JPH11165135A - Reception saucer for agricultural product-sorting apparatus and agricultural product-sorting apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reception saucer to be used for an agricultural product-sorting apparatus and suitable for successively carrying out tapping sound detection and transmitted light detection without transferring the saucer in one transportation line. SOLUTION: This reception saucer 1 is for carrying and transporting an agricultural product and comprises a carrying part 102 to put an agricultural product on and a cylindrical body 105 for transmitted light detection which comprises a circular upper end part 1051 for optically sealing the inside and the outside by being circularly engaged with the bottom face of the carried agricultural product and leads out the transmitted light of the agricultural product emitted in the inside of the seal to a light receiving optical apparatus set on the opposite to the down face of the reception saucer while shielding the transmitted light from the outside light. A swing lever 107 movable up and down between the upward movement state in which the circular upper end part 1051 of the cylindrical body 105 for detection is engaged with the carried agricultural product for optical sealing and the downward movement state in which the part 1051 is released from the engagement and parted downward is further installed as to switch the upward movement and downward movement states of the circular upper end part 1051.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a saucer used in an apparatus for sorting and sorting agricultural products and an apparatus for sorting agricultural products using the same. For example, the internal quality of roughly spherical lump-like agricultural products such as watermelons and melons is used as sorting information. The present invention relates to a saucer for an agricultural product sorting device suitably used in the above, and an agricultural product sorting device using the saucer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the past, sorting and sorting of agricultural products was performed based on class factors such as the size and weight of the agricultural products. Grade elements such as the presence or absence of scratches on the appearance are often incorporated into the sorting information.In recent years, not only the grade elements that can be grasped on the appearance but also the internal quality should be used as information for sorting. Are often required.

[0003] This is because even if the agricultural products are good in appearance, those with defects (cavities) inside, or those with unsuitable ripeness or bad taste are expected by consumers (terminal buyers). This is because the results may be impaired, and the traders and producers may also suffer from the disadvantage that the products and trades are not properly evaluated.

[0004] As one of the elements of sorting for internal quality, for example, when sorting relatively large agricultural products such as watermelons and melons, the agricultural products are beaten by hand or mechanical hitting means. Detect and measure internal defects and maturity (over-mature, immature, appropriate maturity) etc. related to the sound when hit with a sensory sensory test or sound equipment analysis (waveform analysis, etc.) based on the operator's experience Are conventionally known (for example, JP-A-3-95455, JP-A-3-39649, etc.). Further, in these documents, examples of a saucer suitable for a sorting apparatus for performing acoustic equipment analysis, a tapping sound detection means including a means for hitting an agricultural product on the saucer and a means for collecting sound (hitting sound) generated at the time of hitting are described. An example of the device is also disclosed. The sensory judgment of the internal quality and the equipment analysis judgment by the tapping sound are necessary for detecting (measurement) the internal quality of each agricultural product without destroying (non-destructively) the agricultural product. It is valid.

On the other hand, as a nondestructive inspection method of agricultural products for analyzing components directly related to taste such as sugar content and acidity, for example, a method of detecting and judging internal transmitted light of agricultural products has recently attracted attention. (For example, JP-A-6-288903, JP-A-7-253497, JP-A-7-26709, JP-B-7-72712, etc.).

The nondestructive inspection method of the inside quality of agricultural products by detecting transmitted light targets extremely weak light whose transmitted light is attenuated to 1 / 100,000 or more of the light illuminating the agricultural products. Although it is not easy to construct a sorting device having a high processing efficiency while shielding the disturbance light, for example, the agricultural product is illuminated while the agricultural product is placed on a tray having a vertical through-hole at the center and transported, and the penetration is performed. An example of a tray having a special structure capable of detecting internally transmitted light led downward through a hole and a sorting device using the same have also been proposed.

[0007]

As described above, in order to non-destructively detect information indicating the internal quality used for sorting agricultural products such as watermelon and melon, mainly, internal defects (cavities) are used. ) And a method of detecting tapping sound, which is an analysis index of internal quality such as maturity, and a method of detecting transmitted light, which is an analysis index of internal quality mainly related to taste such as sugar content and acidity, are known. Therefore, when each of these sort and sort information is used, a mechanized and automated sorter capable of detecting the information efficiently is required. However, there has not yet been proposed any suitable device for detecting and measuring these detections with a single sorting device.

By the way, in order to mechanically detect a tapping sound and a transmitted light with a sorting device, it is common to work on a predetermined detection stage while placing and transporting agricultural products on a saucer. It is conceivable to constitute a single sorting apparatus by combining the detection means and the like of the above-mentioned two sorting apparatuses.

[0009] However, it is not easy to construct a saucer or a sorting device having a structure suitable for detecting information (having sound and transmitted light) indicating the internal quality of the two agricultural products. In order to solve this problem, a combination of a transport line that includes a hammer detection stage and a hammer detection tray for transporting agricultural products on it, and a transport line that includes a transmitted light detection stage and transport of agricultural products on it It is conceivable to use a sorting device having two transport lines, each of which is provided with a combination of transmitted light detection trays for performing the detection. However, in this case, there is a problem that the sorting device is extremely inoperable to transfer agricultural products between these two transfer lines, and each transport line is different from the case where a common and dual-purpose tray is used. Two saucers are required for each line.
There is also a problem that the cost is doubled and the cost increases.

The inventor of the present invention does not need to transfer agricultural products between two transport lines under the above-described prior art, and transports the tray supporting the agricultural products on one transport line. It is possible to provide an agricultural product sorting device capable of sequentially performing the hitting sound detection and the transmitted light detection, and detect information that can be applied to this device and used for highly accurate determination of internal quality. It has been made for the purpose of providing a saucer having the above structure.

