JPH0981749A - Fruit recognition device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To lower the cost by performing stable fruit discrimination similar to that of an expensive two-wavelength system visual sensor system by using a general color CCD camera. SOLUTION: The CCD image sensors 2R, 2G, and 2B of R, G, and B of the color CCD camera 2 which picks up an image of a subject pick up lights of constant wavelengths that respective CCD elements sense; and the ratio between the density value corresponding to the illuminance of the light that the CCD image sensor 2R of R senses and the density value corresponding to the illuminance of the light that the CCD image sensor 2G of G senses is found, pixel by pixel, and a set of pixels which are large in the ratio R/G of density values is extracted as a fruit.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fruit recognition device for an automatic fruit harvester that automatically operates a fruit harvesting manipulator based on visual information from a color CCD camera to automatically harvest fruits.

[0002]

As shown in FIG. 2, the reflectance at each wavelength is different between the fruits such as cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes and bell peppers and the portions other than fruits such as leaves. In the vicinity of the wavelengths of 980 nm and 670 nm for tomatoes, and in the vicinity of the wavelengths of 1180 nm and 360 nm for peppers, the difference in reflectance between the fruits and the other is remarkable.
In addition, as shown in FIG.
The G and B CCD elements have different sensitivity characteristics with respect to the spectral power of the light source at each wavelength. The R CCD element is near the 850 nm wavelength and the G CCD is near the 550 nm wavelength.
Each CCD element is sensitive.

From this, for cucumber and eggplant, the ratio R / G of the density value of the light near the 850 nm wavelength, which the R CCD element is sensitive to, and the density value of the light near the 550 nm wavelength, which the G CCD element is sensitive to. It can be seen that the non-fruit parts such as fruits and leaves can be clearly distinguished by taking. The present invention is based on this finding. With regard to non-green fruits such as tomatoes and bell peppers, it is possible to distinguish the portions other than fruits such as fruits and leaves by changing the wavelength by changing the light source. When the leaves are closer to the light source than the fruits such as cucumbers and eggplants, the R CCD element is sensitive to 850 nm
In the vicinity of the wavelength, the amount of reflection on the leaves is larger than that on the fruits in some cases, but the reflectance of the fruits is still lower than that of the leaves near the wavelength of 550 nm, which is sensitive to the G CCD device. Therefore, the fruit is not identified only by the density value of the light near the 850 nm wavelength that the R CCD element is sensitive to, but the ratio R to the density value of the light near the 550 nm wavelength that the G CCD element is sensitive to.
If the fruit is identified by / G, the influence of such a distance from the light source can be reduced.

If there is a two-wavelength type visual sensor system using two interference filters with wavelengths of 850 nm and 550 nm, it is possible to use the difference in reflectance of light other than fruits such as fruits and leaves near the wavelengths of 850 nm and 550 nm. Can identify fruits such as, cucumbers and eggplants. However, such a dual-wavelength type visual sensor system is not commercially available, and even if it is developed, it is 850 nm and 550 n.
Since it is necessary to accurately superpose density value images in the vicinity of m wavelengths, it becomes expensive.

An object of the present invention is to use a general-purpose color CCD camera to obtain the fruit discrimination effect equivalent to that of an expensive two-wavelength type visual sensor system.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

That is, R, G, and B lights are respectively converted into C
In a visual sensor system that recognizes fruits by analyzing images from a color CCD camera that receives light from a CD element,
For each pixel, the ratio R / G of the density value of the light sensitive to the CD element and the density value of the light sensitive to the CCD element of G is obtained for each pixel, and a set of pixels having a large ratio R / G of this density value is extracted as a fruit. It is a fruit recognition device.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a fruit recognition device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The fruit recognition device 1 inputs a R, G, B image signal via a color CCD camera 2 which captures an image of a subject and outputs an R, G, B image signal, and an image input / output circuit 3 for fruit recognition. And a CPU 4 for performing.

