A visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of crop breeding technology, specifically to a visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds, including a silo and a visual system suspended and installed directly above it, the visual system including an industrial camera and an image processing unit, a screening mechanism is provided inside the silo, and the screening mechanism includes a plurality of top columns plugged into the bottom surface of the silo, a servo electric cylinder for driving the plurality of top columns to rise and fall, a material-lifting block provided at the top of the top column, and an electromagnetic nail for magnetically sucking the top material block to flip down and release the material. The present invention utilizes a plurality of top columns to rise from the silo to eject seeds, and cooperates with the visual system above the silo to take pictures and process images to identify unqualified seeds, and transmits their coordinate position information to a PLC control unit, thereby controlling the electromagnetic nails in the top of the top column to electromagnetically suck the top material block to flip down and release the unqualified seeds, thereby improving the efficiency of seed screening and meeting large-scale standardized operations.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of crop breeding, and in particular to a visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds. Background Art

[0002] High-throughput minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds is of great value to biological breeding. The core requirements of this technology are: retaining the integrity of the seed embryo; maintaining the original germination rate of the seed, or not significantly reducing the germination rate of the seed; and the samples of minimally invasive sampling can be used for DNA extraction and detection and analysis of genetic information. An important process in seed breeding is seed slicing, which is to slice and sample on the premise of maintaining the vitality of the seed embryo, that is, minimally invasive. The current solution is manual cutting, which is to perform manual minimally invasive cutting on each seed. The existing problems include low throughput for seed quality screening. Taking corn seeds as an example, a skilled worker can complete the sampling of 400-500 seeds at most in a day, which cannot meet the needs of large-scale experiments. It relies more on the personal experience and skills of the operator and cannot achieve standardization. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to overcome the defects in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds to solve the problems raised in the above background technology.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds, comprising a silo and a visual system suspended and installed directly above the silo, the visual system comprising an industrial camera and an image processing unit, a screening mechanism is arranged inside the silo, the screening mechanism comprises a plurality of top columns plugged into the bottom surface of the silo, a servo electric cylinder for driving the plurality of top columns to rise and fall, a material-lifting block arranged at the top of the top column, and an electromagnetic nail for magnetically sucking the material-lifting block to flip and release the material, a plurality of support column plates are arranged at the bottom of the plurality of top columns, a piston rod is arranged on the central axis of the servo electric cylinder, and a bottom end thereof is fixedly connected to one side of the plurality of support column plates; a plurality of material-lifting holes are arranged on the bottom surface of the silo in a dot matrix, the interior of the top column is a hollow structure and both the upper and lower ends are opened, the material-lifting block is a round iron block and a rotating shaft plugged into the inner side of the top column is embedded on one side thereof, and the electromagnetic nail is attached to the inner wall of the front side of the top column and is arranged away from the bottom of the pin;

[0005] A PLC control unit for controlling the on and off of a number of electromagnetic nails is arranged at the rear of the vision system. The number of electromagnetic nails are connected in parallel to the output terminals of the PLC control unit. The servo electric cylinder is started to drive a number of ejector posts to penetrate the top of the silo and eject the seeds. The vision system takes pictures and processes them to identify unqualified seeds and generate coordinate positions. Then the PLC control unit controls the electromagnetic nails to pass current according to the above coordinate positions. After the electromagnetic nails are energized and magnetized, the top material block is magnetically attracted and flipped down to release the unqualified seeds.

[0006] As a further improvement of the technical solution, the outer side of the lifting block is an arc surface, and a avoidance opening is opened on the side relative to the rotating shaft. A groove is opened in the middle of the rotating shaft and a spring piece is clamped in the groove to drive the lifting block to rebound and reset.

[0007] As a further improvement of the technical solution, the spring piece is made of spring steel to form an L-shaped plate structure, and its vertical section is bonded to the inner wall of the top column, and its horizontal section is supported on the bottom surface of the top material block.

[0008] As a further improvement of the technical solution, the electromagnetic nail is composed of an iron nail and a plurality of turns of copper wire wrapped around the outside thereof, and limiting rods which penetrate and plug into the top column are arranged on both sides of the bottom of the electromagnetic nail.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present technical solution, the front end height of the limit rod is smaller than the rear end height, a pair of limit holes are provided on the top side wall of the top column, the limit rod is plugged into the limit holes, a socket is provided on the side wall of the top column above the limit hole, and the rotating shaft is plugged into the socket and can rotate.

