A high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure and its working method

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of jujube sorting technology, specifically to a high-speed, non-destructive jujube sorting system with a flexible material handling structure and its working method. The system includes a feeding inlet, a feeding conveyor belt, sorting rollers, variable-pitch spiral guide ribs, a full-field transparent detection chamber, a finished product collection bin, and a foreign matter collection bin. The feeding inlet feeds jujubes into the sorting rollers via the feeding conveyor belt, arranging them in single-grain intervals. The full-field transparent detection chamber on the CoreXY planar motion mechanism detects and sorts the jujubes into different finished product collection bins. Diseased fruits and foreign objects such as leaves and branches enter the foreign matter collection bin. This invention achieves efficient, non-destructive, and accurate jujube grading through a closed loop of "flexible upper material handling—full-field perception—non-destructive jujube grading—destruction and compression of diseased fruits and foreign objects."

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of jujube sorting technology, specifically to a high-speed, non-destructive jujube sorting system with a flexible material handling structure and its working method. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, the intelligent grading and sorting industry for jujubes generally adopts automated equipment that combines mechanical transmission with machine vision inspection. It relies on a production line operation with four links: "automatic feeding of materials → conveyor belt or roller conveying → camera photo recognition → pneumatic or mechanical actuator sorting and unloading" to achieve the grading and sorting of jujubes and empower smart agriculture.

[0003] The journal article "Research on Jujube Appearance Quality Classification Method Based on Channel Weighting and Information Aggregation" discloses a jujube appearance quality classification method based on deep learning, and elaborates on the extraction logic of jujube visual features.

[0004] The document with application number "CN201310734662.7" discloses an automatic grading device for jujubes. The device feeds the jujubes through a vibrating plate and a vibrating feeder. The jujubes enter the transmission line composed of a flat belt. After being detected by a camera, the jujubes are blown out by high-pressure air generated by a high-speed pneumatic valve and enter different grade collection lines.

[0005] The document with application number "CN201520588181.4" discloses an intelligent sorting machine that uses a material dispensing vibratory plate to transport materials to nylon rollers for image detection, and finally uses a material sorting brush to mechanically sweep the materials into the corresponding discharge trough.

[0006] The aforementioned institutions have the following problems: 1. The reason why vibratory feeders are often used for feeding is that the dates are frequently squeezed, rubbed and collided with each other during the sorting and single-rowing process, which causes secondary mechanical damage such as skin damage and internal hidden damage, thus increasing the actual defect rate. 2. Because the existing transmission methods mostly use crawler or conventional roller support for conveying, the bottom features of the jujube are completely obscured, resulting in a visual blind spot of more than 30%, which limits the dimensions of image acquisition. The camera can only capture images of one side or a part of the jujube, directly causing the problem of missed detection and misjudgment of hidden defects. 3. Because the existing sorting methods mostly use high-pressure air nozzles to blow air or mechanical brushes to remove the dates, the removal action is rough and can easily damage the appearance of the dates. In addition, high-pressure air blowing is easily affected by the individual weight of the dates and the difference in air resistance, which can lead to inaccurate positioning of the dropping material and the dates falling into the wrong channel. Furthermore, the airflow or the brush can also exert a great instantaneous lateral impact force on the dates. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In view of this, the present invention provides a high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure and its working method. It achieves efficient, non-destructive, and accurate grading of jujubes through a closed loop of "flexible material handling - full-field perception - non-destructive grading of jujubes - destruction and compression of diseased fruit and foreign objects".

