JPH0312273A - Sorting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To remove an inferior product by a method wherein the visual field of a monitor camera is divided into a plurality of sections to form windows and inferior product removing devices are provided in the same number as the windows and, when the inferior product is detected at a certain window, the corresponding removing device is operated in matching relation to the point of time when the inferior product arrives at that position. CONSTITUTION:A granular or pellet-like object 1 is supplied to a light pervious belt 20-1 by a vibration feeder 27 and, when an inferior product in said object is detected, the removing device in a removing apparatus 30 corresponding to the position thereof in the lateral direction is operated. When the visual field of a camera is set to a rectangle A-B-C-D, guide plates 24 are arranged so that the object on the belt 20-1 entirely passes through this range. The visual field A-B-C-D is divided into a plurality of windows in the lateral direction and, when an inferior product is detected in either one of these windows, a signal showing the window in which the inferior product is detected is outputted to the removing apparatus 30 and only the removing device corresponding to said window among the removing devices 31-1-31-N in said apparatus 30 is operated to remove the inferior product.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to objects that cannot be sorted by sifting grains using sieves, which are commonly used for sorting grains, etc., or by sorting using differences in specific gravity caused by wind power, etc. The present invention relates to a device that detects and removes defective products based on their transparency, color, and shape.

[Prior Art] As a sorting device for the same purpose, there are devices as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 will be explained.

The object 1 in the supply hopper 2 is fed to the chute 4 by a vibrating feeder 3. The object that has slid down inside the chute is illuminated by a projector 5 at the point where it leaves the chute, and an image is formed on a camera 6. The camera image is sent to the controller 7, and the controller detects the presence of defective products 1-2.

The signal is sent to the high-speed air gun 8, and when the defective product arrives, the air gun fires air in pulses.

Blow out and remove defective products.

It is difficult to select only defective products using this method, and when removing defective products, a considerable number of good products are also removed at the same time.

This device drops the object in a single stream, and the width of the chute is normally only within 10mm, so
The processing amount of sets per unit time is limited.

Next, FIG. 2 will be explained.

The objects l in the feed hopper 2 are fed onto a conveyor belt 10 by a vibrating feeder 3. The purpose of using a vibrating feeder is to further spread the object on the conveyor. An object 1 on the belt is illuminated by a light projector 5 and an image is formed by a camera 6. Detection of defective products is performed by a controller, and a signal thereof is sent to a removal device 11 (in FIG. 2, the distribution is in the form of a damper). A damper operates to distribute the defective products in time for them to fall from the tip of the belt, and returns to the original position at the same time as removal is complete. However, this method is shown in FIG.

Since it is necessary to remove all objects in the camera's field of view rectangle A-B-C-D, when removing defective products 1-2, the number of good products removed at the same time is far greater than in the case of the device shown in Figure 1. .

The belt width WB is very wide compared to the width of the chute in Figure 1, so the throughput per unit time is much larger than in the method shown in Figure 1, but there are also many good products in the group of defective products. This type of device uses a white, opaque belt, but if you try to discriminate based on brightness, the good products will be almost colorless and transparent, and the defective products will be pale in color. In such cases, it may be because the light that has passed through the good product is diffusely reflected at the contact surface between the good product and the belt.
It is not clear whether it is related to the refractive index, but when viewed from above, a thin edge of a shadow can be seen (hereinafter referred to as a reflected shadow).

This may make it difficult to distinguish the controller from a defective product. This phenomenon will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

The belt 10 is white or milky white and opaque. When the object 1 is transparent or nearly transparent, the irradiated light 14 from the projector 5 enters the object, is diffusely reflected on the surface of the belt 10, and exits the object again, but when the object is viewed from above, A thin shadow border (as shown by the notation in Figure 5)
(hereinafter referred to as a reflection shadow) 15 is observed, but if the belt 10 is made translucent as shown in FIG. It was found that because there is less light that is diffusely reflected directly from the bottom of an object, the number of reflected shapes is very small and can be identified. Furthermore, if the color of the belt is the same as that of the defective product, the defective product cannot be detected.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When identifying good and defective products in an object, if the shape, sound, and color of the good products are strictly constant, the presence of defective products can be detected by storing them in the controller. Although there is a method to do this, the objects to be dealt with in the present invention have irregular shapes and colors in a strict sense. In other words, this method is not suitable because it is intended for cases that are close to indeterminate.