[0010] As a further improvement of the technical solution, guide plates are provided on the left and right side walls of the bottom of the silo, and the guide plates are inclined toward the inside of the silo. A number of material dividing platforms are provided on the horizontal bottom surface of the silo and between a number of screening holes. The number of material dividing platforms are distributed in a criss-cross manner and their longitudinal cross-sections are triangular.

[0011] As a further improvement of the technical solution, a plurality of the support column plates are distributed side by side and a plurality of support column holes are opened at equal intervals on the top surfaces thereof, and the top columns are plugged into and matched with the support column holes.

[0012] As a further improvement of the technical solution, a slot penetrating the inner walls of a row of several support column holes is provided at the left end of the support column plate, a plug rod is inserted into the slot, and a slot for engaging with the plug rod is provided on the bottom outer wall of the top column.

[0013] As a further improvement of the technical solution, a storage bin is arranged above one side of the silo, and a discharge nozzle is provided at the bottom of the storage bin toward one side of the silo. A plug plate is plugged into the inside of the discharge nozzle, and an electric cylinder for driving the plug plate to rise and fall is arranged above the plug plate.

[0014] As a further improvement of the technical solution, a height sensor for triggering the operation of the electric cylinder is embedded on one side of the top of the silo, and a plate groove penetrating through the bottom surface of the discharge nozzle is opened on the top surface, and the plug plate is plugged into the plate groove.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0016] 1. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds uses a screening mechanism to push out seeds by using several top columns rising from the silo, and cooperates with the visual system above the silo to take pictures and process images to identify unqualified seeds, and transmit their coordinate position information to the PLC control unit, thereby controlling the electromagnetic nails in the top of the top column to turn the electromagnetic suction top material block downward to release the unqualified seeds, that is, they fall from the top column to the waste box for collection, thereby improving the efficiency of screening seed quality and meeting large-scale standardized operations.

[0017] 2. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds is equipped with a height sensor embedded on the top side of the silo for triggering the operation of the electric cylinder. Once the seed height in the silo is lower than the limit value, the electric cylinder will be controlled by the electrical system to move, and the control plug plate will rise to open the discharge nozzle, thereby replenishing seed materials into the silo until the seed height in the silo reaches the specified requirement.

[0018] 3. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds is used to guide the seeds to gather toward the horizontal bottom surface of the silo through inwardly inclined guide plates arranged on the left and right side walls of the bottom of the silo, and a plurality of dividing platforms are arranged on the horizontal bottom surface of the silo and between a plurality of sieve holes to form a slope around each sieve hole to gather the seeds, thereby ensuring that the seeds are not retained and are smoothly ejected by the top column. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The accompanying drawings described herein are only for explanation purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way. In addition, the shapes and proportional dimensions of the various components in the figures are only schematic, used to help understand the present invention, and are not specifically limited to the shapes and proportional dimensions of the various components of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can select various possible shapes and proportional dimensions to implement the present invention according to the teachings of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall assembly structure of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the silo in a fully cutaway state of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 It is a partial exploded view of the storage bin of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly structure of the screening mechanism of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 It is the split diagram of the top column of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the internal assembly structure of the top column of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 7 For the present invention Figure 6 The main view;

[0027] Figure 8 It is a side view of the top material block of the present invention in the state of turning down and discharging materials;

[0028] Fig. 9 For the present invention Figure 7 Side view of

[0029] Fig.10 It is a front view of the top material block of the present invention in the state of turning down and discharging materials;

[0030] Fig.11 This is a disassembled diagram of the support column plate of the present invention;

[0031] Fig.12 This is a block diagram of the seed screening principle of the present invention.

[0032] The meaning of each number in the figure is:

[0033] 100, silo; 101, guide plate; 102, screening hole; 103, material distribution table; 110, visual system; 120, height sensor;

[0034] 200, screening mechanism; 210, top column; 211, jack; 212, limit hole; 213, limit rod; 214, slot; 220, servo electric cylinder; 230, material ejection block; 231, spring; 232, avoidance; 240, electromagnetic nail;

[0035] 250, support column plate; 251, support column hole; 252, slot; 253, plug rod;

[0036] 300, storage bin; 310, discharge nozzle; 311, plate slot; 320, plug board; 330, electric cylinder;

[0037] 400. Waste box. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The details of the present invention can be more clearly understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the description of the specific embodiments of the present invention. However, the specific embodiments of the present invention described herein are only used for the purpose of explaining the present invention and cannot be understood in any way as limiting the present invention. Under the guidance of the present invention, technicians can conceive of any possible variations based on the present invention, and the above should be regarded as falling within the scope of the present invention. The terms "installation" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, and can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium.

