A bead sorting system

Abstract

This disclosure provides a bead sorting system. In one specific embodiment, the system includes a support, an image acquisition component, a controller, a guide baffle, and a sorting component. A rotating mechanism is rotatably connected to the support. The rotating mechanism has multiple positioning parts evenly arranged radially. Each positioning part is used to thread beads through the bead. The image acquisition component acquires image information from the starting position. The guide baffle is coaxially connected to the rotating mechanism and is used to guide and limit the multiple beads from the starting position to the ending position. The sorting component includes multiple sorting positions. The rotating mechanism is driven by a drive device. The controller controls the drive device to drive the rotating mechanism to rotate around its axis of rotation in steps at a set angle. The system acquires and calculates the hole eccentricity and roundness of the beads at the starting position based on the image information to obtain the sorting result of the beads at the starting position. Based on the sorting result, the system controls the sorting component to align the corresponding sorting position of the sorting component with the positioning part at the ending position of the rotating mechanism.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of sorting. More specifically, it relates to a bead sorting system. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of antique and jewelry processing and automated assembly, the drilling, sorting, and stringing of tree seed materials are key steps affecting product quality and production efficiency. In traditional processes, these steps are usually done manually, which results in low efficiency and difficulty in guaranteeing precision.

[0003] Currently, existing technologies, such as a contact-type beaded feeding device for interior decoration, achieve automatic arrangement and rejection of beads through the cooperation of a vibration queuing and sorting component, a bead guiding component, and a misaligned bead detection component, thus improving feeding efficiency to some extent. In addition, there are devices involving bead sorting, which generally use a conveyor unit, robotic arm, and robotic claw to grasp individual beads for diameter detection and then classify and collect them based on the detection results. However, when dealing with irregularly shaped materials, such as tree seeds, the geometric center of the seeds often does not coincide with the center of the drilled holes. Traditional visual inspection algorithms struggle to accurately locate the true center of such materials, leading to significant deviations in measuring diameter, roundness, and hole position, ultimately affecting the sorting results. Furthermore, existing technologies suffer from the problem of irregular tree seeds bouncing during the sorting process, causing instability. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a bead sorting system that can accurately measure irregular tree seeds and avoid unstable sorting trajectories, thereby solving at least one of the problems existing in the prior art.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solution: This disclosure provides a bead sorting system, including: Support frame, image acquisition unit, controller, guide baffle, and sample separation unit; A rotating mechanism is rotatably connected to the bracket; the rotating mechanism has multiple positioning parts evenly arranged along its radial direction; the multiple positioning parts are used to thread beads. The rotating mechanism is provided with a starting position and an ending position; the image acquisition component is used to acquire image information of the starting position along the axial direction and radial direction of the positioning part at the starting position, respectively. The guide baffle is coaxially connected to the rotating mechanism and is used to guide and limit the movement of multiple beads from the starting position to the ending position. The sample-splitting assembly includes multiple sample-splitting stations. The rotating mechanism is connected to a drive device. The controller controls the drive device to drive the rotating mechanism to rotate around its rotation axis in steps at a set angle. The controller acquires and calculates the hole eccentricity and roundness of the beads at the starting station based on the image information to obtain the sample-splitting result of the beads at the starting station. Based on the sample-splitting result, the controller controls the sample-splitting assembly to align the corresponding sample-splitting station of the sample-splitting assembly with the positioning part at the ending station of the rotating mechanism.

[0006] Optionally, the image acquisition component includes at least a first image acquisition device and a second image acquisition device; The first image acquisition device is used to acquire first image information of the positioning part at the starting station in the axial direction; The second image acquisition device is used to acquire second image information of the positioning part at the starting station in the radial direction.

[0007] Optionally, the controller includes a stepping module and an acquisition module; The stepping module is used to control the drive device to drive the rotating mechanism to rotate around its rotation axis in steps at a set angle; The acquisition module is used to acquire first image information acquired by the first image acquisition device and second image information acquired by the second image acquisition device, respectively.

[0008] Optionally, the controller further includes an eccentricity calculation module, used to extract the contour pixels of the first image information through an edge detection algorithm; Using a set angle as the step size, multiple sets of parallel virtual caliper tangents are simulated within a 180° rotation space. The geometric midpoint of the contact point between each set of parallel tangents and the contour pixel is calculated to obtain the computational geometric center. The fitted geometric center is obtained by fitting multiple computational geometric centers. Extract the axis center position of the cross-sectional circle of the positioning part at the starting station from the first image information; The hole eccentricity is obtained by calculating the Euclidean distance between the axis of the cross-sectional circle and the fitted geometric center.

[0009] Optionally, the controller further includes a roundness calculation module, used to calculate the polar radius of the pole and the plurality of contour pixels, with the fitted geometric center as the pole; Calculate the arithmetic mean of the multiple polar diameters to obtain the average polar diameter; Calculate the difference between the largest and smallest polar diameters among the plurality of polar diameters; The roundness value is obtained by calculating the ratio of the difference to the average polar diameter; if the roundness value is greater than the second set threshold, the roundness of the beads at the starting station is unqualified, otherwise the roundness of the beads is qualified.

