JPH1019772A - Saccharinity measuring instrument for fruit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent laser light from attenuating and improve the measurement precision of the saccharinity measuring instrument which analyzes the laser light transmitted through a fruit and measures the saccharinity of the fruit. SOLUTION: A positioning means which positions a tray 6, having a through hole for passing the laser light, at a specific measurement position is provided on the center line of the mounted fruit 5, and a light projection part 16 and a light-receiving part 17 are provided movably on a perpendicular containing the center of the fruit across the fruit 5 on the tray 6 and surrounded with light shield members 19 and 21. When the saccharinity of the fruit 5 is measured, the light projection part 16 and light-receiving part 17 are put close to the fruit 5 mounted on the tray 6 so that openings of the shield members 19 and 21 come into contact with the fruit 5, etc. Consequently, the fruit 5 is accurately positioned in the optical path from the light projection part 16 to the light- receiving part 17, so the stability of measurement is improved. Further, the optical path is shielded by the shield members 19 and 21 from external light, so the influence of the external light is eliminated to improve the measurement precision.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the sugar content of fruits, such as melons and watermelons, which is used in inspection lines such as fruit sorting facilities.

[0002]

[Prior art]

[Fruit sorting line] In general, fruits harvested by producers are divided into inspection and measurement processes such as weight, appearance, and sugar content of each fruit, and sorting processes that classify each fruit according to grade based on these measurement results. It is shipped to the market via a sorting place where the constituted sorting line is installed. Such a fruit sorting line is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-5029 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-56181.

[0003] Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-5029 discloses that a tray on which fruits are placed is conveyed by a conveyor, the weight and size of the fruits are measured in the conveying process, and the fruits are sorted based on the measurement results. Fruit line is described.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-56181 discloses that
It is based on a fruit sorting line similar in structure to the fruit sorting line described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-5029. Suggestions for testing have been made (fourth
(20th line in the lower left column to 6th line in the lower right column).

[Non-destructive inspection method] Here, as a non-destructive inspection method for fruits, the △ OD method has been conventionally known. In this test method, fruits are irradiated with light, the optical density of transmitted light at two predetermined wavelengths, that is, OD (Optical Density), is measured, and the difference in OD between those two wavelengths is determined to determine the sugar content of the fruits. This is a method of inspecting the internal quality of a product.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H4-104041 discloses a nondestructive inspection method in which the intensity of light transmitted through a fruit in a predetermined wavelength range is measured. According to such a method, without completely blocking external light, S
It is claimed that the measurement can be performed at a high S / N and the measurement time is short, so that the S / N is poor and the measurement time is long.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-176645 discloses a laser beam (near infrared region) from a laser diode.
There is disclosed an internal quality inspection apparatus that irradiates a fruit with light and measures the component concentration from the amount of transmitted light or reflected light.
In this case, it is also disclosed that by controlling the wavelength of the laser beam variably with a temperature controller, accurate measurement can be performed according to the type of fruit.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-128949 discloses that
There is disclosed an internal quality inspection apparatus that irradiates a fruit with laser light from an optical parametric oscillation laser whose oscillation wavelength is continuously variable and measures the component concentration from a transmitted light spectrum. According to such a nondestructive inspection device, more accurate measurement can be performed according to the type of fruit. This is because a variable range is narrow in the variable control of the wavelength of the laser beam as disclosed in JP-A-3-176645, whereas a wide variable range is obtained in the optical parametric oscillation laser.

[0009]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention
No. 1, JP-A-3-176645, and JP-A-8-128949, when inspecting the sugar content and ripeness of a fruit by irradiating a laser beam, the fruit itself is destroyed. It is necessary to use a low-output laser beam that does not cause such a problem. For this reason, in the case of a method in which the transmitted light of a fruit is analyzed to check the sugar content and ripeness of the fruit, the laser light is affected by external light from the point where the light passes through the fruit to the light receiving section. It may not be possible to perform accurate measurement.

