WO2023203818A1

WO2023203818A1 - Egg size determination device and abnormal egg inspection device equipped therewith

Info

Publication number: WO2023203818A1
Application number: PCT/JP2023/001696
Authority: WO
Inventors: 忠司種中; 卓男影山; 淳安藤
Original assignee: 共和機械株式会社
Priority date: 2022-04-20
Filing date: 2023-01-20
Publication date: 2023-10-26

Abstract

Provided are an egg size determination device capable of determining the sizes of eggs with a simple configuration and an abnormal egg inspection device equipped with the same. An egg size determination device for determining the sizes of eggs being conveyed, said device comprising: a conveying unit that conveys eggs in a horizontal line with the long axis of the eggs facing vertically; a sensor that measures the top positions of the eggs conveyed by the conveying unit; and a control unit that determines the sizes of the eggs on the basis of the top positions of the eggs measured by the sensor.

Description

Egg size determination device and abnormal egg inspection device equipped with the same

The present invention relates to an egg size determination device and an abnormal egg inspection device equipped with the same.

A farm packer is known as a device that collects chicken eggs (an example of eggs) collected on a farm and packs them into trays. Until now, farm packers only had the function of packing all eggs, including defective eggs that could not be turned into products, into trays. Eggs collected by farm packers and packed in trays are collected at the GP center, washed and sorted, and packed into product containers to become products. The problem was a decline in the operating rate.

Regarding the detection of defective eggs, it is possible to use the technology commercialized for GP machines as is. For example, methods for sorting eggs based on size include weight sorting using a load cell or weight sorting using a combination of a plurality of scales. The former is used in high-capacity GP machines, but is expensive and is not suitable for use as a farm packer. The latter is limited to low-speed processing equipment and is therefore not suitable for farm packer applications exceeding 30,000 eggs per hour.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-65959

The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 discloses a body diameter measuring device that measures the body diameter of an egg in order to determine the size of the egg based on the body diameter rather than the weight. The body diameter measuring device disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses a light projector to shine a spotlight on the body of an egg, receives reflected light from the spot light by a light receiver, and measures the reflection of the spot light obtained from the reflected light received by the light receiver. The body diameter of the egg is calculated based on the height or the time that the spotlight is projected onto the egg. However, the trunk diameter measuring device of Patent Document 1 calculates the trunk diameter using spotlights that are continuously applied to eggs being transported, and the configuration of the control device tends to be complicated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an egg size determination device that can determine the size of an egg with a simple configuration, and an abnormal egg inspection device equipped with the same.

The egg size determination device of the present invention is an egg size determination device that determines the size of eggs being transported, and includes:
a conveyance unit that conveys the eggs horizontally in a line with the long axes of the eggs oriented in the vertical direction;
a sensor that measures the upper end position of the egg transported by the transport unit;
A control device that determines the size of the egg based on the upper end position of the egg measured by the sensor.

According to this configuration, at least the upper end position of the egg being transported is measured and the size of the egg is determined based on the measured upper end position of the egg, so the size of the egg can be determined with a simple configuration.

Further, in the egg size determination device according to the present invention, the conveyance section includes a plurality of cups that accommodate and convey the eggs one by one,
The sensor may be configured to measure a top position of the egg conveyed by the cup.

According to this configuration, the upper end position of the egg can be accurately measured by measuring the upper end position of the egg using the sensor in conjunction with the movement of the cup.

Furthermore, in the egg size determination device according to the present invention, the sensor may be a distance sensor that is disposed above the transport section and measures the distance to the upper end of the egg.

According to this configuration, it is possible to suppress the sensor from being contaminated by contaminants falling from the transport section. Moreover, by arranging the sensor above the transport section, the installation area of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

Further, in the egg size determination device according to the present invention, the control device may be configured such that the distance from the sensor to the upper end of the egg is smaller than a second set value that is shorter than the first set value and smaller than the first set value. It may also be configured such that when the egg is long, the egg is determined to be a product egg.

According to this configuration, it is possible to determine the size of eggs and separate them into product eggs (eggs that are processed as products) and non-grade eggs (eggs that are processed as non-grade eggs).

Further, in the egg size determination device according to the present invention, when the distance from the sensor to the upper end of the egg is shorter than a third set value that is larger than the first set value, the controller controls the size of the egg in the cup. The configuration may be such that it is determined that eggs are stored.