[0011]

The above-mentioned object is achieved by the invention described in each claim of the present application.

A saucer for an agricultural product sorting device according to claim 1 of the present application is a saucer used for supporting and transporting agricultural products to be sorted and sorted in the agricultural product sorting device,
A support portion on which the agricultural product is placed; and an annular upper end portion which is annularly engaged with the bottom surface of the supported agricultural product to optically seal the inside and outside of the annular shape, and inside the sealed annular upper end portion. A cylindrical body for detecting the transmitted light inside the agricultural product, which is provided so as to guide the transmitted light from the inside of the agricultural product to be emitted toward the light receiving optical means opposed to the lower part of the tray in a state where the transmitted light is shielded from the external light; The annular upper end of the cylinder
It is provided so as to be able to move up and down between an up-moving state in which the agricultural product supported by the support portion is engaged and the optical seal is optically sealed, and a down-moving state in which the engagement is released to be separated downward from the agricultural product. In addition, a switching means for switching between the upper and lower states of the annular upper end is provided.

The reason for adopting the above structure in the saucer of the invention is as follows. In other words, the structure of the saucer that effectively implements the transmitted light detection work is that the transmitted light inside the agricultural product is weakly attenuated greatly, so the detection cylinder is connected to the agricultural product so that disturbance light does not enter. A structure that ensures an optically sealed state when combined is suitable. On the other hand, in the tapping sound detection work, since the propagation of the sound generated when hitting the agricultural product is affected by the presence or absence of a contacting object with the agricultural product, the material of the contacting object, etc., the structure such that the contact with the elastic body is avoided as much as possible Is desired. As described above, the structure of the saucer suitable for detecting each of the above information is not necessarily common, but rather, the structure suitable for one detection work is not suitable for the other detection work. Thus, the above-described structure capable of ensuring the closed state is adopted.

In the above arrangement, the tray may be connected to the conveying means, may be a so-called free tray type not connected to the conveying means, and may have a flat circular shape or a rectangular shape. Any shape may be used. As the conveying means for conveying the tray, a roller conveyor, a roller conveyor, a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor, or any other suitable means can be used, and a means for continuously conveying and driving can be used. For this reason, an intermittent drive type that normally stops at a hammer detection stage for a certain time is preferably used.

The structure for supporting the agricultural product formed on the tray is not particularly limited as long as it can stably support (carry) the agricultural product placed thereon.
In order to reduce the variation of the internal quality judgment that is analyzed based on the detected tapping sound, a structure that supports point contact at multiple points so that there is no large difference in the support contact area between agricultural products of different sizes Preferably, for example, four projections described in JP-A-3-39649, JP-A-3-95455, etc. are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and each projection is inclined downward and inward. Preferable examples include those having a four-point support structure in which the inner slope is a support contact surface.

In the above construction, the upper end of the transmitted light detecting cylinder, which annularly engages the bottom surface of the produce, is formed as a seat suitable for optically sealing by engaging with the bottom surface of the produce. Is provided. For example, it is also preferable to provide a single or multiple seal lip portion whose diameter increases upward using an elastic material. In the above, the term "bottom surface of agricultural products" means that the range of the bottom surface is not fixed in a strict sense because the agricultural products are spherical, but in short, it may be any range that is appropriate for detection of internal transmitted light, and is supported. In this state, it generally refers to the range near the bottom top and its periphery. In addition, the detection cylinder has an annular upper end that can move up and down between an upward movement state and a downward movement state while maintaining light-shielding properties inside and outside the cylinder body. In addition to the case where the body portion is provided, the body portion may be non-stretchable and cause a slack in the trunk portion when shortened.

The annular upper end of the detecting cylinder is switched between an up-moving state and a down-moving state. However, since the size of the agricultural product supported on the pan is not constant, the position of the up-moving state is as follows. Instead of being in a fixed position, it will be given for each agricultural product over a predetermined height range, so that the annular upper end has a spring force that rises to the highest point of the predetermined height range or higher. However, it is not limited to this. On the other hand, the position in the downward movement state is given as a position separated from the agricultural product, so that it can be given as a constant height position.

The switching means for switching between the upper and lower moving states of the annular upper end generally includes an upper moving holding means for holding the annular upper end in the upper moving state, and an annular upper end. A holding means for holding the lower part in a lower movement state, and a switching operation means for switching the holding of the annular upper end part between an upper movement state and a lower movement state by an action from the outside of the pan. can do.

It is to be noted that the switching drive means for causing the switching operation means to perform the switching operation is not provided on the tray itself, but is usually provided at a predetermined position outside the tray in relation to the transport path or the like.

According to the present invention, for detecting transmitted light, the annular upper end of the tray is moved upward to ensure an optically sealed state between the detection cylinder and the agricultural product, and to detect disturbance light. Sensitivity without penetration and accurate detection of transmitted light can be performed. In order to detect a tapping sound, the annular upper end is moved downward to disconnect the engagement with the agricultural product, and the tapping sound can be detected in a supporting state where the contact area of the supporting portion is small.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned invention, the transmitted light detecting cylinder has a body portion which can expand and contract in a vertical direction. The body is a cylindrical body having a bellows structure that can expand and contract in the vertical direction. The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the transmitted light detection cylinder is a cylinder having a telescopic structure that can be vertically extended and contracted by combining short cylinders concentrically and multiplexed. Typical examples of the body part which can be expanded and contracted include those having a tubular structure formed of a cloth-like fiber product having a light-shielding property or a synthetic resin member in the form of a soft sheet.

