display mode of a sorting strength level adjustment screen on a liquid crystal display in one embodiment of the present invention; It is a figure explaining the image processing of the grain performed at the time of ejection area determination in one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a conceptual diagram of operation setting parameters and injection areas in primary sorting using an optical sorter in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. (Sorting intensity level 5 to 3) 1 is a conceptual diagram of operation setting parameters and injection areas in primary sorting using an optical sorter in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. (Sorting strength level 2, 1) FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of operation setting parameters and injection areas in secondary sorting and tertiary sorting using an optical sorter in one embodiment of the present invention. (Sorting intensity level 5 to 3) FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of operation setting parameters and injection areas in secondary sorting and tertiary sorting using an optical sorter in one embodiment of the present invention. (Sorting strength level 2, 1) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display mode of a setting screen for maintenance engineers on a liquid crystal display in one embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of an optical sorting machine of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of an optical sorting machine 1 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of control processing means of the optical sorting machine 1. As shown in FIG.

(Configuration of optical sorting machine)
As shown in FIG. 1, the optical sorter 1 includes a chute 4 for transporting grains 100 inclined at an angle of about 60 degrees from a horizontal position as a means for transporting grains 100 in a machine frame 2, and a grain A storage tank 5 for storing grains 100, a vibrating feeder 6 for conveying grains 100 from the storage tank 5 to a chute 4, and a drop trajectory of grains 100 falling from the lower end of the chute 4. The optical detection units 7a and 7b provided, the ejector 8 provided further below, and the ejector 8 are on the same slope line as the chute 4 below the ejector 8, and fall along the drop trajectory without receiving the blowing air from the ejector nozzle 80. A non-defective product recovery gutter 9 that receives the grains 100, a defective product recovery gutter 10 that is installed in parallel with the non-defective product recovery gutter 9 and receives the blow from the ejector nozzle 80 to recover the defective grains, and the ejector nozzle 80. An auxiliary defective product recovery gutter 11 is provided for recovering defective grains that have failed to receive the blowing wind and bounce off surrounding members.

In addition, the shape of the chute 4 is formed in a flat plate shape without grooves in order to allow the grains 100 to slide in a wide belt shape, and to prevent the grains 100 from overflowing from the chute 4. A chute cover 4a is provided at a predetermined distance from the bottom surface in order to prevent the grains 100 from rising from the bottom surface while sliding on the chute 4. - 特許庁

The vibrating feeder 6 has a feeder trough 6a supported on a support portion 6b, and is configured such that grains 100 can be supplied to the chute 4 by operating a vibrating member such as an electromagnetic drive coil 6c. The shape of the chute 4 described above may be a groove, and the cross-sectional shape of the groove may be U-shaped, V-shaped, U-shaped, or the like, as appropriate. can be done.

The optical detection units 7a and 7b serving as inspection units for performing optical inspection are surrounded by boxes 12a and 12b, respectively. CCD camera 13a, NIR camera 14 for near-infrared light, visible light sources 15a and 15b such as fluorescent lamps, near-infrared light source 16a such as a halogen lamp, and a back for facing the optical detection unit 7b A ground 17a is provided.

In addition, in the box 12b on the rear side of the falling trajectory of the grain 100, there are a CCD camera 13b for visible light, visible light sources 15c and 15d such as fluorescent lamps, and a near infrared light source 16b such as a halogen lamp. and backgrounds 17b and 17c for facing the optical detection unit 7a. Window members 18a and 18b made of transparent glass are fitted to the sides of the box bodies 12a and 12b on which the grains 100 fall.

In the ejector 8 in the optical sorting machine 1 of the present embodiment, 48 ejector nozzles 80 are provided in a row at equal intervals in the same direction as the width direction of the chute 4, and each ejector nozzle 80 has An ejector solenoid valve 81 is provided to turn on/off the injection of compressed air. The number of ejector nozzles 80 can be appropriately changed according to the width dimension of chute 4 and the like. Also, the ejector 8 of this embodiment can store compressed air inside, and is configured to be supplied with air from an air compressor (not shown) via an air supply pipe 22 . One or a plurality of sub-tanks (not shown) that temporarily store air may be provided between the ejector 8 and the air compressor. Even in such a case, there is no risk of air shortage.