The present invention detects 1) color difference, u
) Differences in transparency, 111) The purpose is to identify and eliminate defective products based on clear differences in shape and dimension.

Here, we use the method shown in Figure 1, which is a method in which irradiation light is applied to the object, a monitoring camera is installed on the opposite side, and the shadow of the object is visualized to identify good and defective products. As shown in Fig. 2, there is a method in which irradiation light is applied to an object and the reflected light forms an image on a camera, and this image is used to identify good and defective products.

Hereinafter, the former will be referred to as the transmission type and the latter as the reflection type.

Table 1 shows the advantages and disadvantages of the transmission type and reflection type.

1) The colors of the non-defective and defective products are the same, but there is a difference in light transmittance. In other words, when there are shades of light and shade.

U) Either the good product or the defective product is translucent.

If the others are opaque.

111) When good and defective products have the same translucency but different colors.

1v) When non-defective and non-defective products are opaque and have different colors Table 1 Table 1 shows that it is necessary to select the detection method depending on the properties of the non-defective and non-defective products in the object.

The method shown in FIG. 1 uses a method of detecting and removing an object while it is falling naturally. Detection takes time, but the speed of natural falling rapidly increases as the distance from the falling point increases, so it is difficult to detect several locations in parallel with one controller. Therefore, it is more reliable to detect one falling object in one set. However, cameras and floodlights are required for each set, and the farther the defective product detection point and removal point are from the starting point of natural fall, the longer the detection time, and the more difficult it is to match the timing of removal. In order to reliably remove defective products, a large number of good products must also be removed at the same time.

If the object is opaque and it is difficult to form a single thin layer, it may be insufficient to detect defective products from only one side. It is intended to be able to cope with this case as well.

The present invention can be easily changed to either a transmission type or a reflection type.
The purpose is to allow sufficient detection time and to minimize the number of non-defective items in the removal blueprint.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In consideration of the above matters, the present invention attempts to solve the problems using three methods: a conveyor belt type, an electromagnetic feeder type, and a direct removal type.

(1) Conveyor belt type An example of the overall configuration when using a conveyor belt is shown in Section 7.
Shown in the figure (transparent type). In this case, a translucent (transparent or translucent) belt is used, but since the belt comes into contact with the pulley and return roller, if it is used as is, it will be damaged or soiled, resulting in inconvenience. So I glued thick reinforcing bands to both sides of the belt, the front and back, along the entire length of the belt.

The pulley and return roller should be in contact with each other with a reinforcing band to prevent the transparent part from coming into direct contact with them.

This is shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. 20 is the belt body, 2
．． 0-1 is the transparent belt part, 20-2 is the reinforcement band, 2
1.22 is a pulley, and 23 is a return roller.

Since the object needs to be spread in one layer on the belt, it is necessary to spread the object on the trough of the vibrating feeder and feed it onto the belt. In Fig. 7, the vibration feeder 27
Then, the object is fed onto the transparent belt 20-1. The object fed onto the belt moves forward on the belt, and when a defective item is detected therein, the removing device 31 in the removing device 30 corresponding to that position in the lateral direction is activated. In the case of an object that rolls on the belt, to prevent it from rolling, the surface of the belt should be provided with extremely shallow grooves 20-3 with a waveform in the vertical direction, or extremely shallow rounded irregularities that do not change the image (Fig. (not shown). If the shape of the groove is made angular as shown in FIG. 12, or if the depth of the groove is increased, the corners of the groove and the points Pz-Ph may be detected in the same manner as the presence of a defective product. This also applies to the corners and corner P of the reinforcing band of the belt, and the point P2.

