JPH1114315A - Agricultural products condition detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the detecting accuracy and the reliability by providing a placing type conveyer part on which agricultural products for detection is placed to be transferred, by which the upper side of agricultural products can be image-picked up, and a hanging type conveyer part on which agricultural products is hung and supported to be transferred, by which the bottom of agricultural products can be image-picked up. SOLUTION: Among conveyer parts 1-3 of agricultural products conveyer 4, fruits W are sequentially placed one by one on the transport start end of the conveyer part 1. The conveyer 4 transfers the fruits W from a placing transport type conveyer part 1 to a hanging transport type conveyer part 2, and further transfers the same from the conveyer part 2 to a placing transport type conveyer part 3 to be transferred to a sorting device. Upper cameras respectively positioned above the conveyer parats 1, 3 and a bottom camera 13 positioned below the conveyer part 2 through an inclined transparent body 16 are adapted to detect the agricultural products by a detecting means linking with the cameras. An image of a side view which can not be image- picked up in a forward-directed position and in a backward-directed position by the camera 11 is image-picked up by the camera 12, and an image of the bottom of the fruit which can not be image-picked up by the cameras 11, 13 is image-picked up by a camera 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conveyor for transferring fruits and vegetables to be detected, an image pickup means for picking up the fruits and vegetables to be detected transferred by the conveyor, and a conveyer for the fruits and vegetables to be detected based on image information from the image pickup means. The present invention relates to a fruit and vegetable state detecting device provided with detecting means for detecting a state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-described detection apparatus merely supplies fruits and vegetables, that is, fruits and vegetables, to a conveyor in sequence, and operates the imaging means and the detection means to determine the size and color of the fruits and vegetables and the presence or absence of scratches. Can be automatically detected sequentially. Conventionally, this type of detection apparatus employs a conveyor, such as a belt conveyor, on which fruits and vegetables are placed and transported, and the fruits to be detected are transported only by this placement type conveyor.

[0003]

Conventionally, when a fruit to be detected is transferred by a conveyor, the bottom portion of the fruit and vegetable cannot be imaged because it is placed on the conveyor. For this reason, the detection accuracy may be deteriorated, for example, even if there is a flaw such as insect biting at the bottom of the fruit and vegetable, it is detected as not having any. An object of the present invention is to provide a fruit and vegetable detection device capable of detecting with high accuracy.

[0004]

The constitution, operation and effect of the invention according to claim 1 are as follows.

[Construction] A conveyor for transferring the fruits and vegetables to be detected, an imaging means for imaging the fruits and vegetables to be detected transferred by the conveyor, and a detecting means for detecting the state of the fruits and vegetables for detection based on the image information from the imaging means In the fruit and vegetable state detecting device provided with the means, a placement type conveyor unit for placing and transferring the detection target fruit and vegetables, and a hanging type conveyor unit for suspending and supporting and transferring, are provided on the conveyor,
The upper imaging means for imaging the portion of the fruit to be detected above the conveyor placement portion on the transfer path by the stationary conveyor portion, and the bottom portion in the transfer state of the fruit to be detected on the transfer route by the hanging conveyor portion. And a bottom image pickup means for picking up an image.

[Operation] The hanging conveyor unit transfers the fruits and vegetables to be detected from the placing conveyor unit while transferring the fruits and vegetables to be detected, and becomes the bottom when being transferred by the placing conveyor unit. In such a way that the fruit and vegetable part that had become the bottom is transferred as it is in the state where it becomes the bottom as it is, the same fruit and vegetable part is transported so that the same fruit and vegetable part becomes the bottom by any of the placement type and the hanging type conveyor, When imaged by the upper imaging means, the fruit and vegetable portion that cannot be imaged as a conveyor mounting part is imaged by the bottom imaging means, and image information from both the upper imaging means and the bottom imaging means is input to the detection means, and State detection is performed based on both pieces of image information. That is, both the vegetable portion on the upper side and the vegetable portion on the bottom at the time of transfer are imaged, and the detection is performed based on the image information of both the vegetable upper portion and the vegetable bottom portion.

