JPH02295815A - Carrying device for particle matter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a feeding stop in a carrying device for grain or the like by detecting the existence of particle matter at the carrying terminal of a particle matter feeding means, and adjusting the speed of the feeding means automatically so that the speed is increased, in the case of NO, faster than the case of YES. CONSTITUTION:Particle matter is arranged in a line by a feeding device 1 which consists of an oscillation type parts feeder to be fed to a conveyor 2 for carrying. A grain existence detecting means 3 is provided in the carrying terminal of the feeding device 1 to observe the existence of the grain in the carrying terminal of the feeding device 1. When the grains do not exist, the speed of the feeding device 1 is automatically adjusted so as to be faster. With this structure, a feeding stop can be prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for supplying granules by aligning a group of supplied granules in a line while reaching the end of the transport and dropping them from the end of the transport. The present invention relates to a granular material conveying device that is provided with a grain conveying means that transports the granular material dropped and supplied from the granular material supplying means at a speed faster than the supply speed of the granular material supplying means.

[Conventional technology]

This type of granular material conveying device described above is used, for example, as a means for arranging grains in a line and transporting each grain at intervals, in order to inspect threshed grains. It is used.

Therefore, by setting the conveying speed of the granular material conveying means higher than the feeding speed of the granular material supplying means, and by arranging the granular materials in a line by the granular material supplying means and dropping and feeding them to the granular material conveying means. The grains are conveyed in such a way that they are spaced apart from each other in the direction.

However, conventionally, the supply speed of the particulate material supply means and the conveyance speed of the particulate material conveying means have been set in advance to a constant speed in accordance with the inspection speed and the like.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, at the start of conveyance, etc., it takes time for the group of particles to reach the conveyance end portion of the particle supply means, so that the drop and supply of the particles to the particle conveyance means is interrupted. Similarly, when a group of granules is interrupted in the middle of the transport path of the granule supply means due to uneven conveyance or the like, the supply of granules to the granule transport means is interrupted.

In other words, inspection cannot be carried out while the supply of granules is interrupted, resulting in a disadvantage of reduced efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to minimize interruptions in the supply of granules.

[Means to solve the problem]

The granular material conveying device according to the present invention includes a granular material supplying means for arranging a group of supplied granular materials in a line while reaching the transporting end portion and dropping them from the transporting end portion, and the granular material supplying means. A granular material conveying means is provided for transporting granular material falling and supplied from the granular material at a speed faster than the supply speed of the granular material supplying means, and its characteristic structure is as follows.

A first characteristic configuration is a presence/absence detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the granular material being conveyed at the conveyance end portion of the granular material supplying means;
Automatically adjusting the supply speed of the particulate matter supplying means based on the information of the presence/absence detection means so that when no particulate matter is present, the supplying speed of the particulate matter supplying means is faster than when there is particulate matter. The point is that an automatic speed adjustment means is provided.

A second characteristic configuration is that the automatic speed adjustment means is configured to control information on the presence/absence detection means so as to maintain the difference between the supply speed of the granular material supplying means and the transport speed of the granular material transporting means within a set range. The present invention is configured to automatically adjust both the supply speed of the particulate material supply means and the conveyance speed of the particulate material conveyance means based on the above.

[For production]

In the first characteristic configuration, the supply speed of the granular material supplying means is automatically adjusted so that when no granular material exists, the supplying speed of the granular material supplying means is faster than when granular material exists. When a break in the supply of granules from the material supply means to the granule transport means occurs, the time for the break can be shortened.

In the second characteristic configuration, the supply speed of the granular material supply means and the transport speed of the granular material transport means are set such that the difference between the supply speed of the granular material supply means and the transport speed of the granular material transport means is maintained within a set range. Since both are automatically adjusted, even if the supply speed of the granule supply means is changed in order to shorten the interruption time of granules, the variation in the interval of the granules conveyed by the granule conveyance means can be reduced. .

〔Effect of the invention〕

In the first characteristic configuration, it is possible to minimize interruptions in the granular material supplied from the granular material supply means, so that the granular material can be transported efficiently.

In the second characteristic configuration, the granules can be efficiently transported with little variation in the interval between the granules transported by the granular material transport means.