[0039] The terms "central axis", "vertical", "horizontal", "front", "back", "up", "down", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like used herein to indicate positions or positional relationships are based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the equipment or elements referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, in the description of the present invention, the meaning of "several" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0040] See also Figure 1-Figure 12 As shown, the present invention provides a visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds, including a silo 100 and a visual system 110 suspended and installed directly above the silo, the visual system 110 including an industrial camera and an image processing unit, an industrial camera with high resolution, high frame rate and good stability is selected, such as the XG-H500M series of Keyence; the image processing unit processes the image taken by the industrial camera, including filtering, binarization, edge detection and other steps, to identify the features of the target object and generate the coordinate position; the software used: using professional image processing software or self-developed algorithms, such as OpenCV, etc.; the above is the prior art and will not be repeated here;

[0041] A screening mechanism 200 is provided inside the silo 100, and the screening mechanism 200 includes a plurality of top columns 210 plugged into the bottom surface of the silo 100, a servo electric cylinder 220 for driving the plurality of top columns 210 to rise and fall, a material ejection block 230 provided in the top of the top column 210, and an electromagnetic nail 240 for magnetically sucking the material ejection block 230 to flip the material downward, and a plurality of support column plates 250 are provided at the bottom of the plurality of top columns 210, and a piston rod is provided on the central axis of the servo electric cylinder 220, and its bottom end is fixedly connected to one side of the plurality of support column plates 250; a plurality of screening holes 102 are provided in a dot matrix on the bottom surface of the silo 100, so that the plurality of top columns 210 are densely distributed and equidistant in the silo 100, so that each time the plurality of top columns 210 rise, the seeds will be ejected, thereby replacing manual seed clamping and screening; the seeds include but are not limited to corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, etc.;

[0042] The interior of the top column 210 is a hollow structure with openings at the upper and lower ends. The top material block 230 is a round iron block and a rotating shaft that is plugged into the inner side of the top column 210 is embedded on one side. The electromagnetic nail 240 is attached to the inner wall of the front side of the top column 210 and is arranged offset from the bottom of the pin; so that there is enough space in the top column 210 for the seeds to fall.

[0043] Furthermore, a PLC control unit for controlling the on and off of a number of electromagnetic nails 240 is provided at the rear of the visual system 110, which receives the coordinate position information generated by the image processing unit and controls the on and off of the electromagnetic nails 240 at the corresponding positions; specifically, in the PLC program, a unique output point is defined for each electromagnetic nail 240, and the above-mentioned point controls the on and off state of the electromagnetic nail 240 according to the position information of the unqualified seeds transmitted by the image processing unit; a number of electromagnetic nails 240 are connected in parallel to the output terminal of the PLC control unit, and the servo electric cylinder 220 is started to drive a number of ejector columns 210 to penetrate the top of the silo 100 and eject the seeds. The visual system 110 takes pictures and processes them to identify the unqualified seeds and generate coordinate positions. The unqualified seeds are those that are unqualified in color and configuration; then the PLC control unit controls the electromagnetic nails 240 to pass current according to the above-mentioned coordinate positions. After the electromagnetic nails 240 are energized and magnetized, the magnetic top material block 230 is flipped down to release the unqualified seeds.

[0044] Furthermore, the outer side of the top material block 230 is an arc surface, and a side relative to the rotating shaft is provided with an escape opening 232, so that the top material block 230 can be smoothly deflected in the cavity of the top column 210. The escape opening 232 is designed to shorten the top material block 230, so that after it turns down, there is space to allow the seeds to slide into the cavity of the top column 210, and then fall out from the bottom port thereof to be collected;

[0045] A groove is provided in the middle of the rotating shaft, and a spring piece 231 is clamped in the groove to drive the top material block 230 to rebound and reset. The spring piece 231 is made of spring steel and has an L-shaped plate structure, and its vertical section is bonded to the inner wall of the top column 210, and its horizontal section is supported on the bottom surface of the top material block 230. When the electromagnetic nail 240 loses its magnetic attraction to the top material block 230, the spring piece 231 is used to reset it.

[0046] The electromagnetic nail 240 is composed of an iron nail and several circles of copper wire wrapped around its outer side. Limit rods 213 are provided on both sides of the bottom of the electromagnetic nail 240 and are inserted into the top column 210 to support the electromagnetic nail 240. The magnetic attraction of the electromagnetic nail 240 is increased by winding more copper wire. The power connection wire of the copper wire is wound around the rear of the silo 100 through the bottom port of the top column 210 and is tied with a cable tie with a certain length reserved, so that when the top column 210 is raised or lowered, the electromagnetic nail 240 does not involve the power connection wire.

