JPH07250509A - Seed-arranging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a seed-arranging device capable of aligning the germination directions of seeds and specifying germination positions on the sowing of the relatively heavy seeds such as the seeds of a plant, e.g. a cucurbitaceous plant, without requiring a labor. CONSTITUTION:A seed-arranging device for sowing relatively large seeds such as the seeds of a plant, e.g. a cucurbitaceous plant, is provided with a seed- feeding means capable of narrowing a part near to its exit to align the seeds in the longitudinal direction and individually feed the seeds to a line, an imaging means for imaging the individual seeds on the line, a seed-distributing means disposed at a place near to the exit of the line and used for distributing the seeds, a control means for treating the imaged figures by a preliminarily determined described method to detect the germination positions of the seeds and for controlling the seed-distributing means to distribute the seeds so as to align the germination directions of the individual seeds, and a seed-receiving means for receiving the seeds distributed and aligned in the germination direction so that the direction of the seeds are not changed in the state aligned in the germination direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seed aligning device for sowing relatively large seeds such as seeds of plants of the family Cucurbitaceae, etc., and particularly, without trouble when sowing seeds of various plants. The present invention relates to a seed aligning device in which the germination directions of seeds are aligned and the germination location can be specified.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, for example, seeds of plants such as Cucurbitaceae (cucumber, pumpkin) are large in size (long side 1
0-20 mm, short side 10-15 mm) and heavy. For this reason, since it cannot be sown by a seeding machine, in the past, a person manually sown seeds one by one in the same germination direction.

Further, among the Cucurbitaceae, relatively light and small seeds are sown by a seeding machine, but the germination directions of the seeds cannot be aligned, and the seeds are dropped into a cell forming tray and sown. The seeds are sown in a state where it is not possible to specify from which place the buds emerge.

As described above, large and heavy seeds such as Cucurbitaceae seeds cannot be placed on a general seeding machine, so that seeds must be sown by hand, and it is troublesome to sow seeds. There is a problem of this.

Further, among the Cucurbitaceae, light and small seeds can be sown in a general sowing machine, but seeds must be sown in a state where it cannot be specified from which place on the cell forming tray the buds emerge. As a result, there is a problem that grafting of Cucurbitaceae cannot be performed on the cell forming tray.

[0006]

As described above, in the conventional sowing method, it takes a lot of time to sow relatively large and heavy seeds such as Cucurbitaceae, and the germination directions of the seeds cannot be aligned, so that germination is not possible. There was a problem that it was not possible to specify the place to do.

An object of the present invention is to specify a germination direction by aligning the germination direction of seeds without any trouble when sowing relatively large and heavy seeds such as seeds of plants such as Cucurbitaceae. It is to provide a possible seed aligning device.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, first, in the invention according to claim 1, in a seed aligning device for sowing relatively large and heavy seeds such as seeds of plants such as Cucurbitaceae. A seed supply means for aligning seeds in the longitudinal direction by narrowing the vicinity of the outlet and supplying the seeds to the line one by one; and an imaging means for capturing the whole image of each seed supplied on the line by the seed supply means, Seed germination position is set by processing the seed sorting means installed near the outlet of the line for sorting seeds and the seed image captured by the imaging means by a predetermined method. In addition, based on the detection result, the seed sorting means controls the seed sorting means to sort the seeds so that the germination directions of the individual seeds are aligned, and the seed sorting means distributes the seeds. Uniform seeds of vignetting in germination direction,
Seed storage means for storing the germination direction so that it does not change in the same state.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2, the seed aligning device according to claim 1 is further provided with a display means for displaying the seed image taken in by the imaging means. Here, in particular, as the predetermined processing method in the control means, the information that the germinated part differs depending on the type of plant, variety, etc. is stored in advance in the internal storage means, and each seed supplied on the line The image of the seed supplied on the line is subjected to image processing to obtain the maximum length portion, and the seed image is vertically cut at the center of the maximum length to obtain the seed image. Split into two
The perimeter of the seed image divided into the two is obtained, and the perimeter is divided into two parts, a long perimeter image and a short perimeter image part,
In addition, germination from the end having the longer circumference or the end having the shorter circumference is detected based on the information stored in advance in the internal storage means.

[0010]

Therefore, in the seed aligning device of the present invention, when sowing relatively large and heavy seeds such as Cucurbitaceae, the seeds are supplied by the seed supplying means and the vicinity of the outlet is narrowed, so that the seeds are lengthwise. Are supplied to the line one by one. Then, the whole image of the seeds is taken in on the line by the imaging means, and the taken-in seed image is given to the control means.

