JPH09203663A - Automatic selecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic selecting apparatus, which measures the size of a material to be measured, detects the color of the surface and the presence or absence of irregularities and flaws at the same time and can perform automatic selection. SOLUTION: When slit light is projected on a material to be measured from a light projecting device provided in an automatic selecting apparatus, the slit image is formed on a two-dimensional CCD sensor. The two-dimensional surface shape is computed from the slit image. Whether there are irregularities and flaws are present or not on the surface of the slit image is judged. The cross-sectional area is obtained for every slit image of the material to be measured from the two-dimensional surface shape, and the average value of colors is computed. Furthermore, the volume of the material to be measured is computed from the cross-sectional area data obtained for a plurality of the slit images. At the same time, the color average value of the entire surface of the material to be measured is computed. The selection of the material to be measured can be performed based on the volume and the color average value computed in this way.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention captures an image of an object to be measured by irradiating the object to be measured with slit light and receiving reflected light from the object to be measured. The present invention relates to an automatic sorting device that automatically sorts by performing a treatment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when selling fruits and vegetables to consumers in the market, it is necessary to sort out good products that are effective as products in a predetermined process after harvesting and defective products that are unsuitable as products. is there. Further, with respect to fruits and the like selected as non-defective products, quality and cost are determined depending on size and color, surface irregularities, and presence or absence of scratches. Therefore, it is necessary to select these by grade.

For this, a method in which a skilled person visually selects fruits and vegetables one by one, and a fruit etc. which is placed on a belt conveyor and conveyed are imaged by using a TV camera. There is a method of automatically selecting by performing treatment.

[0004]

However, the method of visual selection requires a person skilled in the art, and it takes a considerable amount of time for the selection because the fruits and the like are visually inspected one by one. In addition, it has been pointed out that there is a lot of personal feeling and experience due to manual selection, and there is a high possibility of misunderstanding.

On the other hand, in the case of the automatic sorting method using the TV camera, the time required for the sorting is shortened as compared with the visual sorting method by an expert, but the image is picked up by the TV camera. It has been pointed out that it is difficult to accurately measure the size of an object to be measured from the obtained area by performing image processing on the obtained image. Also, it is possible to sort the objects to be measured according to size, but it is impossible to judge the color of fruits and vegetables, surface irregularities, and scratches at the same time because only the appearance is photographed. Met.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention can select the quality of an object to be measured according to the size in the same manner as in the prior art, and also the surface of the object to be measured can be colored, uneven, or scratched. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic sorting device having a function of detecting the presence of water and sorting with high accuracy.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an automatic sorting apparatus for automatically sorting the state of an object to be measured, which is an emitting means for emitting slit light. And a moving means that relatively moves the DUT and the slit light so that the slit light continuously moves from one end to the other end with respect to the DUT, and receives the reflected light of the slit light and outputs the slit light. An image pickup means for picking up a reflected slit image on the measured object, and a surface shape of the measured object based on a plurality of slit images from one end to the other end of the measured object imaged by the image pickup means. A shape calculation means for calculating each cross-sectional area; a color calculation means for calculating the color of the surface of the object to be measured based on the color information of the slit image imaged by the imaging means; the shape calculation means and the color For calculation means And a, a determination unit configured to determine acceptability of the object to be measured based on the results obtained I.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the automatic sorting apparatus for automatically sorting the objects to be measured according to the grade, the objects to be measured are moved while moving the objects to be measured at a constant speed by, for example, moving means. By irradiating the slit light and imaging the slit light reflected from the measured object, a plurality of slit images from one end to the other end of the measured object can be obtained. The number of slit images is digitally divided, and apparently continuous slit images can be obtained. By subjecting the slit image picked up here to a predetermined process, the object to be measured can be automatically selected.

The surface shape of the object to be measured can be obtained based on the imaged slit image, and the cross-sectional area at each site can be calculated. Further, the color average value of the entire surface of the measured object can be calculated by decomposing the color information obtained from the imaged slit image for each color component.

Therefore, the object to be measured can be automatically and accurately selected based on the surface shape and the color average value calculated based on the slit image.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the calculating means calculates the surface shape of the object to be measured based on a triangulation method.