The CPU 4 also inputs an image, for example, when it is dark and lacks in brightness as in the early morning.
The control signal is sent to the sync detection circuit 5 via the image input / output circuit 3.
To turn on the light source 6 to link the image input and the light source 6.

The color CCD camera 2 has an optical lens 2a.
The image of the object received by the device is separated by a prism (not shown) into each of the R, G, B CCD image sensors 2R, 2G, 2
An image is formed on the photosensitive surface of B. An optical filter 2b is provided after the optical lens 2a to limit the wavelength of the received light.
R, G, B CCD image sensors 2R, 2G, 2B
Captures light of a fixed wavelength that each CCD element is sensitive to, and sequentially outputs, as an analog signal, an electrical signal corresponding to the illuminance of the light hitting each pixel by raster scanning. R in FIG. 3 indicates the wavelength width of light in the near-infrared region captured by the R CCD image sensor 2R, and G indicates the G CCD.
The wavelength width of light centered around the wavelength of 550 nm captured by the image sensor 2G is shown.

The image input / output circuit 3 shapes the analog signal, reads each pixel based on the synchronizing pulse, converts the analog signal into a digital signal, and outputs an R, G, B image signal. Also, various image processing algorithms are used to perform processing such as noise removal and distortion correction.

The CPU 4 inputs the R, G, B image signals output from the image input / output circuit 3 and performs fruit recognition. The fruit recognition device of the present invention is an R CCD image sensor 2R.
For each pixel, the ratio of the density value according to the illuminance of the light to be sensed by and the density value according to the illuminance of the light to which the G CCD image sensor 2G is sensitive is obtained. Then, a set of pixels having a large density value ratio R / G is extracted as a fruit.

As shown in FIG. 3, the R component light that the R CCD image sensor 2R is sensitive to is the G component light, and the G CCD image sensor 2G is sensitive to the G component light is the B component light.
A little light from the ingredients comes in. For the R component light, the effect of the G component light is small because the reflectance of the object is high in the near-infrared region, but for the G component light, the B component light affects the G component light. The density value may not be stable.

Since the fruit recognition device of the present invention discriminates the fruit by judging how high the light density value of the R component is based on the light density value of the G component as a reference, the reference G It is necessary to stabilize the light density value of the component. Therefore, B
A filter for blocking light having a wavelength shorter than 550 nm is attached so that light having a shorter wavelength including the components does not enter the G CCD image sensor 2G. This enables stable fruit identification equivalent to that of the two-wavelength type visual sensor system.

The fruit recognition device of the present invention is 850 nm and 5
Fruits such as cucumbers and eggplants are identified by utilizing the difference in light reflectance between the fruits and leaves other than the fruits near the wavelength of 50 nm. Therefore, using a light source 6 having a spectral emission characteristic having peaks at 850 nm and 550 nm, 85
By further emphasizing the characteristic light reflection characteristics of non-fruits such as fruits and leaves near the wavelengths of 0 nm and 550 nm,
The fruits can be easily identified, and the threshold for binarization can be made constant. In this way, by further emphasizing the light reflection characteristics of the portion other than the fruit, such as the fruit and the leaf, the fruit can be identified with the same ease as the two-wavelength type visual sensor system. Further, since the operation of changing the threshold value is eliminated, the image processing time can be shortened.

Next, a fruit harvesting end effector for harvesting fruits such as cucumbers will be described in connection with the present invention. 4 and 5 show plan views of this end effector. FIG. 4 shows a state before the end effector 11 opens the two fingers 12a and 12b and holds the fruit 13, and FIG. 5 shows that the end effector 11 closes the two fingers 12a and 12b and the fruit 13 is released. The state when gripping is shown.

In this end effector 11, cams 14a and 14b are integrally formed at the base ends of two fingers 12a and 12b, and the cams 14a and 14b and the gears 15a and 15b are fixed coaxially. The gripping motor 1 is used for the gears 15a and 15b.
The worm gear 17 directly connected to 6 is engaged. Cam 14
Microswitches 18a and 18b are provided at the positions where the cam surfaces of a and 14b contact. Two fingers 12a, 1
A fruit receiver 19 made of rubber is provided in front of the grip portion between 2b.

