TW202241258A - Egg candling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an egg candling apparatus with which it is possible to more suitably inspect an egg being inspected. Provided is an egg candling apparatus having an illumination device 61 that irradiates an egg being inspected with illumination light, an imaging device 62 that images the egg being inspected that is irradiated by the illumination device 61, an assessment device 22 that assesses the state of the egg being inspected on the basis of a captured image of the egg being inspected that is imaged by the imaging device 62, and a reflector 63 that is installed on an optical path from the illumination device 61 to the egg being inspected or on an optical path from the egg being inspected to the imaging device 62, the illumination device 61 and imaging device 62 being disposed in parallel.

Description

Egg inspection device

The invention relates to an egg testing device.

In the past, a number of patent applications have been filed for the inspection method of edible eggs (unfertilized eggs), but the inspection method is based on the degree of absorption of light of a specific wavelength inside the egg to detect whether there is bleeding or foreign matter, or based on the transmitted light image These methods are unable to detect the distribution and development status of blood vessels in fertilized eggs. The applicant disclosed in Patent Document 1 an egg testing device, which irradiates fertilized eggs with light in the production of vaccines using eggs, takes images of the state of penetrating the inside of eggs, and extracts from the images taken. Check the area, measure the blood vessel information in the check area, and automatically determine the normal eggs according to the total length of the blood vessels above a certain thickness. In addition, a technology (Patent Document 2) is disclosed in which eggs including unfertilized eggs are specified with high precision by using images of eggs as teaching materials and performing machine learning using deep learning. Bad egg factor. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Document]

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3998184 Patent Document 2: International Publication No. 2020/262557

(Problem to be solved by the invention)

In the prior art, the egg to be inspected is automatically transported to a predetermined inspection position, the egg to be inspected is photographed at the predetermined inspection position, and the state of the egg to be inspected is judged according to the captured image. However, in recent years, vaccine production The demand for high quality and mass production is increasing rapidly. It is urgent to save the space of the device, increase the processing speed, improve the judgment accuracy of the eggs to be inspected, and improve the versatility and scalability of the device.

The object of the present invention is to provide an egg inspection device, which can more suitably inspect the eggs to be inspected. (technical means to solve the problem)

The egg inspection device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes: an illumination device that irradiates the egg to be inspected with illumination light; a photographing device that photographs the egg to be inspected that is irradiated by the illumination device; The photographic image of the egg to be inspected is taken by the device to determine the state of the egg to be inspected; and the reflector is arranged on the optical path from the aforementioned lighting device to the egg to be inspected, or on the optical path from the egg to be inspected to the aforementioned photographic device; The aforementioned illuminating device and the aforementioned photographing device are arranged in parallel. In the above-mentioned egg inspection device, it may be configured that the lighting device irradiates the egg to be inspected with illumination light from above, the photographing device photographs the egg to be inspected irradiated by the lighting device from above, and the reflector is arranged on On the light path from the egg to the camera, the image of the egg illuminated by the illuminating device is reflected and incident on the camera. Above the egg, the illuminating device and the camera are arranged side by side. In the above-mentioned egg inspection device, it may be configured that the lighting device is configured to irradiate light toward the first optical axis direction, and the reflector is configured to direct the light beam emitted from the egg to be inspected in the direction of the first optical axis. The light beams emitted in different second optical axis directions are reflected toward the third optical axis direction substantially parallel to the first optical axis direction, and the aforementioned photographing device is configured to receive the light incident from the third optical axis direction reflected by the aforementioned reflector. beam of light. In the aforementioned egg inspection device, it may be configured to further include a support mechanism that supports the egg to be inspected and accommodated in the tray, and moves the egg to be inspected to the direction of the light irradiated from the lighting device in the direction of the first optical axis. The inspection position where the optical axis of the reflector intersects with the optical axis of the light in the direction of the second optical axis reflected by the reflector. In the above-mentioned egg testing device, the above-mentioned support mechanism can be configured as follows: a support platform, which supports the egg to be inspected; a shaft, which is connected to the lower part of the aforementioned support platform; a hole, which is inserted into the aforementioned shaft, so that the aforementioned The shaft moves up and down; and the cover covers the gap between the shaft and the hole. In the aforementioned egg inspection device, it can be configured that the aforementioned support mechanism has a support platform for supporting the egg to be inspected, the support platform has an inner surface corresponding to the shape of the egg to be inspected, and the maximum inner diameter and the maximum diameter of the aforementioned support platform The difference in outer diameter is 5 mm or less. In the above-mentioned egg inspection device, the above-mentioned support mechanism may be configured to include a position adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position of the above-mentioned support table in two-dimensional directions. In the aforementioned egg inspection device, it can be configured that the aforementioned photographing device adjusts the angle of view and/or the photographing distance by taking pictures of two eggs to be inspected at the same time, and the aforementioned judging device is based on one photograph taken by the aforementioned photographing device. images to determine the status of the two eggs to be inspected. In the aforementioned egg inspection device, it may be configured such that the aforementioned determination means has a calibration function, and the imaging conditions or conditions can be automatically adjusted or adjusted based on the diagnostic result by diagnosing the imaging image of the workpiece for diagnosis obtained from the aforementioned imaging means. Image adjustment conditions. In the aforementioned egg inspection device, it may be configured that the aforementioned illuminating device has an LED lamp emitting white light with a total luminous flux of 600 lm or more. The egg inspection device according to the second aspect of the present invention has: an inspection unit that inspects the state of the eggs to be inspected; a transport unit that transports the tray containing the eggs to be inspected to the inspection unit; and a control unit that controls the eggs to be inspected. Actions of the aforementioned inspection unit and the aforementioned transport unit; the aforementioned transport unit has a pair of arms, and the pair of arms has a pair of claws, and the aforementioned pair of claws of the pair of arms holds the aforementioned tray at 4 points, Transfer to the aforementioned inspection section. In the aforementioned egg inspection device, it may be configured that the trays are capable of accommodating eggs to be inspected in a plurality of storage sections, and the inspection section takes pictures of the trays conveyed by the conveying section before inspecting the state of the eggs to be inspected. , according to the captured photographic image, identify the storage portion of the tray that does not contain the eggs to be inspected. In the above-mentioned egg inspection device, it may be configured to further have an elimination mechanism, which is used to exclude the eggs to be inspected that are judged as defective eggs after the state of the eggs to be inspected is inspected in the aforementioned inspection section. The removal mechanism has: an adsorption member, which is provided with the same number or more than the number of eggs to be inspected that can be accommodated in the tray, and which abuts on the eggs to be inspected to absorb the eggs to be inspected that are judged to be defective eggs ; and a single driving unit, which simultaneously drives the above-mentioned plurality of adsorption members so that they respectively abut against the egg to be inspected. In the aforementioned egg inspection device, it can be configured such that a unit having the aforementioned inspecting section and the aforementioned conveying section can be freely added. The egg inspection device according to the third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that it includes: an illumination device that irradiates the egg to be inspected with illumination light; a photographing device that photographs the egg to be inspected that is irradiated by the illumination device; and judgment device, which judges the state of the egg to be inspected according to the photographic image of the egg to be inspected taken by the photographic device; the photographic device outputs the image of the RGB color system to the judgment device, and the judgment device automatically The image of the aforementioned RGB color system obtained by the aforementioned camera device is converted into an image of the HSV color system, and the state of the egg to be inspected is determined according to the hue in the converted image of the aforementioned HSV color system. In the aforementioned egg inspection device, it may be configured such that the egg to be inspected is a fertilized egg. (compared to the effect of previous technology)