According to the second aspect of the invention, an accurate surface shape is calculated by using the triangulation method when calculating the surface shape of the object to be measured based on the slit image formed on the image pickup device. can do.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, at least one pair of the emitting means is provided so that the emitting directions of the slit light emitted from the emitting means are opposed to each other, and the same number of image capturing means as the emitting means are provided. It is characterized in that the volume (sum of cross-sectional areas) of the object to be measured is calculated based on the slit image imaged by the image pickup means.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, at least a pair of emitting means are provided so that the slit light beams face each other, and the same number of image capturing means as the emitting means are provided, so that the slits are slit from both sides of the object to be measured. Light is emitted.
For this reason, the range where the slit light reaches can be set to the entire periphery of the object to be measured, so that a more accurate surface shape can be calculated. Further, by calculating the volume of the object to be measured based on the slit images formed on the plurality of image pickup devices, the accurate size can be calculated, and therefore the object to be measured can be accurately selected. .

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic sorting apparatus 10 according to this embodiment.

The object to be measured 12 according to the present embodiment is as follows.
Is a fruit (apple) as shown in FIG. 1, and when the object to be measured 12 is placed on the belt 28 of the belt conveyor 14 and conveyed to the space 16 of the automatic sorting apparatus 10, An example will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the object to be measured 12 is placed on a belt conveyor 14 and is moved in the arrow A direction by the conveyance of the belt conveyor 14. The belt conveyor 14 has the configuration shown in FIG. It is composed of a pair of rollers 30A and 30B and a belt 28 wound around the rollers 30A and 30B, and the centers of rotation of the rollers 30A and 30B are held in parallel. When one of the rollers is instructed to rotate by a motor (not shown), the object to be measured 12 mounted on the belt 28 is conveyed at a constant speed. The belt conveyor 14 is arranged so as to pass through the space 16 of the automatic sorting apparatus 10 so that the slit light 32 emitted from the automatic sorting apparatus 10 is irradiated to both sides of the DUT 12.

The inside of the automatic sorting apparatus 10 is protected by a casing 18, and a unit 20A having a light projecting device and a light receiving device is provided in the casing 18.
20B is provided facing each other. Thereby, the emission directions of the slit light 32 are opposed to each other. Further, an emission window 44 for emitting the slit light 32 to the outside
(See FIG. 3) and a light receiving window 46 (see FIG. 3) through which the reflected light of the slit light 16 applied to the DUT 12 is provided on the same surface of the casing 18. This is also provided in pairs on the surfaces facing each other.
Further, the casing 18 is provided with an arithmetic unit 22.

Further, the automatic sorting apparatus 10 is provided with a sensor (not shown), which determines whether or not the object 12 to be measured is present on the belt conveyor 14.

Further, on the upper surface of the casing 18, a switch 24 for instructing the start or stop of the sorting by the automatic sorting apparatus 10 and a liquid crystal display 26 for displaying the sorting result.
Is provided.

Next, the internal structure of the automatic sorting apparatus 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The units 20A and 20B are respectively provided with a light projecting device and a light receiving device, and two units 2 are provided.
0A and 20B have the same structure.

The light projecting device has a semiconductor laser 34 as a light source necessary for irradiating the slit light 32, a collimator lens 36 composed of a spherical lens for converging the beam, and the converged beam in one direction. It has a rod lens 38 for diverging. The slit light 32 is emitted from the emission window 44 and irradiates the DUT 12.

Further, the light receiving device is provided with a light receiving lens 40, and a two-dimensional CC as an image pickup device is provided at the focal position.
A D sensor 42 is provided. The reflected light of the slit light 32 emitted from the light projecting device to the object to be measured 12 is incident on the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42 through the light receiving window 46, and a slit image 66 based on the reflected light is formed. It is supposed to be done. Further, the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42 outputs an electric signal according to the position and light intensity of the formed slit image 66 to the arithmetic unit 22.

