A tobacco shreds granular appearance image acquisition device

Abstract

This invention provides a device for acquiring images of the appearance of tobacco particles, belonging to the field of tobacco leaf inspection technology. The device includes a vibrating sieve mechanism, an air-jetting separation mechanism, a tobacco flattening mechanism, and a collection mechanism. This invention combines the vibrating sieve mechanism and the air-jetting separation mechanism to effectively separate and disperse tobacco clumps, forming secondary dispersed tobacco. The tobacco flattening mechanism maintains the shape of the secondary dispersed tobacco in a flat state. The collection mechanism acquires images of the flattened secondary dispersed tobacco to obtain images of the dispersed tobacco. This effectively solves the problem that the projected area of ​​tobacco particles is significantly smaller than their actual area due to bending and curling, thus improving the accuracy of tobacco appearance feature detection and increasing detection efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of tobacco leaf detection technology, specifically to a device for acquiring images of the appearance of tobacco particles. Background Technology

[0002] In cigarette processing, tobacco morphology is a crucial quality indicator, directly affecting the stability of the finished cigarette's physical quality and indirectly influencing the smoke release and the consumer's smoking experience through the cigarette's combustion state. To ensure the quality level of finished cigarettes, it is necessary to detect and analyze the appearance characteristics of tobacco morphology, such as length distribution, average width, and the presence of abnormal tobacco morphology, during production and processing. This ensures that the tobacco structure distribution is within an optimal range and the proportion of abnormal tobacco morphology is kept low. Currently, sieving is commonly used in production and processing for tobacco morphology detection. Various specifications of vibrating sieves, such as 4-layer, 7-layer, and 10-layer sieves, are used. However, the operation process is relatively cumbersome and can only be used for a rough measurement of tobacco length distribution. It is difficult to obtain accurate measurement results of tobacco length and shape characteristics directly, thus having certain limitations in practical use. In recent years, image processing and analysis methods have gradually been applied to tobacco morphology detection. To complement image analysis methods, various tobacco morphology detection devices have been designed. However, these devices suffer from problems such as low dispersion efficiency, poor dispersion effect, and limited detection capacity, which cause inconvenience to tobacco image processing and analysis. Utility Model Content

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings of the prior art by proposing a device for acquiring images of the appearance of tobacco particles.

[0004] This utility model proposes a device for acquiring images of the appearance of tobacco particles, including a vibrating sieve mechanism, an air-throwing separation mechanism, a tobacco flattening mechanism, and a collection mechanism. The vibrating sieve mechanism is used to vibrate the tobacco clump to form primary tobacco shreds and transport the primary tobacco shreds to the air-throwing separation mechanism. The air-throwing separation mechanism is used to separate the primary tobacco shreds by air-throwing to form secondary dispersed tobacco shreds. The tobacco flattening mechanism is used to receive the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds discharged from the air-throwing separation mechanism and keep the shape of the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds flat. The collection mechanism is used to acquire images of the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds that have been kept flat to obtain images of the dispersed tobacco shreds.

[0005] Furthermore, the vibrating screen mechanism includes a vibrating component and a first conveying component. The vibrating component includes a screen bed, a vibrating motor, and an elastic support structure for supporting the screen bed. The screen bed includes a first feed inlet and a first discharge outlet respectively disposed on both sides of the vertical axis of the screen bed. The vibrating motor is used to drive the screen bed to vibrate, so that the screen bed vibrates the tobacco shreds to form primary screened tobacco shreds. The first conveying component includes a first conveyor belt for conveying the primary screened tobacco shreds discharged from the first discharge outlet to the air-jetting separation mechanism, and a first driving structure for driving the first conveyor belt.

[0006] Furthermore, the gas-jetting separation mechanism includes a gas source, a gas guide pipe, a separation box, a separation chamber located inside the separation box, a second feed inlet located at the top of the separation box and communicating with the separation chamber, an exhaust port located on the separation box and communicating with the separation chamber, and a discharge port located at the bottom of the separation box; one end of the gas guide pipe passes through the side of the separation box and extends into the separation chamber, and the other end is connected to the gas source, so as to introduce the compressed gas output from the gas source into the separation chamber, so that the compressed gas blows the primary screened tobacco shreds located in the separation chamber to form secondary dispersed tobacco shreds.