The end effector 7 is configured as described above, and drives the gripping motor 16 to rotate the worm gear 17 and the gears 15a and 15b, thereby causing the two fingers 12a,
12b are rotated in the opposite directions. With this rotation,
The two fingers 12a and 12b open and close to grip the fruit 13.

Two fingers 12a, 12 shown in FIG.
When b is open, the cam surface of the cam 14b contacts and turns on the microswitch 18b so that the two fingers 12a and 12b are prevented from opening. On the contrary, when the two fingers 12a and 12b shown in FIG. 5 are closed, the cam surfaces of the cams 14a come into contact with each other to turn on the micro switch 18a, so that the two fingers 12a and 12b are not moved. I try not to close it.

The end effector 11 operates the microswitch 18a to operate the two fingers 12a, 12a.
The angle at which b is closed is limited so that objects with a small diameter cannot be gripped. In the case of cucumber or the like, the diameter of the fruit at the proper harvesting time is about 30 mm, and the fruit having a diameter significantly smaller than this and not at the proper harvesting time cannot be grasped by the end effector 11. Therefore, the end effector 11 cannot accidentally harvest fruits that are not in a proper harvest time. Moreover, the diameter of the main stems other than fruits is 6-8.
It is about mm, and even if the visual part mistakenly recognizes the main stem as a fruit,
The end effector 11 does not accidentally cut the main stem.

The end effector 11 rotates the two fingers 12a and 12b inwardly, and grips the inside fruit 13 so as to wrap it. At this time, the two fingers 12a and 12b incline inward, and the fruit 13 inside is pulled toward you and abuts on the fruit receiver 19.

Conventionally, two flat plates were horizontally approached to grip the fruit 13, but this does not provide sufficient front-back resistance when the cutter blade is slid back and forth to cut the fruit pattern. In some cases, the fruit pattern could not be cut properly. The end effector 11 grips the fruit 13 so as to wrap the fruit 13 at three points of the two fingers 12a and 12b inclined inward and the fruit receiver 19. Therefore, the drag in the front-back direction is sufficient, and the fruit pattern can be reliably cut without the inner fruit 13 shifting. Also, fingers 12a, 1 for gripping the fruit 13
Since the position in 2b is almost constant, the range in which the cutter blade moves can be reduced, and damage to the main stem other than the fruit stem and the like can be reduced. Furthermore, even if the manipulator of the end effector 11 is moved at high speed, the fruit 13 inside does not move to change its posture or fall off.

Cams 14a and 14b are integrally formed on the rotary shafts of the two fingers 12a and 12b of the end effector 11. When the fruit 13 is gripped by the two fingers 12a and 12b, the contact points between the fruit 13 and the two fingers 12a and 12b and the fruit receiver 19 are located at the vertices of a substantially equilateral triangle. Therefore, two fingers 12
When a and 12b are opened, two fingers 12a and 1
The distance between the tips of 2b can be wide, and when the two fingers 12a and 12b are closed, the two fingers 12
The a and 12b incline inward in such a posture that the fruit 13 is wrapped around the fruit 13. Further, by designing the rotation angle until the fruit 13 is gripped to be small, the gripping speed can be increased and the transmission mechanism of the motor can be miniaturized.

Next, the fruit pattern cutting portion of the end effector 11 will be described. 6 and 7 show a front view and a side view of this fruit cutting portion. The fruit cutting section 21 mounts the motor 23 on the upper part of the frame 22, connects the pinion 24 to the shaft of the motor 23, meshes the pinion 24 with the rack 25, and mounts the rack 25 on the base 26a of the moving plate 26.

The moving plate 26 comprises a base 26a, a fixed portion 26b and a movable portion 26c, and a cutter blade 27 is attached to the tip of the movable portion 26c. Base 26a and fixing portion 26
b is integrally formed, and the fixed portion 26b and the movable portion 26c are provided with a long hole 28 and are connected by a pin 29a. Another pin 29b is separately attached to the movable portion 26c, and the pins 29a and 29b are slidably fitted in the guide holes 30a and 30b formed in the frame 22, respectively.