Next, the detailed structure of the automatic sorting apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. According to this automatic sorting device 10,
When the slit light 32 emitted from the rod lens 34 provided as a light projecting device in the units 20A and 20B is applied to the DUT 12, a locus 48 of bright spots (hereinafter, This is called a bright line) occurs. The slit light 32 irradiated on the DUT 12 passes through the light receiving lens 40 and is imaged on the light receiving surface of the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42. As a result, an image 66 (slit image) of the bright line of the DUT 12 is formed on the light receiving surface of the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42. Further, the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42 outputs an electric signal according to the position of the slit image 66 and the light intensity to the arithmetic unit 22 which is subsequently processed.

A slit image 66 as shown in FIG. 5 is formed on the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42.

When the measured object 12 is irradiated with the slit light 32, a bright line 48 is generated on the measured object 12 as shown in FIG. 5 (A). When the bright line 48 passes through the light receiving lens 40, slit images 66A and 66B as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C are formed on the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42. The slit image 66 is converted into an electric signal for subsequent processing.

The arithmetic unit 22 includes an amplifier circuit (AMP) 5
0, an analog-digital converter 52 (hereinafter referred to as an A / D converter), and a microcomputer 54 (microcomputer). The input end of the amplifier circuit 50 is connected to the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42, and the signal output from this is amplified by a predetermined amplification factor and output. Further, since the output end of the amplifier circuit 50 is connected to the input end of the A / D converter 52, the data output from the amplifier circuit 50 will be input to the A / D converter 52.
Further, the output end of the A / D converter 52 is connected to the microcomputer 54, where an operation for selecting the DUT 12 is performed. The microcomputer 54 includes a CPU 56 and an R
An OM 58, a RAM 60, and an input / output port 62 for inputting / outputting to / from an external device are provided, all of which are connected by a bus 64 so that data and commands can be exchanged with each other. Further, the input / output port 62 is also connected to a switch 24 for instructing the slit light 32 to be emitted, that is, for starting or stopping the sorting by the automatic sorting apparatus 10, and a liquid crystal display 26 for displaying the sorting result.

Further, a slit image as shown in FIG. 6 may be formed on the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42. Normally, the slit image formed on the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42 draws a smooth curve as shown in FIGS. 5 (B) and 5 (C). However, a slit image with abrupt shape change may be formed. This indicates that the surface of the DUT 12 has irregularities and scratches. Therefore, FIG.
When a slit image 66 whose shape is rapidly changed as shown in (A) or FIG. 6 (B) is obtained, it is determined that the surface of the DUT 12 has irregularities or scratches. be able to.

That is, the slit image 66 shown in FIG.
When it is detected that an image is formed on the three-dimensional CCD sensor 42, the DUT 12 is determined to be a defective product.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Each process shown in this flow chart is started when the operator turns on the switch 24 provided on the upper surface of the casing 18 of the automatic sorting apparatus 10 when sorting the fruit which is the measured object 12, and is turned off. It is designed to be repeatedly executed every predetermined time.

When the operator turns on the switch 24, in step 100, the slit light 32 is emitted from the light projecting device which is the light source, the motor (not shown) for driving the belt conveyor 14 is rotated, and the DUT 12 is automatically moved. It is conveyed to the space 16 of the sorting apparatus 10. The DUT 12 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

Subsequently, in step 102, it is determined whether or not the object to be measured 12 is present on the belt 28 of the belt conveyor 14. This can be detected by a sensor (not shown).

If the object 12 to be measured is detected by the sensor, the process proceeds to step 104.

While the object to be measured 12 is detected by the sensor (not shown), the slit light 16 is emitted from the light projecting device and is irradiated to the object to be measured 12, and the bright line 48 appears on the object to be measured 12. Become. Therefore, the slit light 32 reflected by the DUT 12 passes through the light receiving lens 40 and forms a slit image 66 on the light receiving surface of the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42, which changes according to the unevenness of the surface of the DUT 12. To be done.
The two-dimensional CCD sensor 42 outputs an electric signal according to the position of the slit image 66 and the light intensity.

In step 104, the slit image 66 formed on the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42 is taken in, and the process proceeds to step 106.