[0010] Further, the size of the fruit to be inspected varies depending on the type, and the size varies slightly even in the same variety, so that the distance from the light emitting portion to the fruit surface is not constant.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for measuring the sugar content of a fruit, comprising a tray on which fruits are placed and a through-hole through which a laser beam passes on a center line of the placed fruits. Positioning means for positioning at the measurement position; a light emitting portion movably supported on a vertical line including a fruit center on the tray positioned at the measurement position, and irradiating laser light toward the measurement position; and positioning at the measurement position. A light-receiving unit that is movably supported on a vertical line including the fruit center on the tray to be received, receives the laser beam emitted from the light-emitting unit, and opens only on the surface that covers the light-emitting unit and faces the measurement position. And a light-receiving unit shielding member that covers the periphery of the light-receiving unit and that opens only on the surface facing the measurement position.

Therefore, in a state where the tray is positioned at the measurement position by the positioning means, the light projecting unit and the light receiving unit are brought close to the fruit placed on the tray. At this time, the openings of the light emitting unit shielding member and the light receiving unit shielding member are in contact with both sides of the fruit or the fruit and the back surface of the tray. Thereby, the fruit can be accurately positioned in the optical path from the light projecting unit to the light receiving unit, and the stability of the measurement is improved. In addition, since the light path that passes through the fruit from the light emitting unit and reaches the light receiving unit is sealed from external light by the light emitting unit shielding member and the light receiving unit shielding member,
Measurement accuracy is improved without being affected by external light.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for measuring sugar content of a fruit according to the first aspect, one of a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion facing the fruit on the tray positioned at the measurement position is provided with the fruit. A distance sensor was provided to measure the distance to the surface. Therefore, the distance sensor measures the distance between one of the light-emitting portion or the light-receiving portion facing the fruit on the tray and the surface of the fruit, and based on the measurement result, for example, projects the light facing the fruit. Positioning control of one of the optical unit and the light receiving unit is easily performed.

[0014]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 show a basic structure of a sugar content measuring device for fruits in the present embodiment. FIG.
FIG. 15 to FIG. 15 show a basic operation of the apparatus including a fruit inspection step. FIGS. 16 to 21 show an automatic setting operation of the measurement level of the laser beam emitted from the light projecting unit.

The apparatus for measuring the sugar content of a fruit according to the present embodiment is schematically shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
The measurement line 2, the discharge line 3, and the measurement unit 4 are configured as main structures. The carry-in line 1 has a structure in which a tray 6 on which fruits 5 are placed is serially transferred continuously to an alignment area A located at the end. Measurement line 2 is
It is provided adjacent to the alignment area A of the carry-in line 1 and has four measurement areas B along the transfer direction of the tray 6. The discharge line 3 is arranged adjacent to the measurement area B of the measurement line 2 and has a structure for serially transporting the tray 6 continuously in the discharge direction. The measurement unit 4 is configured to measure each measurement area B of the measurement line 2.
Is a structure for measuring the internal quality of the fruit 5 placed on the tray 6.

Here, the carry-in line 1, the measurement line 2, and the discharge line 3 have a structure capable of transferring the tray 6 itself. Specifically, each of the lines 1, 2, and 3 has a plurality of rollers 8 rotatably mounted between a pair of opposed frames 7, and these rollers 8 are associated by a power transmission member (not shown). , Which are driven to rotate by a single motor M. In FIG.
The transport direction of the tray 6 by the rollers 8 provided on the carry-in line 1 and the discharge line 3 is the X direction, and the measurement line 2
The conveying direction of the tray 6 by the rollers 8 provided in the Y direction is the Y direction.

The loading line 1 will be described in more detail. The carry-in line 1 includes an upstream conveyor 1a for conveying the tray 6 toward the alignment area A, and the conveyor 1a.
The downstream alignment conveyor 1b that transports the transported tray 6 at a higher speed is mainly configured. The alignment area A is arranged on the alignment conveyor 1b. And
The carry-in line 1 is provided with five stoppers 9 which are driven by the air cylinder ES and are provided in the alignment area A so as to be able to come and go (see FIG. 1). These stoppers 9 are arranged at positions on the alignment area A corresponding to the respective measurement areas B on the measurement line 2 so as to regulate the transfer of the tray 6.
Further, the carry-in line 1 includes four sets of transfer claws 10 driven by the air cylinder ES to transfer the tray 6 on the alignment area A to the measurement line 2 (see FIG. 2).