According to this configuration, after determining that eggs are stored in the cup, the control device can separate the eggs into product eggs and inferior eggs as described above.

Moreover, in the egg size discrimination device according to the present invention, the control device may be configured to divide the product egg into product eggs of a plurality of sizes based on the distance from the sensor to the upper end of the egg.
Further, in the egg size determination device according to the present invention, the control device may be configured such that the distance from the sensor to the upper end of the egg is longer than a fourth set value between the first set value and the second set value. In this case, the egg is determined to be a small-sized product egg, and when it is shorter than the fourth set value, the egg is determined to be a large-sized product egg.
Further, in the egg size determination device according to the present invention, the control device may set a fifth setting value such that the distance from the sensor to the upper end of the egg is shorter than the first setting value and smaller than the first setting value. When the egg is longer than the fifth set value, the egg is determined to be a small-sized product egg, and when it is shorter than the fifth set value and longer than the sixth set value, which is smaller than the fifth set value, the egg is determined to be a medium-sized product egg. It may be determined that the egg is a large-sized product egg, and when it is shorter than the sixth set value and longer than the second set value, the egg is determined to be a large-sized product egg.

According to these configurations, for example, by dividing product eggs into multiple sizes at the farm, necessary (lack of) products can be efficiently manufactured, thereby improving the processing efficiency (work efficiency) of the GP center, which requires manpower. can be improved.

Furthermore, the abnormal egg inspection device according to the present invention includes the egg size determination device described above.

According to this configuration, the size of the egg can be determined with a simple configuration, and furthermore, the abnormal egg inspection device can suppress false detection by changing the inspection threshold depending on the determined size of the egg.

A plan view conceptually showing the overall configuration of the farm packer according to the first embodiment Enlarged view of II area in Figure 1 A perspective view of the sensor shown in Figure 2 seen from the cup side. Front view of the sensor shown in Figure 2 seen from the cup side Measuring the top position of eggs of different sizes Diagram to explain how to divide product eggs into two sizes Diagram to explain how to divide product eggs into three sizes A plan view conceptually showing the overall configuration of the farm packer according to the second embodiment VII-VII arrow view in Figure 6 Side view conceptually showing the internal configuration of the abnormal egg inspection unit

Hereinafter, one embodiment of an egg size discrimination device and an abnormal egg inspection device will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in each figure, the dimensional ratio in the drawing and the actual dimensional ratio do not necessarily match, and the dimensional ratio between the drawings also does not necessarily match.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a plan view conceptually showing the overall configuration of a farm packer 100 in which an egg size determination device 1 is provided. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of region II in FIG.

The farm packer 100 includes a double-row transport unit 101 that transports the eggs E in six rows in a first direction D1, and a single-row transport unit that receives the eggs E from the double-row transport unit 101 and transports the eggs E in a single row in a second direction D2. 102, a packaging station 103 for packing eggs E1 (hereinafter also referred to as product eggs E1), which are products among the eggs E transported by the single-row transport section 102, into a product tray T1; The apparatus includes an off-grade station 104 that collects out-of-grade (non-standard) eggs E2 (hereinafter also referred to as out-of-grade eggs E2) from among the eggs E that are out of stock, and a control device 105 that controls each part of the apparatus.

The upstream side of the double-row conveyance section 101 is equipped with an egg collection and alignment section, an orientation section, a cracked egg inspection device, etc. (not shown). The raw eggs collected at the farm are supplied to the egg collection and alignment section. The eggs E supplied to the egg collection and alignment section are aligned and conveyed to the orientation section. In the egg collection and alignment section, the eggs E are transported in a horizontal position with their long axes pointing in the horizontal direction, but the eggs E are transported in a state where the directions of the blunt end and the acute end are not aligned. This is corrected in the orientation section so that the blunt end side and the acute end side are oriented in a specific direction. The egg E whose direction has been aligned in the orientation section may be inspected for the presence of cracks in a crack egg inspection device. The double-row conveyor 101 includes a double-row conveyor 101a for conveying eggs E in multiple rows. In this example, the double-row conveyor 101a transports in six rows, but the number of rows to transport can be determined as appropriate.