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: a high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure, comprising a frame, characterized in that a feeding port is provided at the top of the frame, and sorting rollers, a full-view transparent detection chamber, three sets of finished product collection bins arranged in a matrix, and a foreign matter centralized processing bin are arranged from top to bottom inside the frame. The outlet of the feeding port is connected to one end of the feeding conveyor belt, and the other end of the feeding conveyor belt is connected to the inlet of the sorting roller. The inner wall of the sorting roller is provided with spiral guide ribs of varying spacing arranged from dense to sparse. A through-beam sensor is provided at the outlet. A CoreXY planar motion mechanism is provided directly below the outlet of the sorting roller. A full-field transparent detection chamber is provided on the CoreXY planar motion mechanism. The bottom of the full-field transparent detection chamber is movably hinged with an electromagnetically driven instantaneous release bottom door, and vision cameras are provided around the outside. Three finished product collection bins and one foreign matter centralized processing bin are provided below the worktable of the CoreXY planar motion mechanism. A hydraulic push rod compressor is provided vertically downward on the top of the foreign matter centralized processing bin.

[0009] Furthermore, the spacing of the variable-pitch spiral guide ribs gradually decreases from 8cm at the inlet to 4cm at the outlet.

[0010] Furthermore, the vision camera includes an industrial camera and a ring light source.

[0011] Furthermore, the opening of the foreign matter centralized treatment bin is equipped with an anti-splash guide structure, and the body of the bin is made of anti-pollution matte engineering plastic.

[0012] Furthermore, the full-view transparent inspection chamber is made of high-transmittance acrylic material.

[0013] Furthermore, the sorting rollers rotate at a speed of 10-30 r / min and are made of stainless steel.

[0014] The working method of a high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure is as follows: S1. Pour the mixed red dates into the feeding port, and the feeding conveyor belt will transport them to the sorting drum. The sorting drum will rotate and the variable-pitch spiral guide ribs inside will push the red dates forward towards the outlet. At the same time, the change in spacing from dense to sparse will break up the stacked and agglomerated red dates, so that they will be gradually separated in the drum and arranged into single-piece intervals. As the red dates move to the edge of the drum outlet one by one, the through-beam sensor will detect the discharge of a single red date and send a material positioning signal to the main control unit. S2. The discharged single jujubes fall precisely into the full-field transparent detection chamber. The visual camera captures feature images of the jujubes without blind spots through the transparent chamber wall. Subsequently, the CoreXY planar motion mechanism, according to the coordinate instructions issued by the main control unit, moves the detection chamber carrying the jujubes at high speed in the horizontal plane to directly above the corresponding finished product collection bin. After reaching the designated position, the bottom door is released and opens quickly, and the jujubes are discharged by gravity. Then the bottom door closes and the detection chamber resets. When diseased fruit, leaves, branches, or other foreign objects are identified, the detection chamber puts them into the foreign object collection bin. The main control unit drives the hydraulic push rod to press down and compact the foreign objects, physically destroying and compressing them to prevent secondary infection of diseased fruit and save foreign object storage space.

[0015] Furthermore, in step S1, the time interval between the elimination of the two dates is greater than 0.5 seconds.

[0016] Furthermore, the image acquisition time in step S2 is 10-50 milliseconds.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages: 1. The system of this invention is equipped with spiral guide ribs arranged from dense to sparse inside the sorting drum. By utilizing the change in spacing from dense to sparse, the stacked and agglomerated red dates are broken up. The material is conveyed and separated by the smooth rotation of the drum. In the smooth rolling, the agglomerated red dates, leaves and branches are gradually untied, and the high-frequency rigid collision is transformed into low-frequency flexible sliding. This achieves the non-destructive single-particle spacing of red dates. Compared with the traditional vibratory feeder, the mechanical damage rate of red dates in the sorting stage can be greatly reduced from the conventional 5%~8% to less than 1%.

[0018] 2. The system of this invention adopts the CoreXY planar motion mechanism and is equipped with a fully transparent detection chamber to receive jujubes. The transparent detection chamber allows external light sources to penetrate without blind spots, and the vision camera can extract the complete surface features of the jujubes from 360 degrees through the chamber wall. Combined with advanced image classification algorithms (existing methods), it fundamentally eliminates the missed detection caused by physical obstruction, and increases the overall detection rate of diseased and cracked fruits from the current 85% to over 98%. At the same time, the CoreXY planar motion mechanism is lightweight and has a fast response, and can complete the precise positioning of the X and Y axis planes with extremely high acceleration.

