Walnut external quality sorting device
By designing a walnut external quality sorting device, using image acquisition and visual algorithm processing combined with roller conveying and sorting mechanisms, efficient and lossless multi-column sorting of walnuts is achieved, solving the problem that existing equipment cannot perform fine sorting, and improving sorting accuracy and efficiency.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202410438576.X
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-04-12
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-21
AI Technical Summary
Existing walnut sorting equipment cannot effectively distinguish between normal, black-spotted and damaged walnuts, resulting in low sorting accuracy and susceptibility to human subjective factors. In addition, the existing equipment is not precise enough in grading the appearance defects of walnuts.
A walnut external quality sorting device was designed, which included a feeding mechanism, an image acquisition mechanism, a roller conveying mechanism, and a sorting mechanism. Multi-column sorting of walnuts was achieved through image acquisition and visual algorithm processing. The walnuts were rotated by rollers for omnidirectional image acquisition, and the sorting turntable was driven by a stepper motor to achieve accurate sorting of the three external qualities.
It achieves efficient and non-destructive sorting of walnuts, improves sorting accuracy, can accurately distinguish normal, black-spotted and damaged walnuts, reduces the walnut damage rate, and improves sorting efficiency and accuracy.
Smart Images
Figure CN120815740A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The invention relates to a walnut external quality sorting device, belonging to the technical field of agricultural product sorting devices. Background Art
[0002] During walnut growth and initial processing, some walnuts may develop cosmetic defects (black spots, damage), which affect their value. Manual sorting is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the sorting process is susceptible to subjective factors, which can affect sorting accuracy. Currently, most walnut grading equipment on the market, such as screens and roller graders, can only sort walnuts by shape and size. Machines that grade walnuts for external quality can only separate normal walnuts (normal) from abnormal walnuts (black spots, damage), and cannot further sort walnuts with black spots or damage. Machines that can grade all three types of walnuts often only sort them individually. Summary of the Invention
[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the above-mentioned background technology and provide a device that can realize multi-column simultaneous sorting of three types of walnuts (normal, black-spotted, and damaged). The device has a simple structure and can ensure the appearance quality of the walnuts while performing efficient sorting.
[0004] To solve the above problems, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solutions:
[0005] The walnut external quality sorting device is characterized in that: the walnut external quality sorting device includes a feeding mechanism, an image acquisition mechanism, a roller conveying mechanism, and a sorting mechanism. The feeding mechanism is arranged above one end of the roller conveying mechanism. The feeding mechanism divides the poured walnuts into three columns and enters the roller conveying mechanism. The roller conveying mechanism is equipped with an image acquisition mechanism. When the walnuts enter the area where the image acquisition mechanism is located, the image acquisition mechanism will capture the image of the walnuts. The image acquisition mechanism transmits the image information to the visual algorithm for processing, and controls the sorting mechanism after obtaining the position information and category information of the walnuts to sort the walnuts.
[0006] Preferably, the feeding mechanism includes a hopper, an inverted V-shaped material distribution slope, a feeding slope baffle, and a feeding slope. The two material distribution slopes are welded in the hopper, and the feeding slope is installed in the hopper and located at the lower side of the discharge port. Several feeding slope baffles are arranged in parallel on the feeding slope.
[0007] Preferably, the image acquisition mechanism includes an image acquisition box, an industrial camera, and a light source strip. An industrial camera is installed at the center of the upper side of the image acquisition box, and four light source strips are distributed on the four inner surfaces of the image acquisition box.
[0008] Preferably, the roller transport mechanism includes a frame, a hollow pin conveying chain, a cylindrical load-bearing roller, a channel baffle, a motor, and a friction plate. The frame is provided with a motor to drive the hollow pin conveying chain, and cylindrical load-bearing rollers are installed at equal pitches between two hollow pin conveying chains symmetrically installed on the frame. Several channel baffles welded to the frame are installed parallel to the cylindrical load-bearing rollers.