According to the present invention, the egg to be inspected can be inspected more suitably.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. The present invention relates to an egg inspection device for inspecting eggs (fertilized eggs) for vaccine production and the like. In the present invention, the egg used as the inspection object is a fertilized egg of a chicken, etc., and the color of the surface of the egg can be any color such as white or brown. Regardless of the type of viruses such as influenza, the type of injections such as other medicines, or whether the injections are injected or not, in the fertilized egg whose blood vessels grow and are widely distributed inside the egg, the life, death and development of the egg can be determined in a non-critical manner. In the case of destructive inspection, the technology of the present invention is of great significance.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an egg inspection device 1 of the present embodiment. Moreover, FIG. 2 is a perspective view which shows the conveyance part 3 and the inspection part 4 of the egg inspection apparatus 1 of this embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the egg inspection device 1 of this embodiment has a control unit 2 , a transport unit 3 and an inspection unit 4 . In this embodiment, in the state where the eggs to be inspected are accommodated in the special tray 8 shown in FIG. egg or normal egg). Furthermore, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the dedicated tray 8 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3 , the dedicated trays 8 each have accommodating portions 81 for accommodating eggs to be inspected. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 , a dedicated tray 8 capable of accommodating 6×6 eggs to be inspected is exemplified and described, but the number of eggs to be inspected that can be accommodated in the dedicated tray 8 is not limited thereto. , For example, a configuration capable of holding 6×7 eggs to be inspected may be used. Furthermore, a hole 82 having a diameter smaller than that of the egg to be inspected is formed in the receiving portion 81, and the egg to be inspected is inserted into the hole 82 so that the egg to be inspected is stuck in the hole 82. The edge, so as to keep and accommodate the eggs to be inspected.

The control unit 2 is a computing device such as a computer, and it has: a memory device 21, which stores a program for performing the egg inspection process of this embodiment; and a computing device 22, which executes the program stored in the memory device 21, and The operation of the conveyance part 3 and the inspection part 4 is controlled, and the egg inspection process which inspects an inspection object egg is performed. The computing device 22 determines the state of the egg to be inspected (whether it is a normal egg or a defective egg) based on the photographed image of the egg to be inspected captured by the inspection unit 4 . Furthermore, the judging method of the computing device 22 for judging the eggs to be inspected can use known methods. The state of the blood vessels, the presence or shape of the air chamber, the presence or absence of cracks, etc., can identify whether it is a normal egg or a defective egg. In addition, in the case of defective eggs, it can also identify unfertilized eggs, aborted eggs, and defective air chambers. Unfavorable factors such as eggs, upside-down eggs, stunted eggs, and cracked eggs.

In addition, although a method of inspecting the state of an egg to be inspected is known based on a color image of the egg to be inspected, there is still a problem that blood vessels in the egg to be inspected cannot be sufficiently present, and the entire egg becomes red due to bleeding. Dark eggs, or eggs whose fetuses are weak and the yellow color of the whole egg becomes darker are detected as bad eggs. In contrast, the computing device 22 of this embodiment converts the photographic image of the egg to be inspected outputted in the RGB colorimetric system into the HSV colorimetric system, and judges the egg to be inspected based on the value of H (hue) in the HSV component. The overall tone of the egg can be used to detect the egg whose red color becomes darker due to bleeding, or the egg whose yellow color becomes darker due to fetal weakness as a defective egg.

