Appearance sorting device and fruit and vegetable sorting machine

Abstract

A fruit and vegetable sorting machine includes a grading device and an appearance sorting device. The grading device includes a conveying unit and a plurality of load-bearing units. The appearance sorting device includes a linkage unit, a drive unit, an image capturing unit, and a control unit. The linkage unit can be used to link one of the load-bearing units through a predetermined range in front of it. The drive unit includes a drive member that can be linked to the linkage unit and a drive module for driving the drive member. The image capturing unit has a camera located upstream of the predetermined range for capturing a streaming image. The control unit is electrically connected to the drive module and the camera, and can perform an analysis program on the streaming image to respond to irregular situations where single or consecutive fruits and vegetables are damaged. Through a zoned detection mode, the correct signal is transmitted to the drive module, thereby rejecting damaged fruits and vegetables and achieving the purpose of energy-saving sorting.

Claims

1. An appearance sorting device for a grading device, the grading device comprising a conveying unit and a plurality of load-bearing units movable by the conveying unit, each load-bearing unit having a load tray for carrying a fruit or vegetable, the load tray being switchable between a load-bearing position and a tilting position, wherein in the load-bearing position the load tray faces upward to receive the fruit or vegetable, and in the tilting position the load tray tilts forward to cause the fruit or vegetable to roll forward, the appearance sorting device comprising: A linkage unit for linking one of the load-bearing units through a predetermined range in front, the linkage unit having a front end member corresponding to and adjacent to the load-bearing unit in the predetermined range, and a rear end member opposite to the front end member and capable of moving together with the front end member; a drive unit having a drive member capable of linking the rear end member to swing up and down, and a drive module for driving the drive member, the drive member being driven to change between a first position and a second position, in the first position, the rear end member is linked by the drive member to swing upward, the front end member swings downward, and the bearing plate located in the predetermined range is in the load-bearing position, in the second position, the rear end member is linked by the drive member to swing downward, the front end member swings upward, and the bearing plate located in the predetermined range changes to the tilting position; An image capturing unit includes a camera located upstream of the predetermined range for capturing a streaming image of the area through which the carrier trays pass; and a control unit electrically connected to the drive module and the camera. The control unit has a built-in damage storage area. The control unit can perform an identification program and an analysis program on the streaming image. In the identification program, the control unit continuously identifies damage to the streaming image. When damage is identified in the streaming image corresponding to a portion of the fruit or vegetable, each damaged portion is recorded with a damage tag in the damage storage area. The coordinate position of each damage tag in the streaming image is also stored in the damage storage area, and the corresponding coordinate position is updated over time. The coordinate position is calculated and updated by the control unit based on the moving speed value corresponding to the conveying speed of the conveying unit and the elapsed time. The control unit ensures that the same damaged portion remains on the same damage tag. In the analysis program, when the control unit determines that the coordinate position of any damage tag in the damage storage area is located in the damaged portion, the control unit will perform an analysis program. When the data is in a first region of the streaming image, it is then determined whether the coordinates of any damaged tag in the damage buffer area are located in a second region of the streaming image. If not, a first process is executed; if yes, a second process is executed. The first region corresponds to the passage area of ​​the carrier disks, and the second region corresponds to the passage area of ​​the carrier disks and is located upstream of the first region. In the first process, the control unit controls the drive module to drive the drive component to change to the second position after a waiting time, and after a first tilting time, the control unit controls the drive module to change to the first position and clears the data in the damage buffer area. The first tilting time is less than the waiting time. In the second process, the control unit controls the drive module to drive the drive component to change to the second position after the waiting time, and after a second tilting time, the control unit controls the drive module to change to the first position and clears the data in the damage buffer area. The second tilting time is greater than the waiting time.

2. The appearance sorting device as described in claim 1, wherein, The identification process is implemented through a real-time object detection algorithm and a multi-target tracking algorithm.