The base 26a has two guide rods 31a and 3a.
1b is inserted, and springs 32a and 32b are wound around the respective guide rods 31a and 31b. Guide rods 31a, 31b
The removal plate 33 is attached to the front end of the and the support plate 34 is attached to the base end thereof. The support plate 34 is
It is connected to the rack 35 and meshes with the gear 36 a of the potentiometer 36.

The removal plate 33 is an upper plate 33a.
And the lower plate 33b, and the cutter blade 27 moves in and out of the gap between them while the upper surface and the lower surface are in contact with each other.

The fruit pattern cutting section 21 is constructed as described above, and when cutting the fruit pattern of the fruit 13, the motor 23 is driven to rotate the pinion 24 forward and backward to rotate the rack 25 in the direction of the fruit 13. To move forward and backward. Rack 25 with fruit 1
When it is advanced in the direction of 3, the base 26a of the moving plate 26 attached to the rack 25 pushes the springs 32a and 32b, and the springs 32a and 32b push the removing plate 33 toward the fruit 13. At the same time, the cutter blade 27 attached to the tip of the movable portion 26c of the moving plate 26 moves in the direction of the fruit 13 as the moving plate 26 moves.

When the removal plate 33 is pushed toward the fruit 13, the rack 35 connected to the support plate 34 of the removal plate 33 also moves toward the fruit 13 and rotates the potentiometer 36.

When the motor 23 is further rotated to move the moving plate 26 to the stop position, the removing plate 33 is moved.
Is extruded by the springs 32a and 32b and comes into contact with the peduncle of the fruit 13. When the removal plate 33 comes into contact with the peduncle, the removal plate 33 tries to move further, but since the drag force of the peduncle is larger than the force of the springs 32a and 32b pushing the removal plate 33, the removal plate 33 is removed. The plate 33 stops on the spot.

At this time, if the fruit 13 does not exist in the gripping portion, the removing plate 33 is moved forward as it is until the stoppers of the guide rods 31a and 31b come into contact with the base 26a to be locked, and the removing plate 33 moves outside the frame 22. Project to. The initial position and the stop position of the moving plate 26 are detected by the micro switch 37 attached below the rack 25.

The movable part 26c with the cutter blade 27 attached is
The pins 29a and 29b are guided and moved by the guide holes 30a and 30b into which the pins 29a and 29b fit. The movable portion 26c initially moves parallel to the fruit 13 in the same posture, but in the subsequent process from the entrance of the curved portion of the guide hole 30a to the end, the movable portion 26c rotates about the pin 29b. By this rotational movement, the cutter blade 27 attached to the tip of the movable portion 26c is rotated to cut the fruit pattern of the fruit 13. At this time, the cutter blade 27 rotationally moves in the gap between the upper plate 33a and the lower plate 33b of the removal plate 33 while contacting the upper surface and the lower surface.

8A, 8B, 9A, 9B, 10A, and 10B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the end effector 11 and the fruit cutting portion 21. In FIG. 8, the fruit 13 is grasped by the two fingers 12a and 12b, the position of the fruit pattern of the fruit 13 is detected, the removal plate 33 is pushed in the direction of the fruit 13, and the removal plate 33 is connected to the fruit pattern of the fruit 13. Abut. In FIG. 9, the cutter blade 2
7 is moved in the direction of the fruit 13 and the cutter blade 27 is projected from the gap of the removal plate 33. In FIG. 10, the end effector 1 is moved at the same speed as the moving speed of the cutter blade 27.
While pulling the manipulator No. 1 toward you, the cutter blade 27
Is rotated to cut the peduncle of the fruit 13.

When cutting the fruit pattern of the fruit 13, the fruit pattern cutting section 21 pulls the manipulator forward so that the cutter blade 27 does not go ahead of the fruit 13. Therefore, the main stem in the back of the fruit 13 is not damaged. Further, since the operating area of the cutter blade 27 can be sufficiently secured, the fruit pattern of the fruit 13 can be surely cut.