In addition, in this embodiment, the computing device 22 can still properly discriminate the following defective eggs that were difficult to discriminate in the past. That is, the computing device 22 distinguishes a normal egg from a dead egg with remaining thick blood vessels (for example, a blood vessel with a width of 1 mm or more) based on the color information (RGB color system) of the blood vessels of the egg to be inspected in the color image. In this way, dead eggs with remaining thick blood vessels can be detected as bad eggs. In addition, the computing device 22 can detect an egg to be inspected with an abnormal air cell as a defective egg based on the shape of the air cell of the egg to be inspected in the color image or the sharpness of the outline of the air cell. In addition, the computing device 22 can also detect the red spots in the air cell according to the color information (RGB color system) of the air cell of the inspected egg in the color image, thereby injecting the antigen into the inoculation hole Bleeding eggs with blood attached are detected as bad eggs.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the control unit 2 may be configured to have a diagnosis function of captured images. For example, the control unit 2 may be configured to determine whether the brightness and contrast of the photographed image are suitable for judging the state of the egg to be inspected based on the photographed image of the workpiece for diagnosis captured by the photographing device 62, and output the diagnosis result. In this case, the photographing conditions (for example, the color balance of the photographing device 62 or the illumination level of the lighting device 61), the image adjustment conditions (for example, the The color balance or brightness of the image) is adjusted to the inspection conditions suitable for the inspection object eggs. In addition, the control unit 2 may be configured to have a correction function for automatically correcting imaging conditions, correcting captured images, and the like based on the diagnosis result.

Next, the conveying unit 3 will be described. The transport unit 3 transports a plurality of eggs to be inspected accommodated in the dedicated tray 8 to the inspection unit 4 for each dedicated tray 8 under the control of the control unit 2 . In addition, the conveying part 3 also conveys the eggs to be inspected after being inspected by the inspecting part 4 backward for each dedicated tray 8 under the control of the controller 2 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the conveyance unit 3 has a pair of arms 31 in order to convey eggs to be inspected for each dedicated tray 8 . Furthermore, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the arm 31 .

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4 , each pair of arms 31 has a pair of claws 32 . Here, in each arm 31 , a pair of claws 32 are attached at a distance equal to the length of one side of the dedicated tray 8 . In addition, the pair of arms 31 has an air cylinder 33 that can slide the pair of arms 31 in the direction in which the dedicated tray 8 is disposed. Thereby, the four claws 32 of the pair of arms 31 can pinch and hold the dedicated tray 8 from both sides, and the dedicated tray 8 can be transported stably. Furthermore, the pair of arms 31 has a plunger not shown, and can absorb the error of the dedicated tray 8 .

Next, the inspection unit 4 will be described. The inspection unit 4 is a device for inspecting the eggs to be inspected under the control of the control unit 2 , and has a pre-inspection unit 5 , a self-inspection unit 6 and a post-inspection unit 7 . The eggs to be inspected that are transported to the inspection section 4 by the transport section 3 are inspected in the order of the inspection section 5 , the inspection section 6 , and the inspection section 7 afterwards.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the pre-inspection unit 5 of the present embodiment. The pre-inspection unit 5 determines whether or not there is a storage unit 81 in the dedicated tray 8 that does not store eggs to be inspected. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5 , the pre-inspection unit 5 has an imaging device 51 and an illuminating device 52, and the dedicated tray 8 is irradiated with light by the illuminating device 52, and is transported to the inspection from above by the imaging device 51. The dedicated tray 8 in front of the part 6 takes pictures, and then sends the captured image data to the computing device 22 of the control part 2. Thereby, the computing device 22 detects that the storage portion 81 in the dedicated tray 8 that does not contain the egg to be inspected is stored in the memory device 21 by analyzing the image obtained by photographing the dedicated tray 8 . The detection result of the pre-inspection part 5 can be used as information showing the presence or absence of an inspection object egg when the control part 2 judges the state of the inspection object egg. Quantity, number of bad eggs. That is, conventionally, even if there is a vacant storage portion 81 in the dedicated tray 8, inspection is performed as if there is an egg to be inspected, and it is handled as a defective egg. On the other hand, in this embodiment, by grasping the vacancy status of the dedicated tray 8, the number of eggs to be inspected and the number of defective eggs that have been inspected can be accurately obtained. Moreover, in the aforementioned example, the configuration in which the computing device 22 detects the vacancy status of the dedicated tray 8 based on the photographed image is illustrated, but, for example, it may also be configured such that by using a length-measuring camera as the photographing device 51, the photographing device In 51, the vacancy status of the special tray 8 is detected.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the inspection unit 6 includes an illumination device 61 , an imaging device 62 , a reflector 63 , a support mechanism 64 , a darkroom 65 and a motor 67 . Here, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the main inspection unit 6 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the main inspection unit 6 of the present embodiment. Furthermore, for convenience of description, descriptions of the support mechanism 64, the darkroom 65, and the motor 67 are omitted in FIG. 6 .