[0010] Optionally, the controller further includes a sample determination module, used to obtain the first diameter of the beads at the starting station based on the first image information, and to obtain the second diameter of the beads at the starting station based on the second image information; The pile diameter ratio is obtained by calculating the ratio of the first diameter to the second diameter; Based on the pile diameter ratio and the first diameter, the beads at the starting position are classified to obtain the sample results.

[0011] Optionally, taking the rotation axis of the rotating mechanism as a reference, the vertically upward vertex of the rotating mechanism is defined as the 0° circumferential position, and the circumferential angle increases along the rotation direction of the rotating mechanism; the starting position corresponds to the 0°~70° circumferential range of the rotating mechanism, and the ending position corresponds to the 180° circumferential position of the rotating mechanism.

[0012] Optionally, the guide baffle is rotatably connected to the rotating mechanism on the same axis; The bracket is also provided with a limiting mechanism, which is configured in conjunction with the guide baffle to limit the rotational stroke of the guide baffle around the rotation axis of the rotating mechanism, so that the maximum rotation angle of the guide baffle relative to its initial stopping position is less than or equal to 20°, and the rotation direction of the guide baffle relative to its initial stopping position is opposite to the rotation direction of the rotating mechanism. The guide baffle is configured to guide and limit the beads at the end station at the initial blocking station, and at the second blocking station after rotating 20° relative to its initial blocking station, the beads at the end station fall to the corresponding sampling station of the sampling component.

[0013] Optionally, the sampling assembly includes a displacement mechanism and sampling columns evenly distributed in the movable part of the displacement mechanism; The controller also includes a sample distribution drive module, which controls the displacement mechanism to align the corresponding sample distribution column with the positioning part at the end position of the rotation mechanism according to the sample distribution result.

[0014] Optionally, the rotating mechanism is a turntable, a drum, or a sprocket mechanism; the positioning part is a positioning pin, a positioning needle, or a spindle.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this disclosure are as follows: This invention establishes a unified physical positioning benchmark for each material being tested by setting a positioning part on the rotating mechanism, allowing the holes in the seeds to be directly fitted onto it. This effectively constrains the posture fluctuations of irregular materials during transport. Based on this, the invention combines axial and radial image acquisition from the starting station with precise calculations of hole eccentricity and roundness by the controller. This solves the problem of inaccurate measurements caused by irregular material shapes and misalignment between the geometric center and the hole center in traditional visual inspection, achieving multi-dimensional, high-precision measurement of seed diameter, roundness, and hole position deviation.

[0016] This invention uses a positioning unit as the feeding end and a rotatable sampling component as the receiving end. After calculating the sampling result, the controller directly drives the corresponding sampling station to rotate to align with the end station of the rotating mechanism. This allows the seeds to fall directly into the designated sampling station after leaving the positioning unit at the end station. Multiple processes, including size detection, sorting, and material collection, are completed on the same equipment within the same cycle, eliminating the need for secondary manual collection or transfer after sorting in traditional processes, effectively improving the automation level of the entire process.

[0017] This invention uses guide baffles to guide and limit multiple beads along their entire length from the starting station to the ending station. Combined with a rotating mechanism that precisely controls rotation at set angles, this effectively prevents unexpected bouncing or detachment of the beads due to centrifugal force or gravity during high-speed movement with the rotating mechanism. This ensures that each bead stably reaches the ending station along a predetermined trajectory. Combined with step angle control, this guarantees the timing accuracy and positional precision of material release under high-frequency, dynamic sorting, significantly reducing the probability of jamming or missorting. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The specific embodiments of this disclosure will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a bead sorting system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a bead sorting system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0021] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a bead sorting system according to a third embodiment of this disclosure is shown.

[0022] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the control structure of the controller of this disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To more clearly illustrate this disclosure, the following description, in conjunction with embodiments and accompanying drawings, provides further insight. Similar components in the drawings are indicated by the same reference numerals. Those skilled in the art should understand that the specific description below is illustrative rather than restrictive and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0024] like Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, one embodiment of this disclosure provides a bead sorting system, including: The bracket (not shown in the figure), image acquisition component, controller 80, guide baffle 40 and sample separation component (not shown in the figure); A rotating mechanism 10 is rotatably connected to the bracket; the rotating mechanism 10 is evenly provided with a plurality of positioning parts 41 along its radial direction; the plurality of positioning parts 41 are respectively used for threading beads 70. The rotating mechanism 10 is provided with a starting position and an ending position; the image acquisition component is used to acquire image information of the starting position along the axial direction and radial direction of the positioning part 41 at the starting position, respectively. The guide baffle 40 is coaxially connected to the rotating mechanism 10 and is used to guide and limit the multiple beads 70 from the starting position to the ending position. The sample-splitting assembly includes multiple sample-splitting stations. The rotating mechanism 10 is connected to a drive device 90. The controller 80 controls the drive device 90 to drive the rotating mechanism 10 to rotate around its rotation axis in steps at a set angle. The controller acquires and calculates the hole eccentricity and roundness of the beads 70 at the starting station based on the image information, and obtains the sample-splitting result of the beads 70 at the starting station. Based on the sample-splitting result, the controller controls the sample-splitting assembly to align the corresponding sample-splitting station of the sample-splitting assembly with the positioning part 41 at the ending station of the rotating mechanism 10.