According to these inventions, when the transmitted light detecting cylinder is switched between the up-moving state and the down-moving state, the structure of the tubular body is stable. There is no fear.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in each of the above-mentioned inventions, the switching means includes an upward moving holding means for holding the annular upper end of the transmitted light detecting cylinder in an upward moving state, and a downward moving state of the annular upper end. And a switching operation means for switching the holding of the annular upper end portion between the upper movement state and the lower movement state. The invention according to claim 6, wherein the switching operation means Is a lever that swings in conjunction with the upward and downward movement of the annular upper end, the upward movement holding means is an elastic body that applies an upward elastic force to the annular upper end, and the downward movement holding means is It is a lever swing restraining means for restraining the swing of the lever so that the annular upper end is at the position of the downward movement state. Further, in the invention of claim 7, the switching means in the above inventions, The switching operation is performed by an action from the outside of the pan. .

A typical example of the elastic body that applies an upward upward elastic force to the annular upper end is a compression coil spring that is disposed around the outer periphery of the transmitted light detecting cylinder. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

The swing restraint and the restraint release of the lever are performed, for example, by releasing the restraint by applying an operation of an external switching drive means to the lever in a restrained state.
In addition, the operation of another external switching drive means can act on the lever in the restraint released state to bring it into the restrained state.

According to these inventions, the state of the annular upper end portion of the detection cylinder at the time of transmitted light detection and at the time of hitting sound detection is reliably maintained in the upward movement state or the downward movement state. Can be performed reliably.

[0027] The invention of claim 8 is the above-mentioned invention,
The support portion of the saucer is characterized in that the highest point and the lowest point of the supported agricultural product can be measured from the side.

The measurement of the highest point and the lowest point of such a support agricultural product is performed by setting the hit point at an optimum position (for example, a vertical middle position between the highest point and the lowest point: a maximum diameter position) at the time of detecting a hitting sound. In order to perform the measurement from the side, in order to perform the measurement from the side, a vertically long slit extending from the top to the bottom of the agricultural product is provided at the diametric position of the flat circular agricultural product support portion of the saucer. In addition, the four slopes described in JP-A-3-39649 and JP-A-3-95455 described above are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and the inner slopes inclined downward and inward of each projection. 4 as the supporting contact surface
In the case of the point-supporting type tray, the measurement can be performed from the intermediate gap where the projection is intermittent.

According to the present invention, the optimum hitting point can be easily determined when detecting the hitting sound.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for sorting agricultural products, comprising: the tray according to any one of the above-mentioned inventions; and a transport means for transporting the tray while supporting the agricultural product. The detecting cylinder has an upper moving state in which the annular upper end is engaged with the bottom surface of the support produce on the tray and optically seals the upper moving state, and a lower moving state in which the engagement is released and separated downward. In the agricultural product sorting apparatus provided so that the up / down movement state can be switched between the at least one, in the middle of the conveying means, at least one for switching the annular upper end of the detection cylinder from the down movement state to the up movement state. An upward movement switching drive means and at least one downward movement switching drive means for switching the annular upper end from the upward movement state to the downward movement state are provided.

The switching drive means switches the switching means at the upper end of the annular portion provided on the tray from the upward movement state to the downward movement state, and switches from the downward movement state to the upward movement state. . These may have a common configuration or different configurations.

According to the invention, the annular upper end of the transmitted light detecting cylinder of the tray to be conveyed is brought into contact with the supporting agricultural product (upward movement state) and separated from each other (downward movement state). State) can be mechanically switched between, and by arranging the lower-moving switching drive means or the upper-moving switching drive means in front of the loading position (supply position) of the agricultural product on the tray, the operator can produce the agricultural product. It is possible to unify the state of the detection cylinder when it is placed on the pan. For example, if the downward movement switching drive means is arranged in front of the agricultural product placing position to hold the detection cylinder in the downward movement state, the detection cylinder does not affect the agricultural product placing operation at all, so that the operation is not performed. It will be easier.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the agricultural product sorting apparatus, an internal transmitted light detecting device is disposed in the middle of the conveying means, and the agricultural product and the annular upper end portion are detected when the transmitted light transmitted through the agricultural product is detected. The upward movement switching driving means is arranged in front of the internal transmitted light detecting device so that the optically sealed state is provided, and the hit sound detecting device is arranged in the middle of the conveying means, and the agricultural product is hit. The lower-movement switching drive means is arranged in front of the hit sound detecting device so that the annular upper end is separated from the agricultural product when the sound is detected.

According to the present invention, the state of the detection cylinder can be reliably switched to the predetermined state before the target detection stage, so that the detection cylinder is inadvertently changed to a different state. The fear can be reduced.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the agricultural product sorting apparatus according to the tenth aspect, the internal transmitted light detecting device for the agricultural product is arranged on the upstream side of the tray conveying device with respect to the hit sound detecting device. I do.

According to the present invention, the tray is conveyed downstream while being held in a state where the tray has passed through the hit sound detection stage (the detection cylinder is in the downward movement state), and after the agricultural product is taken out for packing. Since the empty saucer is returned to the position where the next agricultural product is supplied, there is no problem in placing the agricultural product, and the detection cylinder only needs to be moved upward when it is carried into the transmitted light detection stage. There is an advantage that the lower-movement switching drive means only needs to be installed at two places before the transmitted light detection stage and before the hitting sound detection stage.

[0037]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 In the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, the transmitted light indicating the internal quality of the watermelon P, which is an agricultural product, using the tray 1 transported without being connected to a free tray type transport conveyor. 1 shows an example of a configuration outline of an agricultural product sorting apparatus that detects information and tapping sound information in this order, and the structure of a saucer 1 having a flat rectangular shape used for the same.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an outline of a transport line extending from a transmitted light detection stage to a tap sound detection stage provided in the middle of the agricultural product sorting apparatus. That is, from the position where the worker performs the work of placing the agricultural products on the pan 1, the conveying means 2 configured to convey the pan 1 is constituted by a pair of parallel narrow and narrow conveyor belts 201 and 202 that rotate endlessly. The relationship with the tray 1 conveyed on the trolley is shown.