[0009] Preferably, the shaft diameters at both ends of the cylindrical load-bearing roller are slightly smaller than the aperture of the hollow pin conveying chain, and both ends thereof pass through the through holes of the hollow pin conveying chain and are installed between the two hollow pin conveying chains. The cylindrical load-bearing roller is axially fixed by elastic retaining rings Ⅰ at both ends, and the elastic retaining ring Ⅰ is close to the outside of the hollow pin conveying chain. Two friction wheels are axially symmetrically arranged on the cylindrical load-bearing roller, and the friction wheels are radially fixed by key Ⅰ. The sleeve is close to the inside of the hollow pin conveying chain and axially fixes the friction wheels. The two friction plates are symmetrically arranged on the frame and are located below the image acquisition mechanism.
[0010] Preferably, the sorting mechanism includes a stepper motor, a sorting ramp baffle, a sorting ramp I, a sorting ramp II, a screw I, an elastic retaining ring II, a key II, a pulley, a bearing seat, a deep groove ball bearing, a sorting turntable, a sorting device frame end cover, a key III, a driven shaft, a screw II, and a sorting device frame. The stepper motor is fixed on the frame, and the stepper motor drives the driven shaft to rotate through a belt drive. The sorting ramp I and the sorting ramp II are fastened to the frame by screw I.
[0011] Preferably, a pulley is radially fixed on the driven shaft through key II, a sorting turntable is radially fixed through key III, the sorting device frame is fastened to the frame through screw I, and three screws II arranged on the circumference of the end cover of the sorting device frame fix it to the sorting device frame. Two deep groove ball bearings are symmetrically installed at both ends of the sorting turntable, and the deep groove ball bearings are axially fixed by the bearing seat, and the bearing seat is fastened to the frame through screw I.
[0012] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:
[0013] The present invention divides walnuts into three columns through a feeding mechanism. The walnuts on the roller transport mechanism enter the gap between two adjacent rollers. When the rollers are driven by a hollow pin conveying chain to transport the walnuts to the bottom of the image acquisition mechanism, the friction wheels on both sides of the rollers rub against the friction plates below them to drive the rollers to rotate. The rollers then rub against the walnuts to drive the walnuts to rotate. The image acquisition mechanism can collect comprehensive surface information of the walnuts. After processing by a visual algorithm, the stepping motor is controlled to drive the sorting turntable in the sorting mechanism to rotate a corresponding angle to sort the walnuts entering the sorting mechanism, thereby achieving the ability to simultaneously sort the three external qualities of the walnuts in the three columns, thereby improving the sorting efficiency and accuracy. The use of a visual algorithm for non-destructive testing of the appearance quality of the walnuts can avoid damage to the walnuts caused by mechanical equipment, without damaging the walnut sorting, and can also detect black spots and damaged walnuts that cannot be detected by mechanical equipment. Compared with walnut detection by other mechanical equipment, the detection stage is non-destructive, and the overall screening is greatly reduced compared with walnut detection, while ensuring efficient grading and screening of walnuts. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the whole machine of the present invention.
[0015] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the feeding mechanism of the present invention.
[0016] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the image acquisition mechanism of the present invention.
[0017] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the roller conveying mechanism of the present invention.
[0018] Figure 5 It is a partial cross-sectional view of the cylindrical roller of the present invention and its key parts.
[0019] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the sorting mechanism of the present invention.
[0020] Figure 7 Figure 8(a) is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the sorting mechanism for sorting damaged walnuts and black-spotted walnuts. Figure 8(b) is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the sorting mechanism for sorting normal walnuts.
[0021] Explanation of symbols in the figure: 101, hopper; 102, inverted V-shaped material distribution slope; 103, feeding slope baffle; 104, feeding slope; 201, light bar; 202, industrial camera; 203, image acquisition box; 301, hollow pin conveyor chain; 302, cylindrical load-bearing roller; 303, channel baffle; 304, motor; 305, friction plate; 306, frame; 307, elastic retaining ring I; 308, sleeve; 309, friction wheel; 310, cylindrical load-bearing roller; 401, stepping motor; 40 2. Sorting slope baffle; 403. Sorting slope I; 404. Sorting slope II; 405. Normal walnut collection box; 406. Black spot walnut collection box; 407. Screw I; 408. Broken walnut collection box; 409. Elastic retaining ring II; 410. Key II; 411. Pulley; 412. Bearing seat; 413. Deep groove ball bearing; 414. Sorting turntable; 415 Sorting device frame end cover; 416. Key III; 417. Driven shaft; 418. Screw II; 419. Sorting device frame; 420. Square hole. Specific implementation methods
[0022] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present invention more clear, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings to facilitate understanding by technicians.