In step 106, the two-dimensional surface shape of the object to be measured 12 is calculated by using the triangulation method. Since it is known that the two-dimensional surface shape of the object to be measured 12 can be calculated by using the triangulation method, detailed description will be omitted.

In step 108, the object to be measured 12 is selected based on the surface shape calculated in step 106. Here, it is determined whether or not the surface of the DUT 12 has irregularities or scratches.

This is because when there is a portion where the shape of the slit image 66 formed on the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42 changes abruptly as shown in FIG. Alternatively, it is determined to be a scratch.

The selection result in this step 108 is
In step 110, it is displayed on the liquid crystal display 26 provided in the automatic sorting apparatus 10.

When it is determined that the surface of the object to be measured 12 has irregularities or scratches, this is sorted as a defective product.

On the other hand, in step 108, the DUT 1 is
2 has no irregularities or scratches on the surface and is selected as a non-defective product, and the objects to be measured 12 displayed to that effect on the liquid crystal display 26 in step 110 are sorted according to their grades, so the following process is continued. Do it.

First, in step 112, step 106 is performed.
The cross-sectional area is calculated based on the two-dimensional surface shape of the DUT 12 calculated in.

The automatic selection device 10 is provided with a pair of light projecting devices so that the exit directions of the slit light 32 are opposite to each other, and the same number of light receiving devices are provided. Therefore,
In the present embodiment, two two-dimensional CCD sensors 42 are provided, and the slit images 66A and 66B of the DUT 12 are formed on the respective two-dimensional CCD sensors 42. Therefore, two surface shapes as shown in FIGS. 5D and 5E can be obtained. By adding these, the cross-sectional area of the portion of the DUT 12 irradiated with the slit light 32 can be obtained as shown in FIG.

Subsequently, in step 114, the two-dimensional C
The slit image 66 formed on the CD sensor 42 is divided for each pixel as shown in FIG. 8, and color information is decomposed for each divided pixel to calculate a color average value.

The method of calculating the color average value will be described below. Slit image 6 formed on the two-dimensional CCD sensor 42
The color information of 6 is represented by CMY components. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, each pixel (P ₁ , P ₂ , ..., P _n ) on which the slit image 66 is captured is color-separated into a C component, an M component, and a Y component. For example, P ₁ can be color-separated as in the following equation.

P ₁ = C ₁ + M ₁ + Y ₁ Similarly, color separation is performed for all pixels (P _{1 to} P _n ) and the average of these is calculated.

As a result, it is possible to obtain color information on the portion of the DUT 12 irradiated with the slit light 32 (cross section of the DUT 12), that is, a part of the surface.

At step 116, similarly to step 102, it is determined whether or not the object to be measured 12 is detected by a sensor (not shown).

If it is determined that the DUT 12 has been detected, the process returns to step 104 and the above-described processing is repeated. Belt 2 of belt conveyor 14
While the slit light 32 is radiated to the object to be measured 12 placed on the table 8, each process shown in this flowchart is repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals, and therefore one object to be measured 12 is processed. A plurality of cross-sectional area data and color average value data are obtained.

On the other hand, when the object to be measured 12 is not detected by the sensor, the process proceeds to step 118.

In step 118, the volume is calculated in order to obtain the three-dimensional information (size) of the object to be measured 12.

The volume is calculated based on the data of the cross-sectional area for each of the plurality of slit images 66 obtained in the process of step 112 and the speed at which the object 12 is conveyed by the belt conveyor 14. You can

Further, in step 120, the DUT 1 is
2. Obtain the color average value for the entire surface. This is because the color average value for the entire surface of the DUT 12 can be calculated by calculating the average of the color average value data for each of the plurality of slit images 66 calculated in step 114. There is. In this way, by obtaining the color average value for the entire surface of the object to be measured 12, it is possible to recognize the maturity degree of the fruits and the like in the present embodiment.

Subsequently, the process proceeds to step 122, and sorting is performed for each grade based on the volume (size) of the measured object 12 and the surface color (ripeness) calculated in steps 118 and 120. Selection based on size and maturity is performed based on a predetermined threshold value.

Further, the result of sorting the objects to be measured 12 by grade is displayed on the liquid crystal display 26 provided in the automatic sorting apparatus 10 in step 124.