Then, the control means processes the seed image by a predetermined method to detect the germination position of the seed, and based on the detection result, determines the germination direction of each seed. The seeds are sorted by the seed sorting means so as to be aligned. Then, the seeds in which the germination directions are aligned in this manner are stored in the seed storage means so as not to change in the state in which the germination directions are aligned, and the germination directions are kept aligned from the seed storage means to the cell forming tray. Seed in the state of.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a seed aligning device according to the present invention. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the seed aligning apparatus of the present embodiment has a parts feeder 1 which is a seed supplying means and a camera 2 which is an imaging means.
A seed sorter 3, a CRT display 4, a controller 5,
It is composed of a seed storage container 6 and a cell forming tray 7.

Here, the parts feeder 1 supplies seeds (cucumber seeds in this example) 8 in the longitudinal direction to the line one by one by narrowing the vicinity of the outlet.

The camera 2 captures the entire image of each seed 8 supplied on the line by the parts feeder 1. Furthermore, seed sorter 3
Is installed near the exit of the line and is for distributing seeds 8.

Furthermore, the CRT display 4 is for displaying a seed image. On the other hand, the controller 5 outputs the seed image captured by the camera 2 to the CRT display 4 and outputs the seed image by a predetermined method to detect the germination position of the seed. In addition, based on the detection result, a control signal is output to the seed sorter 3 to sort the seeds so that the germination directions of the individual seeds are aligned.

The seed storage container 6 stores the seeds sorted by the seed sorter 3 and having the same germination direction so that the seeds do not change in the germination direction. Furthermore, the cell forming tray 7 is for seeding the seeds 8 from the seed storage container 6 in a state where the seeds 8 are aligned in the germination direction.

Next, the operation of the seed aligning apparatus of this embodiment having the above-mentioned structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. In FIG. 1, seeds 8 are supplied by the parts feeder 1 and the vicinity of the outlet is narrowed, so that the seeds 8 are aligned in the longitudinal direction and supplied to the line one by one. Then, the entire image of each seed 8 is captured by the camera 2 on the line, and the captured seed image is given to the controller 5.

Then, the controller 5 processes the seed image by a predetermined method which will be described in detail later, and detects the germination position of the seed 8. Then, the seed 8 whose germination position has been detected is the seed sorter 3
Are distributed so that the germination directions of the individual seeds 8 are aligned.

Next, the seeds 8 thus aligned in germination direction are stored in the seed storage container 6 so as not to change in the state in which the germination direction is aligned. No. 7, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 2, the seeds are sown in a state in which the germination directions are aligned.

Next, an example of a method of detecting the germination position of the seed 8 in the controller 5 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. That is, the controller 5 first selects only the outer peripheral portion from the seed image captured by the camera 2 to obtain the outer peripheral image of the seed 8.

Next, from this seed image, the longest part is taken as the long side, and the long side is divided into two equal parts, whereby the seed image is divided into two parts in the direction perpendicular to the long side. Then, the outer peripheral image of the seed image divided into two is selected.

In this case, for each seed, the two outer peripheral images are longer than the outer peripheral image of the original seed image only in the outer peripheral portion of the divided portion. Since the lengths of the two outer peripheries are equal to each other in the divided portion, a difference in outer peripheral length occurs depending on the shape of the seed 8 in the other portion. Then, the germination position of the seed 8 is determined by determining the germination portion of the seed 8 of the variety based on this difference in length.

Seeds 8 supplied by the parts feeder 1
Mainly flows in the long side direction due to the vibration and the restriction of the outlet, so that the germination position of the flowing seeds 8 is distributed depending on the front part or the rear part of the flow, and the germination direction is fixed. Aligned.

As described above, in the seed aligning apparatus of this embodiment, by narrowing the vicinity of the outlet, the seeds 8 are aligned in the longitudinal direction and are fed to the line one by one.
And a camera 2 that captures the whole image of each seed 8 supplied on the line by the parts feeder 1.
A seed sorter 3 installed near the exit of the line for sorting seeds 8, a CRT display 4 for displaying a seed image, and a CRT display 4 for displaying a seed image captured by the camera 2. In addition to displaying and outputting to, the seed image is processed by a predetermined method determined in advance to detect the germination position of the seed, and the germination direction of the individual seeds is aligned based on the detection result. Controller 5 that outputs a control signal to the seed sorter 3 to sort the seeds, and a seed storage that stores the seeds sorted by the seed sorter 3 and aligned in the germination direction so as not to change in the state where the germination direction is aligned. It comprises a container 6 and a cell forming tray 7 for sowing seeds 8 from the seed storage container 6 in a state where the seeds 8 are aligned in the germination direction.