[0025] This invention establishes a unified physical positioning benchmark for each material under test by setting a positioning part 41 on the rotating mechanism 10, allowing the holes of the seed to be directly fitted onto it, effectively constraining the posture fluctuations of irregular materials during transport. Based on this, combined with the image acquisition component's acquisition of axial and radial images of the starting station, and the controller 80's precise calculation of hole eccentricity and roundness, this invention solves the problem of inaccurate measurements caused by irregular material shapes and misalignment between the geometric center and the hole center in traditional visual inspection. It achieves multi-dimensional, high-precision measurement of seed diameter, roundness, and hole position deviation.

[0026] This invention uses a positioning part 41 as the feeding end and a rotatable sample-splitting component as the receiving end. After calculating the sample-splitting result, the controller 80 directly drives the corresponding sample-splitting station to rotate below the end station of the rotating mechanism 10 and align it with it. This allows the seeds to fall directly into the designated sample-splitting station after leaving the positioning part 41 at the end station. Multiple processes, including size detection, sorting, and material collection, are completed on the same equipment within the same cycle, eliminating the need for secondary manual collection or transfer after sorting in traditional processes, effectively improving the automation level of the entire process.

[0027] Finally, this invention uses guide baffles 40 to guide and limit the multiple beads 70 from the starting station to the ending station throughout the entire process. Combined with the precise control of the rotating mechanism 10's step-by-step rotation at a set angle, this effectively prevents the seeds from unexpectedly jumping or falling off due to centrifugal force or gravity during the high-speed movement of the rotating mechanism 10. This ensures that each seed can stably reach the ending station along a predetermined trajectory. With the step-angle control, the timing accuracy and positional precision of material release under high-frequency, dynamic sorting are guaranteed, significantly reducing the probability of jamming or missorting.

[0028] In a specific example, controller 80 may use a device such as a programmable logic controller 80.

[0029] In one specific example, the positioning part 41 is configured as a metal positioning mandrel, typically made of stainless steel with a smooth surface. In this embodiment, after the seed-like material is drilled, its central hole is manually fitted onto the positioning part 41. The diameter of the positioning part 41 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the seed hole. Through clearance fit, the physical center of the seed's channel always coincides with the mandrel's axis as the seed rotates with the rotating mechanism 10, forcibly correcting the irregular material's posture fluctuations during movement and establishing a unified mechanical positioning reference.

[0030] It should be noted that the coaxial connection between the guide baffle 40 and the rotating mechanism 10 in this disclosure means that the limiting surface of the guide baffle 40 is coaxially arranged with the rotation axis of the rotating mechanism 10, thereby achieving circumferential guidance of the beads 70. This coaxial connection can be either a form in which the guide baffle 40 and the rotating mechanism 10 are relatively fixed, or a form in which the guide baffle 40 and the rotating mechanism 10 are coaxial and can rotate relative to each other, as long as it can achieve guiding and limiting of the beads 70 from the starting position to the ending position.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the image acquisition component includes at least a first image acquisition device 20 and a second image acquisition device 30; The first image acquisition device 20 is used to acquire first image information of the positioning part 41 at the starting station in the axial direction; The second image acquisition device 30 is used to acquire second image information of the positioning part 41 at the starting station in the radial direction.

[0032] In a specific example, the first image acquisition device 20 and the second image acquisition device 30 are respectively selected from an industrial camera or a laser profile scanner.

[0033] In one specific example, the first image acquisition device 20 uses an axial industrial camera with a 5-megapixel complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) lens, mounted directly above the starting position, with the optical axis parallel to the axis of the positioning part 41. The second image acquisition device 30 uses a transverse radial industrial camera, also with a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor and a telecentric lens. It is installed on the side of the starting station, with the optical axis perpendicular to the axis of the positioning part 41.

[0034] The ring-shaped LED light source and the backlight source are respectively positioned at the corresponding positions of the axial camera and the radial camera.

[0035] In a specific example, the image acquisition components include a top-view camera and a side-view camera. The controller 80 identifies the pixel edges of the metal core in the image in real time, and uses the known diameter of the positioning part 41 as a reference to dynamically calculate the pulse / millimeter conversion factor under the current imaging environment, ensuring that the measurement is not affected by ambient light fluctuations or focal length fine-tuning.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the controller 80 includes a stepping module and an acquisition module; The stepping module is used to control the drive device 90 to drive the rotating mechanism 10 to rotate around its rotation axis in steps at a set angle; The acquisition module is used to acquire the first image information acquired by the first image acquisition device 20 and the second image information acquired by the second image acquisition device 30, respectively.

[0037] This invention precisely controls the rotating mechanism 10 to rotate at a set angle using a stepping module, achieving precise positioning and intermittent movement of the beads 70 between various positions of the rotating mechanism 10. This ensures that each positioning part 41 carrying the beads 70 can accurately stop at the starting and ending positions; the intermittent stepping motion keeps the beads 70 stationary at the moment of image acquisition, avoiding motion blur caused by continuous rotation and providing clear and stable raw data for subsequent high-precision image processing. In a specific example, the stepping angle and speed can be flexibly adjusted according to the bead 70 specification, the processing time of the detection algorithm, and the response time of the feeding mechanism.

[0038] In one specific example, the drive unit 90 uses a two-phase hybrid stepper motor equipped with a high-resolution encoder, specifically 2000 lines / revolution, which is mounted at the bottom of the rotation center of the rotating mechanism 10; The rotating mechanism 10 has 40 positioning parts 41 evenly arranged around its circumference, and the mechanical angle between adjacent positioning parts 41 is 9°.