The removal plate 33 of the fruit pattern cutting portion 21
Serves as both a removal plate that removes liquids and chips left by the plants attached to the cutter blade 27 when the cutter blade 27 is stored, and a fruit pattern detection plate that detects the fruit pattern of the fruit 13. . Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide the fruit pattern detection plate, so that the space can be reduced. Further, since the removal plate 33 is slid upward and obstacles such as petioles are pushed away to detect the fruit pattern of the fruit 13, a sufficient cutting space can be secured.

The removal plate 33 of the fruit pattern cutting portion 21
Since the tip surface into which the cutter blade 27 moves in and out is projected, the liquid and chips left from the plants adhering to the cutter blade 27 are easily removed by the inclination of the tip surface.

When the liquid coming out of the plant adheres to the cutter blade 27 and solidifies, or when cutting dust adheres to the cutter blade 27, the load at the time of cutting becomes large. Becomes worse, and the load current of the motor 23 also increases. The removal plate 33 removes the liquid, cutting chips, etc. from the plants attached to the cutter blade 27. Therefore, the load at the time of cutting is lightened and the cut surface is also clean. Moreover, since the motor 23 can be driven within a constant current value, particularly with a low current, the life of the motor 23 is extended.

The fruit pattern cutting section 21 includes one motor 23.
Both the removal plate 33 and the cutter blade 27 are moved by. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the total number of motors and reduce the weight of the end effector 11 in which most of the motors are occupied. In addition, the fruit pattern detection and cutting mechanism can be simplified,
The end effector 11 can be made more compact.

The fruit cutting portion 21 is composed of one motor 23.
To move the cutter blade 27 straight to the fruit cutting position, then
The cutter blade 27 is rotated at the fruit cutting position. Therefore, the moving range of the cutter blade 27 can be reduced, and the cutter blade 2
Since 7 is rotated to cut the fruit pattern, the cutting load is reduced to make the fruit pattern cutting process smooth and efficient.

The removal plate 33 of the fruit pattern cutting portion 21
Also serves as a fruit pattern detection plate for detecting the fruit pattern of the fruit 13. The fruit pattern detection processing of the removal plate 33 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the processing is started (step 101), the fruit 13 is rapidly approached (step 102) until the proximity switch is turned on (step 103), and then the fruit 13 is turned on until the touch sensor is turned on (step 105). A slow approach is taken (step 104). When the touch sensor turns on, stop the manipulator (step 1
06) The two fingers 12a, 12b are closed and the fruit 13 is gripped (step 107). Then, the removal plate 33 is pushed in the direction of the fruit 13 (step 108) until the microswitch 37 for detecting the stop position is turned on (step 109), and the microswitch 37 is pushed.
When is turned on, the movement of the removal plate 33 is stopped (step 110). Here, it is determined whether the value of the potentiometer 36 is constant (step 111), and the fruit 1
If 3 is securely gripped in the grip, the removal plate 33 does not move by hitting the peduncle of the fruit 13, so the value of the potentiometer 36 becomes constant. Therefore, if the value of the potentiometer 36 is constant, it is determined that the fruit 13 is reliably held in the gripping portion, and the process proceeds to the next fruit pattern detecting step (step 112). However, when the fruit 13 is not reliably gripped or when the fruit 13 is not in the gripping portion, the removal plate 33 moves forward, and the value of the potentiometer 36 changes. Therefore, the potentiometer 36
If the value of is not constant, it is determined that the fruit 13 is not securely gripped in the grip portion, and the harvesting operation is repeated (step 1
13).

Conventionally, the fingers 12a, 1 for gripping the fruit 13 by bringing the two fingers 12a, 12b close to each other
Although the grip of the fruit 13 was detected by the movement amount of 2b, it was not certain because the tips of the fingers 12a and 12b might be caught on the main stem or the like. Therefore, this removal plate 33
By combining the method of detecting the grip with the movement amount of, it is possible to more reliably confirm whether or not the fruit 13 can be gripped in the grip portion.