The double-row conveyor 101 includes an encoder 101b that is interlocked with the double-row conveyor 101a. The encoder 101b generates a pulse signal every time the egg E on the double-row conveyor 101a moves a predetermined distance, and the control device 105 thereby controls the conveyance of the double-row conveyor 101a. For example, the encoder 101b rotates once every time the double-row conveyor 101a advances one egg E.

The farm packer 100 includes an egg transfer device 106 for transferring eggs E from the double-row conveyor 101a to the single-row conveyor 102. The egg transfer device 106 includes an egg feeding mechanism 106a and an egg seat group 106b. The egg delivery mechanism 106a has a function of delivering the eggs E located at the downstream end of the double-row conveyor 101a to the egg tray group 106b. The egg locus group 106b includes six egg loci 106c for transfer. By rotating the egg transfer seat 106c by 90 degrees, the orientation of the eggs E received from the egg delivery mechanism 106a can be changed from horizontal to vertical. As a result, the long axis of the egg E transferred from the egg transfer tray 106c to the cup 102d, which will be described later, is in a vertical direction. Note that the egg transfer device 106 may have a structure disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-173714 filed by the present applicant.

The single-row conveyor 102 includes a single-row conveyor 102a for transporting the eggs E in a single row, a drive motor 102b for driving the single-row conveyor 102a, an encoder 102c interlocked with the single-row conveyor 102a, and an egg transfer unit. It includes a cup 102d (see FIG. 2) for storing the eggs E transferred by the device 106, and a kicking device 102e for dropping and ejecting the eggs E from the cup 102d. The second direction D2 in which the single-row conveyor 102a conveys the eggs E is a direction perpendicular to the first direction D1. The configuration of the kick device 102e may be of any known type, and for example, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-82546 filed by the present applicant can be used.

The encoder 102c generates a pulse signal every time the egg E is conveyed a predetermined distance by the single-row conveyor 102a, and thereby the control device 105 controls the conveyance of the single-row conveyor 102a. For example, the encoder 102c rotates once every time the single-row conveyor 102a advances six eggs E. The configuration for controlling the conveyance of the eggs E by the single-row conveyor 102a may be any known one, and for example, the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-82546 filed by the present applicant can be used.

In addition, the egg E is determined to be a product egg E1 or an inferior egg E2 by the egg size discrimination device 1, which will be described in detail later. At this time, the release position of the egg E at the packaging station 103 or the inferior station 104 is determined, and the sensor A pulse value corresponding to the distance from No. 11 (described later) to the discharge position on the single-row conveyor 102a is set. This pulse value is subtracted by a pulse generated from the encoder 102c every time the egg E is conveyed a predetermined distance by the single-row conveyor 102a, and when the set pulse value reaches 0, the egg E is released. controlled so that

The packaging station 103 includes a product tray conveyor 103a that conveys the product tray T1 in the third direction D3. The third direction D3 in which the product tray conveyor 103a conveys the product tray T1 is a direction perpendicular to the second direction D2. Note that in this embodiment, the third direction D3 is the same as the first direction D1, but the third direction D3 may be opposite to the first direction D1.

The packaging station 103 includes an egg receiving seat (not shown) that receives the eggs E falling from the cup 102d. The egg receiving tray packs the eggs E received from the cup 102d into the product tray T1 waiting below. For the configuration of the receiving egg seat, a publicly known configuration may be adopted, and for example, the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2775592 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-72015 filed by the present applicant can be used.

In FIG. 1, the product tray T1 can accommodate 30 eggs E, but this is just an example, and various trays can be used. The packaging station 103 also includes a product tray supply device 103b. Although two packaging stations 103 are provided in this embodiment, only one packaging station 103 may be provided, or three or more packaging stations may be provided. When a plurality of packaging stations 103 are provided, product eggs E1 of different sizes may be packed into product trays T1 at each packaging station 103. Furthermore, when two packaging stations 103 are provided as in this embodiment, the upstream packaging station 103 packs cracked eggs into the product tray T1, and the downstream packaging station 103 packs the product eggs E1 into the product tray T1. You can also pack it up.

The egg E2 determined to be out of grade is removed from the product target and passed through the packaging station 103 to be collected at the out of grade station 104. The out-of-grade station 104 includes a relief conveyor 104a that receives and conveys the eggs E2 falling from the cup 102d.