[0039] After the sorting system is started, the stepping module generates a pulse sequence according to preset parameters; the preset parameters include a single step angle of 9° and a step interval of 200ms. The controller 80 also includes an encoder for real-time acquisition of the actual rotation angle of the rotating mechanism 10; The pulse signal is amplified by the driver to drive the stepper motor to rotate. The encoder provides real-time feedback on the actual rotation angle of the rotating mechanism 10 to the stepper module. When the stepper module detects that the deviation between the actual angle and the target angle exceeds 0.05°, the stepper module automatically performs fine-tuning compensation to ensure that the positioning part 41 is accurately stopped at the starting position and the ending position.

[0040] Following the example above, for passion fruit seeds with a diameter of 8-12mm, this embodiment sets the stepping cycle on the stepping module to 300ms, of which the rotation time is 100ms and the stationary time is 200ms; Following the example above, for small diamond seeds with a diameter of 3-5mm, in order to improve sorting efficiency, the stepping cycle is shortened to 200ms, of which the rotation time is 60ms and the stationary time is 140ms.

[0041] After completing one rotation and outputting a positioning signal, the stepper module delays for 10ms to wait for the mechanical vibration to decay, and at the same time sends trigger pulses to the first image acquisition device 20 and the second image acquisition device 30 respectively. The first image acquisition device 20 and the second image acquisition device 30 complete the exposure within 5μs of receiving the trigger signal and transmit the acquired image data to the data buffer of the acquisition module. The acquisition module performs real-time preprocessing on the original image, specifically including: cropping the region of interest, retaining only the positioning part 41 and the beaded 70 area; using a homomorphic filtering algorithm to correct for uneven illumination and using histogram equalization to enhance the image; binding the axial and radial images within the same trigger cycle into an image pair, adding a timestamp and workstation number, and storing them in shared memory for subsequent use by the eccentricity calculation module and the roundness calculation module.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the controller 80 further includes an eccentricity calculation module for extracting contour pixels of the first image information using an edge detection algorithm; Using a set angle as the step size, multiple sets of parallel virtual caliper tangents are simulated within a 180° rotation space. The geometric midpoint of the contact point between each set of parallel tangents and the contour pixel is calculated to obtain the computational geometric center. The fitted geometric center is obtained by fitting multiple computational geometric centers. Extract the axis center position of the cross-sectional circle of the positioning part 41 at the starting station from the first image information; The hole eccentricity is obtained by calculating the Euclidean distance between the axis of the cross-sectional circle and the fitted geometric center.

[0043] In a specific example, the Euclidean distance between the axis of the cross-sectional circle and the fitted geometric center is calculated to obtain the eccentricity.

[0044] In a specific example, the eccentricity calculation module is used to perform a virtual multi-point caliper centroid fitting method: Step S10: Capture the cross-sectional image of the material using a top-down camera, and extract the complete set of irregular contour pixels using an edge detection algorithm; the edge detection algorithm is the Canny operator.

[0045] Step S20: The algorithm simulates 50 sets of parallel virtual caliper tangents in a 180° rotation space with a step size of 3.6°.

[0046] Step S30: Record the geometric midpoint of the contact point between each set of parallel tangents and the contour.

[0047] Step S40: Calculate the statistical center of these 50 midpoints to obtain the fitted geometric center.

[0048] Step S50: Identify the center of the cross-section of the positioning part 41 as the physical center of the channel.

[0049] Step S60: Calculate the Euclidean distance from the fitted geometric center to the physical center of the channel to obtain the eccentricity and calculate the eccentricity rate.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the controller 80 further includes a roundness calculation module for calculating the polar radius of the pole and the plurality of contour pixels, with the fitted geometric center as the pole. Calculate the arithmetic mean of the multiple polar diameters to obtain the average polar diameter; Calculate the difference between the largest and smallest polar diameters among the plurality of polar diameters; The roundness value is obtained by calculating the ratio of the difference to the average polar diameter; if the roundness value is greater than the second set threshold, the roundness of the beads 70 at the starting station is unqualified, otherwise the roundness of the beads 70 is qualified.

[0051] In a specific example, the roundness calculation module uses the fitted geometric center as the pole to calculate the polar radius to all points on the contour edge.

[0052] Calculate the range of the extreme diameters. If the ratio of this value to the average radius exceeds a preset range, the roundness is deemed unacceptable.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the controller 80 further includes a sample determination module, used to obtain the first diameter of the bead 70 at the starting position based on the first image information, and to obtain the second diameter of the bead 70 at the starting position based on the second image information. The pile diameter ratio is obtained by calculating the ratio of the first diameter to the second diameter; Based on the pile diameter ratio and the first diameter, the beads 70 at the starting position are classified to obtain the sample results.

[0054] Traditional sorting equipment typically measures the diameter of tree seeds in only one direction and categorizes them according to the largest diameter. However, tree seeds are natural products with highly irregular shapes, often exhibiting the same diameter but different shapes. Two seeds may have very similar maximum diameters, but one may be oblate while the other is elongated. A single diameter measurement cannot distinguish between these two shapes, resulting in sorted seeds that, while meeting dimensional standards, appear inconsistent when strung together. This invention, by simultaneously acquiring axial and radial images and calculating the ratio of the first and second diameters (the pile diameter ratio), quantifies the three-dimensional morphological characteristics of the seeds into a two-dimensional index, achieving precise characterization of morphological differences such as seed size and height.