〔Example〕

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an inspection apparatus for threshed grain will be described based on the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the threshing grain inspection device uses a vibrating grain feeding device (
1), a belt-type conveyor (2) serving as a granular transport means for transporting the grains that are dropped from the transport end of the grain feeding device (1), and the grains that are transported by the conveyor (2). A two-dimensional image sensor (3) serves as an imaging means that repeatedly images grains from above, and the image sensor (
The imaged information of 3) is binarized based on the brightness and grains (A
) (see FIG. 8 (a))) and a microcomputer that constitutes an image processing means (101) for extracting a region corresponding to the area (X) (see FIG. 8 (a)) and a discriminating means (102) for discriminating defective products based on the information of the region (X). It consists of a computer-based control device (4).

Although the details will be described later, there is an automatic speed control system that uses the control device (4) to automatically adjust both the grain supply speed by the grain supply device (1) and the conveyance speed of the conveyor (2). Adjustment means (100) will be configured.

By the way, the conveyance surface of the conveyor (2) is painted black to prevent the influence of reflected light, and the imaging range of the image sensor (3) is painted with a lighting device (5) so that the brightness is set. It is illuminated. The image sensor (3) also detects grains (
In order to be able to capture the state in which the image sensor ( 3) is configured to convert into binary image information of 32×32 pixels per screen based on the brightness at each imaging cycle. Then, as shown in FIG. 8(a), a region (X) corresponding to the grain (A) is extracted from the image-processed binarized image information, and the edge of the region (X) is A state in which the grain (A) is not in contact with the outer end of the grain (B) is determined as a state in which the entire grain (A) is located within the imaging field of view (B), and it is determined whether or not the grain is defective. It looks like this. Note that the determination of defective items will be described later.

Therefore, the grains conveyed by the conveyor (2) must be arranged in a line along the conveyance direction, and each grain must be spaced apart from each other along the conveyance direction. be.

Therefore, the vibrating type feeding device (1) uses a structure similar to that of a so-called vibrating parts feeder, etc., to align the supplied grain group in a line while reaching the end of the conveyance. From the conveyance terminal end to the conveyor (
2) The conveyor (2) is configured to drop and feed the grains to the starting end of the conveyance, and in order to separate the grains supplied by the fall into individual grains, the conveyor speed of the conveyor (2) is lower than the feed speed of the feeder (1). The difference between the feeding speed of the feeding device (1) and the conveying speed of the conveyor (2) is maintained within a set range while the feeding speed increases. In other words, the conveyor (2
) The intervals between the grains conveyed by the conveyor (2) correspond to the difference between the feeding speed of the feeding device (1) and the conveying speed of the conveyor (2).

However, the feeding speed of the feeding device (1) and the conveyor (
The conveyance speed in 2) means the control device (4) as described below.
Accordingly, the feeder (1) is automatically adjusted based on the presence or absence of grains at the conveyance end portion of the feeder (1).

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the vibrating feeding device (1) includes a main body (6) formed in a substantially cylindrical shape as a whole, and a main body (6) extending in the circumferential direction. and a drive section (7) that is driven in a micro-vibration state along the direction.

The main body (6) is formed into a cylindrical container with a bottom surface inclined downward from the center toward the inner circumferential wall and an open top end.

A spiral shelf (8) rising from the lower bottom surface toward the upper opening is formed on the inner circumferential wall of the main body (6), and from the upper end of the spiral shelf (8) A V-shaped guide groove (9) is formed in a portion of the conveyor (2) that extends from the conveyance start end to the conveyance end.

The V-shaped guide groove (9) is formed so that the width changes stepwise from large to small and the depth changes from large to small toward the conveyance terminal end.

That is, the main body part (6) is given microvibrations by the drive part (7), so that the grains (A) introduced into the main body part (6) are moved along the inner circumferential wall part to the spiral shelf. Department (
8) from below to the top and conveyed it along the figure 7-shaped guide groove (9) that continues to the spiral shelf (8), so that the lower side of the conveyance is By utilizing the shape change of the 7-shaped guide groove (9), which becomes narrower in width and shallower in depth, and the vibration of the main body (6), the supplied grain group is brought to the conveyance terminal end. They are arranged in a line between them.

Incidentally, the grains (A) overflowing from the figure 7-shaped guide groove (9) are collected through an opening for grain recovery (10 ) to the inner bottom surface of the main body (6) and transported again.

As illustrated in FIG.
A guide body in which a figure-7-shaped guide groove (11) is formed, which receives the grains (A) falling from the figure-shaped guide groove (9) and guides them to the starting end of the conveyance surface of the conveyor (2). The relay member (12) as a relay member (12) is connected to the 7-shaped guide groove (
11) is provided in an inclined position toward the conveyance surface of the conveyor (2).