[0023] like Figure 1 As shown, the walnut external quality sorting device is characterized in that: the walnut external quality sorting device includes a feeding mechanism 1, an image acquisition mechanism 2, a roller conveying mechanism 3, and a sorting mechanism 4. The feeding mechanism 1 is arranged above one end of the roller conveying mechanism 3. The feeding mechanism 1 divides the poured walnuts into three columns and enters the roller conveying mechanism 3. The roller conveying mechanism is bolted with an image acquisition mechanism 2. When the walnuts enter the area where the image acquisition mechanism 2 is located, the image acquisition mechanism 2 will capture the image of the walnuts. The image acquisition mechanism 2 transmits the image information to the control system for processing. After obtaining the position information and category information of the walnuts, the control system controls the sorting mechanism 4 to sort the walnuts.
[0024] like Figure 2 As shown, two inverted V-shaped dividing slopes 102 are welded in the hopper 101 to divide the walnuts poured into the hopper into three columns. The feeding slope 104 is installed on the lower side of the discharge port of the hopper 101. Six feeding slope baffles 103 are arranged on the feeding slope to separate the three columns of walnuts. Every two feeding slope baffles 103 form a channel, which corresponds to the three columns of walnuts falling from the hopper 101. A total of three channels are formed to separate the three columns of walnuts divided by the feeding slope 104 into the subsequent roller conveying mechanism 3.
[0025] like Figure 4As shown, the image acquisition box 203 is fixed to the roller conveyor mechanism 3 by bolts I407, the industrial camera 202 is installed at the upper center of the image acquisition box 203 and collects image information of the walnuts entering the image acquisition area, and the four light source strips 201 are distributed on the four inner surfaces of the image acquisition box 203.
[0026] like Figure 5 、 Figure 6 As shown, the two hollow pin conveyor chains 301 are symmetrically installed on the frame 306, and cylindrical load-bearing rollers 302 are installed at equal pitches between the two hollow pin conveyor chains 301. A certain gap for bearing walnuts will be formed between two adjacent cylindrical load-bearing rollers 302. The shaft diameters of the two ends of the cylindrical load-bearing rollers 302 are slightly smaller than the hole diameter of the hollow pin conveyor chain 301, which makes it easy for the cylindrical load-bearing rollers 302 to rotate in the hole of the hollow pin conveyor chain 301. The two ends of the roller 302 pass through the through-holes of the hollow pin conveyor chain 301 and are axially fixed by elastic retaining rings I 307 symmetrically installed at both ends. Two friction wheels 309 are symmetrically arranged on the load-bearing roller. The friction wheels 309 are radially fixed by key I 310 and axially fixed by sleeve 307. The motor 304 transmits power to the two hollow pin conveyor chains 301. The movement of the hollow pin conveyor chains 301 drives the movement of the cylindrical load-bearing roller 302 therebetween. The two friction plates 305 are symmetrically arranged below the cylindrical supporting roller 302 in the middle of the frame 306. The length of the two friction plates 305 is equal to the length of the image acquisition box 302, and the width is equal to the width of the friction wheel 309. When the cylindrical supporting roller 302 moves to the top of the long friction plate 305, the friction wheels 309 on both sides of the cylindrical supporting roller 302 rub against each other and the friction plate 305 below. The friction wheels 309 rotate while driving the cylindrical supporting roller 302 to roll. The walnuts between the two adjacent cylindrical supporting rollers 302 rub against each other and are then driven to rotate under the image acquisition mechanism 2 to realize the acquisition of a comprehensive image of the walnuts. Six channel baffles 303 welded to the frame 305 are installed in parallel above the cylindrical supporting roller 302. Every two channel baffles 303 constitute a channel, which corresponds one to one to the three columns of walnuts falling from the feeding mechanism 1, forming a total of three channels for the three columns of walnuts falling from the feeding mechanism 1 into the roller conveying mechanism 3.