Next, a fruit harvesting machine will be described which is provided with a hand B for holding a shelf for placing the harvested fruits, in addition to the hand A for harvesting fruits such as tomatoes. As shown in FIG. 12, this fruit harvesting machine is provided with a hand B that moves similar to the hand A, and when the hand A harvests fruits, always holds a shelf on which the harvested fruits are placed immediately below the hand A. . When the harvesting section turns to harvest the other fruit, the shelf is moved to the fruit storage part such as a carry by using the time outside the harvest, such as when moving to another stock by the traveling device, and the storage operation .

A perishable fruit such as a tomato cannot be dropped into the shooter, so the hand was returned every time the fruit was torn off and stored in a carry or the like. Therefore, the harvest time per fruit is long, and if the harvest amount is large, the overall harvest time becomes extremely long. Since this fruit harvester receives the harvested fruits on the shelf once, the hand is not returned every time it is harvested. Therefore, the fruit storage time becomes 0, and the harvest time is shortened accordingly.

Next, a fruit harvesting end effector for harvesting fruits such as strawberries will be described. 13 and 1
FIG. 4 shows a plan view and a side view of this end effector.
In this end effector 41, a guide rail 43 is attached to a frame 42, and a cutter base 44 is slidably engaged with the guide rail 43. A solenoid 45 is attached to the upper portion of the cutter base 44, and the plunger of the solenoid 45 is connected to the cutter blade 46. A slide motor 47 is attached to the lower part of the cutter base 44, a pinion 48 is coupled to the shaft of the slide motor 47, and the pinion 48 is meshed with a rack 49 laid on the frame 42.

Below the cutter blade 46, two comb-shaped plates 50a and 50b are provided one above the other, and the upper comb-shaped plate 50a is connected to the plunger of the rotary solenoid 51, and the lower comb-shaped plate 50b is It is fixed to the frame 42. Below the comb-shaped plates 50a and 50b, a fruit alignment plate 52 formed of an elastic material such as a foam material that bends and bends centering around a bending shaft 52a is provided. The hold motor 5 is attached to the bending shaft 52a of the fruit alignment plate 52.
The drive rod 54 of the crank mechanism connected to the shaft of No. 3 is connected. Comb plates 50a, 50b and fruit alignment plate 5
A visual sensor 55 is attached to the center of the cutter base 44 side between the two.

FIG. 15, FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 are diagrams for explaining the operation of the end effector 41. In FIG. 15, first, the fruit alignment plate 52 is inserted below the fruit 13. In FIG. 16, the hold motor 53 is rotated to drive the drive rod 54, and the fruit alignment plate 52 is center-folded around the bending shaft 52a to draw the fruit 13 toward you and align the fruit 13 in one horizontal row. . Next, the comb-shaped plates 50a and 50b are advanced above the fruit 13 and the end effector 41 is slid downward to pull down the fruit 13 to align the fruits 13 at the same height. FIG.
In, the rotary solenoid 51 is driven and the upper comb-shaped plate 50a is slid to move the fruit pattern of the fruit 13 to 2
The comb-shaped plates 50a and 50b are sandwiched and locked. Then, the solenoid 45 is driven to drive the cutter blade 46.
And the cutter motor 44 is slid along the guide rail 43 by rotating the slide motor 47, and is locked by the two comb-shaped plates 50a and 50b to be aligned in one horizontal row. Are sequentially cut by the cutter blade 46.

Since the fruits 13 such as strawberries are distributed in the cultivation shelves at a substantially constant height in both ripe and unripe fruits with a variation of several centimeters, fruit recognition and maturity determination are carried out by a usual method. In some cases, the ripe fruit may be hidden behind the unripe fruit and cannot be identified by the visual sensor 55. This end effector 41 is
The fruit alignment plate 52 and the two comb-shaped plates 50a and 50b are utilized by utilizing the characteristics that the fruits 13 such as strawberries are distributed in a substantially constant position, the fruit pattern is extremely long, and can be moved by a slight amount of force. Use to align the fruits 13 in a horizontal row with the same height. Therefore, the ripe fruit is not hidden behind the unripe fruit, and the fruit recognition and the ripeness judgment are facilitated. Moreover, since the fruit 13 is fixed at a fixed position, the visual field of the visual sensor 55 can be reduced, and accordingly,
Since the pixel density is increased, the accuracy of fruit recognition and maturity determination is improved.