[0019] 3. This invention features a hinged, instant-release bottom door at the bottom of the transparent testing chamber and integrates a hydraulic push rod compressor within the foreign matter collection bin. The bottom door opens, allowing for gravity-driven free fall, resulting in zero lateral shear force on the jujubes during sorting and separation. This achieves truly "non-destructive sorting and unloading." For diseased fruit and foreign objects such as leaves and branches picked during harvesting, the hydraulic rod directly compacts and destroys them in situ within the foreign matter collection bin. This fundamentally cuts off the secondary cross-infection path of pathogens from diseased fruit in the sorting workshop, greatly optimizing the biosafety of agricultural processing and saving storage space.

[0020] 4. This invention ensures that the detection chamber accurately receives a single jujube each time through the "flexible single-piece queuing" of the roller, and ensures that there are no blind spots in the detection through the full-field transparent detection chamber. Combined with the "CoreXY planar motion mechanism and gravity unloading", it ensures zero impact throughout the process. The three are closely coordinated in terms of time sequence and physical structure, which solves the inherent contradiction of traditional equipment that "is easy to damage if it is accurate, and inaccurate if it is well protected". It achieves a perfect unity of high-precision detection rate and low mechanical damage rate.

[0021] 5. This invention adopts a three-level storage system, which divides red dates into premium, first-grade, and second-grade, allowing for direct sorting of red dates of different grades. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the feeding and flexible material handling module.

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the full-field detection and two-dimensional positioning and sorting module.

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the hierarchical collection module.

[0026] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the rotating drum.

[0027] In the diagram: 1. Feeding port, 2. Touch screen, 3. Feeding conveyor belt, 4. Sorting roller, 5. Variable pitch spiral guide rib, 6. Full field of view transparent detection chamber, 7. Instant release bottom door, 8. Vision camera, 9. Ring light source, 10. Three-component finished product collection bin, 11. Foreign object centralized processing bin. Detailed Implementation

[0028] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0029] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] like Figures 1-5 As shown, this embodiment 1 provides a high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure, including a feeding port 1, a feeding conveyor belt 3, a sorting roller 4, a variable-pitch spiral guide rib 5, a full-view transparent detection chamber 6, three sets of large-capacity finished product collection bins 10 and a small-capacity foreign matter centralized processing bin 11. Feeding port 1 is located at the top of the frame, and its bottom is connected to the input end of the feeding conveyor belt 3. The output end of the feeding conveyor belt 3 extends to the inlet of the sorting roller 4. The inner wall of the sorting roller 4 is provided with variable-pitch spiral guide ribs 5 arranged from dense to sparse. Figure 5 As shown, a through-beam sensor is installed at the exit edge of the sorting roller 4; the spacing of the variable-pitch spiral guide ribs 5 gradually decreases from 8cm at the inlet to 4cm at the outlet to achieve a smooth transition.

[0031] A CoreXY planar motion mechanism horizontal frame is installed directly below the outlet of the sorting roller 4. A full-field transparent inspection chamber 6 is mounted on the CoreXY mechanism to collect the jujube particles falling from the sorting roller 4. The bottom of the full-field transparent inspection chamber 6 is hinged to an electromagnetically driven instantaneous release bottom door 7 (trapdoor). Vision cameras 8 (including industrial cameras and ring light sources 9; the ring light source provides light to the cameras in low-light conditions) are installed around the outside. Figure 3 As shown; three sets of large-capacity finished product collection bins 10 and one small-capacity foreign matter centralized processing bin 11 are arranged in a matrix below the worktable of the CoreXY planar motion mechanism, corresponding to different levels of material drop coordinates. A hydraulic push rod compressor is vertically installed on the top of the foreign matter centralized processing bin 11, and an anti-splash guide structure is added to the opening of the bin 11, such as... Figure 4 As shown.

[0032] The body of the aforementioned foreign matter centralized treatment bin 11 is made of anti-pollution matte engineering plastic.

[0033] The aforementioned full-view transparent inspection chamber 6 is made of high-transmittance acrylic material.

