Gel candy size detection device and identification classification method

Abstract

The application discloses a gel candy size detection device and a recognition and classification method, and belongs to the technical field of optical measurement and recognition. The gel candy size detection device comprises a conveying belt assembly and a CCD high-speed camera arranged above the conveying belt assembly, and further comprises a material throwing part. The material throwing part is used for throwing the material transported by the conveying belt assembly to the direction of the CCD high-speed camera, so that the material is in a suspended moving state when being photographed and recognized, and is close to the CCD high-speed camera. The application makes the candy in a suspended moving state close to the camera and far away from the conveying belt during imaging detection, greatly weakens or even eliminates the gray shadow of the lower part and the side wall of the candy from the imaging principle. Meanwhile, the candy is close to the camera for imaging, effectively improves the imaging resolution, makes the candy body and the background gray boundary clear, avoids the shadow interference, and greatly improves the precision and detection stability of the size recognition of the gel candy, especially the dark color capsule gel candy.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of optical measurement and identification technology, and in particular to a device for detecting the size of gel candies and a method for identifying and classifying them. Background Technology

[0002] Due to their regular shape and ease of consumption, capsule gel candies are widely used in the fields of nutritional supplements and functional foods. Online high-speed detection of key dimensions such as length and outer diameter, as well as appearance defects such as surface stains and cracks, is a core link in production quality control. At present, the industry generally adopts conveyor belt detection devices based on machine vision. By setting up a CCD high-speed camera above the conveyor belt, the candies are photographed and identified and their dimensions are measured, such as the length, width or outline of the candies. Because the candies to be inspected are placed directly on the conveyor belt surface and are far from the CCD high-speed camera, in industrial inspection, to avoid excessive surface reflection while also taking into account height information detection, the light source for the camera is usually a ring light source or strip light source incident at an angle of 30°-60° from above. When the light source illuminates the candy, it will form a projected shadow with obvious grayscale difference on the lower part and side wall of the candy. This shadow problem is essentially the result of the combined effect of geometric optical occlusion effect and the optical properties of the object. It is particularly prominent in the inspection of dark-colored capsule gel candies. Dark-colored candies have a high pigment content, the colloid has a very strong ability to absorb visible light, and the light transmittance of the side wall is very low. Unlike light-colored semi-transparent gel candies, it cannot weaken the side projection through light transmission. The resulting shadow has a clear boundary and a large grayscale difference. At the same time, the grayscale base of the dark-colored candy body image is relatively low, which is close to the grayscale height of the side wall shadow. This makes it difficult for machine vision algorithms to accurately distinguish the real outline of the candy from the shadow area through conventional grayscale thresholds. It is very easy for the shadow to be mistakenly included in the candy outline, resulting in an overestimation of the size, which seriously affects the accuracy and stability of the detection judgment. Secondly, during existing conveyor belt transportation, the candy is in a relatively fixed conveying posture. A single CCD high-speed camera can only capture a single surface of the candy. To achieve full-surface defect detection, multiple CCD high-speed cameras must be set up to form a multi-angle imaging array. This not only significantly increases the cost of equipment procurement, installation, and debugging, but also significantly increases the overall size of the equipment, increasing the difficulty and cost of subsequent equipment maintenance and calibration. At the same time, multi-camera systems have problems such as poor imaging synchronization and complex parameter calibration, which further affect the consistency of detection results. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to solve the problems mentioned in the background art, and to provide a gel candy size detection device and identification and classification method.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: A gel candy size detection device includes a conveyor belt assembly and a CCD high-speed camera disposed above the conveyor belt assembly. The side of the conveyor belt assembly is provided with a support frame for supporting the CCD high-speed camera. The device also includes a material throwing section, which is used to throw the material transported by the conveyor belt assembly toward the CCD high-speed camera, so that the material is in a suspended moving state and close to the CCD high-speed camera when it is photographed and identified.