That is, the transporting means 2 of this embodiment comprises
As shown in FIG. 8, a tray transport drive mechanism configured to form a transport surface for transporting the tray 1 to the tray 1 and to apply a transport driving force to the tray 1. And a tray transport guide mechanism configured to perform positioning.

In the present example, the tray receiving and transporting mechanism is a pair of parallel conveyors such that the narrow conveyor belts 201 and 202 rotate endlessly in a vertical plane as shown in FIGS. Fixed guide rails 2 having right and left rising flanges on the upper track in a vertical plane.
In the lower track, the guide rollers 204 (see FIG. 3) are disposed at fixed positions at appropriate intervals on the lower track so as to be able to support the weight without fluctuation in the lateral direction of the conveyance. Conveyor belt 20
It is configured to be endlessly rotated so that there is no slack in the reference numeral 202. Reference numerals 205 and 206 shown in FIG. 8 denote driving pulleys for rotating and driving the conveyor belts 201 and 202 arranged side by side as described above.
5, 206 are connected to a common drive shaft in this example, and are rotationally driven by a common drive motor 207.

The latter tray-transporting guide mechanism includes a left and right guide rail 210 in the tray-transporting lateral direction, which is a part of a frame 2101 provided as a part of a device fixing portion such as the drive motor 207 and the fixed guide rail 203. , 2
10 and guide rollers 110 and 11 provided at the lower portions on both sides in the lateral direction of conveyance of the tray 1 so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis.
0 is engaged.

The tray 1 supporting the produce is transported on a predetermined orbit by the transport means of the tray 1 of the present embodiment constituted by the tray transport drive mechanism and the tray transport guide mechanism described above.

Next, the characteristic configuration of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the saucer 1 is used to form a support for placing agricultural products (for example, watermelon) P on the top surface of a flat rectangular saucer body 101 in this example. The four support legs 102 are arranged separately at four corners of the front, rear, left and right rectangles in the tray transport direction, and each support leg 102 has a support tapered surface 1021 that is inclined obliquely downward toward the center of the tray 1. It is configured. In the center of the tray body 101, a vertical through-hole 103 is provided.
A bottom plate 104 is fixed to the lower end opening of the bottom plate 1.
A transmission light detection cylinder (hereinafter referred to as a “detection cylinder”) 105 having a bellows-shaped body formed of an elastic member, such as rubber, which is capable of expanding and contracting in the up-down direction, and The lower end of an exterior coil spring 106 surrounding the cylinder 105 is fixed. The upper end of the coil spring 106 is connected to the annular upper end 1051 of the detecting cylinder 105 so that the annular upper end 1051 is pushed upward by a spring force. By forming the bellows-like detection cylinder 105 with an elastic member such as rubber as described above, the detection cylinder 105 as a whole becomes a body that can expand and contract by elastic force. Therefore, the mounting of the outer coil spring 106 can be omitted. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the combination of the detection cylinder 105 and the coil spring 106 causes a buckling phenomenon when the detection cylinder 105 is contracted. In addition to being able to prevent this, the exterior coil spring 106 itself is preferable because it requires only a small spring force as compared with a bellows-shaped detection cylinder having no elasticity, and the spring configuration can be simplified (compact) and inexpensive. Reference numeral 1041 denotes an opening for transmitting transmitted light in the bottom plate 104.

On the upper surface of the tray main body 101, a groove 1011 is extended over the entire range in the horizontal direction of transport except for the portion of the through hole 103, and as shown in FIG. The height of the agricultural product P is configured to be measured, and the swing lever 10 is provided at the bottom of the groove 1011.
As shown in FIG. 2, the swing lever 1 is pivotally supported by a fulcrum pin 1071 and housed in a swingable manner.
A grip device 108 is provided as lever swing restraining means for restraining swing of the lever 07. The swing lever 10
7 has a substantially U-shaped bifurcated portion 1 as shown in FIG.
072, and a long hole 1073 in the elongated direction is provided at the tip of the forked portion 1072.
Engagement pin 10511 projected radially outward from 51
Is loosely fitted, so that the annular upper end portion 10 of the detection cylinder 105 is
51 is adapted to follow and move up and down, and swing.

FIG. 6 shows an outline of the gripping device 108. The gripping balls 1081 disposed on the left and right sides of the swinging lever 107 are opposed to each other by springs 1082 housed in a lateral groove 1083. The rocking lever 107 is urged and fitted in a recess 1074 provided at a corresponding position of the rocking lever 107 to restrain the rocking of the rocking lever 107 in this tilted state. When a oscillating force is applied to the
082, the force of fitting the grip ball 1801 to the swing lever recess 1074 is overcome, and the swing restraint of the lever 107 is released.