[Effect] Detection is performed based on both the image information of the upper part of the fruit and vegetable and the image information of the bottom of the fruit and vegetable, and the bottom which could not be detected in the past, which was detected based only on the image information of the upper part of the fruit and vegetable, was also detected. However, it has become possible to detect with high accuracy, for example, if there is an insect bite at the bottom.

The structure, operation and effect of the invention according to claim 2 are as follows.

[Structure] In the structure according to the first aspect of the present invention, the bottom imaging means is disposed immediately below a transfer path by the hanging conveyor.

[Operation] When a reflecting means is arranged below the transfer path, and bottom image pick-up means is installed so as to pick up an image of the bottom of the fruit to be detected by using a reflection image of the reflecting means,
The bottom imaging means protrudes greatly outside the lateral width of the transfer path, and the space required for disposing the bottom imaging means becomes large. On the other hand, the bottom imaging means can be installed while minimizing the space required for installing the bottom imaging means, for example, by inserting the bottom imaging means into the lateral width of the transfer path.

[Effect] It is possible to reduce the space for installing the bottom imaging means and obtain a compact device capable of detecting with high accuracy.

The structure, operation and effect of the invention according to claim 3 are as follows.

[Constitution] In the constitution of the invention according to claim 2, a transparent body is arranged in an inclined posture between the bottom imaging means and the transfer path by the hanging conveyor.

[Operation] The bottom image pickup means picks up an image of the fruit vegetable bottom through a transparent body. Even if there is a dust fall such as a leaf falling from the detection target vegetable, it is received by the transparent body and falls naturally from the transparent body due to its inclined posture and adheres to the bottom imaging means or remains on the transparent body It is possible to avoid the occurrence of an image pickup failure due to the drop.

[Effect] A compact device which is obtained by disposing the bottom imaging means directly below the transfer path can be obtained in a highly reliable state so that detection errors due to falling dust hardly occur.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIGS.
Fruit and vegetable conveyor 4, comprising a plurality of conveyor units 1, 2, 3; a first upper camera 11 located above the first conveyor unit 1 of the conveyor units 1 to 3; Three cameras 11 including a second upper camera 12 located above the transport start end side of the third conveyor section 3 and a bottom camera 13 located below the second conveyor section 2 among the conveyor sections 1 to 3. A fruit / vegetable sorter is constituted by each of the fruit / vegetable state detecting device 10 provided with the components 13 to 13 and the like, and the fruit / vegetable sorting device 20 located at the transport end of the third conveyor section 3. When this fruit sorter supplies a fruit W such as a persimmon as an example of a fruit to the transport start end of the fruit and vegetable conveyor 4, the fruit W falls under any of a plurality of grades A to D by the fruit and vegetable state detecting device 10. Are detected, and the containers Ca to Cd corresponding to the class equivalent to the detection class are detected by the sorting device 20.
, And are collected in detail, and are configured in detail as follows.

The first conveyor section 1 of the conveyor sections 1 to 3 is constituted by a belt conveyor, and is structured so as to place and transfer the fruit W thereon. That is, at the transport start end located on the opposite side to the second conveyor 2,
The fruit W stored in the container K and carried in is taken out of the container K by an operator, placed one by one on a belt, and supplied. Then, the supplied fruit W is transferred to the transport start end of the second conveyor section 2 in the mounted state.

The second conveyor section 2 of the conveyor sections 1 to 3 is constituted by the endless rotating chain 5 having a plurality of fruit hanging tools 6 arranged in the longitudinal direction of the endless rotating chain 5. . As shown in FIG. 3, the intermediate portion of each of the plurality of fruit hanging tools 6 is rotatably supported by a support member 7 connected to a pair of left and right endless rotating chains 5, 5. A pinion gear 8 is provided at one end of each of the fruit hanging tools 6 so as to be integrally rotatable, and a fruit holder 6 is provided at the other end of each of the plurality of fruit hanging tools 6.
a pair of fruit support arms 6b having a
6b.