[0005] Preferably, the throwing section includes a throwing shaft driven to rotate by a servo motor, a throwing head is installed on the side wall of the throwing shaft, a groove is placed inside the throwing head, and a guide section is provided between the throwing head and the conveyor belt assembly. The guide section is used to guide the material transported by the conveyor belt assembly to the placement groove.

[0006] Preferably, an adjusting shaft is fixedly connected to the throwing head, and a fixed shaft is fixedly connected to the throwing shaft, with the adjusting shaft threadedly connected to the fixed shaft.

[0007] Furthermore, the CCD high-speed camera is mounted on a support frame via a three-axis adjustable motion platform; The support frame is provided with an adjustment part to adjust the position of the throwing head. The adjustment part includes a sliding guide rail installed on the support frame, a sliding base slidably connected inside the sliding guide rail, a servo motor installed on the sliding base, and the throwing shaft rotatably connected to the sliding base.

[0008] Preferably, the throwing head is provided with an air hole, and a pneumatic nozzle is installed in the air hole.

[0009] Preferably, the flow guiding part includes a flow divider mounted on a support base and a flow guide groove disposed on the flow divider. The flow divider is in contact with the conveyor belt assembly. The end of the flow guide groove near the throwing head is arranged vertically through the flow guide groove. When the throwing head rotates upward, it passes through the through end of the flow guide groove.

[0010] Furthermore, a diversion support is symmetrically and unidirectionally rotated upward at the through-hole of the guide channel, which lifts the diversion support when the throwing head rotates upward.

[0011] Preferably, the material also includes a receiving part at the point where it lands, and an elastic woven mesh belt is installed inside the receiving part.

[0012] Furthermore, the receiving section includes a good product box and a bad product box, and an air jet sorting machine is provided on the good product box, with the air jet end of the air jet sorting machine facing the bad product box; Among them, the defective materials passing above the good product box will be blown into the bad product box by the high-pressure airflow from the jet sorter.

[0013] A method for identifying and classifying gel candies mainly includes the following steps: Step 1: Convey the material to the throwing section; Step 2: The material is thrown from the throwing section to the lower end of the CCD high-speed camera; Step 3: Full-dimensional imaging detection of materials in a suspended and moving state; The material is suspended in mid-air, moving close to the CCD high-speed camera and away from the conveyor belt assembly. The CCD high-speed camera has its own light source that is unobstructed and shines directly on the surface of the material from all directions, which greatly weakens or even eliminates the shadows projected from the side walls and improves the imaging resolution. The material rotates stably and autonomously during the suspended movement, so that each surface faces the CCD high-speed camera in turn. A single set of cameras can complete the continuous shooting of the entire surface of the material. Step 4: Identify and screen non-conforming materials; Step 5: Collection of sorted materials.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention provides a gel candy size detection device and identification and classification method, which has the following beneficial effects: The parts of this device not described herein are the same as or can be implemented using existing technologies. This invention uses a throwing section to throw capsule-shaped gel candies toward a CCD high-speed camera, so that the candies are in a suspended sliding state close to the camera and away from the conveyor belt during imaging detection. The CCD high-speed camera's built-in light source can directly illuminate the candy surface without obstruction from all directions, which significantly weakens or even eliminates the grayscale shadows on the bottom and side walls of the candy from the imaging principle. At the same time, the candy is close to the camera for imaging, which effectively improves the imaging resolution and makes the grayscale boundary between the candy body and the background clear. In particular, addressing the industry pain point of difficulty in distinguishing shadows from the grayscale of the body in the detection of dark-colored capsule-shaped gel candies, this invention avoids shadow interference and greatly improves the accuracy and detection stability of the size recognition of gel candies, especially dark-colored capsule-shaped gel candies.