In other words, the supply speed of grains (A) from the feeding device (1) increases stepwise, and a plurality of grains (A)
This prevents the conveyor (2) from being supplied to the conveyor (2) at the same time. By setting the conveying speed of the conveyor (2) higher than the feeding speed of the feeding device (1), the grains (A) arranged in rows are transferred to the conveyor (2). The grains are transported at intervals along the transport direction.

The driving section (7) will not be described in detail, but it vibrates the main body section (6) at a frequency proportional to the driving frequency and an amplitude proportional to the driving power. ing. In other words, the grain feeding speed of the feeding device (1) is configured to increase as the driving frequency or driving power increases.

In Fig. 1, (13) is the electric motor for driving the conveyor (2), and (14) is the electric motor for driving the conveyor (2), and (14) is the electric motor for driving the conveyor (2). These guide members guide the conveyor (2) so that it does not fall laterally outward, and are provided on both left and right sides of the conveyance start end of the conveyor (2).

By the way, the feeding device (1) conveys the grains input therein along the inner wall and passes through the 7-shaped guide groove (9).
), if the amount of grains to be supplied decreases, there is a risk that the grains that have been arranged will be interrupted in the transport direction. If the grain supply is disrupted, inspections cannot be performed during that time, resulting in a decrease in work efficiency.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the presence or absence of grains to be fed is determined at a location on the upper side of conveyance than the terminal end of the 7-shaped guide groove (9) of the feeding device (1). A light reflection type proximity sensor (S) is provided as a means for detecting the presence or absence of grains, and the control device (4) controls the drive unit (7).
By controlling the driving power for the feeding device (1), when there are no grains, the feeding speed of the feeding device (1) is automatically increased compared to when grains are present.

However, in order to ensure that the interval between the grains (A) conveyed by the conveyor (2) remains approximately constant even if the feeding speed of the feeding device (1) is changed, in other words, the feeding device (1) increasing the feeding speed of the feeding device (1) based on the information of the proximity sensor (S) such that the difference between the feeding speed of the feed speed and the conveying speed of the conveyor (2) is maintained within a set range; Sometimes, the power supply of the electric motor (13) for the conveyor is increased so that the conveying speed of the conveyor (2) is automatically increased.

To explain the speed adjustment, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a supply speed regulator (15) that sets the target supply speed of the supply device (1), and a target conveyance speed of the conveyor (2). A conveyance speed regulator (16) is provided, and the control device (4) is configured to control both the speed regulators (15), (
16), the target drive power of the drive unit (7) of the supply device (1) and the target drive power of the drive electric motor (13) of the conveyor (2) are set, respectively. has been done.

As shown in FIG. 7, as the proximity sensor (S) detects the absence of grains, the drive unit (7) increases the supply speed of the supply device (1) by a set amount. )
increases the drive power of the setter by a set amount, and increases the drive power of both the setters (1
5), based on the speed information set by (16), the electric motor (1
3) will automatically increase the driving power.

However, when the proximity sensor (S) detects the presence of grains,
The supply speed and the conveyance speed are set by both the setting devices (15
) and (16) to return to the target speed set.

Next, a process for determining defective items based on the information of the extracted region (X) will be described.

If twig stalks are present due to insufficient threshing processing, the extracted region (X) is a region portion corresponding to the twig stalks (
By the area of Become.

Therefore, basically, if the size of the area (X) is outside the set range corresponding to the size of properly threshed grains (A), it is determined as defective. be. Note that the size of the area (X) is the area (X
), so the larger the number of pixels, the larger the size.

By the way, in the inspection of threshed grain, generally,
In the case of a twig with a stem, if the length of the twig is greater than the thickness of the twig and the set value, it is treated as defective. However, the thickness of the twig stalk varies even if the grain (A) to be inspected is of the same variety, and its width on the image is significantly narrower than the width of the grain (A). . Moreover, it is difficult to transport the twigs with their orientation aligned in a certain direction.

However, since the width of the twig stalk is much narrower than that of the grain (A), when the grain (A) is imaged in the focused state as shown in FIG. 32X3
Since the quantization is relatively coarse with two pixels, the extracted region (X) corresponds to the grain part (Xa) corresponding to the grain (A) and the twig stalk due to quantization errors in image processing. There is a risk that the twig and stem part (Xb) will be separated.