On the transport side path of the endless rotating chain 5, each fruit hanging tool 6 is provided with a fruit supporting arm 6b located below the chain 5 in a chain mounting posture with respect to the transporting end of the first conveyor unit 1. Is transported to the transport start end of the third conveyor section 3, and on the return path of the endless rotating chain 5, each fruit hanging device 6 is attached to a chain in which the fruit support arm 6 b is located above the chain 5. It is configured to be transported back in a posture. A rack gear 9 that meshes with the pinion gear 8 of each fruit hanging device 6 and rotates the pinion gear 8 to rotate the fruit hanging device 6 with respect to the support member 7 is moved to the transport side of the endless rotating chain 5. The rack gear 9 is arranged at a part of each of the path and the return side path, and the respective fruit suspenders 6
Arrives at the transport end of the first conveyor section 1, the pair of fruit support arms 6b, 6b are separated from each other on both sides of the transport path L1 of the first conveyor section 1 for fruit transfer. It is in the mounting position for the chain. When the fruit W enters between the fruit support arms 6b of the fruit hanging device 6 in the fruit transfer posture, a pair of fruit support arms 6b
The fruit holding actuator 6c attached to each is driven to the holding side, and pushes the fruit holder 6a toward the fruit W to operate the fruit W with the pair of fruit holders 6a, 6a.
To be pinched. Thereby, the fruit hanging tool 6 is
The fruit W conveyed by the conveyor unit 1 is inherited from the first conveyor unit 1 at the end of the conveyance. Fruit hanging tool 6
As the pinion gear 8 reaches the position before the third conveyor section 3, the pinion gear 8 meshes with the rack gear 9 on the chain conveyance side path, and the pinion gear 8 is moved until the fruit hanging tool 6 reaches the conveyance start end of the third conveyor section 3. After the rotation operation is performed and the rotation angle reaches about 90 degrees, the pinion gear 8 is disengaged from the rack gear 9, so that when each fruit hanging tool 6 reaches the transport start end of the third conveyor section 3, Is about 9 degrees from the position of the chain when the pair of fruit support arms 6b, 6b inherit the fruit W in the first conveyor unit 1.
By rotating by 0 degrees, the posture for attaching the chain for fruit delivery arranged in the transport direction of the third conveyor unit 3 is set. Then, when the fruit hanging tool 6 is in the fruit delivery posture, the pair of fruit holding actuators 6c are operated to the holding release side, and the fruit holder 6a is returned to the fruit support arm 6b to operate the pair of fruit holders 6a. , 6a is released. Thereby, the fruit hanging tool 6 is configured such that the direction when the fruit W inherited from the first conveyor unit 1 is placed on the third conveyor unit 3 is the direction when the fruit W is placed on the first conveyor unit 1. The pieces are delivered to the third conveyor section 3 in different directions rotated by about 90 degrees. The fruit hanger 6 emptied by supplying the fruit W to the third conveyor section 3 is
Since the pinion gear 8 meshes with the rack gear 9 and is rotated about 90 degrees at the end of the chain return side path, the pinion gear 8 returns to the transfer end of the first conveyor unit 1 in the fruit transfer posture.

Thus, the second conveyor unit 2 places the fruit W from the first conveyor unit 1 on the first conveyor unit 1 such that the bottom portion of the hanging unit 6 remains as it is. In addition, it is transported while being suspended and supported, and is moved about 9 mm around the vertical axis of the fuselage near the transfer end.
After being rotated by 0 degrees, it is delivered to the third conveyor unit 3.

The third conveyor section 3 of the conveyor sections 1 to 3 is constituted by a belt conveyor, and is structured so as to place and transfer the fruits W thereon. That is, the fruit W from the second conveyor unit 2 is placed and supplied on the belt at the transport start end portion facing the transport end portion of the second conveyor unit 2, and the supplied fruit W is placed in the loaded state. It is transferred to the sorting device 20.

That is, fruits W are sequentially placed one by one on the transport start end of the first conveyor unit 1 of the three conveyor units 1, 2, 3 of the fruit and vegetable conveyor 4. Then, conveyor 4
Allows the fruit K to be passed from the first conveyor unit 1 of the placing and transporting type to the second conveyor unit 2 of the hanging and transporting type, and further from the second conveyor unit 2 to the third conveyor unit 3 of the placing and transporting type. It is transferred to the sorting device 20 after being inherited.