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the lighting device 61 has a cuboid LED lamp 611 , a cylindrical member 612 and a radiator 613 . In addition, as shown in FIG. 7 , the illuminating device 61 is arranged above the support mechanism 64 for supporting the egg to be inspected, and irradiates light toward the egg to be inspected that is raised to the inspection position by the support mechanism 64 . In FIG. 7 , the optical axis of the light emitted from the LED lamp 611 is represented as L1.

Furthermore, although there is no particular limitation, it is preferable that the LED lamp 611 emits white light in a manner that can reduce the influence of the performance and sensitivity of the camera, so that a plurality of cameras can inspect the egg to be inspected with high precision, and Preferably, it emits light with a total luminous flux of 600 lm or more. Likewise, it is preferable that the LED lamp 611 has the following configurations so that the eggs to be inspected can be inspected with high precision. That is, it is preferable to use, as the LED lamp 611, a white LED lamp capable of emitting light of 600 lm or more, for example, radiating light of 600 to 1000 lm depending on the current value. In addition, preferably, the LED lamp 611 can also irradiate high-intensity light to the egg to be inspected. For example, it can be used to irradiate the egg to be inspected with an illumination intensity of 40°C when the cylindrical member 612 is in contact with the egg to be inspected. LED lights with a light of more than 10,000 lx. Furthermore, in the embodiment (prototype machine) of the lighting device 61, the total luminous flux is 794lm when the current is 500mA, and the illuminance is 493014lx when the current is 500mA.

In addition, in this embodiment, the illuminating device 61 has the same number of cylindrical members 612 as the number of eggs which can be inspected simultaneously. The cylindrical member 612 is used to abut against the egg to be inspected raised to a predetermined inspection position during imaging of the egg to be inspected, so that the light radiated from the LED lamp 611 is focused on the egg to be inspected. The cylindrical member 612 is made of a soft elastic material so as to contact and deform an egg to be inspected of a different size, and has a corrugated structure in the longitudinal direction. In addition, the lighting device 61 also has a radiator 613 for dissipating heat generated by the LED lamp 611 .

The reflector 63 is installed in the horizontal direction (side) of the inspection object egg located in the inspection position which performs the imaging|photography of an inspection object egg. Among them, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the reflector 63 of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the reflector 63 is installed at an inclination angle of about 45° in a way to reflect incident light from the horizontal direction in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. The position check object egg light is reflected upwards. The camera device 62 is disposed above the reflector 63 , and the light reflected by the reflector 63 is received by the camera device 62 . Furthermore, in FIGS. 7 and 8 , the optical axis of the light emitted from the egg to be inspected and incident on the reflector 63 is represented as L2, and the optical axis of the light reflected by the reflector 63 and incident on the imaging device 62 Denoted as L3. In addition, the inclination angle of the reflector 63 is not limited to 45°, as long as it is an angle at which the light radiated from the egg to be inspected can be reflected and incident on the imaging device 62 . Furthermore, it is preferable that the reflector 63 is made of stainless steel whose reflective surface is a mirror or processed into a mirror surface. In the case of stainless steel processed into a mirror surface, it is preferable to use polishing with a grain size of 800 or more for mirror processing.

The photographing device 62 has a color CMOS camera that photographs an egg to be inspected and outputs color image data of the egg to be inspected. The photographing device 62 is located above the reflector 63, and receives the light emitted from the inspected egg at the inspection position and reflected by the reflector 63 to photograph the image of the inspected egg. The color image data of the egg to be inspected taken by the photographing device 62 is sent to the computing device 22 of the control unit 2 . In addition, the camera included in the photographing device 62 is not limited to a color CMOS camera, for example, a color CCD camera may also be used.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the imaging device 62 is configured to simultaneously image two eggs to be inspected. For example, the imaging device 62 adjusts the angle of view and the imaging distance to the egg to be inspected (inspection position) so that two eggs to be inspected are within the imaging range. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 , the case of using a dedicated tray 8 that can hold 6×6 eggs to be inspected is illustrated. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6 , the inspection unit 6 has There are 3 imaging devices 62, and each of 2 inspection object eggs, that is, a total of 6 inspection object eggs is simultaneously photographed by the 3 imaging devices 62. As a result, the cost can be reduced by suppressing the number of imaging devices 62, and the throughput of inspecting eggs to be inspected can be improved.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , the lighting device 61 and the imaging device 62 reflect light in a manner that the optical axis L1 of the light irradiated from the lighting device 61 is substantially parallel to the optical axis L3 of the light incident on the imaging device 62 . The device 63 and the supporting mechanism 64 are arranged side by side above. Furthermore, in the present invention, "parallel" means that as long as the lighting device 61 and the imaging device 62 are arranged on the side in the same direction relative to the inspection position of the egg to be inspected, it is not limited to the lighting device 61 and the imaging device 62. The structure arranged adjacent to each other also includes the structure in which the lighting device 61 and the photographing device 62 are arranged at a certain distance from each other. In this way, in this embodiment, by providing the reflector 63 on the side of the inspection position of the egg to be inspected, the light radiated from the egg to be inspected is reflected by the reflector 63, and the illuminating device 61 and the imaging device 62 can be integrated side by side. installed to achieve space-saving of the entire egg inspection device 1 .