The measurement line 2 will be described in more detail. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 14, each measurement area B of the measurement line 2
Are provided with an upstream stopper 11 and a downstream stopper 12 that are driven by the air cylinder ES and appear and disappear in the measurement area B at two locations on the upper and lower sides. These stoppers 1
Reference numerals 1 and 12 denote structures in which the tray 6 is sandwiched and positioned without any gap in a state where the tray 6 appears in the measurement area B. Such a positioning position of the tray 6 is a measurement position.

The discharge line 3 will be described in more detail. FIG.
As shown in the figure, the discharge line 3 mainly includes an upstream first discharge conveyor 3a adjacent to the measurement line 2 and a downstream second discharge conveyor 3b continuous with the first discharge conveyor 3a. I have. The discharge line 3 includes a standard substance line 13 that can replace the discharge line 3 as a regular line in the first discharge conveyor 3a. That is, the four corners of the first discharge conveyor 3a are supported by the extensible legs 14 having the air cylinder ES structure and can be moved up and down. Further, a standard material line 13 that moves up and down together with the first discharge conveyor 3a is fixed to a lower portion of the first discharge conveyor 3a. The standard substance line 13 includes four standard substance mounting areas C corresponding to the respective measurement areas B of the measurement line 2.
The standard material placing area C is connected to each measuring area B by ascending, and the tray 6 placed on the standard substance placing area C is driven by the air cylinder ES to each of the trays 6. It has four sets of transfer claws 15 for transferring to the measurement area B (see FIGS. 2 and 17). In such a standard substance line 13, similarly to the other lines 1, 2, 3, a plurality of rollers 8 are rotatably mounted between a pair of frames 7, and these rollers 8 are connected to a power transmission member (not shown). And is rotationally driven by a single motor M. In FIG. 1, the transport direction of the tray 6 by the rollers 8 provided in the standard substance line 13 is the Y direction.

The measuring section 4 will be described in more detail. Measuring unit 4
Is mainly composed of a light projecting unit 16 that emits a laser beam and a light receiving unit 17 that receives the laser beam emitted from the light projecting unit 16. The light projecting unit 16 is constituted by an optical parametric oscillation laser whose oscillation wavelength is continuously variable in the near infrared region (750 nm to 2500 nm), and the light receiving unit 17 is constituted by a photodiode. The light emitting unit 16 and the light receiving unit 17 are
Tray 6 positioned at the measurement position in measurement area B
It is movably supported on a vertical line including the center of the upper fruit 5.

The light projecting section 16 is disposed above each measurement area B of the measurement line 2 and is fixed to a light-shielding body 18 which is driven by an air cylinder ES and can move up and down. This light shield 18
Is the fruit 5 located in the measurement area B by descending.
Is a housing-like member that covers the entire tray 6 and shields light. With respect to such a light shielding body 18, the light projecting section 16 is surrounded by an air cylinder ES in a state of being surrounded by a flexible light projecting section light shielding member 19.
It is mounted so that it can be driven up and down freely. A sensor S is also provided inside the light-emitting unit light-shielding member 19 together with the light-emitting unit 16. This sensor S is a light reflection type distance sensor, and measures the distance between the fruit 5 placed on the tray 6 located on the measurement area B.

The light receiving section 17 is provided to be able to move up and down by an air cylinder ES fixed to a box-shaped frame 20 provided below each measurement area B of the measurement line 2.
It is surrounded by a flexible light receiving part light shielding member 21. Further, a shutter and a protection filter which are opened and closed by being driven by a motor M are provided in the light receiving unit light shielding member 21 and located at an upstream side of the optical path from the light receiving unit 17 (both are not shown).