The control device 105 controls the operation of each part of the firm packer 100, and is composed of a hardware part such as a CPU and software of an operation program.

As shown in FIG. 2, the egg size determination device 1 includes a sensor 11 that measures the upper end position of the eggs E conveyed by the single-row conveyor 102a. More specifically, the egg size determination device 1 includes a sensor 11 that measures the upper end position of the egg E conveyed by the cup 102d.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sensor 11 shown in FIG. 2 viewed from the cup 102d side. FIG. 4 is a front view of the sensor 11 shown in FIG. 2 viewed from the cup 102d side.

The sensor 11 is a distance sensor that is placed above the single-row conveyor 102a and measures the distance to the top of the egg E. The sensor 11 is fixed to the frame 102f of the single-row conveyor 102a via a bracket 11a. As the distance sensor, for example, a laser distance meter that emits a laser and receives the reflected light to measure the distance to the reflective surface can be used.

The sensor 11 is attached so that when the single-row conveyor 102a is stopped at the zero point of the encoder 102c, the spot light from the sensor 11 is located at the center of the cup 102d in plan view as shown in FIG. 2. Thereby, during measurement by the sensor 11, the spot light from the sensor 11 is irradiated onto the upper end position of the egg E (see FIG. 4). Measurement data by the sensor 11 is transmitted to the control device 105 as data for specifying the upper end position of the egg E.

The control device 105 specifies the upper end position of the egg E based on the measurement data transmitted from the sensor 11. The control device 105 determines the size of the egg E based on the upper end position of the egg E. In this embodiment, the control device 105 can classify the egg E into a product egg E1 and a substandard egg E2 by determining the size of the egg E.

Next, a method for determining egg size using the control device 105 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 4, the single-row conveyor 102a conveys eggs E of different sizes. FIG. 5A shows how the upper end positions of eggs E of different sizes are measured.

First, a reference plane h0 (height 0) for defining the height of the egg E to the upper end T is set in advance. The reference plane h0 is set, for example, at a position slightly lower than the upper end of the cup 102d. The control device 105 determines the size of the egg E based on the height from the reference plane h0 to the upper end T of the egg E. For example, the minimum height of the egg E to be processed as the product egg E1 is set to h1, and the maximum height of the egg E to be processed as the product egg E1 is set to h2. That is, if the height from the reference plane h0 to the upper end T of the egg E is within the range h1 to h2, the egg E is treated as a product egg E1. On the other hand, if the height from the reference plane h0 to the upper end T of the egg E is outside the range of h1 to h2, the egg E is treated as a substandard egg E2. Note that the minimum height h1 is determined with reference to the height when, for example, an SS size egg E is stored in the cup 102d, and the maximum height h2 is determined, for example, with reference to the height when an LL size egg E is stored in the cup 102d. Determined with reference to the height of

The control device 105 receives measurement data of the distance d from the sensor 11 to the upper end T of the egg E from the sensor 11. Of the measurement data transmitted from the sensor 11, the control device 105 uses the measurement data at the time when the spotlight from the sensor 11 is irradiated onto the upper end T of the egg E. Specifically, the control device 105 uses measurement data at timings when the encoder 102c counts 0, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300.

The control device 105 is configured such that the distance d is shorter than the first set value d1 (here, the distance from the sensor 11 to the position of the lowest height h1) and the second set value d2 (here, the distance from the sensor 11 to the position of the highest height h2). When the measured egg E is longer than the distance up to the egg E1, the measured egg E is determined to be a product egg E1. Further, when the distance d is longer than the first set value d1, the control device 105 determines that the measured egg E is an inferior egg E2. Further, when the distance d is shorter than the second set value d2, the control device 105 determines that the measured egg E is an inferior egg E2.

Further, the control device 105 determines that the egg E is stored in the cup 102d when the distance d is shorter than the third set value d3 (here, the distance from the sensor 11 to the position at the height h3). You can. Here, the height h3 is a value lower than the minimum height h1. After determining that the egg E is stored in the cup 102d, the control device 105 may separate the egg E into the product egg E1 and the inferior egg E2 as described above.