This end effector 41 locks the fruit pattern of the fruit 13, performs fruit recognition and maturity determination, and cuts the fruit pattern to harvest the fruit 13. Therefore, since the fruit 13 does not shake or move, it is not necessary to re-recognize the fruit 13 once recognized. Also, since the fruit pattern is fixed, cutting is easy and reliable.

The surface of fruits such as strawberries is extremely soft and discolors when pressure is applied to reduce the commercial value. Before harvesting, the end effector 41 places the fruits 13 on a fruit alignment plate 52 formed of an elastic body and aligns the fruits 13 in one horizontal row. After harvesting, the harvested fruits 13 are placed and transported in the depressions of the fruit alignment plate 52 that is flattened with the center depressed. Therefore, the fruit 13 is not gripped because the fruit alignment plate 52 made of a soft material only comes into contact with the fruit, and the fruit 13 is not damaged. Moreover, the mechanism of the end effector 41 can be made simple, lightweight, and compact.

[0051]

According to the present invention, by using a general-purpose color CCD camera, the ratio R / G of the density value of light to which the R CCD element is sensitive and the density value of light to which the G CCD element is sensitive is R / G. By extracting a set of pixels having a large pixel as a fruit, a fruit identification effect equivalent to that of an expensive two-wavelength type visual sensor system can be obtained. Therefore, there is an effect that the cost of the automatic fruit harvester can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a fruit recognition device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a graph showing reflectance of fruits.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a sensitive characteristic of a CCD.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an open end effector.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a closed end effector.

FIG. 6 shows a front view of a fruit pattern cutting portion.

FIG. 7 shows a side view of a fruit pattern cutting portion.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram 1 of an end effector and a fruit cutting portion.
It is.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the end effector and the fruit cutting portion.
It is.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram 3 of the end effector and the fruit cutting portion.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a fruit pattern detection process of a removal plate.

FIG. 12 is an operation explanatory view of the fruit harvesting machine.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of an end effector.

FIG. 14 is a side view of an end effector.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram 1 of the operation of the end effector.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram 2 of the operation of the end effector.

FIG. 17 is an operation explanatory diagram 3 of the end effector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Fruit Recognition Device 2 Color CCD Camera 2a Optical Lens 2b Optical Filter 2R CCD Image Sensor R 2G CCD Image Sensor G 2B CCD Image Sensor B 3 Image Input / Output Circuit 4 CPU 5 Synchronization Detection Circuit 6 Light Source 11 End Effector 12 Finger 13 Fruit 14 Cam 15 Gear 16 Grip motor 17 Worm gear 18 Micro switch 19 Fruit receiver 21 Fruit pattern cutting part 22 Frame 23 Motor 24 Pinion 25 Rack 26 Moving plate 27 Cutter blade 28 Long hole 29 Pin 30 Guide hole 31 Guide rod 32 Spring 33 Removal plate 34 Support plate 35 Rack 36 Potentiometer 41 End effector 42 Frame 43 Guide rail 44 Cutter base 45 Solenoid 46 Cutter blade 47 Slide motor 48 Piny Down 49 rack 50 comb plate 51 rotary solenoid 52 fruits alignment plate 53 hold the motor 54 driving rods 55 visual sensor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A visual sensor system for recognizing fruits by analyzing an image of a color CCD camera which receives R, G, B lights by respective CCD elements, and a density value of light which the CCD element of R senses. A fruit recognition device that obtains, for each pixel, a ratio R / G of the density values of light to which the CCD elements of G and G are sensitive, and extracts a set of pixels having a large ratio R / G of the density values as a fruit.