[0055] Following the example above, consider two passion fruit seeds with the same diameter of 9.5mm: Seed A has an axial diameter of 8.0mm and a radial diameter of 9.5mm, with a seed-to-diameter ratio of 8.0 / 9.5≈0.84. The axial diameter of seed B is 9.0 mm, the radial diameter is 9.5 mm, and the pile diameter ratio is approximately 0.95 (9.0 / 9.5).

[0056] If sorted solely by diameter of 9.5mm, the two would be grouped into the same category, but their morphological differences would be very obvious when strung together. This solution uses the pile diameter ratio to determine the type of seed, allowing A and B to be sent to different sorting stations, ensuring that the final string of seed piles has a consistent shape.

[0057] Following the example above, the pile diameter ratio, as a dimensionless value, can have a flexible threshold range set according to different seed varieties and customer preferences. For example: For passion fruit seeds, the diameter ratio of short-stemmed seeds can be set to ≤0.85, and the diameter ratio of tall-stemmed seeds can be ≥0.90. For Vajra Bodhi seeds, the diameter ratio can be set as follows: ≤0.80 for UFO-shaped seeds, 0.81-0.90 for round seeds, and ≥0.91 for tall seeds.

[0058] The classification method based on ratios described above makes the sorting standards no longer limited to absolute size, but more in line with the actual needs of the cultural and artistic collectibles industry.

[0059] In a specific example, after obtaining the first diameter of the beads 70 at the starting station based on the first image information, the method further includes; The eccentricity is calculated based on the eccentricity and the first diameter. If the eccentricity is greater than the first set threshold, the perforation of the beads 70 at the starting station is unqualified.

[0060] Following the example above, according to the formula:

[0061] Calculate the eccentricity Where: E is the eccentricity; D is the first diameter.

[0062] In one possible implementation, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, taking the rotation axis of the rotating mechanism 10 as a reference, the vertically upward vertex of the rotating mechanism 10 is defined as the 0° circumferential position, and the circumferential angle increases along the rotation direction of the rotating mechanism 10; the starting station corresponds to the 0°~70° circumferential range of the rotating mechanism 10, and the ending station corresponds to the 180° circumferential position of the rotating mechanism 10. By setting the starting station in the 0°~70° circumferential range of the rotating mechanism 10, this invention facilitates multi-dimensional image acquisition and attitude calibration when the material just enters the horizontal stable section, and sets the ending station at the 180° vertical downward point to utilize the optimal position for natural gravity detachment. This circumferential layout achieves spatial separation and functional synergy between the detection station and the unloading station: the early positioning of the starting station ensures that the vision system acquires reference data when the material movement speed is lowest and the attitude is most stable; the fixed angle of the ending station allows the arc-shaped guide baffle 40 to fully cover the constraint section of 90°~180°, and at the 180° point, in conjunction with the rotation of the guide baffle 40, precise release of a single piece under high-frequency rotation is achieved. It should be noted that the guide baffle 40 in this embodiment can be driven manually or controlled by a controller using a drive device or other equipment. The drive device can be a drive motor.

[0063] Following the example above, an arc-shaped guide baffle 40 is installed close to the outer arc surface of the rotating mechanism 10. The starting point of the baffle is located at 90° of the rotating mechanism 10, at which point the material begins to slide down under gravity, and the ending point is located at 180°, that is, directly below the rotating mechanism 10.

[0064] In one possible implementation, the guide baffle 40 is rotatably connected to the rotating mechanism 10 on the same axis. The bracket is also provided with a limiting mechanism, which is configured in conjunction with the guide baffle 40 to limit the rotation stroke of the guide baffle 40 around the rotation axis of the rotating mechanism 10, so that the maximum rotation angle of the guide baffle 40 relative to its initial blocking position is less than or equal to 20°, and the rotation direction of the guide baffle 40 relative to its initial blocking position is opposite to the rotation direction of the rotating mechanism 10. The guide baffle 40 is configured to guide and limit the beads 70 at the end station at the initial blocking station, and at the second blocking station after rotating 20° relative to its initial blocking station, the beads 70 at the end station fall to the corresponding sampling station of the sampling component.

[0065] This invention configures the guide baffle 40 to rotate coaxially with the rotating mechanism 10, and uses a limiting mechanism to allow it to rotate in the opposite direction to the rotation of the rotating mechanism 10, with a maximum reverse rotation stroke of 20°. At the initial stopping position, the guide baffle 40 effectively limits the beads 70 at the ending position, preventing them from falling off prematurely. When unloading is required, the guide baffle 40 rotates 20° in the opposite direction to the second stopping position, causing the beads 70 at the ending position to instantly lose the baffle constraint and fall vertically to the corresponding sorting position under gravity. This invention has a simple structure and reliable operation, ensuring that the beads 70 can detach smoothly and reliably. It is especially suitable for natural tree seed materials with rough surfaces or prone to electrostatic adsorption, achieving precise release of a single bead under high-frequency rotation. In a specific example, the guide baffle 40 is an arc-shaped guide baffle 40, which is closely fitted to the outer arc surface of the rotating mechanism 10 and extends from near the starting position to the ending position, forming an arc-shaped limiting channel coaxial with the rotating mechanism 10.