A front door 24 that can be rotated vertically by an air cylinder 23 is provided on the inclined wall in front of the machine frame 2, so that maintenance work such as cleaning can be easily performed. Further, below the front door 24, there are provided a liquid crystal display 25 which functions as a setting input means which also serves as an operation panel and a monitor made up of a touch panel, and a power switch (not shown). By arranging the liquid crystal display 25 and the power switch at the eye level of the operator, it is possible to easily operate the machine.

As shown in FIG. 1, a defective product receiving port 27, a non-defective product receiving port 28, and an auxiliary defective product receiving port 29 are provided as a receiving port for the sorted grains 100, and the defective product receiving port 27 is provided. A sample extractor 30 is provided above the .

Next, the configuration of the control processing means of the optical sorting machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The CCD cameras 13a and 13b for visible light and the NIR camera 14 for near-infrared light are electrically connected to a signal processing unit 31 for binarizing the acquired images. 31 is connected to a memory unit 32 for storing images and performing necessary processing. The liquid crystal display 25 described above is electrically connected to the memory section 32 .

Further, the signal processing unit 31 includes an image data acquisition unit 33 that temporarily stores image data, and a threshold value data that stores threshold data for determining whether the acquired image data is a non-defective product or a defective product. a data storage memory 34; a binarization calculation mechanism 35 for binarizing acquired image data; and an ejector control unit 37 for controlling the operation of.

In addition, the CCD cameras 13a and 13b for visible light and the NIR camera 14 for near-infrared light amplify the voltage value through an I/V converter (not shown) that converts the light amount detection value into a voltage value. Each is connected to an amplifier. Then, based on the amplified voltage value (detection signal), the non-defective product/defective product determination unit 36 compares it with the threshold value stored in the threshold data storage memory 34 to determine whether it is a non-defective product or a defective product. there is

The memory unit 32 also stores an image data storage memory 38 that stores the data from the image data acquisition unit 33 as necessary, and based on the image data stored in the image data storage memory 38, determines whether the grain is a non-defective product. A threshold data calculation mechanism 39 for calculating a threshold value for determining whether a product is defective, a sorting strength setting unit 40 for setting the operation of the ejector 8, and a touch operation signal for the liquid crystal display 25 are received. , and an operation signal receiving mechanism 41 for outputting the processed image data to the liquid crystal display 25 .

A non-defective product/defective product determination unit 36 in the signal processing unit 31 is electrically connected to an ejector control unit 37. Based on operating conditions, the ejector drive circuit 42 is controlled to remove the defective grain 100 .

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the ejector drive circuit 42 is electrically connected to each ejector electromagnetic valve 81 for turning ON/OFF the injection of compressed air by each ejector nozzle 80, and a drive signal is input. Each ejector solenoid valve 81 is configured to be opened and closed by being pressed. As described above, the ejector 8 of this embodiment has 48 ejector nozzles 80, each of which has an ejector electromagnetic valve 81 in one-to-one correspondence. In addition, in FIG. 2, among the 48 ejector solenoid valves 81, a first ejector solenoid valve 81a, a second ejector solenoid valve 81b, a third An ejector solenoid valve 81c is shown.

(Sorting process configuration)
Next, the sorting process of the optical sorter 1 in this embodiment will be described in detail below.

The optical sorting machine 1 according to the present embodiment can preset the sorting intensity for removing the grains 100 judged to be defective by the ejector 8 . That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the sorting intensity can be set in five stages from level 5 to level 1. For example, level 1 has a high sorting intensity and can reliably sort out defective products. is possible, some non-defective grains are removed by the compressed air ejected from the ejector nozzle 80, resulting in a low yield, but high-quality grains 100 can be obtained. On the other hand, level 5 has a low sorting strength, and some defective products may not be removed by the ejector 8, so the quality of the obtained grains 100 is low, but the yield is high. Details of the operation mode of the ejector 8 at each sorting intensity will be described later.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the display mode on the liquid crystal display 25, and the user using the optical sorting machine 1 touches the ejector setting icon 253 with a finger to change the sorting strength level as illustrated. is configured to display the adjustment screen for By touching the level-up icon 251 and the level-down icon 252, a desired sorting strength level by the ejector 8 can be easily selected. It should be noted that the sorting strength level may be selected by touching a round setting level icon 255 in the drawing and performing a flick operation to a desired level position.

