Flow control mechanism of rice mill

Abstract

A flow rate control mechanism for a rice husking machine is provided with: a rice husking unit (20) for husking grains; and a rice milling tank (10) provided above the rice milling unit and capable of storing grains, the rice milling tank being provided with: a flow control valve (11) capable of adjusting the amount of grain supplied to the rice milling unit by moving up and down in the rice milling tank; and an optical flow rate detection unit (13) which is provided on a wall portion of the rice milling tank and which is capable of detecting the flow rate of the grain between the wall portion and the flow rate control valve.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a flow control mechanism of a rice milling machine, which can control and adjust the flow of grains supplied to a rice milling part of the rice milling machine. Background Art

[0002] As a prior art, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for installing grain detection sensors at five locations along the longitudinal direction of the milling chamber to maintain a stable grain volume in the milling chamber by regulating the flow rate through a valve. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for detecting the grain flow rate by setting the load current value of the conveyor motor M1. When the load current value exceeds the set current, the grain supply valve is adjusted to quantitatively control the grain flow rate to the milling chamber. Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for providing a grain supply device to the milling chamber with a rotary valve for both opening and closing functions and flow rate regulation.

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-102159

[0006] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-047295

[0007] Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-308593 Summary of the Invention

[0008] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0009] However, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the regulating valve is controlled by the grain detection sensor so that a certain amount of grain is always filled into the rice milling chamber. Therefore, the amount of grain increases and decreases repeatedly between the grain detection sensors, which may lead to uneven rice milling or reduced rice milling efficiency.

[0010] In addition, in order to more efficiently mill the grains, it is necessary to operate / adjust the pressure in the milling chamber generated by the baffle, the peripheral speed of the grindstone, and the flow rate or discharge volume of the grains in the rice milling machine according to the degree of rice milling. However, the method of only managing the filling amount of the grains in the milling chamber shown in the above-mentioned patent documents 1 to 3 is difficult to perform efficient rice milling.

[0011] The present invention is proposed in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a flow control mechanism of a rice milling machine that can mill rice more efficiently than before.

[0012] Means for solving problems

[0013] In the embodiment of the invention of (1), the flow control mechanism of the rice milling machine comprises: a rice milling part, which mills the grains; and a rice milling tank, which is arranged above the rice milling part and can store the grains, and the rice milling tank is provided with: a flow control valve, which can adjust the supply amount of the grains to the rice milling part by moving up and down in the rice milling tank; and an optical flow detection part, which is arranged on the wall of the rice milling tank and can detect the flow of the grains between the wall and the flow control valve.

[0014] In the embodiment of the invention of (2), there is further provided: a control unit capable of controlling the flow control valve, wherein the control unit is capable of moving the flow control valve upward or downward based on detection data of the optical flow detection unit.

[0015] In the embodiment of the invention of (3), the flow control valve comprises: a conical portion; and a cylindrical portion formed at the lower portion of the conical portion, and the optical flow detection portion detects the flow of grain between the wall portion of the rice milling tank and the cylindrical portion of the flow control valve.

[0016] In the embodiments of the invention of (4) and (5), the optical flow rate detection unit can output the displacement amount and displacement direction of the grain based on the continuous images of the grain obtained using the vertical cavity surface emitting laser.

[0017] In the embodiments of the invention of (6) and (7), the optical flow rate detection unit can output the displacement amount and displacement direction of the grain based on the continuous images of the grain obtained using the TOF camera.

[0018] Effects of the Invention

[0019] In an embodiment of the present invention, an optical flow detection unit capable of detecting the flow of grain between the wall of the rice milling tank and the flow control valve is installed on the wall of the rice milling tank. This unit calculates the flow rate by detecting the flow velocity of grain flowing down the inner surface of the rice milling tank, and appropriately controls the grain flow rate by adjusting the flow control valve's upward and downward movements. Specifically, the optical flow detection unit, capable of directly and optically detecting the grain flow rate, is installed in the rice milling tank near the upstream side of the rice milling unit. This improves the accuracy of grain flow monitoring and allows for fine-tuning of the grain flow rate through feedback control based on the detection data, thereby improving rice milling efficiency and quality.