[0027] like Figure 6 、 Figure 7As shown, a pulley 411 is radially fixed to the driven shaft 417 via a key II 410, and a sorting turntable 414 is radially fixed to the drive shaft 417 via a key III 416. The sorting device frame 419 is fastened to the frame 305 via two screws II 407. The sorting device frame end cover 415 is fixed to the sorting device frame 419 via three screws II 418 arranged on the circumference. Two deep groove ball bearings 413 are symmetrically mounted at both ends of the sorting turntable 414. The deep groove ball bearings 413 are axially fixed by bearing seats 412. Three stepping motors 401 are arranged in parallel on the frame 305. The stepping motors 401 at the left and right ends are arranged symmetrically, and the stepping motors 401 in the middle and on the left end are arranged in the same direction. The bearing seat 412 is fastened to the frame 305 by screws I407. Six sorting slope baffles 402 are arranged in parallel on the I slope. Every two sorting slope baffles 402 constitute a channel, which corresponds one to one to the three columns of walnuts falling from the end of the roller conveyor mechanism 2. A total of three channels are formed to separate the gaps between adjacent cylindrical supporting rollers 302 at the end of the roller conveyor mechanism 2 to drop three columns of walnuts, so that the three columns of walnuts slide into the sorting slope I403 respectively and fall smoothly into the three parallel installed sorting turntables 414. The control system (the control system is omitted in the figure) controls the stepping motor 401 to drive the sorting turntable 414 on the driven shaft 417 to rotate in the corresponding direction and angle according to the position information and category information of the walnuts.
[0028] like Figure 6 As shown in FIG8 (a), the sorting turntable 414 is evenly distributed with three square holes 420, which can accommodate walnuts. The angle between two adjacent square holes 420 is 120 degrees. When the walnuts slide from the sorting slope I 403 into the square holes 420 of the sorting turntable, the control system controls the stepper motor 401 to drive the sorting turntable 414 to rotate according to the type of walnuts. If the walnuts are damaged, the stepper motor 401 drives the sorting turntable 414 to rotate 120 degrees counterclockwise through the pulley 411. After the rotation is completed, the walnut will slide from the square hole 420 into the damaged walnut collection box 407 arranged at the lower left of the sorting mechanism 4. After the sorting is completed, the sorting turntable is still in the state shown in Figure 8 (a). If the walnut is a black-spotted walnut, the stepper motor 401 drives the sorting turntable 414 to rotate 120° clockwise through the pulley 411. After the rotation is completed, the walnut will slide from the square hole into the black-spotted walnut collection box 406 arranged just below the sorting mechanism 4. After the sorting is completed, the sorting turntable is still in the state shown in Figure 8 (a). Figure 6As shown in Figures 8(a) and 8(b), if the walnut is a normal walnut, the stepper motor 401 drives the sorting turntable 414 to rotate counterclockwise by 30° through the pulley 411, and the sorting turntable 414 changes from the state shown in Figure 8(a) to the state shown in Figure 8(b). The walnuts sliding in from the sorting slope I 403 will continue to slide on the surface of the sorting turntable 414 with a certain slope, and finally slide into the surface normal walnut collection box 405 through the sorting slope II 404. After the normal walnut leaves the sorting turntable 414, the stepper motor 401 drives the sorting turntable 414 to rotate clockwise by 30° through the pulley 411, and changes from the state shown in Figure 8(b) to the state shown in Figure 8(a) to sort the next walnut.