The relationship between the restraint and release of the swing by the swing lever 107 and the movement of the detection cylinder 105 is shown in FIG.
4, when the swing lever 107 in the swing release state is tilted counterclockwise in FIG. 4 by the external downward movement switching drive unit 3, the swing lever 107 is housed in the groove 1011 and Even if the grip ball 1801 is fitted into the swing lever recess 1074 by the action of the grip device 108 and the downward movement switching drive means 3 returns to the initial position (the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4), this state is maintained. Is maintained, and the swing of the swing lever 107 is restrained. Since the tip of the swing lever 107 is linked to the annular upper end 1051 of the detection cylinder 105 as described above, the detection cylinder 105 compresses the coil spring 106 due to the lever falling down (in a shortened state). This is referred to as “downward state”). Note that the restraining force of the lever swing by the grip device 108 is provided such that the coil spring 106 has a force capable of overcoming the spring force for moving the annular upper end portion 1051 of the detecting cylinder 105 upward. Needless to say. On the other hand, the rocking end of the rocking lever 107 in the above-described restrained state is the fulcrum pin 1.
2 is struck clockwise in the figure by the upward movement switching drive means 4 as shown in FIG.
The swing constraint of the swing lever 107 by the grip device 108 is released, and the annular upper end portion 1051 of the detection cylinder 105 is released.
The coil spring 106 extends and moves upward by the spring force at that time, and shifts to the upward movement state shown in FIG. The swing lever 107 swings following this movement.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the operator places the agricultural product P at the agricultural product supply position (not shown) on the tray 1 transported by the tray transport drive mechanism and the tray transport guide mechanism described above. In this case, it is preferable that the detection cylinder 105 of the tray 1 be in a downward movement state in which the swing lever 107 is restrained in a falling state as shown in FIG. In this way, when the agricultural product is placed, it does not hinder the placing operation as compared with the case where the detection cylinder 105 is in the upward movement state.

As shown in FIG. 1, the saucer 1 on which the agricultural product P is placed as described above is first transmitted to detect information such as sugar content, which is one of sorting and sorting information based on internal quality. The sheet is conveyed into the light detecting device 5, but in the preceding stage, the gripping device 108 is moved by the upward movement switching driving means 4.
Is released from the swing lever 107. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the up-movement switching drive means 4 includes an up-movement drive lever 401 in which a middle portion of a "<" shape is pivotally supported by a pin 402 on a fixed bracket 2102 provided on a frame 2101; One end 4 of the upward drive lever 401
011 and a drive cylinder device 403 which is connected between the frame and expands and contracts to rotate the upward drive lever 401, and the extension of the drive cylinder device 403 causes the operating portion 4012 at the other end of the upward drive lever 401 to extend. The pivot tip of the pivot lever 107 is a fulcrum pin 1071.
It is configured to strike the opposite end portion with respect to. The upward drive lever 4 of the upward movement switching drive means 4
01 is normally in the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, and in a state where the transported tray 1 is once stopped by the stopper device 404, the drive cylinder 403 is extended to rotate the upward drive lever 401. The lever 4012 hits the end of the swing lever 107 (see the solid line in FIG. 2). As a result, the swing constraint of the swing lever 107 is released, and the annular upper end 1 of the detection cylinder 105 is released by the spring force of the coil spring 106.
051 moves upward, and the annular upper end portion 1051 is annularly engaged with the bottom surface of the agricultural product P. The annular upper end portion 1051 is provided in a structure suitable for optically sealing the inside and the outside engaged in the annular shape. In this example, the entirety of the detection cylinder 105 is formed using an elastic material such as rubber. At the same time, the upper end of the annular upper end portion 1051 is formed in a seal lip shape whose diameter gradually increases upward. The stopper device 4
Reference numeral 04 is normally buried under the conveyance path, and stops the conveyance of the tray 1 by projecting onto the conveyance path by the operation of the cylinder. The same applies to the stopper device described below.

As described above, the agricultural product on the tray 1 in which the annular upper end portion 1051 of the detecting cylinder 105 is moved upward and the optical seal state engaged with the bottom surface of the agricultural product P is secured, is transmitted to the transmitted light detecting device 5. It is carried in.

In the transmitted light detecting device 5 of this embodiment, an illumination chamber 501 is provided on both sides of the transport path above the transport path, and a plurality of illumination lamps arranged in the illumination chamber 501 are provided. Reference numerals 502 are provided so as to irradiate the illumination light substantially toward the center. In order to keep the amount of illumination light constant, it is also preferable that the entirety including the illumination room 501 be a dark room box whose entrance and exit are shielded from outside by curtains or the like. A light-receiving optical device 5 for detecting transmitted light is provided below the conveyance path at the center of the illumination chambers 501 and 501.
03 is arranged in the dark room box 504. According to the transmitted light detection device 5 provided in this manner, the detection cylinder 105 provided so as to form a vertically penetrating cylinder is annularly engaged with the bottom surface of the agricultural product P at the upper end thereof, and the disturbance It is possible to create a close contact state in which intrusion is prevented, and it is relatively easy to move the lower end with the light receiving optical device 503 without intrusion of disturbance light. The transmitted light can be detected without intrusion, and the attenuation from the illumination light can be as high as 10 ^-4 to 10 ^-6 , and the operation of detecting extremely weak transmitted light with high sensitivity and accuracy can be realized.

With the above configuration, it is possible to detect the light transmitted through the inside of the agricultural product P carried on the tray 1 with high sensitivity and accuracy.

The agricultural product whose internal transmitted light has been detected as described above is then carried into the tapping sound detecting device 6 to detect an internal defect or the like, which is another internal quality. , The swinging lever 1
07 is tilted, and the swing is restrained by the grip device 108. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the downward movement switching drive means 3 is provided with a fixed bracket 2 provided on a frame 2101.
A lower drive lever 301 having an intermediate portion of a “<” shape pivotally supported on a pin 103 by a pin 302;
And a drive cylinder 303 connected between the frame and one end 3011 and extending and contracting to rotate the lower drive lever 301, and an operating portion 3012 at the other end of the lower drive lever 301 when the drive cylinder 303 is extended. But,
The swing lever 107 is swung in the counterclockwise direction (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4) in FIG.
It is configured so as to be accommodated in the inside 11 and restrained from swinging by the grip device 108. The downward movement drive lever 301 of the downward movement switching drive means 3 is normally in a position shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
As the 03 expands, the lower drive lever 301 is rotated, and the operating portion 3012 of the lower lever drives the end of the swing lever 107 to bring it into the state shown by the solid line in FIG. Thereby, the grip device 10
8 grip ball 1081 fits into the recess 1074 of the swing lever 107 to restrain the swing, and the annular upper end 105
1 is held in a downward moving state separated from the agricultural product P downward.