[0020] In the prior art, while the grain flow rate is adjusted by adjusting the valve opening, the grain flow rate actually varies depending on the pounding process in the rice milling section, due to changes in the grain shape or the starch composition on the grain surface, causing the grain flow rate to change. Even with a fixed adjustment valve opening, the grain flow rate still varies, making flow rate adjustment difficult. On the other hand, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the grain flow rate is calculated by detecting the flow rate of the grain flowing down the inner surface of the rice milling tank and multiplying it by the cross-sectional area of ​​the flow range. Therefore, the grain flow rate at this point is the bulk density and is not affected by volumetric specific gravity, allowing for appropriate flow rate adjustment in the rice milling section. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 2 is a schematic diagram of the rice milling machine in this embodiment.

[0022] Figure 2 It is a cross-sectional view of the rice milling tank in the present embodiment, viewed from above and from the side.

[0023] Figure 3 It is an explanatory diagram for explaining the detection configuration based on the optical imaging method in this embodiment.

[0024] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a detection configuration based on the optical imaging method in this embodiment.

[0025] Figure 5 This is an explanatory diagram for explaining a detection configuration based on a TOF camera method in another embodiment.

[0026] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a detection configuration based on a TOF camera method in another embodiment.

[0027] Figure 7A 1 is a cross-sectional view of the rice milling tank for explaining the movement of the flow control valve in this embodiment.

[0028] Figure 7B 1 is a cross-sectional view of the rice milling tank for explaining the movement of the flow control valve in this embodiment.

[0029] Figure 7C 1 is a cross-sectional view of the rice milling tank for explaining the movement of the flow control valve in this embodiment.

[0030] Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating the control structure of the flow rate control mechanism in this embodiment.

[0031] Figure 9A 2 is a cross-sectional view of a rice milling tank for explaining the movement of a flow control valve in another embodiment.

[0032] Figure 9B2 is a cross-sectional view of a rice milling tank for explaining the movement of a flow control valve in another embodiment.

[0033] Figure 9C 2 is a cross-sectional view of a rice milling tank for explaining the movement of a flow control valve in another embodiment.

[0034] Figure 10 2 is a cross-sectional view of a rice milling tank illustrating an installation range of an optical flow detection unit in another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the flow control mechanism of the rice milling machine of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] exist Figure 1 , a schematic diagram of the rice milling machine 100 in this embodiment is shown. As shown in the figure, the rice milling machine 100 comprises at least: a rice milling section 20 for milling grains; and a rice milling tank 10 disposed above the rice milling section 20 for storing grains. The rice milling section 20 is provided with a rice milling chamber 22 and a rice milling roller 21.

[0037] A baffle 23 is installed at the fine grain outlet 24 of the rice milling section 20, and the discharged grain is transported to an elevator 40 via a screen 30. The grain is then stored in the rice milling tank 10 from the elevator 40. The rice milling tank 10 includes a flow control mechanism for controlling the grain flow rate, including a flow control valve 11 that moves up and down within the tank to adjust the amount of grain supplied to the rice milling section 20; and an optical flow detection unit 13, which is installed on the wall of the tank 10 and can detect the flow of grain between the wall and the flow control valve 11.

[0038] In addition, the rice milling tank 10 is equipped with a driving cylinder 14 that serves as a driving source for the flow control valve 11, and a flow observation window 12 that allows a view into the rice milling tank 10 is provided on the wall where the optical flow detection unit 13 is provided. Moreover, a control unit 50 that can control at least the flow control mechanism of the rice milling machine 100 is provided integrally with or separately from the rice milling machine 100.

[0039] As described above, by setting a flow observation window 12 in the rice milling tank 10, light is irradiated from here to the grains inside, and the image of the grains is read through the optical flow detection unit 13. The feature points of the image are extracted from the read image, and the movement of the feature points is measured to calculate the moving direction and speed of the grains.

[0040] exist Figure 2 As described above, an optical flow detection unit 13 is provided on the wall of the rice milling tank 10 and can detect the flow of grains between the wall and the flow control valve 11 through a flow observation window 12.

[0041] In addition, the flow control valve 11 of this embodiment is composed of a conical portion 111 and a cylindrical portion 112 formed at the lower portion of the conical portion 111, and the stored grain flows along the periphery of the flow control valve 11 ( Figure 2 Thus, the optical flow detection unit 13 can detect the flow between the wall of the rice milling tank 10 and the cylindrical portion 112 of the flow control valve 11 ( Figure 2 The flow rate of grain (dot-dash line part).