Moreover, this inspection part 6 has the support mechanism 64 which supports the egg to be inspected at the time of imaging|photography of an egg to be inspected, and moves an egg to be inspected to a predetermined inspection position. As shown in FIG. 7 , the supporting mechanism 64 has a supporting platform 641 , a shaft 642 and a cover 643 . Among them, FIG. 9(A) is a perspective view around the support platform 641 of the present embodiment, FIG. 9(B) is a perspective view of the support platform 641 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 9(C) is a perspective view showing the previous support platform. As shown in FIG. 9(B), the support table 641 has a hemispherical inner surface 645 corresponding to the shape of the egg to be inspected, and supports the egg to be inspected on the inner surface 645 . And, as shown in FIG. 7 , in the state where the egg to be inspected is supported by the support table 641 , the shaft 642 is raised by the motor 67 , so that the egg to be inspected supported by the support table 641 can be moved to the inspection position in the darkroom 65 . Thereby, in the dark room 65, the illuminating device 61 irradiates the inspection object egg and the imaging device 62 takes the image of the inspection object egg.

In this embodiment, eggs to be inspected are accommodated in the accommodating portion 81 of the special tray 8, and the special tray 8 containing the eggs to be inspected is transported to the inspection portion 6 by the conveying portion 3, and placed in the inspection portion 6 on the transfer table 34. As shown in FIG. 9(A), a hole 341 is formed in the transfer table 34 of the inspection unit 6 , and a support table 641 is accommodated in the hole 341 . The control unit 2 adjusts the position of the special tray 8 in such a way that the support table 641 is located directly below the egg to be inspected, and then operates the motor 67, so that the shaft 642 accommodated in the hole 341 extends upward to the conveying unit 3 . Thereby, the support table 641 lifts and supports the egg to be inspected from below through the hole 82 of the special tray 8 , so that the egg to be inspected is raised to a predetermined inspection position in the darkroom 65 . In addition, in this embodiment, a special tray 8 that can hold 6×6 eggs to be inspected is used, and 6 eggs (6 eggs to be inspected) that can be accommodated in a row of eggs to be inspected on the special tray 8 are set at the same time. A supporting platform 641.

In addition, in this embodiment, the maximum outer diameter of the support table 641 is formed to be small so that it can pass through the hole 82 even when the diameter of the hole 82 of the dedicated tray 8 is smaller than before. That is, no matter it is the support platform 641 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 9(B) or the previous support platform shown in FIG. The shape and size of the face do not change, but the maximum inner diameter is R1. On the other hand, the maximum outer diameter of the supporting platform 641 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 9(B) is R2, which is formed to be smaller than the maximum outer diameter R3 of the previous supporting platform shown in FIG. 9(C). . Specifically, in the present embodiment, the support base 641 is formed so that the difference between the maximum outer diameter R2 and the maximum inner diameter R1 is 5 mm or less. Thereby, in the support table 641 of this embodiment, compared with the conventional one, it can also use the special tray 8 with the hole part 82 small, and the versatility of the special tray 8 can be improved. For example, the special tray 8 shown in FIG. 3 is a tray that can hold 6×6 eggs to be inspected, but by using the support table 641 of this embodiment, a special tray that can hold 6×7 eggs to be inspected can also be used. 8.

In addition, FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the periphery of the shaft 642 and the cover 643 . As shown in FIG. 10 , a cover 643 is attached to the shaft 642 . The cover 643 prevents the liquid leaked from the egg to be inspected from passing to the shaft 642 when the egg to be inspected supported by the support table 641 is broken or broken, and enters the hole where the shaft 642 is inserted so that the shaft 624 can move up and down. 644 (shown in FIG. 11 ), causing malfunction or damage of various machines such as linear push rods incorporated under the shaft 624. Furthermore, the cover 643 is not limited to an umbrella-shaped structure as long as it is in contact with the shaft 642 without a gap, and its shape and material can be appropriately set.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 10 , the inspection unit 6 has a position adjustment mechanism 66 on the lower side of the transfer table 34 . FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the position adjustment mechanism 66 . Furthermore, in FIG. 11 , for convenience of description, the shaft 642 shows a cross section. The position adjustment mechanism 66 is a mechanism for adjusting the position of the shaft 642 (or the support platform 641) in the left and right front and rear directions (the X1 direction and the X2 direction of FIG. 11 ), as shown in FIG. 11 , it has a first position adjustment member 661 and The second position adjustment member 662 .

The first position adjusting member 661 is _a member for adjusting the position of the shaft ₆₂₄ in the X1 direction. _{In FIG} . . Moreover, the first position adjustment member 661 is arranged on the lower side of the second position adjustment member 662, and one of the positions of the adjustment shafts 642 ₁ to 642 ₆ in the X1 direction is also arranged on the lower side of the second position adjustment member 662 ₂ . The first position adjustment member 661 .

In addition, the second position adjusting member 662 is _a member for adjusting the position _of the shaft 642 in the X2 direction. _In FIG. ₂ and the second position adjusting member 662 ₃ for adjusting the position of the shafts 642 ₇ to 642 ₁₂ in the X2 direction. Moreover, the second position adjustment member 662 is a pair of second position adjustment members 662 clamping the shaft 642 to fix the position of the axis 624 in the X2 direction. Although it is not shown in FIG. 11 , the position adjustment mechanism 66 also has _The second position adjustment member 622 is paired with the second position adjustment member 6623.

Thus, in this embodiment, since the position of the shaft 642 (or the support table 641) can be freely adjusted in two-dimensional directions (X1 direction and X2 direction) by the position adjustment mechanism 66, it is possible to accommodate 6×6 inspections. The special tray 8 for the object egg, or the special tray 8 for accommodating 6×7 eggs to be inspected, etc., various special trays 8 with different positions and arrangements of the holes 82 can improve the versatility of the special tray 8 .