[0034] The sorting roller 4 mentioned above is made of stainless steel.

[0035] A working method for a high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure, comprising the following steps: S1. Manual or mechanical feeding of mixed red dates into feeding port 1, conveyor belt 3 transports them to sorting drum 4. Sorting drum 4 rotates at a speed of 10 r / min. The variable-pitch spiral guide ribs 5 inside push the red dates forward towards the outlet. At the same time, the change in spacing from dense to sparse breaks up the stacked and agglomerated red dates, so that they are gradually separated in the drum and arranged in single-piece intervals. The red dates move one by one to the edge of the drum outlet. After the through-beam sensor detects the discharge of a single red date (the time interval between the discharge of two red dates is greater than 0.5 seconds), it sends a material positioning signal to the main control unit. S2. The discharged single jujube falls precisely into the full-field transparent detection chamber 6, which remains at the initial receiving position. The vision camera 8 captures feature images of the jujube through the transparent chamber wall without blind spots. The image acquisition time is 10-50 milliseconds (the main control unit uses a built-in deep learning classification algorithm to process the image, determining the quality grade of the jujube (premium, first-grade, second-grade, or foreign object) within [50~100] milliseconds, and mapping the corresponding XY coordinates of the collection bucket). Subsequently, the CoreXY planar motion mechanism moves according to the coordinate instructions issued by the main control unit (moving at a speed of 1.0~3.0 m / s and 5~15 m / s²). The acceleration of the core XY mechanism propels the testing chamber 6, carrying jujubes, to move at high speed in the horizontal plane to directly above the corresponding finished product collection bin 10 (which is divided into premium, first-grade, and second-grade jujubes). Upon reaching the designated position, the bottom door 7 is released and opens rapidly within 20-50 milliseconds, allowing the jujubes to fall freely under gravity and be discharged. The bottom door 7 then closes. The Core XY mechanism quickly returns the testing chamber 6 to its original position, ready to receive the next jujube. When diseased fruit, leaves, branches, or other foreign objects are detected, the testing chamber 6 places them into the foreign object collection bin 11. The main control unit drives the hydraulic push rod to compact the foreign objects downwards (the hydraulic push rod presses down at a working pressure of 0.5-1.5 MPa for 1-3 seconds to compact and destroy them), physically destroying and compressing the foreign objects to prevent secondary infection of diseased fruit and save storage space.

[0036] The main control unit is equipped with a touch screen 2. In terms of software interface design, the four grading statuses of jujubes (special grade, first grade, second grade, diseased fruit and foreign objects) are indicated in real time by circular icons of different colors, replacing the traditional check box design, so that workshop operators can more intuitively monitor the material dropping situation of each channel in strong light environment.

[0037] Example 2: The rotation speed was adjusted to 20 r / min, and everything else was the same as in Example 1. Due to the slow rotation speed, the queuing time for individual dates was long. The sorting accuracy reached 99%, and the mechanical damage rate was extremely low (0.2%). However, the overall system throughput was only 50 kg / h, which could not meet the high-speed industrial requirements.

[0038] Example 3: The rotation speed was adjusted to 30 r / min, and everything else was the same as in Example 1. The excessive rotation speed caused the jujubes to tumble violently in the drum, and the CCoreXY planar motion mechanism moved too fast, causing the jujubes in the transparent chamber 6 to shake, affecting the vision 8 capture. The experiment measured the system throughput to reach 150 kg / h, but the mechanical damage rate increased to 4.5%, and the vision 8 misjudgment rate increased to 8%.

[0039] Therefore, at the optimal rotation speed of 20 r / min, the variable-pitch spiral ribs 5 can smoothly disperse the jujubes without causing congestion. Experiments showed that the system throughput remained stable at 110 kg / h. Relying on the cooperation of the full-field transparent chamber 6 and the instantaneous release bottom door 7, the overall detection accuracy reached 98.5%, and the secondary mechanical damage rate of the jujubes was strictly controlled below 0.8%. These results effectively demonstrate that this invention, while maintaining high accuracy, significantly reduces mechanical damage, achieving a system advantage greater than the sum of its parts.

