KR20020017685A - A fruit sorting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus for assorting the quality of fruits is provided to improve productivity and to offer reliability to consumers by assorting the quality of fruits and reducing the time and labor for assorting work. CONSTITUTION: An apparatus for assorting the quality of fruits comprises a feeding unit(100) for feeding fruits, a classifying unit(200) for outputting a signal corresponding to the light irradiated and reflected onto a fruit fed from the feeding unit, an assorting unit(300) for determining the grade of the fruit depending on quality by comparing the signal outputted from the classifying unit to reference data, and a dividing unit(400) for dividing the fruits depending on the determined grade. The classifying unit consists of light receiving and emitting units. Optical fiber is installed in the light receiving and emitting units. Upon downward irradiating a light to a fruit, the light is reflected onto the surface of the fruit and focused on the light receiving unit. The light receiving unit transmits the focused light to the assorting unit. The assorting unit converts the light into a spectrum signal.

Description

Fruit quality sorting apparatus {A fruit sorting apparatus}

The present invention relates to a quality sorting device of fruit, and in particular, sugar and acidity, which are related to taste, of sugar and acidity, which are important quality factors of fruit, and hardness, winds, internal browning, and corruption, which are important factors related to freshness. In addition, the present invention relates to a fruit quality sorting device for automatically classifying wheat flour by non-destructive reflectivity of light.

In general, the fruit consists of various components, and the content of sugars and acids that influence the taste, which is directly related to the quality of the fruit, varies considerably depending on the variety, soil, and climatic conditions at the time of cultivation.

For example, Fuji apple has approximately 86.4% water and 10.3% sugar, and contains trace amounts of other acids, proteins, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Among these ingredients, sweetness is mainly sugar, In chemical structure, the more hydrophilic groups such as hydroxyl (OH), the higher the sweetness.

In addition, the sour taste is often accompanied by a fragrance and at the same time acts to stimulate the taste and enhance the appetite while giving a refreshing feeling, the components of the sour taste include inorganic acids, organic acids and acid salts.

Accordingly, by measuring the sugar content and acidity contained in each fruit, the taste can be known, so that the quality can be more accurately selected.

In addition, the hardness is related to the chewing taste when fruit is reproduced, and the wind associated with the freshness of the fruit during the storage process, the internal browning, decay, it is necessary to measure it non-destructively.

However, in the past, the quality of fruit was mainly selected by weight or external color, which is not directly related to taste, and general consumers recognize that the fruit is of good quality when the fruit is large and well colored. It was a screening method irrelevant to internal components such as sugar and acidity, which is directly related to taste, which is an important factor in evaluating quality.

Therefore, conventionally, since the internal quality was estimated mainly based on the appearance judgment by the human eye, the taste, which is an important factor in evaluating the fruit quality, was excluded from the selection method, so that the quality could not be accurately selected and the appearance was largely affected. There are many problems in standardizing the quality of the fruits as they are graded by them.

The present invention has been invented in view of the above-mentioned conventional points, and an object thereof is to provide a sorting device for more accurately selecting the quality by measuring the taste directly related to the quality of the fruit with a mechanical device.

1 is a perspective view showing a quality sorting device of fruit according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the main part of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the water / light emitting portion of the present invention.

4 is a perspective view showing the classification means of the present invention.

5 is an operating state diagram of the present invention.

*** Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings ***

100: transfer means 110: motor

120: sprocket 130: transfer chain

140: transfer plate 150: alignment supply rotary plate

160: transfer plate 200: classification means

210: sorting room 214: cooling fan

220/230: water / light emitting unit 300: sorting means

400: separation means

The above object of the present invention, the transport means for seating and transporting the fruit, and irradiated with light to the fruit supplied from the conveying means to collect the light reflected from the fruit, the spectrum signal of the light The classification means for outputting the electrical signal according to the data, and the data about the reflectance of each wavelength of light according to the sugar content, acidity and hardness, internal browning of the fruit is stored, and the grade of the fruit according to the signal output from the classification means It is achieved by providing a fruit quality sorting device comprising a sorting means for determining and classifying and a separating means for separating the fruits according to the fruit grading classification of the sorting means.

Hereinafter, a sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The fruit quality sorting apparatus according to the present invention, with reference to Figures 1 to 5, the transport means 100 for seating and transporting the fruit, and the light is irradiated and reflected on the fruit transported by the transport means 100 Sorting means 200 for outputting a signal for the light, sorting means 300 for determining the grade according to the quality of the fruit after comparing the signal output from the sorting means 200 with the stored data, and sorting means 300 It is composed of a separating means 400 for classifying the fruit according to the fruit grading of).

In more detail, the transfer means 100 is installed on both sides spaced apart from each other and the sprocket 120 having a rotational driving force by the motor 110, and the transfer chain 130 is engaged with the sprocket 120 of both sides to rotate And a plurality of transfer plates 140 on which the transfer plate 160 is seated and coupled to the inner side of the transfer chain 130 at an appropriate interval, and the fruit is seated on an upper side of the transfer plate 140 being transferred. The transfer plate 160 is rotated to correspond to the transfer speed of the transfer plate 140 so as to be seated is provided with an alignment supply rotary plate 150 for transferring the transfer plate 160 to the transfer plate 140 side.

Alignment supply rotary plate 150 is formed on the outer periphery of the groove 152 corresponding to the outer circumferential surface shape of the feed plate 160 is spaced apart from each other at appropriate intervals, the same motor 110 to correspond to the feed speed of the transfer chain 130 It is preferable to have a structure rotated by).