The structure of the tray 6 is shown in FIGS.
The tray 6 includes a lower tray 6a and an upper tray 6b placed on the lower tray 6a. A through hole 22 is formed in the center of the tray 6 to penetrate the lower tray 6a and the upper tray 6b. This passage hole 22
Is for transmitting the laser beam emitted from the light projecting unit 16. Here, the fruit 5 is placed on the upper tray 6b placed on the lower tray 6a as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 5 (a). Flows through. Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 (b) and 5 (b), a standard substance 23 directly placed on the lower tray 6a is also provided. The reference material 23 is for obtaining a reference value of the measurement level of the laser beam emitted from the light projecting unit 16, and is arranged in advance in each reference material mounting area C of the reference material line 13.

Here, the fruit inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment includes various means controlled and executed by a microcomputer MC (abbreviated as microcomputer MC) comprising a CPU 24 and a memory 25 shown in FIG. Tray stopping means, tray measurement position transfer means, positioning means, measurement execution means, tray discharge line transfer means, replacement means, and standard substance transfer means are provided. These various means are provided to a CPU 24 which performs various arithmetic processing operations in accordance with an operation program stored in a memory 25, by a bus line 26.
A predetermined operation is executed using a motor M, an air cylinder ES, a sensor S, a light projecting unit 16 and a light receiving unit 17 which are connected via the CPU 24 and controlled centrally by the CPU 24. Here, the motor M, the air cylinder ES, the sensor S, the light projecting unit 16, and the light receiving unit in the carry-in conveyor 1a, the alignment conveyor 1b, the measurement line 2, the measuring unit 4, the first carry-out conveyor 3a, and the second carry-out conveyor 33b. Table 1 lists the presence and number of 17.

[0025]

[Table 1]

As a basic control processing operation performed by the microcomputer MC in the fruit inspection apparatus of the present embodiment, during the inspection, the carry-in line 1, the measurement line 2, and the discharge line 3 always execute the transfer operation of the tray 6. I do. That is, in each of these lines 1, the drive of the motor M is controlled by the microcomputer MC, so that the roller 8 keeps rotating. In this case, in the loading line 1, the transport conveyor 1
The operation is controlled so that the transport speed of the tray 6 by the alignment conveyor 1b is higher than the transport speed of the tray 6 by a.

The tray stopping means is means for stopping the tray 6 transferred to the alignment area A on the alignment conveyor 1b of the carry-in line 1. That is, the alignment conveyor 1b
Are provided with four sensors S for detecting that the tray 6 has been transferred to the alignment area A corresponding to each measurement area B of the measurement line 2. When the sensor S detects the tray 6, the microcomputer MC operates the stopper. A process for driving the air cylinder ES for 9 so that the stopper 9 appears in the alignment area A is performed. In this case, control is performed so that the downstream-side stopper 9 always appears in the alignment region A before the upstream-side stopper 9. Thus, the tray 6 is stopped in the alignment area A while the transfer operation of the tray 6 by the alignment conveyor 1b is continued.

The tray measurement position transfer means is means for transferring the trays 6 stopped in the alignment area A to the measurement area B on the measurement line 2 in parallel. That is, at the timing when all the stoppers 9 appear in the alignment area A and the tray 6 stops in the alignment area A, the microcomputer MC
By driving the zero air cylinder ES, the transfer claw 10 is moved in the direction of the measurement line 2, whereby the processing of transferring the tray 6 on the alignment area A to the measurement area B is performed. Thus, the tray 6 that has reached the measurement line 1 is transferred on each measurement area B.

The positioning means is a means for accurately positioning the tray 6 on which the fruit 5 is placed at the measurement position on each measurement area B. In other words, the measurement line 2 has a sensor S (not shown) for detecting that the tray 6 has been transferred onto each measurement area B, and the microcomputer MC triggers the downstream stopper 12 using the output of the sensor S as a trigger. After the drive of the air cylinder ES to be driven is controlled and the downstream stopper 12 is caused to appear in the measurement area B, after a lapse of a predetermined time, the upstream stopper 1
1 is controlled to drive the air cylinder ES that drives the air cylinder 1 so that the upstream stopper 11 appears in the measurement area B. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 14, the tray 6 on which the fruit 5 is placed is accurately positioned at the measurement position on each measurement area B.