The first conveyor unit 1, the second conveyor unit 2, the third conveyor unit 3, the first upper camera 11 located above the first conveyor unit 1, and the upper part of the transport start end of the third conveyor unit 3. The second upper camera 12, located at
The fruit and vegetable detecting device 10 is constituted by the bottom camera 13 located below the conveyor section 2 and the detecting means 14 linked to each of the cameras 11 to 13 as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the first upper camera 11 is provided with a transfer path L1 by the first conveyor unit 1.
And a reflecting member located on both lateral sides of the movement path L1. The fruit K itself arrives immediately below the first upper camera 11 as it is transferred along the transfer path L1. And the fruit reflected by the mirror 15 as an image. That is, of the fruits W in the state of being transported by the first conveyor unit 1, an imaging area W1 in a plan view at an upper part of the fruits located above the bottom of the fruits as a conveyer placement part, and left and right of the upper part of the fruits. Are imaged in the side view imaging areas W2 and W3. And
These pieces of image information are output to the detection unit 14.

As shown in FIG.
Is a CCD color camera located immediately below the transfer path L2 by the second conveyor unit 2, and is a transparent glass plate or a transparent resin plate which is positioned between the camera and the transfer path L2 so as to cover the camera. The transparent body 16 is provided, and the fruit W that has reached just above the bottom camera 13 as it is transported along the transport path L2 is imaged through the transparent body 16. That is, an image of the imaging area of the fruit W in the bottom view in a state where the fruit W is suspended and supported by the second conveyor unit 2 is taken. Then, this image information is detected by the detecting means 1.
4 is output.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the second upper camera 12 is provided with a transfer path L3 by the third conveyor unit 3.
, The fruit K itself directly below the second upper camera 12 as it is transferred along the transfer path L3, and a reflection member positioned on both sides of the movement path L3. And the fruit reflected by the mirror 15 as an image. That is, of the fruits W in the state of being transported by the third conveyor unit 3, the imaging area W1 in a plan view at the upper part of the fruits located above the bottom of the fruits as the conveyor mounting part, and the left and right of the upper part of the fruits Are imaged in the side view imaging areas W4 and W5. And
These pieces of image information are output to the detection unit 14.

The detecting means 14 comprises a microcomputer, and the first upper camera 11 and the second upper camera 1
The size and the appearance of the fruit W are detected based on the image information from the three cameras 2 and the bottom camera 13. That is, when the image is transferred by the first conveyor unit 1, the image pickup area which is a forward part or a rearward part and cannot be imaged by the first upper camera 11 is imaged by the second upper camera 12 in the left and right side view imaging area W <b> 4. , W5 and the first
The image information from the upper camera 11 and the second upper camera 12
The size of the fruit W in plan view by the image information from
Detects the size in side view and almost the entire appearance above the fruit. When the first and second conveyors 1 and 2 are transported, the bottom camera takes the bottom of the fruit which cannot be imaged by the first upper camera 11 or the second upper camera 12 and serves as a counter mounting portion. By capturing the image with the image 13 and detecting the appearance state of the bottom of the fruit based on the image information, the size of the whole fruit and the appearance state such as the presence or absence of insect eating on almost the entire peripheral surface of the fruit are detected. Then, it is determined which of the plurality of classes A to D the class of the fruit W is based on the detection result and the class data previously input to the class setting unit 14a which is a storage unit. At the same time, based on the result of the determination, the sorting device 20 outputs a sorting signal to be collected in the containers Ca to Cd corresponding to the grades A, B, C, and D of the fruit W.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sorting device 20 comprises a plurality of fruit pushers 21a to 21d arranged in the transport direction on one of both lateral sides of the transport end portion of the third conveyor section 3,
On the other hand, a plurality of chutes 22a to 22d arranged in the transport direction
The fruit W conveyed by the third conveyor unit 3 is collected and divided into containers Ca to Cd based on a signal from the detection unit 14. That is, when it is determined that the fruit W is of the class A, the fruit pusher 21a
If the first pusher 21a of the first to 21b is determined that the fruit W is the grade B, the first pusher 21a
If the second pusher 21b of the 21b is determined that the fruit W is the grade C, the fruit pushers 21a to 2b
1b, the third pusher 21c has the fruit W of grade D
If determined to be fruit pushers 21a-21
b of the fourth pushing tool 21d
The fruit W transported by the third conveyor unit 3 is driven from the operation release position located on the lateral outer side of the transfer path L3 to the operation position entering the transfer path L3 based on the information from
Pushing operation is performed from the conveyor unit 3 toward the chutes 22a to 22d. The fruit W of grade A extruded by the first fruit pusher 21a is guided to fall into the container Ca by the chute 21a, and the fruit W of grade B extruded by the second fruit pusher 21b is containerized by the chute 21b. The third fruit pusher 21c is guided to fall by Cb.
Grade C fruit W extruded by
The fruit W of grade D, which is guided to fall into the container Cc by 1c and pushed out by the fourth fruit pusher 21d, is guided to fall into the container Cd by the chute 21d.