Therefore, even with a relatively large and heavy seed 8 such as a seed of a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae, it is possible to check the germination position of the seed 8 and sow the germination direction and place without any trouble. Becomes

Since the seeds 8 to be sown can be sown in the same germination direction, the germination position and the germination direction from the cell forming tray 7 can be specified. As a result, it is possible to determine the directionality when operating a machine such as a graft, and to operate the machine at a specified location.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be implemented in the same manner as described below. (A) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the seed 8 is applied to cucumber seeds and the one having the longer perimeter of the two-divided image is the germination direction has been described. When applied, the direction of shorter germ length is the germination direction, and the germination position of the seed may be detected based on this.

That is, since there is a difference in the outer shape depending on the variety of the seed 8, the relationship between the germination position and the perimeter of each variety should be obtained in advance, and this should be used for detecting the germination position of the seed 8. Good.

(B) In the above embodiment, the method of detecting the germination position of the seed 8 in the controller 5 is not limited to the method shown in FIG. That is, as another detection processing method, for example, a method of detecting the germination position of the seed 8 by obtaining the area (the number of pixels) of the seed image divided into two and comparing the sizes of the areas, or A method of detecting the germination position of the seed 8 by determining the specific gravity of the seed image divided into the two and comparing the barycentric position based on the specific gravity is conceivable. It is possible to obtain the same effect.

(C) In the above embodiment, the CRT display 4 is not essential to the present invention, and may be provided as needed. (D) In the above embodiment, the cell forming tray 7 is not essential to the present invention, and may be provided if necessary.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a seed aligning device for sowing relatively large and heavy seeds such as the seeds of plants such as Cucurbitaceae, the seeds are narrowed in the longitudinal direction by narrowing the vicinity of the outlet. , Seed supplying means for supplying the seeds to the line one by one, imaging means for capturing the whole image of each seed supplied on the line by the seed supplying means, and installed near the outlet of the line to distribute the seeds. Seed distribution means for carrying out, and the seed image captured by the imaging means, the seed germination position is detected by performing a process by a predetermined method, and the individual seeds based on the detection result. The control means for controlling the seed sorting means so as to sort the seeds so that the germination directions are aligned, and the seeds sorted by the seed sorting means and aligned in the germination direction, Since the seed storage means for storing the seeds in the same bud direction so as not to change, and the display means for displaying the seed image captured by the image capturing means, if necessary, the plants such as Cucurbitaceae It is possible to provide a seed aligning device capable of aligning the germination directions of seeds and specifying the germination position without much trouble when sowing relatively large and heavy seeds such as the above seeds.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic view showing an embodiment of a seed aligning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of a cell forming tray in the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a detection processing method of a germination direction in a cucumber seed image in the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Parts feeder, 2 ... Camera, 3 ... Seed sorter, 4
... CRT display, 5 ... Controller, 6 ... Seed storage container, 7 ...
Cell forming tray.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A seed aligning device for sowing relatively large and heavy seeds such as seeds of plants of the family Cucurbitaceae, etc., wherein the seeds are aligned in the longitudinal direction by narrowing the vicinity of the outlet and supplied to the line one by one. Seed supplying means, an imaging means for capturing an entire image of each seed supplied on the line by the seed supplying means, and a seed allocating means installed near the outlet of the line for distributing seeds , The seed image captured by the imaging means is processed by a predetermined method to detect the germination position of the seed, and the germination directions of the individual seeds are aligned based on the detection result. Control means for controlling the seed sorting means to sort the seeds, and seeds sorted by the seed sorting means and aligned in germination direction, Seeds aligning apparatus characterized in that it comprises a seed storage means for storing so as not to be changed in a state of aligning the direction, the. 2. The seed aligning device according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying a seed image captured by the image pickup means. 3. As a predetermined processing method in the control means, the information that the germinated part is different depending on the type of plant, variety, etc. is stored in advance in the internal storage means and is supplied onto the line. The image of the seed supplied on the line is processed so as to correspond to the change for each seed, the maximum length part is obtained, and the seed image is vertically cut at the center of the maximum length and the seed image concerned. Is divided into two, and the perimeter of the seed image divided into two is calculated,
The image is divided into two parts, a long perimeter image and a short perimeter image part, and based on the information previously stored in the internal storage means, germination occurs from the long or short end of the perimeter. The seed alignment device according to claim 1, wherein the seed alignment is detected.