Subsequently, based on FIG. 5 , a description will be given of how the grain 100 to be a defective product is identified when the defective product is removed by the ejector 8 . First, in Step 1, an object image of the grain 100 is acquired by the non-defective/defective product determination unit 36, and in Step 2, the defective area in the grain 100 is specified by the amount of calibration based on the light intensity detection value obtained from the object image. do. In Step 3, based on a predetermined threshold value set in advance, a defective area that satisfies the size of a defective product that is determined as a defective product is specified. In Step 4, a "thinning" process is performed to leave only the center line of defective pixels in a defect area that is continuous in the horizontal direction as a defect area. Although the details will be described later, the effect of improving the yield can be obtained by this thinning process. Then, in Step 5, the ejection range of the compressed air by the ejector nozzle 80 corresponding to the preset sorting intensity level (levels 5 to 1) is determined based on the identified defect area. Note that as shown in FIG. 5, the thinning process in Step 4 is not essential, and if necessary, the injection range setting in Step 5 may be performed without performing the thinning process.

Next, operation setting parameters for each sorting strength level (levels 5 to 1) in this embodiment will be described.

6 and 7 show schematic diagrams of operation setting parameters preset for each sorting intensity level (levels 5 to 1), areas of compressed air injection to defective grains 100, and the like. 6 and 7 show an embodiment of primary sorting by an optical sorter 1 having a plate-shaped chute 4. FIG. In addition, FIGS. 8 and 9 show embodiments of secondary and tertiary sorting by an optical sorter 1 equipped with a U-shaped chute 4. FIG. 6 to 9, of the 48 ejector nozzles 80 described above, a first ejector nozzle 80a capable of injecting compressed air to the entire grain 100 of adjacent grains, a second ejector A nozzle 80b and a third ejector nozzle 80c are shown.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, for each sorting intensity level (levels 5 to 1), the "injection time" of compressed air and, as shown, the distance between adjacent ejector nozzles 80. When there is a defect area in the overlap area straddling the mutual ejection ranges across the boundary, the "overlap value" that allows both ejector nozzles 80 to operate, and the defect area of the defective product that is continuous in the lateral direction ON/OFF setting of "thinning" for leaving only the center line of the defective pixel as a defective area is preset as an operation setting parameter.

Next, operation setting parameters and operation modes of the ejector 8 with respect to the defective grain 100 will be described. The setting of "level 5" shown in FIG. 6 is a setting for a high yield, and the injection time is preset to "10", the overlap value is preset to "0", and the thinning process is preset to "ON". ing. In addition, the unit of the injection time "10" is not a unit of time, but an arbitrarily specified numerical value. It's time to hit the air. Of course, the numerical value to be set can also be a numerical value in units of time.

Also, in the setting of "level 5" shown in FIG. 6, the overlap value is "0", and in this case, the second ejector nozzle capable of injecting compressed air to the identified defect area Only 80b will operate. Furthermore, in the setting of "level 5", since the thinning process is set to "ON", a linear defect area as shown in the figure is specified and its range becomes smaller than the actual defect area. ing.

Next, the setting of “level 4” shown in FIG. 6 has a higher sorting intensity than the above-mentioned “level 5”, and the yield is slightly lower, but the quality of the obtained grain 100 is slightly higher. It is set. The injection time is preset to "15" which is about 1.5 times longer than "level 5", the overlap value is preset to "4", and the thinning process is preset to "ON". It should be noted that the overlap value "4" does not have a specific unit and is an arbitrarily specified numerical value. For example, it can be the number of pixels in the horizontal width direction of the imaging device, which is a numerical value corresponding to the length of the illustrated overlap area in the width direction. Of course, it is also possible to set the overlap value to be a numerical value in units of distance (dimension).

In the setting of "level 4" shown in FIG. 6, the overlap value is "4", so as shown in the figure, the boundary line between the adjacent first ejector nozzle 80a and second ejector nozzle 80b , and an overlap area that straddles the ejection ranges of the second ejector nozzle 80b and the third ejector nozzle 80c is set across the boundary line. In the illustrated embodiment, the thinned defect area does not fall within the overlap area and is within the ejection range of the second ejector nozzle 80b, so only the second ejector nozzle 80b will operate.