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 12, this inspection part 6 has the removal mechanism 68 for removing the inspection target egg judged as a defective egg. Among them, FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the exclusion mechanism 68 of this embodiment. The removal mechanism 68 is a mechanism for removing bad eggs from the special tray 8 according to the instructions of the control unit 2. As shown in Figure 12, it has a plurality of adsorption members 681 and a single suction member for absorbing and removing eggs to be inspected. Cylinder 682. Furthermore, the removal mechanism 68 is equipped with suction members 681 equal to or more than the number of eggs to be inspected that can be accommodated in the dedicated tray 8 so as to absorb and remove the eggs to be inspected accommodated in the dedicated tray 8 . In this embodiment, after the state of the eggs to be inspected stored in the dedicated tray 8 is determined, the dedicated tray 8 is transported to a position directly below the adsorption member 681 by the transport unit 3 . Then, the control unit 2 lowers the plurality of adsorption members 681 to the air cylinder 682 at the same time, and makes the suction ports of the adsorption members 681 contact the egg to be inspected. Then, the control unit 2 vacuum-suctions the adsorption member 681 corresponding to the inspection target egg determined to be a defective egg, and moves the adsorbed defective egg to a discarding place while the defective egg is kept adsorbed. For example, the control unit 2 may be configured to transfer the defective eggs adsorbed by the adsorption member 681 to the conveyor belt for defective eggs, transport them to a disposal site by the conveyor belt for defective eggs, and discard them, or put them in a tray for defective eggs and discard them. . Then, the special tray 8 from which defective eggs have been removed is conveyed by the conveying portion 3 toward the post-inspection portion 7 behind.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the post-inspection unit 7 of the present embodiment. Subsequent inspection section 7 checks whether defective eggs that should be removed by removal mechanism 68 remain in special tray 8 . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13 , the post-inspection unit 7 has a photographing device 71 and a lighting device 72, and the dedicated tray 8 is irradiated with light by the lighting device 72 on the one hand, and is illuminated from above by the photographing device 71. The special tray 8 transported by the inspection unit 6 takes pictures, and transmits the captured image data to the computing device 22 of the control unit 2 . Thereby, the computing device 22 judges whether defective eggs have been properly excluded from the dedicated tray 8 based on the inspection results of the eggs to be inspected and the photographed images received from the post-inspection unit 7 . Furthermore, when the defective eggs are not removed from the dedicated tray 8, the computing device 22 may be configured to output a warning or the like to notify the operator, or may be configured to automatically remove the defective eggs. In this way, since all the eggs to be inspected on the special tray 8 can be inspected by one imaging device 71, the structure can be simplified compared with, for example, a configuration in which pressure switches, distance sensors, etc. are provided with the same number of eggs to be inspected. and reduce costs. Furthermore, in the aforementioned example, the calculation device 22 is exemplified to detect whether there are defective eggs remaining in the special tray 8 according to the photographed image, but it can also be configured such that, for example, by using a length measuring camera as the photographing device 71, And whether there is any bad egg remaining in the special tray 8 is detected in the camera device 71 .

In addition, in the present embodiment, by integrally providing the lighting device 61 and the imaging device 62 in parallel in the inspection section 6 , a space S for maintenance is formed in the inspection section 4 as shown in FIG. 14 . Moreover, in this embodiment, the opening and closing door 9 for entering and exiting the space S is provided in the side of the inspection part 4. As shown in FIG. Furthermore, the opening and closing doors 9 may be provided only on one side of the inspection unit 4 , or two or more opening and closing doors 9 may be provided on two or more surfaces of the inspection unit 4 . In this way, by providing the opening and closing door 9, the maintainability of the egg inspection device 1 can be improved.

In addition, in the egg inspection device 1 of this embodiment, in the inspection part 6, the LED lamp 611 of the lighting device 61 is used to illuminate the egg to be inspected by light with a total luminous flux of 600 lm or more and/or an illuminance of 400,000 lx. , so that blood vessels and the like of the egg to be inspected can be more easily identified than in the past, and the determination accuracy of the egg to be inspected can be further improved. In addition, by using such a high-brightness LED lamp 611, the shortening of the exposure time and the increase of the amount of information can be realized, and the speed of determination processing of the eggs to be inspected can be accelerated. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the photographing device 62 is configured to simultaneously photograph two eggs to be inspected, which can reduce the cost by suppressing the number of photographing devices 62, and can also improve the throughput of inspecting eggs to be inspected.