Therefore, a guide plate 24 is attached so that the field of view A-B-C-D of the camera does not cover this portion and so that the object falls within the field of view of the camera during detection. The same effect will occur if the belt surface has irregularities or corners. If the object is such that it does not roll or move on the belt, the corrugated grooves 20-3 or unevenness are not necessary.

Next, the combination of the projector, the light equalizing plate 2 and the reflection plate, and the camera and their arrangement method are shown in FIGS. 13 to 16.

This selection is based on Table 1. FIG. 17 is a plan view taken along the line X2-Y2 in FIG. 13.

The bell l-20 is a translucent belt, the brightening plate 12 is a thin milky-white translucent plate, and the reflecting plate 13 is basically opaque white, but the brightening plate may be lightly colored to serve as a filter.

FIG. 13 shows a reflective type. The distance g between the belt and the reflector should be narrow. Camera 6 and floodlight 5-2. The brightening plate 12 is arranged above the belt. If reflective development does not occur, the belt may be white and opaque (and in this case, the reflective plate 1
3 becomes unnecessary.

FIG. 14 shows a transmission type. The gap g between the belt and the brightening plate is quite long (g).A reflector is not required.

The camera is placed above the belt, and the floodlight and brightening plate are placed below the belt.

Although FIG. 15 shows a transmission type, problems may occur if the irradiation is performed only from below the belt. The irradiation by the injection device 5-2 is weaker than that by 5-1.

The camera is placed above the belt, and the projector and brightening plate are placed above and below the belt.

The reflective type shown in FIG. 16 is used when defective products cannot be detected unless the object is monitored from the front and back. In this case, it may be advantageous for the belt to be transparent. The right side of the figure monitors the front side of the object, and the left side monitors the back side of the object. The image from 6-1 is sent to the controller, and when a defective product is introduced, the removal device is activated.

The gap g between the belt and the reflector is small, 2 g, and is made as narrow as possible without the object coming into contact with it.

Figure 17 shows x2 in Figure 13. - Y, 2 plan view.

The projector 5-3 indicated by a chain line is added as necessary.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of the relationship between the defective product detection zone and its removal device.

When the field of view of the camera is a rectangle A-B-C-D, the guide plate 24 is installed so that all objects on the belt pass within this range.

The field of view A-B-C-D is divided into a plurality of fields in the horizontal direction.

This is called a window, and its number is n of w1 to wn.
Individual. When a defective product is detected, a signal indicating in which window it was detected is sent to the remover 3o, and only the remover 31-1 to 31-N among the removers 31-1 to 31-N corresponding to the window is activated. .

(11) Electromagnetic feeder type Next, the overall configuration and an example when using an electromagnetic feeder are shown in FIG. 19 (transmission type).

The reason for using an electromagnetic feeder is that the width can be finely adjusted, which prevents the object from jumping on the trough and prevents the image from being distorted by the camera, and it is necessary to spread the object over the trough. .

Cut out part of the bottom plate of the electromagnetic feeder trough.

A transparent plate 4o-3 is attached to the entire bottom of the trough.

The properties of the transparent plate are the same as those of the transparent belt.

The transparent part 4o-5 cut out at the bottom of the trough is used as a defective product detection location, and a surveillance camera 6° and a light emitter 5-1 are installed at that location.
．． Attach the brightness plate 12.

The position and method of attachment are exactly the same as when using a belt.

Further, wave-shaped grooves 40-6 or extremely shallow round irregularities (not shown) are formed on the surface of the transparent plate 40-3.

Attaching the guide plate 40-7 and 40-8 to the trough,
Divide the field of view of the camera into n windows.

The installation of N corresponding removers 31-1 to 31-N is the same as in the case of using a belt, so the explanation will be omitted.

In this case, either the transmission type or the reflection type can be easily changed by changing the position of the projector and the filter plate.