The tray 1 in the state of FIG. 5 in which the annular upper end portion 1051 of the detection cylinder 105 is moved downward so as to be separated from the agricultural product P in the downward direction in this way is the hitting sound measurement position detecting device 7 in FIG. And is temporarily stopped by the stopper device 710.

FIG. 8 shows the details of the tapping sound measurement position detecting device 7 of this embodiment. That is, the drive motor 70 is mounted on the upper part of the
The rotary drive shaft 703 driven and rotated by the rotary drive shaft 703 extends horizontally, and drive sprockets 704 and 704 mounted on the rotary drive shaft 703 and driven sprockets 705 and 705 mounted on the lower portion of the portal frame 701. With this arrangement, a pair of chains 706 and 706 that rotate in the vertical direction while interposing the transport trajectory of the tray in the horizontal direction is arranged, and the photoelectric sensors 707 and 708 facing each other with the heights of the chains 706 and 706 being equalized. The height of the agricultural product P is detected by detecting the upper and lower positions where the light emitting and receiving (the one is a light emitting element and the other is a light receiving element) between them is interrupted by the agricultural product P. Can be measured. In order to detect the upper and lower height positions, the drive motor 702 can be used in combination with an encoder that generates a pulse (signal) at every constant rotation angle, or a pulse motor can be used. The total height measurement of the agricultural products by the photoelectric sensors 707 and 708 is performed in the pan 1
Receiving tray 1 such that groove 1011 of the
Is stopped by the stopper device 710.

Based on the result of the total height measurement of the agricultural product P, the optimum hitting position for detecting the hitting sound on the agricultural product P is calculated by an arithmetic unit (not shown). Generally, the optimum hitting position is selected to be half the height of the agricultural product P.

Next, the receiving tray 1 is carried into the tapping sound detecting device 6, and is temporarily stopped by the stopper device 610.

FIG. 9 shows details of the hitting sound detecting device 6 of the present embodiment, and a hammer device 61 for hitting the agricultural product P at the optimum hitting position calculated by the hitting sounding position detecting device 7. Combination of a sound collecting device 62 that collects vibration waves (sounds) generated by the impact, and a hammer detecting moving device 63 that moves the hammer device 61 and the sound collecting device 62 to a predetermined height position. It is composed of

The hitting sound detecting moving device 63 of the hitting sound detecting device 6 includes a rectangular quadrangular frame 631 surrounding the position where the tray 1 is stopped by the stopper 610 as shown in FIG. The vertical movement of the frame 631 with respect to the vertical through holes 6312, 6312... Of the flanges 6311 provided at the four corners of the rectangular shape of the frame 631. ... which are erected from the fixed part to guide the sliding
And a support frame 633 integrally provided on the upper portion of the frame 631 to support the hammer device 61 and the sound collector 62, and a support frame 633 integrated with the frame 631.
And a drive motor 634 for vertical movement suspended by a chain 635 so that can be moved to a predetermined height position. Reference numeral 6341 denotes a sprocket driven and rotated by the drive motor 634.
4 can be used in combination with an encoder that generates a pulse (signal) for each constant rotation angle, or a pulse motor can be used.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the hammer device 61 of the present embodiment has the
The pair is supported by a pair 3 and is configured to hit the agricultural product P with a hammer 611 at a predetermined timing. The configuration and operation will be described later in detail. 636
Is a fixed frame to which the drive motor 634 is fixed.

The hammer device 61 includes a hammer 6
11 and a hammer 611 and a rocking drive 612 for rocking the hammer for hitting agricultural products, and moving these to one unit in a horizontal optimal position with respect to the agricultural products P on the saucer. The details are shown in FIG. 10, and for convenience of explanation, in FIG. 10, the positional relationship between the hammer 611 and the sound-collecting microphone 621, which are originally different from each other by 90 °, is opposed to each other. Is shown in FIG.

The hitting sound detecting device 6 having the above-described structure is first measured by the hitting sound measuring position detecting device 7 when the tray 1 on which the agricultural product is placed is carried into a predetermined hitting sound detecting position and stopped. The drive motor 634 that suspends the support frame 633 integral with the frame 631 up to the position of the optimal impact height in the vertical direction calculated as described above (generally, the position of half the total height as described above). Dropped from above. And produce P
At the optimal hitting height.
Next, the hammer 611 is moved in the horizontal direction by the hammer horizontal moving device 613 so as to approach the agricultural product to the optimal hitting position. The optimal striking position is set so that the direction of striking by the hammer 611 and the intensity of striking the agricultural products P having different sizes are constant.

The hammer horizontal moving device 613 includes a screw shaft 6134 in which the slide device 6131 is rotated by a servomotor 6133.
The upper non-rotatable shoe 6132 on which the hammer device 61 is suspended is screwed so as to be able to rotate relative to each other so as to be able to move horizontally. Accordingly, the rotation of the screw shaft 6134 by the rotation of the servomotor 6133 causes the hammer device 61 suspended by the shoe 6132 to move toward and away from the agricultural product P.