As described above, the egg size discrimination device 1 according to the first embodiment includes the single-row transport section 102 that transports the eggs E in a single row in the horizontal direction with the long axis of the eggs E facing the vertical direction, and the single-row transport section 102 that transports the eggs E in a row in the horizontal direction. The size of the egg E is determined based on the sensor 11 that measures the upper end position of the egg E transported by the row transport unit 102 and the upper end position of the egg E measured by the sensor 11.

In the above embodiment, the size of the egg E is determined to separate it into two, the product egg E1 and the substandard egg E2. (size). At this time, in order to distinguish between the small size and the large size, for example, an intermediate height h4 is set between the minimum height h1 and the maximum height h2, as shown in FIG. 5B. The control device 105 controls the measured egg E when the distance d is shorter than the first set value d1 and longer than the fourth set value d4 (here, the distance from the sensor 11 to the intermediate height h4 position). It is determined that the egg is a small-sized product egg E1. Further, when the distance d is shorter than the fourth set value d4 and longer than the second set value d2, the control device 105 determines that the measured egg E is a large-sized product egg E1.

Furthermore, the product egg E1 may be divided into three or more sizes. For example, in order to discriminate three sizes, small size, medium size, and large size, as shown in FIG. 5C, between the lowest height h1 and the highest height h2, a first intermediate height h5 and a first intermediate height A second intermediate height h6 is set higher than the height h5. When the distance d is shorter than the first set value d1 and longer than the fifth set value d5 (here, the distance from the sensor 11 to the position of the first intermediate height h5), the control device 105 controls the measured The egg E is determined to be a small-sized product egg E1. Further, when the distance d is shorter than the fifth set value d5 and longer than the sixth set value d6 (here, the distance from the sensor 11 to the position of the second intermediate height h6), the control device 105 controls the measurement of the distance d. The egg E thus obtained is determined to be a medium-sized product egg E1. Further, when the distance d is shorter than the sixth set value d6 and longer than the second set value d2, the control device 105 determines that the measured egg E is a large-sized product egg E1.

Although a detailed explanation will be omitted, by similarly setting three or more intermediate heights between the minimum height h1 and the maximum height h2, the product egg E1 can be divided into four or more sizes. . For example, by dividing the product eggs E1 into multiple sizes at the farm, necessary (lack of) products can be efficiently manufactured, and the processing efficiency (work efficiency) of the GP center, which requires manpower, can be improved.

<Second embodiment>
The second embodiment has the same configuration as the first embodiment except for the configuration described below, so the common features will be omitted and the differences will be mainly described. Note that in the second embodiment, elements having substantially the same configuration or substantially the same function (action) as the portions described in the first embodiment are represented, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

FIG. 6 is a plan view conceptually showing the overall configuration of the farm packer 100 in which the abnormal egg inspection device 2 is installed. FIG. 7 is a view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 6.

The abnormal egg inspection device 2 includes the egg size determination device 1 described above. Furthermore, the abnormal egg inspection device 2 includes an abnormal egg inspection section 20 disposed downstream of the egg size discrimination device 1.

FIG. 8 is a side view conceptually showing the internal configuration of the abnormal egg inspection section 20. The abnormal egg inspection unit 20 includes a light source 21 that emits light, a light projection fiber 22 that guides the light emitted from the light source 21 and irradiates it to the egg E, and receives the transmitted light of the egg E that has been irradiated with the light. A light-receiving fiber 23, a spectroscopic element 24 that separates the light guided by the light-receiving fiber 23, a CCD (charge-coupled device) 25 that converts the light into an electric signal for each wavelength, and a mathematical It also includes an arithmetic unit 26 that executes processing. The calculation unit 26 may be included in the control device 105. It should be noted that the abnormal egg inspection section 20 may employ a known configuration, and for example, the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-139426 filed by the present applicant can be used. According to the abnormal egg inspection unit 20, abnormal eggs such as bloody eggs, sore eggs, non-yolk eggs, and rotten eggs can be detected.

By the way, when the size of the egg E to be inspected is small, the abnormal egg inspection unit 20 may erroneously detect the egg as an abnormal egg even if it is actually a normal egg. Therefore, it is desirable that the abnormal egg inspection unit 20 changes the threshold for inspection depending on the size of the egg E. As in the second embodiment, by providing the egg size determination device 1 on the upstream side of the abnormal egg inspection section 20, when the egg E to be inspected is determined to be small in size, the threshold value is changed to an appropriate value. can do. Thereby, erroneous detection by the abnormal egg inspection section 20 can be suppressed.