[0015] This invention utilizes the stable, autonomous rotation generated during the candy's projectile movement, causing each surface of the candy to sequentially face a CCD high-speed camera. A single CCD high-speed camera can continuously capture and identify the entire surface of the candy, eliminating the detection blind spots of traditional single-sided imaging. Compared to existing multi-camera array solutions, this invention significantly reduces the procurement, installation, and debugging costs of the equipment, decreases the overall size of the equipment, and avoids problems such as poor imaging synchronization and complex parameter calibration in multi-camera systems. This greatly reduces the difficulty and cost of subsequent equipment maintenance and calibration. Furthermore, as the candy moves and rotates in the air, the equipment's light source can illuminate the candy from multiple angles, making the differences in light reflectivity and transmittance between defective and intact areas more pronounced, further improving the accuracy of identifying minute and hidden defects. This invention utilizes the difference in the suspended movement trajectory between broken and leaking candies and candies with sticky surfaces. The defective product box is positioned between the throwing section and the good product box. Broken and leaking capsule-shaped candies suffer from reduced overall mass due to internal liquid loss, resulting in decreased throwing inertia and insufficient initial suspended movement velocity. Candies with sticky surfaces experience strong adhesive resistance against the inner wall of the throwing head placement trough, leading to greater kinetic energy loss during throwing. Both types of candies have significantly shorter suspended movement distances than normal, qualified candies, causing them to fall into the defective product box prematurely. This invention eliminates the need for additional detection equipment, relying solely on the differences in the candies' inherent physical properties to achieve pre-screening of abnormal candies prone to secondary contamination. This prevents intact candies from becoming contaminated through adhesion at the source, effectively ensuring the quality of the stored finished product. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a top view of the present invention; Figure 2 This is the front view of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a right view of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing the relative positions of the conveyor belt assembly and the flow divider in this invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the flow divider structure in this invention; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the flow guide channel in this invention; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the flow divider support structure in this invention; Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram showing the relative positions of the diversion support and the throwing head in this invention; Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the receiving part in this invention.

[0017] In the diagram: 1. Conveyor belt assembly; 2. Support frame; 201. Three-axis adjustable motion platform; 202. CCD high-speed camera; 3. Sliding guide rail; 301. Sliding base; 302. Servo motor; 303. Throwing shaft; 304. Fixed shaft; 305. Adjusting shaft; 306. Throwing head; 307. Air hole; 4. Good product box; 401. Defective product box; 402. Elastic woven mesh belt; 403. Air jet sorter; 5. Diverting frame; 501. Guide channel; 502. Diverting support frame. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments.