(lit) Direct removal type When the object is powder or small particles and it is necessary to remove defective products, and it is necessary to reduce the number of good products removed at the same time as much as possible, a device such as the one shown in Fig. 21 (hereinafter referred to as direct removal type) is used. )
use. FIG. 22 is a side view of FIG. 21.

The method for detecting defective products in the target object in the direct removal method is the same as in the case of the belt method and electromagnetic feeder method.

Reflectors, cameras, controllers, etc. are omitted, and only the defective product removal device is shown.

A pedestal 5o is installed across the belt or the trough of the electromagnetic feeder. A device that can freely run vertically and horizontally is attached to this frame while maintaining a constant distance from the top surface of the belt or trough. Of these devices, 51 are devices that can move back and forth in the horizontal direction.
shall be. (Hereinafter referred to as Y-axis travel device) A device 53 (hereinafter referred to as X-axis drive device) for reciprocating an arm 54 (hereinafter referred to as X-axis arm) in the vertical direction is attached to the Y-axis travel device.

At the tip of the X-axis arm 54, there is provided a nozzle holder 55 that holds a suction nozzle 56 and incorporates an elevating device for raising and lowering the suction nozzle. That is, the tip of the suction nozzle can travel to any point within the field of view A-B-C-D.

The suction nozzle has its suction port facing downward, and the tip of the nozzle descends to a position sufficient to suction the object.

I try to get close to them.

In the case of the direct removal type, an identification controller is used that has the function of outputting the numerical value to the outside using the position of the defective product detected within the field of view A-B-C-D of the camera as coordinates.

A suction pump (not shown) leads to the suction nozzle.

Keep it running all the time. Also, inside the X-axis arm 54 is a hollow suction vial 757 connected to a suction nozzle, and this hollow vial is connected to a suction pump (not shown) outside the apparatus through a suction port 58.

[Function] ■) The brightening plate 12 should be semi-transparent, but this is not the same as the projector 5.
This is to make the light irradiated onto the object more uniform, and if necessary, it is free to make it colored and serve as a filter.

Use a high-frequency lamp as the light source for the floodlight to avoid flickering of the image.

The reason for providing a gap between the light-transmitting portions 2o-1 and 40-5 of the belt or feeder and the reflection plate 13 is also to eliminate the reflection type described in the prior art section.

11) When a defective product is detected in any window within the field of view of the camera in the conveyor belt type sorting device, a signal thereof is sent to the removal device 30.

The removing device 30 includes removers 31-1 to 31-1 for each window.
31-N, the number of which is the same as the number of windows.

There is also a guide plate 25 in front of the removal device. The guide plate 25 is fixed to a support outside the belt.

Install it close to the belt surface. This is to prevent the object from going out of the range of the remover.

The remover is activated when a defective product is detected and falls from the end of the pulley. Types of removers include pulse air blowing type, suction type, damper type, etc., and the selection is determined depending on the installation conditions.

If the target object is pellet-like or powder-like and opaque, it is difficult to spread it into a thin layer, and the defective product is hidden below and cannot be detected only from the top. If the layer of the object can be formed to a thickness that exposes the object, it can be detected by the method shown in FIG.

1ll) Electromagnetic feeder type The operation of the electromagnetic feeder type is the same as that of the belt type, so a description thereof will be omitted.

1v) Direct removal type Normally, the nozzle is placed outside the field of view of the camera.

The nozzle should stop rising (. The suction fan should be running at all times (.

When a defective product detection signal is issued, the belt or feeder is stopped, the X-axis drive device and the Y-axis travel device are started, the nozzle travels to the defective product detection point, stops, and the nozzle is lowered to the effective suction point and stops.

After a certain period of time, the nozzle rises, and when it stops rising, it moves to the X axis.

The Y-axis traveling device is started and stopped at the standby position.

Restart the belt or electromagnetic feeder at the same time as the nozzle rises.