Next, the setting of "level 3" shown in FIG. 6 has a higher sorting strength than that of the above-described "level 4". The injection time is preset to "20" which is twice as long as "level 5", the overlap value is preset to "8" which is twice as long as "level 4", and the thinning process is preset to "ON". . At "Level 3" setting, the overlap value is "8" and the width of the overlap area is doubled at "Level 4", but in the illustrated embodiment, the line is thinned. Since the defective area does not fall within the overlap area and is within the ejection range of the second ejector nozzle 80b, only the second ejector nozzle 80b operates.

Next, the setting of "level 2" shown in FIG. 7 has a higher sorting strength than that of the above-described "level 3". The injection time is 25, which is 2.5 times longer than level 5. The overlap value is 14, which is nearly double that of level 3. Thinning is preset to OFF. It is

In the "level 2" setting shown in FIG. 7, the overlap value is "14" and the width of the overlap area is nearly double that of "level 3" as shown. there is In the illustrated embodiment, the upper right portion of the defect area (thinning OFF) is included in the overlap area set between the second ejector nozzle 80b and the third ejector nozzle 80c. As a result, the third ejector nozzle 80c is activated in addition to the second ejector nozzle 80b, and the compressed air is jetted to the kernel 100 as an ejection area as shown in the drawing.

Next, the setting of "level 1" shown in FIG. 7 has a higher sorting strength than that of the above-described "level 2". Then, the injection time is preset to "30", which is three times longer than "level 5", the overlap value is "20", which is about 1.5 times longer than "level 4", and the thinning process is preset to "OFF". It is

In the setting of "level 1" shown in FIG. 7, the overlap value is "20" and the width of the overlap area is approximately 1.5 times that of "level 2" as shown. It's becoming In the illustrated embodiment, the upper right portion and the lower left portion of the defect area (thinning OFF) are overlap areas set across the boundary line between the second ejector nozzle 80b and the third ejector nozzle 80c. , the overlap area set between the second ejector nozzle 80b and the first ejector nozzle 80a. As a result, in addition to the second ejector nozzle 80b, the third ejector nozzle 80c and the first ejector nozzle 80a also operate, forming an ejection area as shown in the figure so that the compressed air is ejected to the grain 100. It is configured.

Therefore, in the setting of “level 1”, the ejection area of the ejector nozzle 80 is a range wider than the outline of the grain 100 . However, since the grains 100 are closely adjacent to each other and continuously flow down in a belt shape, the non-defective grains in the vicinity of the defective grains are removed by the compressed air ejected from the ejector nozzle 80 . Therefore, although the yield is low, defective products can be reliably removed, so that high-quality grains 100 can be obtained.

Next, operation setting parameters in the secondary sorting and the tertiary sorting shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 and the operation mode of the ejector 8 with respect to the defective grain 100 will be described. In addition, the secondary sorting and tertiary sorting refer to the grains 100 obtained by performing the primary sorting by the optical sorter 1, and further inputting the grains 100 into the optical sorter 1, secondary sorting, and tertiary sorting. Sorting and repetitive sorting processes. Further, in the secondary sorting and tertiary sorting, a chute 4 in which a plurality of U-shaped grooves having a width dimension that allows one grain 100 to flow down is used, and the outline of FIGS. 8 and 9 As shown in the figure, the area of compressed air injection by one ejector nozzle 80 is approximately the same as the width of the grain 100 .

The setting of "level 5" shown in FIG. 8 is a setting for a high yield, and the injection time is preset to "10", the overlap value is preset to "0", and the thinning process is preset to "ON". ing. In the setting of "level 5", the overlap value is "0", and in this case only the second ejector nozzle 80b capable of injecting compressed air to the identified defect area will operate. . Furthermore, in the setting of "level 5", since the thinning process is set to "ON", a linear defect area as shown in the figure is specified and its range becomes smaller than the actual defect area. ing.

Next, the setting of "level 4" shown in FIG. 8 has a higher sorting intensity than the above-described "level 5", and the yield is slightly lower, but the quality of the obtained grain 100 is slightly higher. It is set. The injection time is preset to "15" which is about 1.5 times longer than "level 5", the overlap value is preset to "0", and the thinning process is preset to "ON".

Next, the “level 3” setting shown in FIG. 8 has a higher sorting intensity than the above-described “level 4”, and the yield is lower, but the quality of the obtained grain 100 is slightly higher. It is set. The injection time is preset to "20" which is twice "level 5", the overlap value is preset to "0", and the thinning process is preset to "ON".