[0019] Example 1: A gel candy size detection device, referring to Figures 1-4 The system includes a conveyor belt assembly 1 for transporting gel candies and a CCD high-speed camera 202 positioned directly above the conveyor belt assembly 1. A support frame 2 is provided on the side of the conveyor belt assembly 1 to support the CCD high-speed camera 202. While the conveyor belt assembly 1 transports the gel candies, the CCD high-speed camera 202 takes pictures of the size of the capsule gel candies. However, during image recognition, because the capsule gel candies are located on the surface of the conveyor belt assembly 1, relatively close to the assembly and relatively far from the CCD high-speed camera 202, a side-wall projection shadow with a grayscale difference is formed on the surface of the gel candy. The grayscale of the shadow area is lower than the normal imaging grayscale of the candy itself. During image processing, the shadow area is easily mistakenly included in the effective outline of the candy or partially removed. The true edge of the candy directly causes distortion in the calculation of key dimensions such as candy length and outer diameter, affecting the accuracy of size identification of gel candies. This shadow interference problem is concentrated in the detection of dark-colored capsule gel candies. Dark-colored capsule gel candies have a high pigment content, and the colloid has a strong ability to absorb visible light. The light transmittance of the side wall is extremely low, and it is impossible to weaken the side projection through light transmission. The resulting shadow boundary is clear and the gray value difference is extremely large. At the same time, the gray base of the dark candy body image is low, which is very close to the gray value of the side wall shadow. This makes it impossible for machine vision algorithms to accurately distinguish the true outline of the candy from the shadow area through conventional gray value thresholds. It is very easy for shadows to be mistakenly drawn into the candy outline or for the true edge of the candy to be covered and removed by the shadow, resulting in distortion problems such as size measurement being too large or too small. Reference Figures 1-3 Therefore, when performing image recognition on capsule-shaped gel candies, this invention places the capsule-shaped gel candies on the side closer to the CCD high-speed camera 202 and away from the conveyor belt assembly 1. Specifically, this invention provides a throwing section, which is used to throw the capsule-shaped gel candies towards the CCD high-speed camera 202, so that the capsule-shaped gel candies are in a suspended moving state when being photographed and recognized, and are close to the CCD high-speed camera 202. The CCD high-speed camera 202 has its own light source that can directly illuminate the surface of the capsule-shaped gel candies without obstruction from all directions, and the light illumination effect is more intuitive and uniform, greatly weakening or even eliminating the gray shadows on the bottom and side walls of the candy. At the same time, the capsule-shaped gel candies are close to the camera for imaging, which effectively improves the imaging resolution. The projected shadows are far from the capsule-shaped gel candies, and the projected shadows of the capsule-shaped gel candies are significantly larger and the gray level is reduced. The gray level boundary between the candy body and the background is clearly distinguished, which greatly improves the accuracy and detection stability of the size recognition of gel candies, especially dark-colored capsule-shaped gel candies. Reference Figure 1 , Figure 10The capsule gel candy of the present invention is prone to falling impact damage when it falls. Therefore, the present invention provides a receiving part at the landing point of the capsule gel candy. An elastic woven mesh belt 402 is installed in the receiving part. The elastic woven mesh belt 402 has the characteristics of flexible cushioning, hollow light transmission and no hard points. It can provide flexible cushioning and force relief for the falling capsule gel candy, effectively avoid impact damage, deformation and tearing of the gel candy, and ensure the integrity of the finished product's appearance. Among them, reference Figure 10 The receiving part is composed of two sets of boxes, one set is the good product box 4, and the other set is the bad product box 401. An air jet sorter 403 is installed on the good product box 4. An infrared detector is installed on the air jet sorter 403. The air jet sorter 403 is electrically connected to the CCD high-speed camera 202 and the equipment control system. It can receive the size non-compliance signal transmitted by the camera in real time. Capsules and gel candies that are size non-compliance or have appearance defects above the good product box 4 will be blown into the bad product box 401 by the high-pressure air jet of the air jet sorter 403. The structure of the throwing section will be explained in detail below, please refer to... Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 9 The throwing unit includes a throwing shaft 303 driven to rotate by a servo motor 302. A throwing head 306 is mounted on the side wall of the throwing shaft 303. A placement groove is provided inside the throwing head 306 for placing capsule gel candies. A guide section is provided between the throwing head 306 and the conveyor belt assembly 1 to guide the capsule gel candies transported by the conveyor belt assembly 1 into the placement groove. (Refer to...) Figure 6 , Figure 9 The throwing head 306 is arranged in six groups around the throwing shaft 303. The included angle between two adjacent groups of throwing heads 306 is 60°. The servo motor 302 is precisely encoded by the encoder on the servo motor 302 so that the throwing shaft 303 rotates intermittently in a cycle of 50° acceleration throwing stroke and 10° deceleration feeding stroke. When the throwing head 306 accelerates with the throwing shaft 303, it will drive the capsule gel candy to rotate synchronously. When the throwing head 306 rotates to 50° and begins to decelerate, the capsule gel candy is thrown out by inertia and separates from the throwing head 306. To facilitate the control of the parabolic trajectory for easier receiving by the receiving part, the rotation speed of the servo motor 302 can be controlled by an encoder, and the throwing arm of the throwing head 306 can also be changed. For details, please refer to... Figure 6 , Figure 9An adjusting shaft 305 is fixedly connected to the throwing head 306, and a fixed shaft 304 is fixedly connected to the throwing shaft 303. The adjusting shaft 305 is threaded onto the fixed shaft 304. By rotating the adjusting shaft 305, the extension length of the adjusting shaft 305 on the fixed shaft 304 can be adjusted, thereby changing the throwing radius of rotation and realizing adjustable throwing arm to adjust the parabolic trajectory. Correspondingly, the CCD high-speed camera 202 is mounted on the support frame 2 via a three-axis adjustable motion platform 201. The support frame 2 is provided with an adjustment part to adjust the position of the throwing head 306, so that the throwing head 306 can easily receive the capsule gel candy guided by the guide part. Specifically, refer to Figure 5 , Figure 6 A sliding guide rail 3 is installed on the support base 2. A sliding base 301 driven by a lead screw motor and a lead screw slides inside the sliding guide rail 3. A servo motor 302 is installed on the sliding base 301. The throwing shaft 303 is rotatably connected to the sliding base 301. When the lead screw motor drives the lead screw to rotate, it can drive the sliding base 301 to slide along the sliding guide rail 3 as a whole, so as to realize the fine adjustment of the overall position of the throwing part. To assist in rotating the capsule gel candy, refer to... Figure 9 An air hole 307 is provided on the throwing head 306, and a pneumatic nozzle is installed in the air hole 307. The pneumatic nozzle is connected to the air circuit of the equipment and is controlled by the control system. When the throwing head 306 completes the 50° accelerated throwing stroke and the candy is about to leave the throwing head 306, the pneumatic nozzle sprays air towards the candy, and uses the airflow thrust to assist the candy to obtain the initial rotation torque, further improving the stability of the full surface imaging detection. The structure of the flow guide will be explained in detail below, please refer to... Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 The flow guiding part includes a flow divider 5 mounted on the support base 2 and a flow guide trough 501 disposed on the flow divider 5. The flow divider 5 is in contact with the conveyor belt assembly 1. The end of the flow guide trough 501 near the conveyor belt assembly 1 is flared and narrowed, while the other end is narrowed and elongated. The narrowed and elongated shape conforms to the axial dimension of the capsule gel candy and is used for the capsule gel candy to slide through. The narrowed and elongated part of the flow guide trough 501 is inclined downward to facilitate the sliding of the capsule gel candy. The end of the narrowed and elongated part of the flow guide trough 501 near the throwing head 306 is through-hole to facilitate the throwing head 306 to rotate upward and pass through the point to receive the capsule gel candy. It is important to note that during the intervals between the alternating connections of two adjacent sets of throwing heads 306, if the previous set of throwing heads 306 moves upward and disengages while the next set of throwing heads 306 has not yet entered the receiving position of the guide channel 501, there is no receiving structure at the through point of the guide channel 501. The capsule-shaped gel candy can easily fall directly from this point, causing leakage, empty throwing, and equipment jamming. (Refer to...) Figure 7 , Figure 8Therefore, the invention itself has a symmetrically rotating diversion support 502 at the through-hole of the guide channel 501, and a ratchet limiting structure is set at the diversion support 502 and its rotation