3. The appearance sorting device as described in claim 2, wherein, The real-time object detection algorithm is the YOLO real-time object detection algorithm, and the multi-object tracking algorithm is the BoxMOT multi-object tracking algorithm.

4. The appearance sorting device as described in claim 1, wherein, Each carrier tray has a carrier tray width corresponding to the conveying direction of the conveying unit, and a carrier tray length perpendicular to the carrier tray width. The length of the first region corresponds to the carrier tray length, and the width of the first region corresponds to half of the carrier tray width. The length and width of the second region correspond to the carrier tray length and the carrier tray width, respectively. The interval between the first region and the second region corresponds to 0.6 to 0.7 times the carrier tray width.

5. The appearance sorting device as described in claim 1, wherein, The waiting time is not less than the distance between the camera and the front end component along the conveying direction of the conveying unit divided by the moving speed value; the first tilting time is not less than the width of the front end component along the conveying direction of the conveying unit divided by the moving speed value; and the second tilting time is not less than the sum of the first tilting time and the centroid distance between two adjacent bearing plates divided by the moving speed value.

6. A fruit and vegetable sorting machine for sorting a plurality of fruits and vegetables, the fruit and vegetable sorting machine comprising: a grading device including a conveying unit and a plurality of load-bearing units that can be moved by the conveying unit, each load-bearing unit having a load-bearing tray for carrying one of the fruits and vegetables, the load-bearing tray being switchable between a load-bearing position and a tilting position, wherein in the load-bearing position the load-bearing tray faces upward to receive the fruit and vegetable, and in the tilting position the load-bearing tray tilts forward to cause the fruit and vegetable to roll forward; An appearance sorting device includes a linkage unit, a drive unit, an image capturing unit, and a control unit. The linkage unit can be used to link one of the load-bearing units through a predetermined range in front of it. The linkage unit has a front end member corresponding to and adjacent to the load-bearing unit within the predetermined range, and a rear end member opposite to the front end member and capable of moving in tandem with the front end member. The drive unit includes a drive member capable of linking the rear end member to swing up and down, and a drive module for driving the drive member. The drive member can be driven to... The image capturing unit changes between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the rear end member is driven by the drive member to swing upward, and the front end member swings downward. The carrier plate located within the predetermined range is in the load-bearing position. In the second position, the rear end member is driven by the drive member to swing downward, and the front end member swings upward. The carrier plate located within the predetermined range changes to the tilting position. The image capturing unit has a camera located upstream of the predetermined range for capturing a streaming image of the area through which the carrier plates pass.The control unit is electrically connected to the drive module and the camera. The control unit has a built-in damage storage area. The control unit can perform an identification program and an analysis program on the streaming video. In the identification program, the control unit continuously identifies damage to the streaming video. When damage is identified in a portion of the corresponding fruit or vegetable in the streaming video, each damaged portion is recorded with a damage tag in the damage storage area. The coordinate position of each damage tag in the streaming video is also stored in the damage storage area, and the corresponding coordinate position is updated over time. This coordinate position is calculated and updated by the control unit based on the moving speed value of the corresponding conveying unit and the elapsed time. The control unit ensures that the same damaged portion remains on the same damage tag. In the analysis program, when the control unit determines that the coordinate position of any damage tag in the damage storage area is located within a first region of the streaming video, it then determines the damage storage area... If the coordinates of any damaged tag are located within a second region in the streaming image, and if not, a first process is executed; if yes, a second process is executed. The first region corresponds to the passage area of ​​the carrier disks, and the second region corresponds to the passage area of ​​the carrier disks and is located upstream of the first region. In the first process, the control unit controls the drive module to drive the drive component to the second position after a waiting time, and after a first tilting time, the control unit controls the drive module to return to the first position and clears the data in the damage temporary storage area. The first tilting time is less than the waiting time. In the second process, the control unit controls the drive module to drive the drive component to the second position after the waiting time, and after a second tilting time, the control unit controls the drive module to return to the first position and clears the data in the damage temporary storage area. The second tilting time is greater than the waiting time.

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