Next, the setting of “level 2” shown in FIG. 9 has a higher sorting intensity than the above-described “level 3”, and the yield is lower, but the quality of the obtained grain 100 is higher. It has become. The injection time is preset to "25" which is 2.5 times "level 5", the overlap value is preset to "8", and the thinning process is preset to "OFF".

In the setting of "level 2" shown in FIG. 9, the overlap value is "8", so as shown in the figure, between the adjacent first ejector nozzle 80a and second ejector nozzle 80b, An overlap area is set between the second ejector nozzle 80b and the third ejector nozzle 80c. In the illustrated embodiment, the defect area (thinning OFF) does not fall within the overlap area and is within the ejection range of the second ejector nozzle 80b, so only the second ejector nozzle 80b will operate.

Next, the setting of "level 1" shown in FIG. 9 has a higher sorting strength than that of the above-described "level 2". The injection time is preset to "30" which is three times longer than "level 5", the overlap value is preset to "16" which is twice as long as "level 2", and the thinning process is preset to "OFF". .

In the "level 1" setting shown in FIG. 9, the overlap value is "16" and the width of the overlap area is double that of "level 2" as shown. . In the illustrated embodiment, the left side portion of the defect area (thinning OFF) is included in the overlap area set across the boundary line between the second ejector nozzle 80b and the first ejector nozzle 80a. As a result, the first ejector nozzle 80a is activated in addition to the second ejector nozzle 80b, and the ejection area as shown in the figure is formed so that the compressed air is ejected to the kernel 100. FIG.

Therefore, in the setting of “level 1”, the ejection area of the ejector nozzle 80 is a range wider than the outline of the grain 100 . However, since the grains 100 are closely adjacent to each other and continuously flow down in a belt shape, the non-defective grains in the vicinity of the defective grains are removed by the compressed air ejected from the ejector nozzle 80 . Therefore, although the yield is low, defective products can be reliably removed, so that high-quality grains 100 can be obtained.

An example of operation setting parameters for each sorting strength level in this embodiment has been described above. Therefore, when the overlap value is set, the overlap area is set only on one side where the adjacent ejector nozzles 80 exist, and the ejector nozzles 80 operate. In addition, the setting of each operation setting parameter of "injection time", "overlap", and "thinning" is preset by a maintenance engineer, and the user of the optical sorting machine 1 can, as described above, All that is required is to specify the sorting strength level on the setting screen as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is possible to greatly reduce the time and effort required for a maintenance engineer to frequently set each operation setting parameter, perform trial and error, and spend time setting the operation of the ejector 8, as in the past. becomes.

In addition, FIG. 10 shows an example of a setting screen dedicated to maintenance engineers. By touching the detail setting icon 254 on the upper right of the display screen, the screen shifts to a detail setting screen (not shown), and " Operation setting parameters such as injection time, overlap, and thinning can be set. Also, when setting the operation setting parameters, if the operation setting parameters are set at any of levels 5 to 1, the operation setting parameters at other sorting strength levels are automatically set according to the level. It is According to such a configuration, when setting or changing operation setting parameters, it is possible to save the trouble of inputting operation setting parameters for all other sorting strength levels.

(Other embodiments)
One embodiment of the optical sorting machine of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes, for example, the following modifications.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, a method for sorting grains 100 was described, but the grains 100 are not necessarily limited to sorting objects, and the sorting objects are pellets, resin pieces such as beads, beans, pharmaceuticals, ores, whitebait, etc. The optical sorting machine of the present invention can be effectively applied even when sorting granular materials including fine-sized articles.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the sorting intensity level is set to five levels from "level 5" to "level 1", but the number is not necessarily limited to five, and any number of stepwise sorting intensity levels can be used. can be set.

In the above-described embodiment, three types of "injection time", "overlap", and "thinning" are used as setting items preset in the sorting intensity level. Since these setting items greatly affect the yield and quality, it is possible to effectively adjust the yield and quality by configuring these items so that they can be preset. However, the setting items are not necessarily limited to these, and a plurality of other types of setting items may be preset.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, it is configured to enable level adjustment from low yield to high yield, but the configuration is not necessarily limited to such a configuration. Each operation setting parameter may be set for each sorting intensity level, with emphasis on the quality of , so that the level can be adjusted from low quality to high quality. Then, in the level selection screen as shown in FIG. 4, in addition to the level selection from low yield to high yield, level selection from low quality to high quality may be performed.