axis. The ratchet structure restricts the diversion support 502 to rotate only upward and prevents it from flipping and collapsing downward, ensuring support stability. When the capsule gel candy slides to the through-hole position at the tail of the guide channel 501, it can temporarily fall on the two sets of symmetrically arranged diversion supports 502 to achieve temporary material storage support during the intermittent period. Figure 9 Before the next set of throwing heads 306 moves upward, the capsule gel candy is supported. When the next set of throwing heads 306 rotates upward and lifts the diversion support 502, the two sets of symmetrical diversion support 502 open and close synchronously upward, which can automatically center and correct the capsule gel candy, ensuring that the candy falls into the placement groove of the throwing head 306 in the center, solving the problems of misaligned dropping, empty throwing, and leakage. Example 2: A gel candy size detection device, basically the same as Example 1, but further, in the existing non-ballooning method, since the capsule gel candies are mostly in a fixed state during the transportation process, when photographing and identifying defects such as stains and cracks on the surface of the capsule gel candies, a single CCD high-speed camera 202 can only photograph one side. To achieve full surface defect detection of capsule gel candies, the existing technical solution requires multiple sets of CCD high-speed cameras 202 to form an imaging array, which not only significantly increases the cost of equipment procurement, installation and debugging, but also increases the overall size of the equipment, and increases the difficulty and cost of subsequent equipment maintenance and calibration. In contrast, the present invention, after being ballooned by the ballooning section, moves in a parabolic suspended motion, and the capsule gel candies generate a stable self-rotation during the suspended movement. The rotation movement allows each side of the candy to face the CCD high-speed camera 202 sequentially. A single CCD high-speed camera 202 can continuously capture and image the entire surface of the candy, eliminating the blind spots of traditional single-sided imaging and significantly improving the comprehensiveness and stability of defect detection. Simultaneously, when the surface of the capsule gel candy has appearance defects such as stains or cracks, as the candy rotates and moves in the air, the device's light source can illuminate the candy from multiple angles. The reflectivity and transmittance of light in the defective area differ significantly from the intact gel area, resulting in different image grayscale values. The detection system can accurately capture areas of abrupt grayscale changes and abnormal grayscale in the image, quickly determining the presence of appearance defects. Relying on the multi-angle light and shadow imaging characteristics, the accuracy of identifying minute and hidden defects is further improved. Example 3: A gel candy size detection device, basically the same as Example 1, but further, addresses the issue that during the production and transportation of capsule gel candies, the capsule gel candies are prone to rigid contact with the equipment structure, leading to breakage and leakage. The internal slurry of the capsule gel candies is highly viscous, and the viscous slurry overflowing from broken candies easily contaminates and adheres to the surface of surrounding intact candies, causing multiple candies to clump together and become contaminated, severely affecting the cleanliness of the finished product and its quality. In contrast, this invention, after being thrown by the throwing section, allows the candies to move in a parabolic, suspended motion. Broken and leaking capsule gel candies experience a decrease in overall mass and projectile inertia due to the loss of internal slurry. Under constant throwing speed and throwing lever arm, the device effectively detects leakage. In this case, the initial velocity of the suspended movement is insufficient, and the final suspended movement distance is significantly less than that of normal qualified candies. Capsule gel candies with sticky slurry on their surface will generate strong adhesive resistance with the inner wall of the placement groove of the throwing head 306. During the candy's throwing and detachment process, additional sticky friction needs to be overcome, resulting in kinetic energy loss, which will also lead to a shortened suspended movement distance. Therefore, the present invention sets the defective product box 401 between the throwing section and the good product box 4, which can accept broken and leaking candies and candies with sticky surfaces with short suspended movement distances. By relying on the difference in the suspended movement trajectory of the candies, the defective products are passively screened in advance, effectively intercepting abnormal candies that are prone to secondary contamination, avoiding the contamination of intact candies from the source, and ensuring the quality of the finished product storage.