[0066] As the bead 70 rotates from the starting position to the ending position with the positioning part 41, the arc-shaped baffle physically blocks the bead 70 from the radial outside, preventing the bead 70 from being thrown outward or jumping radially under the action of centrifugal force, ensuring that the bead 70 always stays on the positioning part 41, providing a stable posture basis for subsequent visual inspection and unloading.

[0067] In one possible implementation, the sampling assembly includes a displacement mechanism and sampling columns 50 uniformly arranged in the movable part of the displacement mechanism; The controller 80 also includes a sample distribution drive module, which controls the displacement mechanism to align the corresponding sample distribution column 50 with the positioning part 41 at the end position of the rotation mechanism 10 according to the sample distribution result.

[0068] In this invention, the displacement mechanism can move the corresponding sampling column 50 to directly below the end position of the rotating mechanism 10, aligning it axially with the positioning part 41 above, based on the sampling results from the controller 80. When the seeds detach from the positioning part 41 at the end position and fall freely, their channels pass through the sampling column 50 along the axis and fall directly into the bottom of the sampling column 50. The sampling column 50 itself serves as both a sorting container and a stringing carrier. After sorting, the seeds are naturally strung on the guide wire inside the sampling column 50. Operators no longer need to collect, transfer, or rearrange the sorted loose material; they can simply remove the strung seeds once the sampling column 50 is filled with a predetermined quantity. This invention simplifies the material receiving process, reduces material turnover steps, and saves the space required for additional material receiving containers, making the overall structure more compact.

[0069] In a specific example, to achieve precise positioning of the sample column 50 and align the designated sample column 50 with the positioning part 41 at the end position of the rotating mechanism 10, the displacement mechanism can be a linear displacement mechanism or a rotary displacement mechanism. Both methods can move the corresponding sample column 50 to a preset docking position under the control of the controller 80.

[0070] If a linear displacement mechanism is used, the linear displacement mechanism includes a base and a guide rail: a horizontal linear guide rail is fixedly installed below the rotating mechanism 10, and the horizontal linear guide rail can be a ball bearing linear guide rail. A sliding slider is provided on the guide rail, and a mounting plate is fixedly connected to the slider to support the sample columns 50. Multiple sample columns 50 are fixed at equal intervals along a straight direction on the mounting plate, and the center distance between adjacent sample columns 50 matches the projection position of the axis of the rotating mechanism 10's end-position positioning part 41 on the horizontal plane.

[0071] The linear displacement mechanism also includes a driving element, which uses a servo motor or stepper motor as a power source to drive the slider to reciprocate along the guide rail through a ball screw pair, synchronous belt drive or linear motor.

[0072] The linear displacement mechanism also includes position detection equipment, such as encoders, photoelectric encoders or magnetic scales, installed at both ends of the guide rail or on the drive motor, to provide real-time feedback on the actual position of the mounting plate.

[0073] If a rotary displacement mechanism is used, it includes a sampling disk positioned directly below the rotary mechanism 10. The sampling disk is configured to rotate horizontally, with its axis of rotation parallel to but not aligned with the axis of rotation of the rotary mechanism 10 above it. Multiple sampling columns 50 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the sampling rotary mechanism 10, with the axis of each column 50 parallel to the axis of rotation of the sampling disk. The position of each sampling column 50 corresponds to a sampling station.

[0074] The rotational displacement mechanism also includes a driving element, which includes a servo motor or a stepper motor, for directly driving the sample rotation mechanism 10 to rotate, with the motor shaft connected to the center of the sample rotation mechanism 10.

[0075] A zero-point sensor is provided at the edge of the sample rotation mechanism 10. The zero-point sensor adopts a photoelectric switch to determine the initial reference position.

[0076] In a specific example, beads 70 that are unqualified in the sampling result will be threaded onto a separate sampling column 50 or placed in a slot.

[0077] In one possible implementation, the diameter of the positioning part 41 is smaller than the diameter of the through hole in the bead 70. This smaller diameter allows for a clearance fit between the positioning part 41 and the hole in the bead 70, ensuring that the bead 70 can be smoothly inserted and removed.

[0078] In a specific example, the top ends of the positioning part 41 and the sampling column 50 are each configured as a conical guide section with a length of 2mm-3mm. The diameter of the large end of the conical guide section is the same as the diameter of the main body of the positioning part 41 or the sampling column 50, and the diameter of the small end is slightly smaller, for example, the main body diameter is 2.0mm and the small end diameter of the conical section is 1mm.

[0079] In a specific example, an infrared pair sensor 60 is arranged laterally on the gravity drop path of the beads 70 between the end station and the sample distribution component, realizing real-time monitoring and feedback of the seed's falling status: when the seed falls through the infrared beam, the sensor immediately outputs a pulse signal to the controller 80 to report that the material has actually fallen, avoiding omissions or misjudgments caused by inconsistencies between mechanical actions and the actual state of the material.

[0080] In a specific example, the detachment point of the end station bead 70 on the positioning part 41 and the axis of the sample column 50 are collinearly aligned on the spatial axis.