The abnormal egg inspection device 2 includes a discharge section 29 on the downstream side of the abnormal egg inspection section 20. Eggs determined to be abnormal eggs by the abnormal egg inspection section 20 are dropped and discharged into the discharge section 29.

Note that the egg size discrimination device and the abnormal egg inspection device are not limited to the configurations of the embodiments described above, nor are they limited to the effects described above. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the egg size discrimination device and the abnormal egg inspection device may be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, each of the configurations and methods of the plurality of embodiments described above may be arbitrarily adopted and combined, and furthermore, one or more of the configurations and methods of the various modification examples described below may be arbitrarily selected. Of course, the present invention may be employed in the configurations, methods, etc. according to the embodiments described above.

(1) In the above embodiment, a laser distance meter is used as a sensor for measuring the upper end position of the egg E, but the sensor is not limited to this. For example, a distance setting type photoelectric sensor or a distance limited type fiber sensor may be used. Alternatively, a light transmission type sensor may be used in which a light projecting section and a light receiving section are arranged on the sides of the egg E so as to face each other with the egg E in between.

(2) In the above embodiment, the egg size determination device 1 and the abnormal egg inspection device 2 are provided in the farm packer 100, but the configuration is not limited to this. The egg size determination device 1 and the abnormal egg inspection device 2 may be used, for example, to determine the size of eggs or to inspect abnormal eggs when processing hot spring eggs or boiled eggs at a processing factory. .

(3) The egg size determination device 1 may include a weight sensor (such as a load cell) that measures the weight of the egg E in addition to the sensor 11 that measures the upper end position of the egg E. Thereby, the size of the egg E can be determined more accurately based on the length and weight of the long axis of the egg E.

(4) In the above embodiment, the non-grade eggs E2 are collected at the non-grade station 104, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Since there is also a desire to pack non-grade eggs E2 into trays, for example, the upstream packaging station 103 packs product eggs E1 into product trays T1, and the downstream packaging station 103 packs non-grade eggs E2 into trays. You may also do so. Furthermore, when a cracked egg inspection device is provided, cracked eggs and non-grade eggs E2 may be packed into trays at the upstream packaging station 103, and product eggs E1 may be packed into the product tray T1 at the downstream packaging station 103. good. As described above, the distribution destinations of the product eggs E1, inferior eggs E2, cracked eggs, etc. can be arbitrarily determined.

By the way, when packing the product eggs E1 into the product tray T1, if large-sized product eggs E1 (hereinafter also referred to as large eggs) are next to each other, they will not fit properly in the product tray T1, which may cause problems such as broken eggs. This could be the cause.
When product eggs E1 are packed completely into the product tray T1 in n rows and m columns (5 rows and 6 columns in the example of FIG. 1), if the product egg E1 whose distribution destination is to be determined is a large egg, The previous product egg E1 that has been decided to be distributed to the packaging station 103 to be distributed is not a large egg (first condition), and the product egg E1 that is the m previous product egg that has been decided to be distributed to the packaging station 103. Distribution to the packaging station 103 may be permitted on the condition that the eggs are not large eggs (second condition). Note that when distributing eggs to be packed in the first row at the end of product tray T1, the first condition may be ignored; when distributing eggs to be packed in the first row of product tray T1, The second condition may be ignored.
Large eggs that cannot be distributed to the packaging station 103 because they do not satisfy the first and second conditions above (there is already a large egg next to the scheduled distribution egg seat) are sent to another downstream packaging station 103 or to an unqualified egg. It may be distributed to stations 104.