[0020] Example 4: Reference Figure 1-4 A method for identifying and classifying gel candies mainly includes the following steps: Step 1: Transfer the capsule-shaped gel candy to the feeding section; The capsule-shaped gel candies to be tested are conveyed forward at a uniform speed by the conveyor belt assembly 1 and enter the diversion rack 5 area attached to the conveyor belt assembly 1. The candies enter the guide trough 501 in sequence, and after being shaped by the trumpet-shaped constriction end, they slide in a direction along the narrow strip-shaped inclined trough, ensuring that all candies maintain a consistent axial posture as they move towards the throwing end. When the candies slide to the end of the guide trough 501, they are temporarily placed on two sets of symmetrically arranged diversion supports 502. The diversion supports 502, which are locked by a ratchet limiting structure, provide temporary support and solve the problems of leakage and empty throwing during the alternating intervals of adjacent throwing heads 306. Step 2: The capsule gel candy is thrown from the throwing section to the lower end of the CCD high-speed camera 202; Servo motor 302 drives the throwing shaft 303 to rotate intermittently in a preset cycle of 50° acceleration throwing stroke and 10° deceleration loading stroke. The next set of throwing heads 306 rotates upward to the tail position of the guide groove 501. The throwing head 306 lifts the diversion support 502 upward. The two sets of diversion support 502 open and close synchronously upward, automatically centering and correcting the candy, so that the candy falls accurately into the placement groove of the throwing head 306. The throwing shaft 303 drives the throwing head 306 carrying the candy into the 50° acceleration throwing stroke. The capsule gel candy accumulates kinetic energy synchronously with the throwing head 306 as it rotates at high speed. When the throwing head 306 completes the 50° acceleration stroke and is about to enter the deceleration stage, the pneumatic nozzle in the air hole 307 sprays air towards the candy, providing the candy with the initial rotation torque to ensure that it generates stable autonomous rotation during the suspended movement. Under the action of inertia, the candy leaves the throwing head 306 and moves suspended in the air towards the CCD high-speed camera 202 along the preset parabolic trajectory, entering the imaging detection area. Step 3: Full-dimensional imaging detection of capsule-shaped gel candies in a suspended and moving state; The capsule-shaped gel candy is suspended in mid-air, positioned close to the CCD high-speed camera 202 and away from the conveyor belt assembly 1. The CCD high-speed camera 202 has its own light source that shines directly onto the surface of the capsule-shaped gel candy from all directions without obstruction, significantly weakening or even eliminating side shadows and improving imaging resolution. The capsule-shaped gel candy rotates stably and autonomously during its suspended movement, ensuring that each surface faces the CCD high-speed camera 202 in sequence. A single camera can continuously capture images of the entire surface of the capsule-shaped gel candy, eliminating the blind spots of traditional single-sided imaging. The equipment control system processes the acquired images in real time. Specifically, it accurately extracts the true outline of the candy through clear grayscale boundaries, calculates key dimensional parameters such as length and outer diameter, captures areas of grayscale abrupt changes and grayscale anomalies in the image, determines whether there are appearance defects such as stains and cracks, and transmits all detection data to the control system of the jet sorter 403 in real time. Step 4: Identify and screen substandard capsule gel candies; The capsules and gel candies with leakage liquid have reduced quality due to the loss of internal slurry, resulting in insufficient projectile inertia; the candies with sticky slurry on the surface have greater kinetic energy loss due to the sticky adsorption resistance generated by the inner wall of the placement tank of the throwing head 306. The suspended movement distance of these two abnormal capsules and gel candies is significantly shorter than that of normal qualified candies. Under the action of gravity, they fall prematurely and fall directly into the defective product box 401 set between the throwing section and the good product box 4, realizing the passive screening of defective products in advance and preventing intact candies from being stuck and contaminated from the source. The candies that have traveled a normal distance in the air continue to move along a parabolic trajectory towards the good product box 4. The air jet sorter 403 judges the candies passing above it in real time based on the detection signal transmitted by the CCD high-speed camera 202. If the candies are judged to be out of size or have appearance defects, the air jet sorter 403 immediately sprays out a high-pressure airflow to blow them into the defective product box 401; if the candies are judged to be qualified, the air jet sorter 403 does not operate, and the candies continue to fall along the parabolic trajectory. Step 5: Collection of sorted capsule gel candies; The qualified candies eventually fall onto the elastic woven mesh belt 402 inside the good product box 4. The elastic woven mesh belt 402, which has flexible cushioning and light-transmitting properties, absorbs the force and cushions the candies, effectively preventing them from being damaged, deformed, or broken by impact, thus ensuring the integrity of the finished product's appearance and completing the entire identification and classification process. It should be noted that a camera is installed inside the defective product box 401. If a large number of capsule gel candies are detected falling into the defective product box 401, the production line needs to be stopped for inspection to determine which process has gone wrong.