[0047] Furthermore, the front end height of the limiting rod 213 is smaller than the rear end height thereof, and a pair of limiting holes 212 are provided on the top side wall of the top column 210, and the limiting rod 213 is plugged into and matched with the limiting holes 212, and the high section of the limiting rod 213 is used to squeeze the electromagnetic nail 240 to adhere to the inner wall of the top column 210 while leaving space; a socket 211 is provided on the side wall of the top column 210 and located above the limiting hole 212, and the rotating shaft is plugged into and rotatable with the socket 211.

[0048] Furthermore, in order to enable the seeds in the silo 100 to automatically converge toward the screening holes 102, guide plates 101 are provided on the left and right side walls of the bottom of the silo 100. The guide plates 101 are inclined toward the silo 100 to guide the seeds to gather toward the horizontal bottom surface of the silo 100. A plurality of dividing platforms 103 are provided on the horizontal bottom surface of the silo 100 and between the plurality of screening holes 102. The plurality of dividing platforms 103 are distributed in a criss-cross manner and have a triangular longitudinal section, which are used to form a slope around each screening hole 102 to gather the seeds and prevent the seeds from being retained and not being ejected by the top column 210. The inner diameter of the top column 210 is matched and customized according to the size of the seeds, so that the top column 210 only ejects one seed each time it rises, so that it can be accurately screened by the visual system 110.

[0049] Furthermore, a plurality of support column plates 250 are arranged side by side and a plurality of support column holes 251 are provided on the top surfaces thereof at equal intervals, and the top column 210 is plugged into and matched with the support column holes 251; a slot 252 penetrating the inner side walls of a row of the support column holes 251 is provided on the left end of the support column plate 250, and an insertion rod 253 is inserted into the slot 252; a card slot 214 engaged with the insertion rod 253 is provided on the bottom outer side wall of the top column 210; this makes it easy to disassemble and assemble the top column 210 and stable to install.

[0050] In addition, a storage bin 300 is arranged above one side of the silo 100, and a discharge nozzle 310 is arranged at the bottom of the storage bin 300 facing the side of the silo 100, and a plug plate 320 is inserted inside the discharge nozzle 310 for blocking the discharge nozzle 310, and an electric cylinder 330 is arranged above the plug plate 320 for driving the plug plate to rise and fall, so as to open the discharge nozzle 310 to discharge materials; a plate groove 311 is provided on the top surface of the discharge nozzle 310 and passes through the bottom surface thereof, and the plug plate 320 is plugged into and matched with the plate groove 311; a waste box 400 is placed below the storage bin 300, and when a number of top columns 210 rise to screen the material, the waste box 400 is placed directly below the silo 100 to receive and collect unqualified seeds.

[0051] It is worth mentioning that a height sensor 120 for triggering the operation of the electric cylinder 330 is embedded on one side of the top of the silo 100. The height sensor is a device for measuring the height of an object. It can determine the height of the object by measuring the distance between the object and a reference point. Ultrasonic and photoelectric height sensors are used to determine the overall height of the seeds in the silo 100. Once the seed height is lower than the limit value, the electric cylinder 330 controlled by the electrical system will be activated, and the control plug plate 320 will rise to open the discharge nozzle 310, thereby replenishing seed materials into the silo 100 until the seed height in the silo 100 reaches the specified requirement and stops.

[0052] When the visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds of the present invention is working, an appropriate amount of seeds is injected into the silo 100, and the servo electric cylinder 220 is started to drive the support column plate 250 to drive the plurality of top columns 210 to rise, and a seed is ejected from the silo 100; at this time, the seeds on the plurality of top columns 210 are captured by the visual system 110, and the unqualified seeds are analyzed by the image processing unit and their coordinate positions are generated, and then the generated coordinate position information is transmitted to the PLC control unit, and the electromagnetic nail 240 at the corresponding position is controlled to be energized. After the electromagnetic nail 240 is energized and magnetized, the magnetic top material block 230 is flipped down and the unqualified seeds are released to fall out from the bottom port of the top column 210, and then collected by the waste box 400 placed under the silo 100.