The measurement executing means is means for, when the tray is positioned in the measuring area B, causing the measuring section 4 to execute the measurement of the fruit 5 to obtain the measurement result. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, the microcomputer MC drives the air cylinder ES that drives the light receiving unit 17 to raise the light receiving unit 17 (FIG. 15).
(B)) Subsequently, the air cylinder E for driving the light shielding body 18
S is driven to lower the light shielding body 18 (FIG. 15C),
In this state, the air cylinder ES that drives the light projecting unit 16 is driven to lower the light projecting unit 16 (FIG. 15D). At this time, the descending distance of the light projecting unit 16 is determined by measuring the distance between the fruit 5 and the sensor S in the light projecting unit light blocking member 19 for measuring the distance. As a result, the fruit 5 and the tray 6 are sandwiched between the light emitting unit light blocking member 19 on the light emitting unit 16 side and the light receiving unit light shielding member 21 on the light receiving unit 17 side, and the light emitting unit 16 and the light receiving unit 17 are sealed. Face the fruit 5. Then, after that, a motor M that drives and opens and closes a shutter (not shown) arranged in front of the light receiving unit 17 is driven, and the shutter is opened.

Subsequently, the microcomputer MC drives the light projecting unit 16 to emit a laser beam, transmits the fruit 5 on the tray 6, passes through the passage hole 22 of the tray 6, and is received by the light receiving unit 17. The measurement result of the fruit 5 is obtained based on the laser light. That is, in the memory 25, information such as the concentration of various components according to the type of the fruit 5, specifically, the content of sucrose, fructose, glucose, water, alcohol, and the like is stored in association with the transmitted light spectrum. Have been. Therefore, the microcomputer MC obtains the transmitted light spectrum of the fruit 5 by arithmetic processing based on the output of the light receiving unit 17, retrieves the component concentration of the fruit 5 from the memory 25 based on the arithmetic result, and obtains the measurement result. On this occasion,
By continuously varying the oscillation wavelength of the optical parametric oscillation laser that is the light projecting unit 16 under the control of the microcomputer MC, it is possible to accurately measure the components of different varieties of a certain fruit 5.

The tray discharge line transfer means is a means for parallel transferring the tray on which the fruits 5 after measurement by the measurement execution means are placed to the discharge line 3. That is, after the measurement of the fruit 5 on the measurement area B is completed, the microcomputer MC controls the driving of the air cylinder ES that drives the upstream stopper 11 and the downstream stopper 12 in the measurement line 2, and controls the upper and downstream stoppers 11 and 12. A process of retreating from each measurement area B is performed. Thereby, the upstream and downstream stoppers 11 and 12 are retracted from each measurement area B, and the tray 6 is moved from each measurement area B by the transfer operation of the tray 6 on the measurement line 2.
Is transferred to the discharge line 3.

The replacement means is a means for performing a replacement operation between the standard substance line 13 and the discharge line 3 which is a normal line. In other words, the microcomputer MC drives and controls the telescopic legs 14 of the air cylinder ES configuration, and expands the telescopic legs 14 so that each of the standard substance mounting areas C of the standard substance line 13 is placed in each of the measurement areas B of the measurement line 2. Get in touch. That is,
The replacement of the standard substance line 13 with the discharge line 3 is performed by the expansion and contraction operation of each expansion leg 14.

The standard substance transferring means is means for parallelly transferring the standard substance 23 placed on each standard substance placing area C of the standard substance line 13 replaced with the discharge line 3 to the measuring area B and positioning the same. . That is, the microcomputer MC
With the completion of the replacement operation of the reference material line 13 with respect to the discharge line 3 as a trigger, the air cylinder ES for the transfer claw 15 is driven to move the transfer claw 15 in the measurement line 2 direction. The process of transferring the lower tray 6a located to the measurement area B is performed. This allows
Lower tray 6a previously arranged in standard material line 13
Is transferred on each measurement area B with the standard substance 23.

In such a configuration, prior to the inspection operation of the fruit 5, for example, a reference value of a measurement level of a laser beam emitted from the light projecting unit 16 at the time of initialization or the like is set. This will be described later.