[0021] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A gel candy size detection device, comprising a conveyor belt assembly (1) and a CCD high-speed camera (202) disposed above the conveyor belt assembly (1), wherein a support frame (2) for supporting the CCD high-speed camera (202) is disposed on the side of the conveyor belt assembly (1), characterized in that, It also includes a material throwing section, which is used to throw the material transported by the conveyor belt assembly (1) toward the CCD high-speed camera (202), so that the material is in a suspended moving state when it is photographed and recognized, and is close to the CCD high-speed camera (202).

2. The gel candy size detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The throwing section includes a throwing shaft (303) driven by a servo motor (302), a throwing head (306) is installed on the side wall of the throwing shaft (303), a placement groove is provided in the throwing head (306), and a flow guide is provided between the throwing head (306) and the conveyor belt assembly (1), the flow guide is used to guide the material transported by the conveyor belt assembly (1) to the placement groove.

3. The gel candy size detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, An adjusting shaft (305) is fixedly connected to the throwing head (306), and a fixed shaft (304) is fixedly connected to the throwing shaft (303). The adjusting shaft (305) is threadedly connected to the fixed shaft (304).

4. The gel candy size detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The CCD high-speed camera (202) is mounted on the support frame (2) via a three-axis adjustable motion platform (201); The support frame (2) is provided with an adjustment part to adjust the position of the throwing head (306). The adjustment part includes a sliding guide rail (3) installed on the support frame (2). A sliding base (301) is slidably connected inside the sliding guide rail (3). The servo motor (302) is installed on the sliding base (301). The throwing shaft (303) is rotatably connected to the sliding base (301).

5. The gel candy size detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The throwing head (306) is provided with an air hole (307), and a pneumatic nozzle is installed in the air hole (307).

6. The gel candy size detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The flow guide includes a flow divider (5) mounted on a support base (2) and a flow guide groove (501) disposed on the flow divider (5). The flow divider (5) is attached to the conveyor belt assembly (1). The end of the flow guide groove (501) near the throwing head (306) is arranged vertically through the flow guide groove (501). When the throwing head (306) rotates upward, it passes through the through end of the flow guide groove (501).

7. The gel candy size detection device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The flow guide channel (501) is symmetrically provided with a flow divider (502) that rotates unidirectionally upwards at the through point. When the throwing head (306) rotates upwards, it lifts up the flow divider (502).

8. The gel candy size detection device according to claim 6, characterized in that, It also includes a receiving part at the point where the material is thrown, and an elastic woven mesh belt (402) is installed in the receiving part.

9. The gel candy size detection device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The receiving part includes a good product box (4) and a bad product box (401). An air jet sorting machine (403) is provided on the good product box (4), and the air jet end of the air jet sorting machine (403) faces the bad product box (401). Among them, the unqualified materials passing above the good product box (4) will be blown into the bad product box (401) by the high-pressure airflow sprayed by the jet sorter (403).

10. A method for identifying and classifying gel candies, comprising a gel candy size detection device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The main steps include: Step 1: Convey the material to the throwing section; Step 2: The material is thrown from the throwing section to the lower end of the CCD high-speed camera (202); Step 3: Full-dimensional imaging detection of materials in a suspended and moving state; The material moving in the air is in a state of suspended movement, close to the CCD high-speed camera (202) and far away from the conveyor belt assembly (1). The CCD high-speed camera (202) has its own light source that is unobstructed and shines directly on the surface of the material from all directions, which greatly weakens or even eliminates the shadow of the side wall projection, while improving the imaging resolution. The material rotates stably and autonomously during the suspended movement, so that each surface faces the CCD high-speed camera (202) in turn. A single set of cameras can complete the continuous shooting of the entire surface of the material. Step 4: Identify and screen non-conforming materials; Step 5: Collection of sorted materials.

Images