[0040] This invention is not a simple superposition of the above individual technologies, but rather the construction of a closed-loop high-precision ecosystem of "flexible feeding - full field of vision perception - non-destructive grading of jujubes - destruction and compression of diseased fruit and foreign objects".

[0041] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure, comprising a frame, characterized in that, The top of the frame is provided with a feeding port (1), and the frame is provided with a sorting roller (4), a full-view transparent detection chamber (6), and three groups of finished product collection bins (10) arranged in a matrix and a foreign matter centralized processing bin (11) from top to bottom. The outlet of the feeding port (1) is connected to one end of the feeding conveyor belt (3), and the other end of the feeding conveyor belt (3) is connected to the inlet of the sorting roller (4). The inner wall of the sorting roller (4) is provided with spiral guide ribs (5) arranged from dense to sparse, and a through-beam sensor is provided at the outlet. A CoreXY planar motion mechanism is provided directly below the outlet of the sorting roller (4), and a full-field transparent detection chamber (6) is provided on the CoreXY planar motion mechanism. The bottom of the full-field transparent detection chamber (6) is movably hinged with an electromagnetically driven instantaneous release bottom door (7), and a vision camera (8) is provided around the outside. Three finished product collection bins (10) and a foreign matter centralized processing bin (11) are provided below the worktable of the CoreXY planar motion mechanism. A hydraulic push rod compressor is provided vertically downward on the top of the foreign matter centralized processing bin (11).

2. The high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spacing of the variable-pitch spiral guide ribs (5) gradually decreases from 8cm at the inlet to 4cm at the outlet.

3. The high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The vision camera (8) includes an industrial camera and a ring light source (9).

4. The high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure according to claim 3, characterized in that, The opening of the foreign matter centralized treatment tank (11) is equipped with an anti-splash guide structure, and the body of the tank is made of anti-pollution matte engineering plastic.

5. The high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure according to claim 4, characterized in that, The full-view transparent detection chamber (6) is made of high-transmittance acrylic material.

6. The high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure according to claim 5, characterized in that, The sorting roller (4) rotates at a speed of 10-30 r / min and is made of stainless steel.

7. The working method of the high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, S1. Pour the mixed red dates into the feeding port (1), and the feeding conveyor belt (3) transports them to the sorting drum (4). The sorting drum (4) rotates and works. The variable-pitch spiral guide ribs (5) inside push the red dates forward towards the outlet. At the same time, the spacing change from dense to sparse breaks up the stacked and agglomerated red dates, so that they are gradually separated in the drum and arranged in single-pitch intervals. The red dates move one by one to the edge of the drum outlet. After the through-beam sensor detects the discharge of a single red date, it sends a material positioning signal to the main control unit. S2. The discharged single red dates fall precisely into the full-field transparent detection chamber (6). The visual camera (8) captures the feature images of the red dates without blind spots through the transparent chamber wall. Then, the CoreXY planar motion mechanism drives the detection chamber (6) carrying the red dates to move at high speed in the horizontal plane to directly above the corresponding finished product collection bucket (10) according to the coordinate instructions issued by the main control unit. After reaching the designated position, the bottom door (7) is released instantly and opens quickly. The red dates are discharged by gravity and fall freely. Then the bottom door (7) closes and the detection chamber (6) resets. When diseased fruits and foreign objects such as leaves and branches are identified, the detection chamber (6) puts them into the foreign object collection and processing bucket (11). The main control unit drives the hydraulic push rod to press down and physically destroy and compress the foreign objects to prevent secondary infection of diseased fruits and save foreign object storage space.

8. The working method of the high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure according to claim 7, characterized in that, In step S1, the time interval between the removal of the two dates is greater than 0.5 seconds.

9. The working method of the high-speed, non-destructive sorting system for jujubes with a flexible material handling structure according to claim 8, characterized in that, The image acquisition time in step S2 is 10-50 milliseconds.

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