In addition, switching means for turning ON/OFF the sorting strength level selection function as shown in FIG. 4 may be added and installed. It is possible to turn off the function and finely set each operation setting parameter individually.

Although the embodiments and some modifications of the present invention have been described above, the above-described embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and do not limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified and improved without departing from its spirit, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof. In addition, within the range where at least part of the above problems can be solved or where at least part of the effect is achieved, the components described in the claims and the specification can be combined or omitted. .

1 Optical sorting machine 2 Machine body 4 Chute 4a Chute cover 5 Storage tank 6 Vibration feeder 6a Feeder trough 6b Support part 6c Electromagnetic drive coil 7a Optical detection part 7b Optical detection part 8 Ejector 9 Good product collection gutter 10 Defective product recovery gutter 11 No auxiliary Good product collection gutter 12a Box 12b Box 13a CCD camera 13b CCD camera 14 NIR camera 15a Visible light source 15b Visible light source 15c Visible light source 15d Visible light source 16a Near infrared light source 16b Near infrared light source 17a Opposing background 17b Opposing background 17c Opposing background 18a Window member 18b Window member 22 Air supply pipe 24 Front door 25 Liquid crystal display 27 Defective item receiving port 28 Nondefective item receiving port 29 Auxiliary defective item receiving port 30 Sample extracting unit 31 Signal processing unit 32 Memory unit 33 Image data Acquisition unit 34 Threshold data storage memory 35 Binary calculation mechanism 36 Non-defective/defective product determination unit 37 Ejector control unit 38 Image data storage memory 39 Threshold data calculation mechanism 40 Sorting strength setting unit 41 Operation signal reception mechanism 42 Ejector drive circuit 80 ejector nozzle 80a first ejector nozzle 80b second ejector nozzle 80c third ejector nozzle 81 ejector solenoid valve 81a first ejector solenoid valve 81b second ejector solenoid valve 81c third ejector solenoid valve 100 grain 251 level up icon 252 Level down icon 253 Ejector setting icon 254 Detailed setting icon 255 Setting level icon

Claims (7)

an inspection unit that optically inspects the granular material transferred by the transfer means;
a determination unit that determines whether the granular material is a non-defective product or a defective product based on the optical inspection by the inspection unit;
an ejector control unit that has a plurality of ejector nozzles and blows compressed air from the ejector nozzles onto the defective products to separate the defective products from the good products;
a sorting strength setting unit capable of setting a sorting strength in the ejector control unit,
the sorting strength is composed of a plurality of sorting strength levels;
The optical sorting machine, wherein the sorting intensity setting unit can preset a plurality of types of operation setting parameters for controlling the operation of the ejector nozzle for each of the sorting intensity levels. The optical sorting machine according to claim 1, wherein the ejector control unit is capable of varying the ejection ranges of the compressed air from the plurality of ejector nozzles according to the plurality of sorting strength levels. The ejector control unit has defective area specifying means capable of specifying a defective area in the defective product,
3. The defective area specifying means according to claim 1, wherein the defective area identifying means is capable of performing thinning processing on horizontally continuous area defective pixels, leaving a center line portion of the area defective pixels as defective pixels. Optical sorting machine. The plurality of types of operation setting parameters include at least the ejection time of the ejector nozzle and an overlap value that is the size of an overlap area that straddles the ejection ranges of the adjacent ejector nozzles across a boundary line. including
4. The optical sorting machine according to claim 3, wherein the ejector control unit causes the adjacent ejector nozzles to operate together when at least part of the defect area is within the overlap area. The sorting intensity setting unit is connected to setting input means that allows a user of the optical sorter to select the sorting intensity level, and is capable of adjusting the yield according to the selected sorting intensity level. Item 5. The optical sorting machine according to any one of Items 1 to 4. 6. The optical sorting machine according to claim 5, wherein the setting input means is capable of presetting the operation setting parameters for each of the sorting intensity levels. 7. The setting input means according to claim 6, wherein the setting input means can set the presetting of the operation setting parameters at another sorting intensity level without operation in accordance with the operation of presetting the operation setting parameters at one sorting intensity level. Optical sorting machine.

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