Further, the hammer device 61 of the present embodiment is configured such that the upper end of the handle 6111 of the hammer 611 is driven by the driven sprocket 611.
By mounting the chain 615 between the driven sprocket 6112 and the drive sprocket 6141 which is mounted on the drive shaft of the drive motor 614, the chain 615 is mounted on the driven sprocket 6112 so as to be able to switch between the restraint and the restraint release of the rotation around the axis with respect to the shaft 2. The hammer 611 is provided to rotate to a predetermined angle indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 10 in a state where the rotation of the driving sprocket 6141 restricts the driven sprocket 6112 from rotating around the axis. Then, the hammer 611 rotated to the predetermined angle is attached to the driven sprocket 6.
By releasing the constraint of the rotation of the handle 6111 of the hammer 611 about the axis of the shaft 112 with respect to the axis 112, the hammer 611 is rotated clockwise (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 10) by its own weight to hit the agricultural product P. In the case where the hammer 611 slightly swings back and forth due to the reaction of the impact, for example, the hammer 611 is provided so as to restrain the rotation of the handle 6111 around the shaft with respect to the shaft of the driven sprocket 6112 at the time of the return swing and return. The rotation of the swinging hammer 611 is stopped, and the hammer 6
11 can be prevented.

With the above operation, the agricultural product P can be hit at the swinging bottom dead center from the state where the hammer 611 is always tilted at a fixed angle, and the hitting direction and the hitting force can be stabilized.

Next, a description will be given of the sound collecting device 62 according to the present embodiment, which is configured as follows. That is, a vibration wave detection sensor (not shown) such as a microphone is
A sensor pad 622 such as a sponge is wrapped and used as a head 621 and assembled to a sensor rod 623, and a cylinder device 624 using the sensor rod 623 as a piston rod is assembled and fixed to a frame 631. With such a configuration, it is possible to collect the vibration wave at the time of hitting by the hammer 611 by causing the sensor rod 623 to closely approach the agricultural product by the cylinder device 624.

After the hitting sound is detected, the sensor rod 623 is retracted and the hammer device 61 is retracted, and the support frame 633 is moved upward to retract the entire device upward.

When the above-described hitting sound is detected, the receiving tray 1 of this example is
And according to the sorting device using this, since the detection cylinder used at the time of transmitted light detection is located in the downward movement state separated downward from the agricultural product P, it is possible to realize good tap sound detection. it can.

[0069]

As described above, according to the invention of the saucer of the present application and the invention of the sorting apparatus using the same, the information on the sorting, which is related to the internal quality of transmitted light detection and hammering sound detection, is divided into two agricultural products. The effects can be sequentially performed on one transport line without being transferred between the transport lines, and in addition to the effects of being able to detect with high accuracy, the following effects are also exerted.

According to the first aspect of the invention, an optically sealed state between the detection cylinder and the agricultural product is ensured well, and the transmitted light can be detected with high sensitivity and high precision without disturbance light. At the same time, the tapping sound can be detected in a supported state with a small contact area by separating the contact engagement between the transmitted light detecting cylinder and the agricultural product for the tapping sound detection.

According to the second, third, and fourth aspects of the present invention, the structure of the transmitted light detecting cylinder is stable when it is switched between the up-moving state and the down-moving state. There is no risk of causing a problem in light detection.

According to the fifth, sixth, and seventh aspects of the present invention, the state of the annular upper end of the detection cylinder at the time of transmitted light detection and at the time of hitting sound detection is reliably maintained, so that these detections can be reliably performed. It can be carried out.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily determine an optimum hitting point when detecting a hitting sound.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, a state in which the annular upper end of the transmitted light detecting cylinder of the tray to be conveyed is brought into contact with the supporting agricultural product (upward movement state); It can be switched between the separated state (downward movement state), and the position where agricultural products are placed on the saucer (supply position)
By disposing the lower-movement switching drive means or the upper-movement switching drive means at the front stage, the state of the detection cylinder when the operator places the agricultural product on the saucer can be unified, for example, the front stage of the agricultural product placing position If the detection cylinder is held in the downward movement state by disposing the downward movement switching drive means, the operation can be facilitated because the detection cylinder has no effect on the work of placing agricultural products.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the state of the detection cylinder can be switched to a predetermined state before the target detection stage, so that the detection cylinder is inadvertently changed to a different state. The possibility of occurrence can be reduced.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the tray is transported downstream while being held in a state where the tray has passed through the hitting sound detection stage (the detection cylinder is moved down), and agricultural products are taken out for packing. Since the empty saucer after the return is returned to the next agricultural product supply position, there is no hindrance to the loading work of the agricultural product, and it is sufficient if the detection cylinder is moved upward when it is carried into the transmitted light detection stage. In addition, there is an advantage that the up / down switching drive means only needs to be installed at two places before the transmitted light detection stage and before the hit sound detection stage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating an outline of an agricultural product sorting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a relationship between an up-moving switching drive unit and a tray according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the transmitted light detection device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a relationship between a lower-movement switching drive unit and a tray according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state when the total height of the agricultural product of the first embodiment is measured.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the structure of a grip device as a swing restraining means of the swing lever of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the saucer of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the total height measuring device for agricultural products according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing the tap sound detection device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a tapping sound detection device in which a part of FIG. 9 is enlarged.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Receiving tray 101 ... Receiving tray main body 1011 ... Groove 102 ... Support leg 1021 ... Support taper surface 103 ... Through-hole 104 ... Bottom plate 1041 ... Opening 105 ... Detection Cylinder for use 1051 ··· annular upper end 10511 ··· engagement pin 106 ··· coil spring 107 ··· swing lever 1071 ··· fulcrum pin 1072 ··· bifurcated portion 1073 ··· elongated hole 1074 ···・ Concave part 108 ・ ・ ・ Grip device 1081 ・ ・ ・ Grip ball 1082 ・ ・ ・ Spring 1083 ・ ・ ・ Side groove 110 ・ ・ ・ Guide roller 2 ・ ・ ・ Conveying means 201, 202 ・ ・ ・ Conveyer belt 203 ・ ・ ・ Fixed Guide rail 204 ・ ・ ・ Guide rollers 205, 206 ・ ・ ・ Drive sprocket 207 ・ ・ ・ Drive motor 210 ・ ・ ・ Guide rail 2101 ・ ・ ・Frame 2102: Fixed bracket 3: Down-movement switching drive device 301: Down-movement drive lever 3011 ... One end 3012 ... Actuator 302 ... Pin 303 ... Driving cylinder 304 ... Stopper device 4 ... Up-movement switching drive device 401 ... Up-movement drive lever 4011 ... One end 4012 ... Working part 402 ... Pin 403 ... Driving cylinder 404 ... Stopper device 5 ... -Transmitted light detection device 501-Illumination room 502-Illumination lamp 503-Light receiving optical device 504-Dark room box 6-Hammering sound detection device 61-Hammer device 610-Stopper device 611: hammer 6111: handle 6112: driven sprocket 612: swing driving device 613: hammer horizontal moving device 6131・ Slide device 6132 ・ ・ ・ Shoe 6133 ・ ・ ・ Servo motor 6134 ・ ・ ・ Screw shaft 614 ・ ・ ・ Drive motor 6141 ・ ・ ・ Drive sprocket 615 ・ ・ ・ Chain 62 ・ ・ ・ Sound collecting device 621 ・ ・ ・ Head 622 ... Sensor pad 623 ... Sensor rod 624 ... Cylinder device 63 ... Movement device for hitting sound detection 631 ... Frame body 6311 ... Flange 6312 ... Vertical through hole 632 ... Guide bar 633 ・ ・ ・ Support frame 634 ・ ・ ・ Drive motor 6341 ・ ・ ・ Sprocket 635 ・ ・ ・ Chain 636 ・ ・ ・ Fixed frame 7 ・ ・ ・ Sound measurement position detecting device 701 ・ ・ ・ Frame 702 ・ ・ ・ Drive Motor 703: rotary drive shaft 704: drive sprocket 705: driven sprocket 706 · Chain 707, 708 ... photoelectric sensor 710 ... stopper device