[0081] In summary, this invention resolves the conflict in measurement benchmarks. Specifically, traditional vision systems cannot find the center, while this invention solves the physical benchmark problem by centering through the inner hole and the geometric center of gravity problem by using a virtual caliper, thus achieving quantitative detection of misaligned holes. Furthermore, the controller 80 of this invention can achieve finer divisions of 0.2mm or even finer, unaffected by protrusions or irregular contours on the material surface. Finally, the combination of the arc-shaped baffle and the infrared sensor in this invention eliminates timing errors caused by varying initial velocities of materials sliding down due to gravity, ensuring accuracy in high-frequency sorting.

[0082] In a specific example, the system operates by manually inserting perforated passion fruit seeds into the positioning part 41 on the rotating mechanism 10. The rotating mechanism 10 rotates, and the first image acquisition device 20 and the second image acquisition device 30 acquire images. The algorithm performs 50 caliper measurements to determine the geometric center and measures the seed diameter at 10.12 mm with an eccentricity of 2%, which is considered acceptable, allowing it to enter the No. 1 sampling column 50. The sampling array below receives a command and rotates the No. 1 sampling column 50 to a position directly below 180°. When the positioning part 41 reaches the 180° position, the guide baffle 40 opens, and the passion fruit seed slides off due to gravity, triggering a signal from the infrared sensor. The passion fruit seed precisely penetrates the No. 1 sampling column 50 and slides down to the bottom. After accumulating 108 seeds, the system prompts the user to remove the string of passion fruit seeds.

[0083] In one possible implementation, the rotating mechanism is a turntable, a drum, or a sprocket mechanism; the positioning part is a positioning pin, a positioning needle, or a spindle.

[0084] In one specific example, this embodiment provides a bead sorting system employing a turntable structure.

[0085] In one specific embodiment of the present invention, the rotating mechanism 10 is a turntable. The turntable is a disc-shaped structure that is rotatably connected to a support (not shown in the figure) via bearings, and rotates stepwise around its rotation axis under the drive of the driving device 90.

[0086] Accordingly, the multiple positioning parts 41 provided on the rotating mechanism 10 are specifically positioning posts. The multiple positioning posts are evenly distributed along the radial direction of the turntable on the edge area of ​​the turntable. Each positioning post has a predetermined diameter, which is slightly smaller than the diameter of the hole of the bead 70 to be sorted, so that the bead 70 can be freely inserted into the positioning post and can slide along the positioning post under the action of gravity or external force.

[0087] Combination Figure 1 Using the rotation axis of the rotating mechanism 10 as a reference, the vertically upward vertex of the rotating mechanism 10 is defined as the 0° circumferential position, and the circumferential angle increases along the rotation direction of the rotating mechanism. On the circumferential path of the rotating mechanism 10, a starting position for acquiring image information and an ending position for releasing the beads are defined. Preferably, the starting position is located within the 0°~70° circumferential range of the rotating mechanism 10, and the ending position is located at the 180° circumferential position of the rotating mechanism 10.

[0088] When the system is in operation, the operator or automatic feeding mechanism sequentially places the beads 70 to be sorted onto the positioning part 41 located before the starting station. As the rotating mechanism 10 rotates stepwise, the positioning part 41 carrying the beads 70 enters the starting station. The image acquisition component then acquires image information of the beads from the axial and radial directions. The controller 80 analyzes and calculates based on the image information to obtain parameters such as the hole eccentricity and roundness of the beads, thereby determining their grade category.

[0089] Subsequently, the positioning part 41 continues to rotate with the rotating mechanism 10, carrying the beads 70 and moving towards the end station under the guidance of the guide baffle 40. When the positioning part 41 carrying the tested beads rotates to the end station, the controller 80 controls the sampling component to move according to the pre-calculated sampling results, so that the corresponding sampling column 50 moves to a position directly opposite the positioning part 41 at the end station, ready to receive the falling beads. At this time, through the specific action of the guide baffle 40, the beads 70 are released and slide down the positioning part 41 onto the corresponding sampling column 50, completing one sorting cycle.

[0090] In another specific embodiment of the present invention, the rotating mechanism 10 is a rotating cylinder. The rotating cylinder has a cylindrical structure and rotates around its horizontal axis. Multiple positioning parts 41 are evenly distributed on the outer circumference of the rotating cylinder along its axial direction. The positioning parts 41 are positioning pins, the diameter of which is smaller than the diameter of the through hole of the beads 70, and the beads 70 are directly inserted into the positioning pins. When the rotating cylinder rotates stepwise, the positioning pins carrying the beads 70 pass through the starting station and the ending station in sequence to achieve sorting.

[0091] In another specific embodiment of the present invention, the rotating mechanism 10 adopts a sprocket mechanism. The sprocket mechanism includes a driving sprocket, a driven sprocket, and an annular chain surrounding the sprockets. Multiple positioning parts 41 are evenly fixed on the chain links. When a mandrel is used as the positioning part 41, the mandrel is a cylindrical protrusion with a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the through hole of the bead 70, and the bead 70 is directly inserted into the mandrel. The sprocket mechanism moves intermittently in a stepping motion under the drive of the drive device 90, driving the bead 70 on the mandrel to pass sequentially through the starting station and the ending station, thereby realizing detection and sorting.