If the extracted region (X) is divided in this way, the size of the twig stoma becomes inaccurate.

Therefore, when the image sensor (3) is intentionally taken in an out-of-focus state and quantized, the image signal components corresponding to the grains and twig stalks are expanded, and the extracted region is (X) becomes larger than its original size, making it difficult for quantization errors to occur.

In other words, by intentionally capturing an image with the image sensor (3) in an out-of-focus state and performing image processing, the extracted area (X) is Grain area portion (X
This prevents the area from being divided into a) and the twig stoma region portion (Xb) corresponding to the twig stoma.

However, since there is a possibility that the size of the grain (A) and the size of the twig stalks may vary from each other as there is no correlation between them, in order to make the inspection accurate, only the length of the twig stalks must be accurately measured. It is desirable to be able to measure it.

To explain, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the number of pixels belonging to the twig-stem region (Xb) is smaller than the number of pixels belonging to the grain region (Xa), As shown in (0) and (c) of the same figure, the extracted area (X
), the X-axis and y-axis of the imaging field of view (B)
When calculating the frequency distribution of pixels having the same coordinate values on each axis, it is found that on each of the X-axis and y-axis, the grain region portion (
The number of pixels is approximately the maximum at the center of gravity of region (Xa), and the number of pixels gradually decreases toward the outer edge of the region (X).

Therefore, based on the slope of the frequency distribution that decreases outward from the coordinate value where the frequency is maximum on the side where the frequency distribution width of pixels having the same coordinate value on each of the X and y axes is large, The position of the boundary (Xc) between the grain region (Xa) and the twig stalk region (Xb) is determined, and the extracted region (X) is determined based on the position information of the boundary (Xc).
By deleting the pixels belonging to the grain area (Xa) from the twig area, only the pixels belonging to the twig area (Xb) are re-extracted. The extracted twig stoma region portion (Xb) is thinned so that it has a width of approximately -pixels, and the length of the twig stoma is determined based on the number of pixels. If it is large, it is determined to be defective.

[Another example]

In the above embodiment, the length of the twig stoma region portion (Xb) corresponding only to the twig stoma was exemplified, but for example, by determining the circumference of the extracted region (X), The length of the twig stalk may be determined by subtracting the perimeter of the grain region (Xa) from the perimeter, and the specific configuration for determining the length of the twig stalk may be modified in various ways. can.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the region (X) corresponding to the grain (A) is extracted based on the brightness of the imaging information, but for example, the region (X) corresponding to the grain (A) is extracted based on the color. Good too.

Further, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to an inspection device for threshed grains, but the present invention can also be applied to various devices that need to transport grains separated into individual grains. The specific configuration of each part such as the granular material supply means and conveyance means can be changed in various ways as long as it is applicable.

[Brief Description of the Drawings] The drawings show an embodiment of the granular material conveying device according to the present invention,
Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of the entire device, Fig. 2 is a schematic side view of the entire device, Fig. 3 is a view taken along arrow III-I in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a schematic plan view of the entire device. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the conveyance end of the grain feeding means, FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the control configuration, FIG. 7 is a flowchart of control operation, and FIGS. 8 to 1O are images. It is an explanatory diagram of processing. (1)... Particulate matter supply means, (2)...
- Particulate matter conveying means, (S)...existence detection means,
(100)... Speed automatic adjustment means. Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A granular material supplying means (1) for arranging a group of supplied granular materials in a line and dropping them from the transport terminal portion while reaching the transport terminal portion, and the granular material supplying means A granular material conveying device comprising a granular material conveying means (2) for transporting granular materials falling and supplied from the means (1) at a speed faster than the supply speed of the granular material supplying means (1), , a presence/absence detection means (S) for detecting the presence or absence of the granular material being conveyed at the conveyance end portion of the granular material supplying means (1); automatic speed adjustment means (100) for automatically adjusting the supply speed of the particulate matter supply means (1) based on the information of the presence/absence detection means (S) so that the supply speed is faster than when the particulate matter is present; A granular material conveying device equipped with a 2. The granular material conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the speed automatic adjustment means (100) is configured to control the granular material supplying means (100).
) and the conveying speed of the granular material conveying means (2) within a set range, based on the information of the grain presence/absence detecting means (S). )
A granular material conveying device configured to automatically adjust both the supply speed of the granular material and the transport speed of the granular material conveying means (2).