[Example] 1) Belt type belt specification; Translucent medium 300. 2mm thick translucent synthetic resin belt 0.2 layer wn round unevenness Speed 24m/collapse detectors; 2 installed above the camera (switchable) switching time 50m, s 1 controller for identification.

1 monitor (distinguishes good and defective products in black and white), detection speed 33m/s, number of windows 10, auxiliary type; floodlight, 2 15W4KH fluorescent lights, equalizing plate...
・Opalescent, semi-transparent ground glass plate removal equipment, air blowing type 10 sets of test objects; silica gel balls with a diameter of about 3 mm Good products are transparent,
Defective product, pale yellow method.

White method, brown bulbs, white scales One removal ff130-50 grains (Both good and defective products) Processing capacity: Approximately 600 kg/tI Li) Electromagnetic feeder type %formula% Same as belt type Feeder inclination angle 2°, trough width 400mm.

Length 600mm, frequency 3600/nt.

Width 0. 2 layer wn Processing capacity: approx. 500 kg/H ■) The direct removal type detection mechanism has the same X-axis and Y-axis traveling mechanism as the belt type...travel speed 30 m/mn
Stopping accuracy 30μ0m.

Target object: Amount removed per removal of black sesame seeds from white sesame seeds: Within 20 grains (total of non-defective products and defective products) Processing capacity Not measured Incidentally, in the test using the method shown in Figure 1, the same silica gel balls were used as the target object. The processing capacity per row was approximately 30 kg/H when using the same method.

[Effect] It is easy to change to either a transmissive type or a reflective type depending on the object, and the good and defective items in the object can be transparent, opaque,
Or if there are differences in color or shape, defective products can be detected and removed.
In addition to reducing the amount of good products that are removed along with defective products,
This has the effect of increasing the amount of processing.

In addition, the direct removal device has the effect of minimizing the amount of good products removed together with defective products.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is an example of a conventional sorting device (falling transmission type) Figure 2 is an example of a conventional sorting device (belt reflection type) Figure 3 is the field of view of the camera and the object to be removed using the method shown in Figure 2 Figures 4 to 6 are illustrations of the reflection phenomenon. Figure 7 is a side view (transmission type) showing the overall configuration of an example of the conveyor belt type sorting device of the present invention. 7. X, -Y, cross-sectional view in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the belt in FIG. 7. FIG. 10 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the belt. Figures 1 to 16 show the belt, floodlight, and brightening plate. FIG. 17 is a plan view showing an example of the arrangement of a reflector and a camera. FIG. 18 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the camera field of view and the removing device. FIG. 20 is a side view (transparent type) showing the overall configuration of an example of the electromagnetic feeder type sorting device of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 22 is a side view showing the overall configuration of the removal type sorting device (the detection device is omitted). FIG. 22 is a plan view of FIG. ... Defective item 2 among the objects ... Hopper 3 ... Feeder 4 ... Chute 5 ... Floodlight 5-1 ... Same as above 5-2 ... Same as above 5-3 ... Same as above 6 ... Surveillance camera 6-1 ... Same as above 7 ... Identification controller 8 ... Air gun device 9 ... Filter IO ... Detection belt 11 ... Removal device (distribution is done by damper) )12... Brightness plate WB... Belt width rectangle A-B-C-D... Camera field of view → C... Camera direction → RB... Belt traveling direction → S... Signal transmission Route gl...Belt-reflector distance 13...Reflector 14...Irradiation light 15...Reflection type 20...Detection belt body 20-1...Transparent belt 20-2. ...Reinforcement band 20-3...Vertical groove 20-4 on the belt surface...Same as above P,,P,...Corner and corner Pz of reinforcement band, P-...Corner and corner g of rectangular groove ,... Gap between light transmitting belt and brightening plate 21.22...
-Pulley 23...Return roller 24...Guide plate 25...Guide plate 27...Vibration feeder for supplying the object 30...Removal device main body 31-1 to 31-N...Removal device W1 ~Wn...Window g,...Distance between the transparent belt and the reflective plate g@...Distance between the transparent belt and the brightening plate g,...Distance between the transparent belt and the reflective plate gs・・・Same as above 0・・Electromagnetic feeder trough body 0-1・・Vibrator-mounting part trough bottom plate 0-2・
...Trough bottom plate 0-3 at the tip...Transparent plate 0-4...Trough frame 0-5...Transparent part of the trough bottom plate (switching part of the trough bottom plate) 0-6. ...Groove 0-7 on the surface of the light-transmitting plate...Guide plate 0-8...Guide plate 7...Distance between the light-transmitting plate and the brightening plate O...Direct removal type mount ■...Y Axis travel device 2...Y-axis travel device rail mechanism 3...X-axis drive device 4...X-axis arm 5...Nozzle holder 6...Suction nozzle 7...Suction pipe 8...・Suction hose 9... Feed wire for Y-axis traveling device O... Feed wire for X-axis drive device 1... Feed wire for nozzle holder