[0092] In the description of this disclosure, it should be noted that the terms "upper," "lower," etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this disclosure and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this disclosure. Unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installed," "connected," and "linked" should be interpreted broadly, for example, they can be fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they can be mechanical connections or electrical connections; they can be direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; they can be internal connections between two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in this disclosure can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0093] It should also be noted that, in the description of this disclosure, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0094] Obviously, the above embodiments of this disclosure are merely examples for clearly illustrating this disclosure, and are not intended to limit the implementation of this disclosure. For those skilled in the art, other variations or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is impossible to exhaustively list all implementation methods here. Any obvious variations or modifications derived from the technical solutions of this disclosure are still within the protection scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A bead sorting system, characterized in that, include: Support frame, image acquisition unit, controller, guide baffle, and sample separation unit; A rotating mechanism is rotatably connected to the bracket; the rotating mechanism has multiple positioning parts evenly arranged along its radial direction; the multiple positioning parts are used to thread beads. The rotating mechanism is provided with a starting position and an ending position; the image acquisition component is used to acquire image information of the starting position along the axial direction and radial direction of the positioning part at the starting position, respectively. The guide baffle is coaxially connected to the rotating mechanism and is used to guide and limit the movement of multiple beads from the starting position to the ending position. The sample-splitting assembly includes multiple sample-splitting stations. The rotating mechanism is connected to a drive device. The controller controls the drive device to drive the rotating mechanism to rotate around its rotation axis in steps at a set angle. The controller acquires and calculates the hole eccentricity and roundness of the beads at the starting station based on the image information to obtain the sample-splitting result of the beads at the starting station. Based on the sample-splitting result, the controller controls the sample-splitting assembly to align the corresponding sample-splitting station of the sample-splitting assembly with the positioning part at the ending station of the rotating mechanism.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The image acquisition component includes at least a first image acquisition device and a second image acquisition device; The first image acquisition device is used to acquire first image information of the positioning part at the starting station in the axial direction; The second image acquisition device is used to acquire second image information of the positioning part at the starting station in the radial direction.

3. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The controller includes a stepping module and an acquisition module; The stepping module is used to control the drive device to drive the rotating mechanism to rotate around its rotation axis in steps at a set angle; The acquisition module is used to acquire first image information acquired by the first image acquisition device and second image information acquired by the second image acquisition device, respectively.

4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The controller also includes an eccentricity calculation module, used to extract the contour pixels of the first image information through an edge detection algorithm; Using a set angle as the step size, multiple sets of parallel virtual caliper tangents are simulated in a 180° rotation space. The geometric midpoint of the contact point between each set of parallel tangents and the contour pixel is calculated to obtain the computational geometric center. The fitted geometric center is obtained by fitting multiple computational geometric centers. Extract the axis center position of the cross-sectional circle of the positioning part at the starting station from the first image information; The hole eccentricity is obtained by calculating the Euclidean distance between the axis of the cross-sectional circle and the fitted geometric center.

5. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The controller further includes a roundness calculation module, used to calculate the polar radius of the pole and the plurality of contour pixels, with the fitted geometric center as the pole. Calculate the arithmetic mean of the multiple polar diameters to obtain the average polar diameter; Calculate the difference between the largest and smallest polar diameters among the plurality of polar diameters; The roundness value is obtained by calculating the ratio of the difference to the average polar diameter; if the roundness value is greater than the second set threshold, the roundness of the beads at the starting station is unqualified, otherwise the roundness of the beads is qualified.

6. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The controller also includes a sample determination module, used to obtain the first diameter of the beads at the starting station based on the first image information, and to obtain the second diameter of the beads at the starting station based on the second image information; The pile diameter ratio is obtained by calculating the ratio of the first diameter to the second diameter; Based on the pile diameter ratio and the first diameter, the beads at the starting position are classified to obtain the sample results.

7. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, With the rotation axis of the rotating mechanism as a reference, the vertically upward vertex of the rotating mechanism is defined as the 0° circumferential position, and the circumferential angle increases along the rotation direction of the rotating mechanism; the starting position corresponds to the 0°~70° circumferential range of the rotating mechanism, and the ending position corresponds to the 180° circumferential position of the rotating mechanism.

8. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The guide baffle is rotatably connected to the rotating mechanism on the same axis. The bracket is also provided with a limiting mechanism, which is configured in conjunction with the guide baffle to limit the rotational stroke of the guide baffle around the rotation axis of the rotating mechanism, so that the maximum rotation angle of the guide baffle relative to its initial stopping position is less than or equal to 20°, and the rotation direction of the guide baffle relative to its initial stopping position is opposite to the rotation direction of the rotating mechanism. The guide baffle is configured to guide and limit the beads at the end station at the initial blocking station, and at the second blocking station after rotating 20° relative to its initial blocking station, the beads at the end station fall to the corresponding sampling station of the sampling component.

9. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sampling assembly includes a displacement mechanism and sampling columns evenly distributed in the movable part of the displacement mechanism; The controller also includes a sample distribution drive module, which controls the displacement mechanism to align the corresponding sample distribution column with the positioning part at the end position of the rotation mechanism according to the sample distribution result.

10. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rotating mechanism is a turntable, a rotating drum, or a sprocket mechanism; the positioning part is a positioning column, a positioning pin, or a mandrel.

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