In addition, in the egg inspection device 1 of the present embodiment, the pre-inspection unit 5 is provided, and by detecting the empty storage unit 81 on the dedicated tray 8, the number of eggs to be inspected after inspection can be accurately calculated. and the number of defective eggs. Furthermore, in the egg inspection device 1 of the present embodiment, the post-inspection section 7 has a photographing device 71 and an illuminating device 72, and the photographing device 71 judges whether the defective tray 8 has been removed based on the image data obtained by photographing the special tray 8 from above. Eggs are properly discharged from the special tray 8, and compared with the past, it can simplify the structure for checking whether the defective eggs have been properly discharged, and can also reduce the cost.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the maximum outer diameter of the support table 641 is formed smaller than conventional ones, it is also possible to use a dedicated tray 8 with a smaller hole 82 than in the past, and the versatility of the dedicated tray 8 can be improved. In addition, in this embodiment, since the position of the shaft 642 (or the support table 641) can be freely adjusted in two-dimensional directions (X1 direction and X2 direction) by the position adjustment mechanism 66, the position of the hole 82 can be used And various special-purpose trays 8 with different arrangements can further improve the versatility of the special-purpose trays 8.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the description of the foregoing embodiments. Various changes and improvements can be added to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the addition of such changes or improvements is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in addition to the above-mentioned embodiment, it may also be configured such that the conveyance part 3 and the inspection part 4 are unitized, and the egg inspection device 1 is added to the unit to enhance the inspection capability. For example, in the case where a unit with a conveying portion 3 and an inspecting portion 4 is added to the egg inspecting device 1 shown in FIG. The inspection processing capacity of the eggs to be inspected is doubled.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the configuration in which the illumination device 61 and the imaging device 62 are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction above (the inspection position of) the egg to be inspected was exemplified, but the configuration is not limited to this configuration. For example, it may be configured as The illuminating device 61 and the imaging device 62 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction on the side of (the inspection position of) the egg to be inspected. In this case, the reflector 63 is provided on the optical path of the illumination light irradiated from the illumination device 61 and above or below the inspection position of the egg to be inspected. In addition, the reflector 63 is installed at an inclination angle of about 45° so as to reflect the illumination light irradiated in the horizontal direction from the illumination device 61 in the vertical direction. Thereby, if the illuminating light is irradiated from the side of the egg to be inspected by the illuminating device 61, the illuminating light irradiated from the illuminating device 61 is reflected by the reflector 63, and enters the egg to be inspected from above or below the egg to be inspected. . Since the photographing device 62 is arranged at the side of the inspection position of the egg to be inspected, the image of the egg to be inspected irradiated by the illumination light can be taken from the side.

In addition, in the foregoing embodiment, the configuration in which the egg to be inspected is photographed from only one direction by the imaging device 62 and the state of the egg to be inspected is determined using the photographed image taken from this direction is exemplified, but it is not limited to this The structure, for example, can be configured such that the shaft 642 connected to the support platform 641 of the egg to be inspected is rotated by the motor 67, and the inspection is taken from multiple directions (for example, the support platform 641 is rotated 90 degrees to take pictures from four directions). The object egg, and the state of the inspection object egg is judged by using photographic images taken from a plurality of directions. In this case, the determination accuracy of the eggs to be inspected can be further improved.

Furthermore, in the aforementioned embodiment, the configuration for detecting defective eggs based on the color image of the egg to be inspected outputted in the RGB colorimetric system was exemplified, but it is not limited to this configuration. The HSV color system outputs color images to detect defective eggs.

1: Egg inspection device 2: Control section 3: Transport section 4: Inspection section 5: Pre-inspection section 6: This inspection section 7: Post-inspection section 8: Special tray 9: Open and close door 21: Memory device 22: Calculation device 31: Arm 32: Claws 33: Cylinder 34: Transfer table 51: Photographing device 52: Lighting device 61: Lighting device 62: Photographing device 63: Reflector 64: Support mechanism 65: Darkroom 66: Position adjustment mechanism 67: Motor 68: Removal Mechanism 71: Photographing device 72: Illumination device 81: Receptacle 82: Hole 341: Hole 611: LED lamp 612: Cylindrical member 613: Radiator 641: Support stand 642, 642 _{1-642 12 :} Shaft 643: Cover 644 : Hole 645: Inner surface 661, 661 ₁ to 661 ₆ : First position adjustment member 662, 662 ₁ to 662 ₃ : Second position adjustment member 681: Adsorption member 682: Air cylinder L1 to L3: Optical axis R1: Inner diameter R2: outer diameter R3: outer diameter S: space

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an egg inspection device according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a conveyance unit and an inspection unit of the present embodiment. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the dedicated tray of this embodiment. Fig. 4 is a perspective view for explaining the arm of the conveyance unit of the present embodiment. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a pre-inspection unit of the present embodiment. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the inspection unit of the present embodiment. Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the inspection unit of the present embodiment. Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the reflector of this embodiment. 9(A) is a perspective view showing the periphery of the support platform of this embodiment, FIG. 9(B) is a perspective view showing the support platform of this embodiment, and FIG. 9(C) is a perspective view showing the previous support platform. Fig. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the shaft and the periphery of the cover. Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing the position adjustment mechanism of this embodiment. Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the removal mechanism of this embodiment. Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing a post-inspection unit of the present embodiment. Fig. 14 is a perspective view for explaining the opening and closing of the door.