As clearly shown in FIG.
Are arranged in an inclined posture. That is, when dust such as leaves falls from the transferred fruit W or the like, the transparent body 16
So that it does not become an obstacle to the image pickup by the bottom camera 13 when it is placed on the transparent body 16 so as to naturally fall from it.

The nozzle 23 shown in FIGS. 1 and 7 blows air on the upper surface side of the transparent body 16 to clean the upper surface of the transparent body 16 so that dust does not remain on or adhere to the upper surface. .

[Alternative Embodiment] The first upper camera 11,
As the second upper camera 12 and the lower camera 13, a CCD camera as in the above embodiment may be employed, or a linear image sensor may be employed. Therefore, the first
The upper camera 11, the second upper camera 12, the linear image sensor, and the like are collectively referred to as an upper imaging unit, and the bottom camera 13, the linear image sensor, and the like are collectively referred to as a bottom imaging unit.

When the first conveyor unit 1 and the third conveyor unit 3 for transferring the fruits W in different mounting directions are adopted as the placement type conveyor units as in the above embodiment, the fruits W are imaged over the entire peripheral surface. Although it is advantageous to obtain an image that can be detected with high accuracy while simplifying the imaging structure, the present invention is also applicable to a case where one of the first conveyor unit 1 and the third conveyor unit 3 is omitted. The invention is applicable.

[Brief description of the drawings]

Fig. 1 Side view of fruit and vegetable conveyor

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the whole fruit sorter.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a fruit hanging device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a fruit and vegetable state detecting device.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing an imaging state of the first upper camera.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an imaging state of the first upper camera.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing an imaging state of the bottom camera.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing an image pickup state by a second upper camera.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an image pickup state by a second upper camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1,3 Placing conveyor part 2 Hanging conveyor part 4 Conveyor 11,12 Upper imaging means 13 Bottom imaging means 14 Detecting means 16 Transparent body L2 Transfer path W Fruits to be detected

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Kazuyuki Okada, 64 Ishizukitamachi, Sakai-shi, Osaka Kubota Sakai Works Co., Ltd. (72) Hiromitsu Kowada 64, Ishizukitacho, Sakai-shi, Osaka Kubota, Inc. Inside the Sakai Works (72) Inventor Shoji Tanaka 64 Ishizu-Kitacho, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture Inside Kubota Sakai Works

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A conveyor for transferring a fruit to be detected, an imaging means for imaging the fruit and vegetable to be detected transferred by the conveyor, and a detecting means for detecting a state of the fruit and vegetable to be detected based on image information from the imaging means. A fruit-vegetable state detection device comprising: a placing-type conveyor unit that places and transports a fruit-to-be-detected,
An upper image pickup means for picking up a portion above the conveyor mounting portion of the target fruits and vegetables on the transfer path by the stationary conveyor portion, wherein the conveyor has a suspended conveyor portion for suspending and transferring the suspended conveyor portion. And a bottom imaging means for imaging the bottom of the fruit to be detected in a transfer state on the transfer path of the hanging conveyor section, as bottom imaging means, as the imaging means. 2. The fruit and vegetable state detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the bottom imaging means is disposed immediately below a transfer path by the hanging conveyor. 3. The fruit and vegetable state detecting device according to claim 2, wherein a transparent body is disposed in an inclined posture between the bottom imaging means and a transfer path by the hanging conveyor.