[0053] It should be noted that the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical concept and features of the present invention, and their purpose is to enable people familiar with the technology to understand the content of the present invention and implement it accordingly, and they cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any equivalent changes or modifications made according to the spirit of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds, comprising a silo (100) and a visual system (110) suspended and installed directly above the silo, wherein the visual system (110) comprises an industrial camera and an image processing unit, and is characterized in that: A material screening mechanism (200) is arranged inside the silo (100), and the material screening mechanism (200) comprises a plurality of top columns (210) plugged into the bottom surface of the silo (100), a servo electric cylinder (220) for driving the plurality of top columns (210) to rise and fall, a material-lifting block (230) arranged at the top of the top column (210), and an electromagnetic nail (240) for magnetically sucking the material-lifting block (230) to flip the material downward, and a plurality of support columns (250) are arranged at the bottom of the plurality of top columns (210). The central axis of the electric cylinder (220) is provided with a piston rod and the bottom end thereof is fixedly connected to one side of a plurality of support column plates (250); the bottom surface of the silo (100) is provided with a plurality of screening holes (102) in a lattice pattern; the interior of the top column (210) is a hollow structure and both the upper and lower ends are open; the top material block (230) is a round iron block and one side of the top column is embedded with a rotating shaft plugged into the inner side of the top column (210); the electromagnetic pin (240) is attached to the inner wall of the front side of the top column (210) and is arranged away from the bottom of the pin; A PLC control unit for controlling the on and off of a plurality of electromagnetic nails (240) is arranged behind the vision system (110). The plurality of electromagnetic nails (240) are connected in parallel to the output terminals of the PLC control unit. The servo electric cylinder (220) is started to drive the plurality of ejector posts (210) to pass through the top of the silo (100) and eject the seeds. The vision system (110) takes photos and processes them to identify unqualified seeds and generate coordinate positions. The PLC control unit then controls the electromagnetic nails (240) to pass current according to the coordinate positions. After the electromagnetic nails (240) are energized and magnetized, the ejector blocks (230) are magnetically attracted to flip downward and the unqualified seeds are released.

2. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer side of the ejecting block (230) is an arc surface, and a side opposite to the rotating shaft is provided with an escape opening (232). The middle of the rotating shaft is provided with a groove, and a spring piece (231) is clamped in the groove for driving the ejecting block (230) to rebound and reset.

3. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds according to claim 2, characterized in that: The spring sheet (231) is made of spring steel and has an L-shaped plate structure, and its vertical section is bonded to the inner wall of the top column (210), and its horizontal section is supported on the bottom surface of the top material block (230).

4. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds according to claim 3, characterized in that: The electromagnetic nail (240) is composed of an iron nail and a plurality of turns of copper wire wound around the outside thereof. Limiting rods (213) penetrating and plugging into the top column (210) are provided on both sides of the bottom of the electromagnetic nail (240).

5. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds according to claim 4, characterized in that: The front end height of the limiting rod (213) is smaller than the rear end height thereof; the top side wall of the top column (210) is provided with a pair of limiting holes (212); the limiting rod (213) is plugged into and matched with the limiting holes (212); the side wall of the top column (210) is provided with a plug hole (211) located above the limiting hole (212); the rotating shaft is plugged into and rotatable with the plug hole (211).

6. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds according to claim 5, characterized in that: The left and right side walls of the bottom of the silo (100) are provided with guide plates (101), the guide plates (101) are arranged to be inclined toward the inside of the silo (100), and a plurality of material distribution platforms (103) are provided on the horizontal bottom surface of the silo (100) and between the plurality of material screening holes (102), the plurality of material distribution platforms (103) are distributed in a crisscross manner and their longitudinal cross-sections are triangular.

7. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of the support column plates (250) are arranged side by side and a plurality of support column holes (251) are provided on the top surfaces of the plates at equal intervals. The top columns (210) are plugged into and matched with the support column holes (251).

8. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds according to claim 7, characterized in that: The left end of the support column plate (250) is provided with a slot (252) penetrating through the inner side walls of a row of support column holes (251), an insertion rod (253) is inserted into the slot (252), and the bottom outer side wall of the top column (210) is provided with a slot (214) for engaging with the insertion rod (253).

9. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds according to claim 1, characterized in that: A material storage bin (300) is arranged above one side of the material bin (100), and a discharge nozzle (310) is arranged at the bottom of the material storage bin (300) and is connected to one side of the material bin (100). A plug plate (320) is plugged into the inside of the discharge nozzle (310), and an electric cylinder (330) is arranged above the plug plate (320) for driving the plug plate (320) to rise and fall.

10. The visual positioning and feeding system for minimally invasive sampling of crop seeds according to claim 9, characterized in that: A height sensor (120) for triggering the operation of the electric cylinder (330) is embedded on one side of the top of the silo (100), a plate groove (311) penetrating through the bottom of the discharge nozzle (310) is formed on the top surface, and the plug plate (320) is plugged into and matched with the plate groove (311).

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