6: The inspection department

8: Dedicated tray

34: Transfer table

61: Lighting device

62: Photographic device

63: reflector

64: Support mechanism

65: dark room

67: motor

611: LED lights

612: Cylindrical member

613: Radiator

641: support table

642: axis

643: cover

L1~L3: optical axis

Claims (17)

An egg inspection device, which has: an illuminating device for irradiating illuminating light on an egg to be inspected; A photographing device, which photographs the eggs to be inspected irradiated by the aforementioned lighting device; A judging device, which judges the state of the egg to be inspected based on the photographic image of the egg to be inspected taken by the aforementioned photographic device; and A reflector, which is arranged on the optical path from the aforementioned lighting device to the egg to be inspected, or on the optical path from the egg to the aforementioned photographic device; The aforementioned illuminating device and the aforementioned photographing device are arranged in parallel. The egg inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the aforementioned lighting device irradiates the egg to be inspected with lighting light from above, The aforesaid photographing device is to photograph the inspected egg irradiated by the aforesaid lighting device from above, The aforementioned reflector is arranged on the optical path from the egg to be inspected to the aforementioned photographing device, and reflects the image of the egg to be inspected that is irradiated with illumination light by the aforementioned illuminating device and enters the image of the aforementioned photographing device, Above the egg to be inspected, the aforementioned illuminating device and the aforementioned photographing device are arranged side by side. The egg inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lighting device is configured to irradiate light toward the first optical axis, The aforementioned reflector is arranged so that, among the light beams radiated from the egg to be inspected, the light beam emitted from the second optical axis direction different from the aforementioned first optical axis direction is directed toward the third optical axis substantially parallel to the aforementioned first optical axis direction. directional reflection, The above-mentioned photographing device is configured to receive the incident light beam reflected by the above-mentioned reflector from the direction of the third optical axis. The egg inspection device according to claim 3, further comprising a supporting mechanism, which supports the egg to be inspected and accommodated in the tray, and moves the egg to be inspected to the light in the direction of the first optical axis irradiated from the lighting device The inspection position where the optical axis of the reflector intersects with the optical axis of the light in the direction of the second optical axis reflected by the reflector. The egg testing device according to claim 4, wherein the aforementioned supporting mechanism has: a supporting platform, which supports the egg to be inspected; shaft, which is connected to the lower part of the aforementioned supporting platform; a hole into which the shaft is inserted so as to allow the shaft to move upward and downward; and The cover covers the gap between the shaft and the hole. The egg testing device according to claim 5, wherein the aforementioned support mechanism has a support platform for supporting the egg to be inspected, and the support platform has an inner surface corresponding to the shape of the egg to be inspected, The difference between the maximum inner diameter and the maximum outer diameter of the aforementioned supporting platform is 5mm or less. The egg inspection device according to claim 5, wherein the support mechanism has a position adjustment mechanism capable of adjusting the position of the support platform in two dimensions. The egg inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the above-mentioned photographing device adjusts the viewing angle and/or photographing distance by taking pictures of two eggs to be inspected at the same time, The judging device judges the states of the two eggs to be inspected respectively based on one photographed image captured by the photographing device. The egg inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the judging device has a correction function, and can automatically adjust the photography according to the diagnostic result by diagnosing the photographed image of the workpiece for diagnosis obtained from the photographing device. conditions or image adjustment conditions. The egg inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lighting device has an LED lamp emitting white light with a total luminous flux of 600 lm or more. An egg inspection device, which has: Inspection Department, which inspects the state of the eggs to be inspected; The conveying section, which conveys the tray containing the eggs to be inspected to the aforementioned inspection section; and A control unit, which controls the operations of the aforementioned inspection unit and the aforementioned transport unit; The conveying part has a pair of arms, and the pair of arms has a pair of claws, and the pallet is grasped at four points by the pair of claws of the pair of arms, and is conveyed toward the inspection part. The egg inspection device according to claim 11, wherein the aforementioned tray can store the eggs to be inspected in a plurality of storage parts respectively, The inspection unit photographs the tray conveyed by the conveyance unit before inspecting the state of the eggs to be inspected, and identifies the storage unit in the tray that does not accommodate eggs to be inspected based on the photographed image. The egg inspection device according to claim 11 or 12, further having an exclusion mechanism, which is used to exclude the eggs to be inspected that are judged to be defective eggs after the state of the eggs to be inspected is inspected in the aforementioned inspection section , The above-mentioned exclusion mechanism has: an adsorption member, which is provided with the same number or more than the number of inspection object eggs that can be accommodated in the above-mentioned tray, and the inspection object eggs that are contacted with the above-mentioned inspection object eggs and are determined to be defective eggs are adsorbed. ;and The single driving part is to simultaneously drive a plurality of the above-mentioned adsorption members so that they respectively abut against the eggs to be inspected. The egg inspection device according to Claim 11 or 12, wherein a unit having the aforementioned inspection section and the aforementioned transfer section can be added freely. An egg inspection device, which has: an illuminating device for irradiating illuminating light on an egg to be inspected; a photographing device, which photographs the eggs to be inspected illuminated by the lighting device; and A judging device, which judges the state of the egg to be inspected according to the photographic image of the egg to be inspected captured by the aforementioned photographic device; The above-mentioned photographing device outputs the image of the RGB color system to the above-mentioned judging device, The aforementioned judging device converts the image of the aforementioned RGB colorimetric system obtained from the aforementioned photographing device into an image of the HSV colorimetric system, and judges the inspection object according to the hue in the converted image of the aforementioned HSV colorimetric system state of the egg. An egg inspection device, which has: an illuminating device for irradiating illuminating light on an egg to be inspected; a photographing device, which photographs the eggs to be inspected illuminated by the lighting device; and A judging device, which judges the state of the egg to be inspected according to the photographic image of the egg to be inspected captured by the aforementioned photographic device; The judging device judges a dead egg having a blood vessel of a predetermined width or more, or a bleeding egg bleeding from an antigen inoculation hole as a defective egg based on the image of the egg to be inspected obtained by the photographing device. The egg inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the egg to be inspected is a fertilized egg.

Images