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Continuously transported powder, granular, or pellet-like substances (hereinafter referred to as objects) are guided onto a translucent conveyor belt or an electromagnetic feeder trough having a translucent portion. , detects defective products mixed in the target object using the light-transmitting part. The detection device necessary to detect defective products consists of a projector for illuminating the object, a light-balancing plate for making the irradiated light uniform, a reflector, a monitoring camera, an identification controller, and a CRT. The direction in which the object moves is the vertical direction, and the direction perpendicular to it is the horizontal direction, and within the range that can be monitored by the camera (hereinafter referred to as the field of view), the defective products are divided into multiple parts (hereinafter referred to as the window) within the range that can be monitored by the camera. The controller has the ability to individually output signals detected within which window. A removal device containing the same number of defective product removers as the number of windows is installed near the tip of the conveyor belt or feeder trough, and when a defective product detection signal is received, the window Activate the eliminator that corresponds to the detection inside. A sorting device characterized by having such a configuration and structure. 2. When detecting defective products on a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt should be made of a translucent material, and reinforcing bands with an appropriate thickness should be attached to the entire length of the belt, sandwiching the belt on both sides of the belt. , connect only this reinforcing band to the pulley,
Make sure that the translucent belt does not come into direct contact with carrier rollers, return rollers, etc. Also, a plurality of shallow grooves or small rounded irregularities are formed in the vertical direction on the surface of the belt. The sorting device according to claim 1, characterized in that such a conveyor belt is used. 3. When detecting defective products on the trough of the electromagnetic feeder, a part of the trough bottom plate is cut out, and the length of the cutout in the vertical and horizontal directions is the length necessary for detection. A translucent plate (hereinafter referred to as a translucent plate) is attached to the entire upper surface of the trough bottom plate, so that only the cutout portion of the trough is made translucent. Also, a plurality of shallow grooves or small rounded irregularities are formed in the vertical direction on the surface of the transparent plate. The sorting device according to claim 1, characterized in that an electromagnetic feeder having such a trough bottom plate is used. 4. The feature is that the combination and arrangement of the projector, equalizing plate, reflector, and surveillance camera can be appropriately selected depending on the differences in the properties of good and defective products in the target object, and the image connected to the camera can be optimized. A sorting device according to claim 1. 5. Attach a pedestal across the conveyor belt or feeder trough, attach a device to this pedestal that can move vertically and horizontally while keeping a certain distance from the top surface of the belt or trough, install a suction nozzle on the device, and install a suction nozzle on the device. The tip can travel to any point within the field of view of the camera. Normally, this traveling device is kept at a standby position outside the field of view of the camera. When the detection device detects the presence of a defective product, the belt or feeder is suddenly stopped, the traveling device is moved to the location of the defective product and stopped, the suction nozzle is lowered to a position close to the defective product, and the defective product is sucked out. It is raised and transferred to the standby position again, and at the same time the belt or feeder is re-mobilized. A sorting device according to claim 1, characterized by having a device that performs such a mechanism and operation.