In addition, the sorting means 200 blocks the infiltration of external light and is installed in the conveying path of the conveying means 100, and the sorting chamber 210 and the lid 215 which are opened and closed at an upper portion of the sorting chamber 210. It is installed in plural inside and irradiates the light from the upper side to the lower side or the fruit side from the side of the fruit being transported along the conveying path of the conveying plate 140 and measures the amount of reflected light reflected from the surface of the fruit. It is provided with a water / light emitting unit (220, 230) for outputting a signal according to the intensity of the sorting means (300).

The light / light emitting units 220 and 230 have optical fibers for illumination inside the body 225, and the structure of the light receiving units 220 and 230 is provided with a plurality of light receiving units 220 at appropriate intervals on the edge side of the body 225, and at the center of the fruit. The light emitting unit 230 for irradiating the illumination light is provided, but in some cases, the arrangement of the water / light emitting unit may be reversed.

In addition, the light receiving unit 220 has a function of transmitting the reflected light to the screening means (300).

The light emitting unit 220 is provided at equal intervals from the fruit so that illumination is uniformly illuminated on the outer circumferential surface of the fruit located at the center.

Separation chamber 210 is the entrance and exit of the transfer plate 140 is possible to enter and the blind-type blocking film 212 is installed so that the external light does not penetrate, the upper surface to prevent the internal temperature is overheated In order to do this, a cooling fan 214 for forced ventilation is installed.

In addition, the sorting means 300 inputs and stores in advance a proportional relationship between numerical values such as fruit sugar and acidity and light reflection spectra as data, and then compares the received data output from the light receiving unit 220 with the stored data. Will have the function of determining the grade.

When the separation means 400 is determined in the sorting means 300, the fruit can be classified by each grade, at this time, according to the grading signal of the sorting means 300 is a manual or manual It can also be classified automatically using a mechanical device.

Unexplained reference numeral "170" indicates a guide plate 170 for guiding when the transfer plate 140, which is transferred along the endless feed chain 130 is rotated from the lower side to the upper side, "180" is the selection chamber The safety cover 180 is installed to the upper side of the conveying chain 130 to be moved to 210, "190" is a guide role to move with the conveying chain 130 while the conveying plate 140 is horizontal. It shows a sliding guide portion 190 to the.

In the sorting device having such a configuration, when the motor 110 is driven, the plurality of transfer plates 140 are sequentially transferred by the transfer chain 130 driven by the motor 110, and at the same time, the alignment supply rotary plate 150 is provided. The transfer plate 160 seated on the fruit is rotated while guiding it toward the transfer plate 140.

At this time, the transfer plate 160 seated on the fruit is seated on the transfer plate 140 while rotating in contact with the groove 152 during the rotation of the alignment supply rotary plate 150, seated on the transfer plate 140 During the transfer of the transfer chain 130 in the state is guided by the sliding guide 190 is transferred to the interior of the sorting chamber 210.

Subsequently, as the light is irradiated from the upper side to the lower side of the fruit transferred to the interior of the sorting chamber 210 in the light receiving unit 220 and 230, the light is reflected from the surface of the fruit and is collected by the light receiving unit 230.

The light receiving unit 230 transmits the collected light to the sorting means 300, and the sorting means 300 receiving the signal converts the transmitted light into a spectral signal and compares and analyzes it with previously stored data to classify the fruit. After determining the output to the separation means 400 side.

Separating means 400 is separated according to the grade of the fruit transferred through the outlet of the sorting chamber 210 by the signal determined from the sorting means (300).

At this time, the conveying plate 140 is axially coupled to both sides of the conveying chain 130 in the process of fruit is separated from the conveying plate 140 and separated according to the grade, the process is suspended and circulated in the lower conveying chain 130 Has a lower surface is brought into the horizontal position while being in contact with the upper surface of the guide plate 170 when raised from the lower side to the upper side is transported while maintaining the horizontal.

The fruit quality sorting apparatus of the present invention as described above is to be able to sort the fruit quality by the reflectance of light, according to the present invention, as well as sugar and acidity to determine the quality of the fruit, hardness, wind, Internal browning, decay, and wheat bottle can be easily and automatically sorted in a non-destructive manner, shortening the time and effort for sorting the quality of the fruit, improving productivity and giving consumers the effect of trust.

Claims (4)

A classification means 200 for irradiating light to the supplied fruit and outputting signals according to different wavelengths of reflectance according to the quality of the fruit; Selecting means 300 for storing the data about the reflectance of each wavelength of light due to the sugar content, acidity and hardness of the fruit, and internal browning, and determines the grade of the fruit according to the signal output from the sorting means 200, And a separating means (400) for separating the fruits according to the fruit grading selected by the sorting means (300). The sprocket 120 of claim 1, wherein the fruits are respectively installed on both sides spaced apart from each other and have a rotational driving force by the motor 110. A transfer chain 130 meshed with the sprockets 120 on both sides and rotated; A plurality of transfer plates 140 which are axially coupled to the inner side of the transfer chain 130 at appropriate intervals and interlocked with an fruit seated upward; The transfer plate 160 is rotated in correspondence with the transfer speed of the transfer plate 140 so that the transfer plate 160 on which fruit is seated on the transfer plate 140 is seated and installed to move the transfer plate 160 to the transfer plate 140. Fruit quality sorting device, characterized in that supplied by the conveying means provided with an alignment supply rotary plate 150 to convey. According to claim 1, wherein the sorting means 200 is the sorting chamber 210 is installed in the transport path of the transport means 100 to block the penetration of external light, Is installed in the plurality of the selection chamber 210 and irradiated with light from the upper side to the lower side of the fruit to be transported seated on the transfer plate 140, and to collect the light reflected from the fruit in the center of the collected light Fruit quality sorting device characterized in that it is provided with a water / light emitting unit (220,230) for outputting a signal according to the intensity to the sorting means (300). 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the sorting means (200) is further provided with at least one cooling fan (214) for ventilation on an upper surface of the sorting chamber (210).