First, the inspection operation of the fruit 5 will be described. This operation is shown in FIGS. That is, in the loading line 1, the fruits 5 placed on the tray 6 are serially transferred from the transport conveyor 1a to the alignment conveyor 1b (see FIGS. 7 and 8). At this time, the transfer speed of the tray 6 is higher than that of the transport conveyor 1a.
Is faster, the trays 6 arranged on the conveyor 1a without gaps are conveyed on the alignment conveyor 1b with a predetermined gap. Then, the tray 6 is stopped at a predetermined position in the alignment area A by the tray stop means (see FIG. 8).

Subsequently, the tray 6 transferred to the alignment area A
Is transferred in parallel to each measurement area B of the measurement line 2 by the tray measurement position transfer means, and is positioned at a predetermined measurement position by the positioning means (FIGS. 9, 12, and 1).
3 and FIG. 14). Then, in this state, the concentration of the internal components of the fruit 5 placed on the tray 6 is measured by the measurement executing means (see FIG. 15). Also, such fruits 5
In parallel with the component measurement, the tray 6 is transferred to the alignment area A in the loading line 1 and the tray 6 transferred by the tray stopping means is stopped at a predetermined position in the alignment area A (FIG. 1).
0). Such parallel processing is executed by multitask processing of the CPU 24.

Subsequently, when the measurement of the components of the fruit 5 is completed,
The tray 6 located in each measurement area B of the measurement line 2 is transferred in parallel to the discharge line 3 by the tray discharge line transfer means (FIG. 11). Thereby, the fruits 5 placed on each tray 6 are serially transferred to the discharge line 3 and sent to, for example, a sorting unit (not shown) to be sorted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a plurality of fruits 5 are transferred in parallel from the carry-in line 1 to the measurement line 2 and from the measurement line 2 to the discharge line 3 (FIG. 9).
11 and FIG. 11), and the continuous serial transfer operation of the tray by the carry-in line 1 and the discharge line 3 does not stop (see FIG. 10), so that a smooth and quick fruit inspection can be performed. For this reason, the measuring unit 4 which takes time to process
Even if non-destructive measurement of internal components is performed, the efficiency of fruit inspection can be increased.

Since the fruit 5 being measured is sandwiched between the light-shielding member 19 and the light-shielding member 21, the light-emitting unit 1
The fruit 5 is accurately positioned in the optical path from 6 to the light receiving section 17. This increases the stability of the measurement. The light path from the light projecting unit 16 to the light receiving unit 17 after passing through the fruit 5 is sealed from external light by the light projecting unit light blocking member 19 and the light receiving unit light blocking member 21, so that the measurement is not affected by the external light. The accuracy is improved.

Next, the setting of the reference value of the measurement level of the laser beam emitted from the light projecting section 16 will be described. First,
At the time of initialization of the apparatus, the replacement means communicates each measurement area B of the measurement line 2 with each standard substance mounting area C of the standard substance line 13 (see FIGS. 16 and 18). Then, the standard substance 23 placed on the tray 6a in each of the standard substance placing areas C and transferred in advance to the corresponding measurement areas B by the standard substance transferring means is positioned in parallel with each other (FIG. 17, 19 and 20).

In this state, the standard substance 23 is irradiated with the laser beam emitted from the light projecting section 16 and the transmitted light is transmitted to the light receiving section 1.
At 7, a reference value of the measurement level of the laser beam is obtained by arithmetic processing of the CPU 24 based on the output of the light receiving unit 17. Thus, even if the output state of the laser light changes due to the influence of temperature, humidity, or the like, the reference value of the measurement level of the laser light is obtained prior to the inspection operation of the fruit 5, so that the reference value is not affected by such a variable factor. Accurate measurement of the components of the fruit 5 can be performed.

When the measurement for obtaining the reference value of the measurement level of the laser beam is completed, the reference material 23 is returned to the respective reference material mounting areas C (see FIG. 21), and the reference material line 13 is discharged by the replacement means. The replacement process with the line 3 is performed, and the inspection operation of the fruit 5 can be executed.