As described above, when the objects to be measured 12 are selected by the automatic selecting apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, not only the size but also the object to be measured 1 is selected.
It is possible to simultaneously detect the color, unevenness, and scratches on the surface of No. 2 and sort.

In this embodiment, the case of selecting fruits has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this.

Further, although the case where the semiconductor laser 34 is provided as a light source in the light projecting device has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and a gas laser such as helium neon is used instead. May be. Furthermore, although an example of obtaining slit-shaped light by using the rod lens 38 has been described, a cylindrical lens, a cylindrical mirror, or the like can be used as an element for obtaining slit-shaped light, and a laser beam such as a rotating polygon mirror can be used. It is also possible to obtain slit-shaped light by scanning.

Although the liquid crystal display 26 is used as an example of the means for outputting the selection result in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the liquid crystal display 26. A method of outputting the result by voice using an output device is also conceivable.

Further, the automatic sorting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment
In 0, the arithmetic unit 22 is provided integrally with the automatic selection device 10, and a configuration is described in which a pair of light projecting devices whose slit light emission directions face each other and the same number of light receiving devices are provided. As shown in FIG. 2, one unit including a pair of a light projecting device and a light receiving device is provided on both sides of the belt conveyor 14, and the units are arranged so that the emission directions of the slit light 32 face each other. You may comprise.

Further, in the present embodiment, the belt conveyor 14 is provided in order to move the object 12 to be measured and the slit light 32 relatively, but the object 12 and the slit light 32 are stationary. Automatic sorting device 1 for injecting
The configuration may be such that 0 is moved.

[0063]

As described above, the automatic sorting apparatus of the present invention can obtain a plurality of slit images by irradiating the object to be measured with slit light so that the exit directions of the slit light are opposite to each other. The size of the measured object can be accurately obtained. Further, since it is possible to detect the color, unevenness, and scratches on the surface of the object to be measured at the same time as measuring the size, there is an excellent effect that the object to be measured can be automatically and accurately selected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an appearance of an automatic sorting device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a belt conveyor applied to the automatic sorting device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an internal structure of the automatic sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an automatic sorting device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5A shows a bright line that appears when a measured object is irradiated with slit light, and FIGS. 5B and 5C show slit images formed on a two-dimensional CCD sensor.
(D), (E), and (F) show the cross-sectional shape of the measured object.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a slit image formed on a two-dimensional CCD sensor. (A) shows a slit image when the surface of the measured object has irregularities, and (B) shows a slit image when the surface of the measured object has scratches.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control routine in the automatic sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing a state of each pixel of a slit image formed on a two-dimensional CCD sensor.

FIG. 9 is an external view showing a schematic configuration of an automatic selection device in which a calculation device is provided separately.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Automatic Sorting Device 12 Object to be Measured 14 Belt Conveyor 22 Computing Device 26 Liquid Crystal Display 42 Two-dimensional CCD Sensor 66 Slit Image

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An automatic sorting device for automatically sorting the state of an object to be measured, comprising: emitting means for emitting slit light; and the slit light continuously moving from one end to the other end with respect to the object to be measured. And a moving means for relatively moving the DUT and the slit light, an image pickup means for receiving the reflected light of the slit light and picking up a slit image on the DUT that reflects the slit light, and the image pickup means. The surface shape of the object to be measured is calculated based on the plurality of slit images from one end to the other end of the object to be imaged, and shape calculating means for calculating each cross-sectional area, and the image capturing means imaged. Color calculating means for calculating the color of the surface of the object to be measured based on the color information of the slit image, and judging means for judging the quality of the object to be measured based on the results obtained by the shape calculating means and the color calculating means. And an automatic sorting device having. 2. The automatic sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculating means calculates the surface shape of the object to be measured based on a triangulation method. 3. At least one pair of the emitting means is provided so that the emission directions of the slit light emitted from the emitting means face each other, and the same number of image capturing means as the emitting means is provided, and the image capturing means captures images. The automatic sorting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the volume (sum of cross-sectional areas) of the measured object is calculated based on the slit image.