[0042] The stored grains are Figure 2 The flow rate u (m / s) is measured by the optical flow detection unit 13. And, the area (m 2 ), thus multiplying the flow velocity u (m / s) by the area (m 2 ) to calculate the grain flow Q(m 3 / s).

[0043] In addition, although the shape of the flow control valve 11 is not necessarily limited to the shape shown in the figure, by setting the rice milling tank 10 to a cylindrical shape and the shape of the flow control valve 11 to a bullet shape as shown in the figure, the stored grains can flow down evenly along the inner wall of the rice milling tank 10.

[0044] In addition, in this embodiment, although the optical flow detection unit 13 and the flow observation window 12 are set at one location of the rice milling tank 10, these optical flow detection units 13 and flow observation windows 12 can also be set at multiple locations. Therefore, if the flow of grains is obstructed for some reasons, such as bran adhering to a part of the flow control valve 11 or grains are connected together near the flow control valve 11, the obstruction of the flow of grains can be discovered in advance based on the detection data of the optical flow detection units 13 at multiple locations.

[0045] Next, the optical flow rate detection unit 13 will be described. As the detection structure of the optical flow rate detection unit 13, Figure 3 The diagram shows the detection structure based on the optical image method. Figure 4 The diagram shows the detection process.

[0046] Specifically, the optical flow rate detection unit 13 using the optical image detection method includes at least a light source device 131, a detector array device 132, and an image processor 133. The light source device 131, which may be composed of an LED lamp or the like, irradiates light onto the grain through the flow observation window 12 (S100). The detector array device 132 captures an image pattern of the grain in the direction of specular reflection (S110). The image processor 133 compares the image pattern with the previously captured grain image to calculate the grain displacement amount and displacement direction (S120).

[0047] Alternatively, there is a method in which the light source device 131 uses a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) to irradiate the grains with laser light, and an image of the generated laser spot is acquired using the detector array device 132. In this case, the detector array device 132 can be arranged perpendicular to the detection surface.

[0048] Next, another embodiment of the optical flow rate detection unit 13 is described. As the detection structure of the optical flow rate detection unit 13, Figure 5 The detection structure based on TOF (Time Of Flight) camera method is shown in Figure 6 The detection process is shown in FIG.

[0049] Specifically, the optical flow rate detection unit 13 using a TOF camera system includes at least a light source device 151, a detector array device 152, a TOF processor 153, and an image processor 154. The light source device 151 irradiates the grain with laser light through the flow observation window 12 (S100). The detector array device 152 and the TOF processor 153 measure the reflection time from the grain surface, and a stereoscopic image obtained by calculating the distance to the grain surface is output to the image processor 154 (S110). The image processor 154 then compares the image with the previously acquired stereoscopic image of the grain to calculate the amount and direction of grain displacement (S120).

[0050] According to the TOF camera method described above, since the laser is irradiated almost vertically onto the grain, the effects of mirror reflections on the flow observation window 12 can be significantly reduced. In addition, since this method does not utilize the intensity of the laser, even if the flow observation window 12 becomes slightly dirty, the effect can be avoided by increasing the laser output.

[0051] Next, the control structure of the flow control valve 11 is described. As described above, the rice milling machine 100 is provided with a control unit 50 that can at least control the flow control mechanism of the rice milling machine 100. Figures 7A to 7C 2 shows the movement of the flow control valve 11 constituting the flow control mechanism.

[0052] Figure 7A The flow control valve 11 is in the fully closed position. Figure 7B The flow control valve 11 is shown in the middle position. Figure 7C The flow control valve 11 is shown in a fully open position. The control unit 50 ensures a necessary flow rate based on the detection data of the optical flow detection unit 13 and moves the flow control valve 11 upward or downward.

[0053] like Figures 7A to 7C As shown, in this embodiment, the flow detection position of the optical flow detection unit 13 is located at the cylindrical portion 112 of the flow control valve 11. Therefore, even if the flow control valve 11 is moved up and down, the gap in the grain flow path at the flow detection position remains constant. This allows for stable detection of the grain flow rate.