[0044]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for measuring a sugar content of a fruit, wherein a light transmitting unit and a light receiving unit surrounded by a light transmitting unit shielding member are applied to a fruit placed on a tray positioned at a measuring position. The light receiving part surrounded by the shielding member is brought close to the light receiving part, and the laser light emitted from the light emitting part and transmitted through the fruit is received by the light receiving part to measure the sugar content of the fruit. Can be accurately positioned in the light path leading to the measurement and therefore the stability of the measurement can be increased. In addition, the light path that passes through the fruit from the light emitting part and reaches the light receiving part can be sealed from external light by the light emitting part shielding member and light receiving part shielding member, thus improving measurement accuracy without being affected by external light. Can be done.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the fruit sugar measuring apparatus according to the first aspect, one of the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion facing the fruit on the tray positioned at the measurement position is provided with the fruit. Since the distance sensor for measuring the distance from the surface is provided, it is possible to measure the distance between one of the light emitting unit or the light receiving unit facing the fruit on the tray and the surface of the fruit. Based on the measurement result, for example, it is possible to easily control the positioning of one of the light projecting unit and the light receiving unit facing the fruit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of each line showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall side view showing a measuring section in cross section.

FIG. 3 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view showing the tray.

FIG. 4 (a) shows a state in which fruits are placed on a tray,
(B) is an exploded perspective view which shows the mounting state of the standard substance on the tray, respectively.

FIG. 5 (a) is a state in which fruits are placed on a tray,
(B) is a longitudinal sectional side view which shows the mounting state of the standard substance on the tray, respectively. It is.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electrical connection.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of each line showing a state where fruits are serially transferred by a carry-in conveyor;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of each line showing a state in which fruits are serially transferred to an alignment area by an alignment conveyor.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of each line showing a state where the fruit is transferred in parallel to a measurement area of the measurement line.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of each line showing a state in which another group of fruits is serially transferred to the alignment area by the alignment conveyor after the fruits are transferred in parallel to the measurement area of the measurement line.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of each line showing a state in which the fruit after measurement has been transferred in parallel to a discharge line.

FIG. 12 is a side view of each line showing a state where fruits are serially transferred to an alignment area by an alignment conveyor.

FIG. 13 is a side view of each line showing a process in which fruits are transferred in parallel to a measurement area of a measurement line.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a process in which a fruit is transferred to a measurement area of a measurement line.

FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional front view showing a measuring operation process by the measuring unit.

FIG. 16 is a side view showing a replacement operation between a standard substance line and a discharge line.

FIG. 17 is a side view showing a state where a standard substance is transferred to a measurement area of a measurement line.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of each line showing a replacement operation between a standard substance line and a discharge line.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of each line showing a state where a standard substance is about to be transferred to a measurement area of a measurement line.

FIG. 20 is a plan view of each line showing a state where a standard substance is transferred to a measurement area of a measurement line.

FIG. 21 is a plan view of each line showing a state in which a standard substance is returned to a standard substance line.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Fruit 6 Tray 16 Light emitting part 17 Light receiving part 19 Light emitting part shielding member 21 Light receiving part shielding member 22 Passage hole S Distance sensor

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masaaki Nakazawa 1-1-1, Ishiba, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano Pref. Ishikawajima Shibaura Machinery Co., Ltd. Matsumoto Plant (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Yokoyama 1-1-1, Ishiba, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano No.Ishikawajima Shibaura Machinery Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A positioning device for mounting a fruit, and positioning a tray having a passage hole through which a laser beam passes on a center line of the mounted fruit at a predetermined measurement position, and the tray positioned at the measurement position. A light emitting unit that is movably supported on a vertical line including the center of the upper fruit and irradiates a laser beam toward the measurement position; and moves on a vertical line including the center of the fruit on the tray positioned at the measurement position. A light-receiving unit that is freely supported and receives the laser beam emitted from the light-emitting unit; a light-emitting unit shielding member that covers the periphery of the light-emitting unit and opens only on a surface facing the measurement position; A light-receiving unit shielding member that covers the periphery of the part and opens only on the surface facing the measurement position. 2. A distance sensor for measuring a distance between a fruit and a surface of the fruit positioned on a tray positioned at a measurement position, the light emitting unit or the light receiving unit facing the fruit on the tray. The fruit sugar content measuring device according to claim 1.