Claims
1. A walnut external quality sorting device, characterized by: The walnut external quality sorting device comprises a feeding mechanism (1), an image acquisition mechanism (2), a roller conveying mechanism (3), and a sorting mechanism (4). The feeding mechanism is arranged above one end of the roller conveying mechanism. The feeding mechanism divides the poured walnuts into three columns and enters the roller conveying mechanism. The roller conveying mechanism is equipped with an image acquisition mechanism. When the walnuts enter the area where the image acquisition mechanism is located, the image acquisition mechanism will acquire an image of the walnuts. When the walnuts pass through the image acquisition mechanism, the image of the walnuts is acquired and transmitted to a machine vision algorithm to obtain category information and position information of the walnuts. Then, the sorting mechanism is controlled to sort the external quality of the walnuts.
2. The walnut external quality sorting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feeding mechanism comprises a hopper (101), an inverted V-shaped material distribution slope (102), a feeding slope baffle (103), and a feeding slope (104). The two inverted V-shaped material distribution slopes (102) are welded to the hopper (101). The feeding slope (104) is installed in the hopper (101) and is located below the discharge port. Six feeding slope baffles (103) are arranged in parallel on the feeding slope (104).
3. The walnut external quality sorting device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The image acquisition mechanism comprises an image acquisition box (203), an industrial camera (202), and a light source strip (201). An industrial camera (202) is installed at the center of the upper side of the image acquisition box (203), and four light source strips (201) are evenly distributed on the four inner surfaces of the image acquisition box (203).
4. The walnut external quality sorting device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The roller transport mechanism comprises a frame (306), a hollow pin conveying chain (301), a cylindrical load-bearing roller (302), a channel baffle (303), a motor (304), and a friction plate (305). The frame (306) is provided with a motor (304) for driving the hollow pin conveying chain (301). Cylindrical load-bearing rollers (302) are installed at equal pitches between two hollow pin conveying chains (301) symmetrically installed on the frame (305). Six channel baffles (303) welded to the frame (305) are installed in parallel above the cylindrical load-bearing rollers (302).
5. The walnut external quality sorting device according to claim 4, characterized in that The shaft diameters of both ends of the cylindrical supporting roller (302) are slightly smaller than the apertures of the hollow pin conveying chain (301), and both ends thereof pass through the through holes of the hollow pin conveying chain (301) and are installed between the two hollow pin conveying chains (301). The cylindrical supporting roller (302) is axially fixed by elastic retaining rings I (307) at both ends, and the elastic retaining ring I (307) is closely attached to the outside of the hollow pin conveying chain (301). Two friction wheels (309) are symmetrically arranged along the axial direction on the cylindrical supporting roller (302), and the friction wheels (309) are radially fixed by key I (310). The sleeve (308) is attached to the inner side of the hollow pin conveying chain (301) and axially fixes the friction wheels (309). The two friction plates (305) are symmetrically arranged on the frame (305) and are located below the image acquisition mechanism (2).
6. The walnut external quality sorting device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The sorting mechanism comprises a stepping motor (401), a sorting ramp baffle (402), a sorting ramp I (403), a sorting ramp II (404), a screw I (407), an elastic retaining ring II (409), a key II (410), a pulley (411), a bearing seat (412), a deep groove ball bearing (413), a sorting turntable (414), a sorting device frame end cover (415), a key III (416), a driven shaft (417), a screw II (418), and a sorting device frame (419). The stepping motor (401) is fixed to the frame (305), and the stepping motor (401) drives the driven shaft (417) to rotate through a belt transmission. The sorting ramp I (403) and the sorting ramp II (403) are fastened to the frame (305) through screw II (418).
7. The walnut external quality sorting device according to claim 6, characterized in that: A pulley (411) is radially fixed to the driven shaft (417) via a key II (410), and a sorting turntable (414) is radially fixed to the driven shaft (417) via a key III (416). The sorting device frame (419) is fastened to the frame (305) via two screws II (407). The sorting device frame end cover (415) is fixed to the sorting device frame (419) via three screws II (418) arranged on the circumference. Two deep groove ball bearings (413) are symmetrically mounted at both ends of the sorting turntable (414). The deep groove ball bearings (413) are axially fixed by a bearing seat (412), and the bearing seat (412) is fastened to the frame (305) via screws I (407).