[0054] exist Figure 8 In the figure, a flow chart is used to illustrate the control structure of the flow control mechanism in this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the rice milling in the rice milling machine 100 starts (S200), and the target grain flow rate to the rice milling section 20 is set (S210). Then, the flow control valve 11 is opened (S220), and the grain flow rate is detected based on the optical flow detection unit 13 (S230). Then, based on the detection data of the optical flow detection unit 13, the flow control valve 11 is moved up and down while adjusting the flow rate (S240) to achieve the target grain flow rate. When the rice milling is completed (S250), the flow control valve 11 is fully closed, and all control is completed.

[0055] (Another embodiment)

[0056] Although the flow control mechanism of the rice milling machine in this embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications shown below may be made.

[0057] like Figures 7A to 7C As shown in FIG. 1 , the flow control valve 11 of the above embodiment is a flow control valve in which the conical portion 111 and the cylindrical portion 112 are formed as one body and move up and down. Figures 9A to 9C As shown, a rectifier head composed of a conical part and a cylindrical part is fixedly arranged in the rice milling tank 10, and a cylindrical or columnar flow control valve 11 can also be constructed to move in and out of the cylindrical part of the rectifier head to adjust the flow of grains. According to this structure, the load when the flow control valve 11 is in operation can be greatly reduced. In addition, as Figure 10 As shown in the embodiment, regardless of the operating state of the flow control valve 11, if the cross-section of the grain flow is a fixed range (in the figure, "the optical flow detection unit 13 can be set range"), the optical flow detection unit 13 can be set not only on the vertical wall of the rice milling tank 10, but also on the inclined wall.

[0058] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. The flow control mechanism of the rice milling machine of the present invention can be applied to other types of rice milling machines such as horizontal friction rice milling machines or rice milling machines for grinding rice grains, and can effectively adjust the flow rate of grains.

[0059] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments of the invention described above are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified and improved without departing from its gist, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof. In addition, the constituent elements described in the scope of the patent application and the specification may be combined or omitted within the scope of solving at least some of the above-mentioned problems or achieving at least some of the effects.

[0060] Explanation of symbols

[0061] 10 rice mill

[0062] 11Flow control valve

[0063] 12 flow observation windows

[0064] 13 Optical flow detection unit

[0065] 14 drive cylinders

[0066] 20 Rice milling department

[0067] 21 rice milling roller

[0068] 22 Rice milling room

[0069] 23 baffles

[0070] 24 high-quality outlets

[0071] 30 mesh

[0072] 40 lifts

[0073] 50 Control Department

[0074] 100 rice mill

[0075] 111 cone

[0076] 112 cylindrical part

[0077] 131 light source device

[0078] 132 detector array device

[0079] 133 image processor

[0080] 151 light source device

[0081] 152 detector array device

[0082] 153TOF processor

[0083] 154 image processor.

Claims

1. A flow control mechanism for a rice mill, characterized in that: The invention comprises: a rice milling part for milling grains; and a rice milling tank which is arranged above the rice milling part and can store grains. The rice milling tank has: a flow control valve, which can adjust the amount of grain supplied to the rice milling part by moving up and down in the rice milling tank; and The optical flow detection part is arranged on the wall of the rice milling tank and can detect the flow of grains between the wall and the flow control valve.

2. The flow control mechanism of the rice mill according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also has: a control unit capable of controlling the flow control valve, The control unit can move the flow control valve upward or downward based on detection data of the optical flow detection unit.

3. The flow control mechanism of the rice mill according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The flow control valve comprises: a conical portion; and a cylindrical portion formed at the lower portion of the conical portion. The optical flow detection part detects the flow of grains between the wall portion of the rice milling pot and the cylindrical portion of the flow control valve.

4. The flow control mechanism of the rice mill according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The optical flow rate detection unit can output the displacement amount and displacement direction of the grain based on continuous images of the grain obtained using a vertical cavity surface emitting laser.

5. The flow control mechanism of the rice mill according to claim 3, characterized in that: The optical flow rate detection unit can output the displacement amount and displacement direction of the grain based on continuous images of the grain obtained using a vertical cavity surface emitting laser.

6. The flow control mechanism of the rice mill according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The optical flow rate detection unit can output the displacement amount and displacement direction of the grain based on the continuous images of the grain obtained using the TOF camera.

7. The flow control mechanism of the rice mill according to claim 3, characterized in that: The optical flow rate detection unit can output the displacement amount and displacement direction of the grain based on the continuous images of the grain obtained using the TOF camera.

Images