In addition, as described above, when packing non-grade eggs E2 into trays at the packaging station 103, if large-sized non-grade eggs E2 are placed next to each other, they will not fit properly in the tray and problems such as broken eggs may occur. It's easy to happen. The control device 105 may be configured to divide the egg E into a large-sized substandard egg E2 and a small-sized substandard egg E2 based on the distance d from the sensor 11 to the upper end of the egg E. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the distance d from the sensor 11 to the top of the egg E is shorter than the second set value d2, the control device 105 converts the measured egg E into a large-sized egg. It is determined that the egg is a substandard egg E2. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the distance d from the sensor 11 to the upper end of the egg E is shorter than the third set value d3 and longer than the first set value d1, the control device 105 controls the measured egg E is determined to be a small-sized out-of-grade egg E2.
When filling a tray with n rows and m columns (5 rows and 6 columns in the example in Figure 1) of non-grade eggs E2, if the non-grade egg E2 to which you are trying to decide the distribution destination is a large-sized non-grade egg E2, The previous non-standard egg E2 that was decided to be distributed to the packaging station 103 that distributes the non-standard egg E2 of the size is not large size (first condition), and the m that was decided to be distributed to the packaging station 103 concerned. Distribution to the packaging station 103 may be permitted on the condition that the individual substandard eggs E2 are not large in size (second condition).
The large-sized non-grade egg E2 that could not be distributed to the packaging station 103 because it does not satisfy the first and second conditions above (there is a large-sized non-grade egg E2 next to the scheduled distribution egg seat) is transferred to the downstream side. It may be distributed to another packaging station 103 or an out-of-grade station 104.

(5) In the above embodiment, the size of the egg E is determined based on the upper end position of the egg E. You can also determine the size. As a method for measuring the trunk diameter of the egg E, for example, the moving distance of the single-row conveyor 102a (the number of pulses of the encoder 102c) while the sensor 11 is sensing the egg E may be measured. At this time, in order to sense the surface of the egg E, the sensor 11 continuously irradiates the spot light.
Further, since there is a correlation between the height of the egg E and the body diameter, the body diameter of the egg E can be estimated by converting the height of the egg E into the body diameter.

1: Egg size discrimination device 2: Abnormal egg inspection device 11: Sensor 20: Abnormal egg inspection section 100: Farm packer 101: Double row conveyor 101a: Double row conveyor 101b: Encoder 102: Single row conveyor 102a: Single row conveyor 102c: Encoder 102d: Cup 103: Packaging station 104: Out of grade station 105: Control device 106: Transfer device D1: First direction D2: Second direction D3: Third direction E: Egg E1: Product egg E2: Out of grade egg T : Upper edge of the egg d : Distance from the sensor to the upper edge of the egg d1 : 1st setting value d2 : 2nd setting value d3 : 3rd setting value h0 : Reference plane h1 : Minimum height h2 : Maximum height

Claims

An egg size determination device that determines the size of eggs being transported,
a conveyance unit that conveys the eggs horizontally in a line with the long axes of the eggs oriented in the vertical direction;
a sensor that measures the upper end position of the egg transported by the transport unit;
An egg size determination device comprising: a control device that determines the size of the egg based on the upper end position of the egg measured by the sensor.
The conveyance unit includes a plurality of cups that accommodate and convey the eggs one by one,
The egg size determination device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor measures the upper end position of the egg conveyed by the cup.
The egg size determination device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a distance sensor that is placed above the transport unit and measures the distance to the upper end of the egg.
The control device determines that the egg is a product egg when the distance from the sensor to the upper end of the egg is shorter than a first set value and longer than a second set value that is smaller than the first set value. The egg size determination device according to claim 3, which determines the size of an egg.
The control device determines that the egg is stored in the cup when the distance from the sensor to the upper end of the egg is shorter than a third set value that is larger than the first set value. 4. The egg size determination device according to 4.
The egg size determination device according to claim 4, wherein the control device divides the product eggs into product eggs of a plurality of sizes based on the distance from the sensor to the upper end of the egg.
The control device determines that the egg is a small-sized product egg when the distance from the sensor to the upper end of the egg is longer than a fourth set value between the first set value and the second set value. 7. The egg size determining device according to claim 6, wherein the egg size determination device determines that the egg is a large-sized product egg when it is shorter than the fourth set value.
The control device classifies the egg as a small-sized product when the distance from the sensor to the upper end of the egg is shorter than the first set value and longer than a fifth set value that is smaller than the first set value. When it is determined that the egg is an egg, and is shorter than the fifth set value and longer than a sixth set value that is smaller than the fifth set value, the egg is determined to be a medium-sized product egg, and the sixth set value is determined to be a medium-sized product egg. The egg size determination device according to claim 5, wherein when the value is shorter than a set value and longer than the second set value, the egg is determined to be a large-sized product egg.
An abnormal egg inspection device comprising the egg size determination device according to claim 1.