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A saucer used for supporting and transporting agricultural products to be sorted and sorted in an agricultural product sorting apparatus, the supporting portion on which the agricultural products are placed, and a circular engagement with a bottom surface of the supported agricultural products. It has an annular upper end capable of optically sealing the inside and outside of the ring, and is opposed to the lower side of the tray in a state where transmitted light from the inside of the agricultural product emitted inside the sealed annular upper end is shielded from external light. A cylinder for detecting agricultural product internal transmitted light provided so as to be guided toward the light receiving optical means, and an annular upper end of the cylinder for detection is engaged with the agricultural product supported by the support portion. The upper and lower moving states are provided between the upwardly moving state in which the optical seal is sealed and the lowering state in which the engagement is released and separated downward from the agricultural product. Switching means for switching A saucer for an agricultural product sorting device. 2. The detecting cylinder according to claim 1, wherein
A saucer for an agricultural product sorting device, characterized by having a body part that can expand and contract in the vertical direction. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detecting cylinder is
A saucer for an agricultural product sorting device, characterized in that it is a tubular body having a bellows structure that can expand and contract vertically. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detecting cylinder is
A saucer for an agricultural product sorting device, characterized in that the short-length cylinders are concentrically multiplexed and have a telescopic structure that can be vertically extended and contracted. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The switching means includes an upward holding means for holding the annular upper end of the transmitted light detecting cylinder in an upward movement state, a downward movement holding means for holding the annular upper end in a downward movement state, and the annular upper end part. A tray for an agricultural product sorting device, comprising: a switching operation means for switching the holding of the above-mentioned state between the upwardly moving state and the downwardly moving state. 6. The switching operation means according to claim 5, wherein said switching operation means is a lever which swings in conjunction with upward and downward movements of said annular upper end, and said upward movement holding means is provided with an upward elasticity on said annular upper end. Agricultural products, characterized in that the agricultural product is an elastic body that gives a force, and is a lever swing restraining means that restrains the swing of the lever so that the downward movement holding means is at a position of the downward movement of the annular upper end. A saucer for the sorting device. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A tray for an agricultural product sorting device, wherein the switching means for switching between the upper and lower movement states of the annular upper end portion performs a switching operation by an action from outside the tray. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A saucer for an agricultural product sorting device, wherein the support portion of the saucer is configured to be able to measure the highest point and the lowest point of the supported agricultural product from the side. 9. The saucer according to claim 1, wherein:
A transport means for transporting the saucer in a state where the agricultural product is supported, and a transmitted light detection cylinder provided in the saucer,
Up / down switching between an upwardly moving state in which the annular upper end engages the bottom surface of the support produce on the tray and optically seals it, and a downwardly moving state in which the engagement is released and separated downward. In the agricultural product sorting device provided so as to be capable of being provided, in the middle of the transporting means, at least one upward switching drive means for switching the annular upper end of the detection cylinder from the downward movement state to the upward movement state, An agricultural product sorting apparatus, comprising: at least one downward movement switching drive means for switching an annular upper end from an upward movement state to a downward movement state. 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein an internal transmitted light detecting device is disposed in the middle of the transport means, and the agricultural product and the annular upper end are optically sealed when the transmitted light transmitted through the agricultural product is detected. As mentioned above, the upward movement switching drive means is arranged in front of the internal transmitted light detection device, and the hit sound detection device is arranged in the middle of the transport means, and the sound is detected when the agricultural product is hit, from the agricultural product. The agricultural product sorting device, wherein the downward movement switching drive means is disposed in front of the hit sound detecting device so that an annular upper end portion is separated. 11. The agricultural product sorting device according to claim 10, wherein the internal transmitted light detection device for agricultural products is arranged on the upstream side of the tray conveyance from the hit sound detection device.