[0007] Furthermore, the tobacco shredding mechanism includes a second conveyor belt, a third conveyor belt, a second driving structure for driving the second conveyor belt, a first support structure for supporting the second driving structure, a third driving structure for driving the third conveyor belt, and a second support structure connected to the first support structure for supporting the third driving structure. At least a first portion of the third conveyor belt is disposed above the first portion of the second conveyor belt, and a pressing zone is formed between the first portion of the third conveyor belt and the first portion of the second conveyor belt. The second conveyor belt is used to receive and transport the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds discharged from the air-jetting separation mechanism. The first portion of the third conveyor belt and the first portion of the second conveyor belt are used to squeeze the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds respectively when the second conveyor belt transports the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds to the pressing zone to flatten the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds.

[0008] Furthermore, the acquisition mechanism includes a camera, a first bracket for supporting the camera, and a light source for supplementing light to the camera. The camera is used to photograph the flattened secondary dispersed tobacco on the second conveyor belt to obtain images of the dispersed tobacco.

[0009] Furthermore, both the second and third conveyor belts are transparent conveyor belts, and the camera has at least a lens positioned above the first part of the third conveyor belt. The camera is used to capture images of the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds located between the first part of the first conveyor belt and the first part of the second conveyor belt to obtain images of the dispersed tobacco shreds.

[0010] Furthermore, it also includes a first housing and a first mounting through hole through the first housing. The vibrating screen mechanism also includes a second housing, a second mounting through hole through the top of the second housing corresponding to the first feed inlet, a third mounting through hole through one side of the second housing, and a sealing cover for covering the second mounting through hole. The second mounting through hole is connected to the first feed inlet. The elastic support structure and the first drive structure are both connected to the inner wall of the second housing. The air-throwing separation mechanism, the tobacco flattening mechanism, and the collection mechanism are all located inside the first housing. The first housing has a first mounting through hole through it. One end of the first conveyor belt passes through the third mounting through hole and the first mounting through hole in sequence and extends to a position inside the first housing that matches the air-throwing separation mechanism.

[0011] Furthermore, the elastic support structure includes a support frame, a plurality of lower spring seats disposed at the top of the support frame, a plurality of upper spring seats disposed at the bottom of the screen bed corresponding to the plurality of lower spring seats, and a first spring connected at both ends to the lower spring seats and the upper spring seats respectively.

[0012] Furthermore, the air-jet separation mechanism also includes a guide cylinder, which has openings at both the top and bottom. The opening at the bottom of the guide cylinder is connected to the second feed inlet. The cross-sectional area of ​​the guide cylinder gradually decreases from the top to the bottom. The guide cylinder is connected to the top of the separation box to receive the primary screened tobacco discharged by the vibrating screen mechanism and to transport the primary screened tobacco to the second feed inlet.

[0013] Furthermore, the axis of the air guide pipe is parallel to the axis of the separation chamber. The exhaust port and the second feed port are both located at the top of the separation chamber. The second feed port is located close to the air guide pipe, and the exhaust port is located away from the air guide pipe. There are multiple exhaust ports.

[0014] The tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device of this utility model has the following beneficial effects:

[0015] By combining a vibrating sieve mechanism and an air-jetting separation mechanism, the tobacco shreds are effectively separated and dispersed to form secondary dispersed tobacco shreds. A tobacco shred flattening mechanism keeps the shape of the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds flat. An acquisition mechanism acquires images of the flat secondary dispersed tobacco shreds to obtain images of the dispersed tobacco shreds. This effectively solves the problem that the projected area of ​​tobacco shreds is significantly smaller than the actual area due to the bending and curling of tobacco shreds, thus improving the accuracy of tobacco shred appearance morphology detection and achieving high detection efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0016] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. In these drawings, similar reference numerals are used to denote similar elements. The drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. Other drawings will be readily available to those skilled in the art based on these drawings without any inventive effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a first side view of a tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 This is a second side view of a tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the vibrating screen mechanism in a tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the second box in a cross-section of a tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 6 This is a side view of the vibrating sieve mechanism in a tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the air-jetting separation mechanism in a tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the tobacco flattening mechanism in a tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 9 This is a side view of a tobacco flattening mechanism in a tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the acquisition mechanism in a tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] In the diagram: 1-Vibrating screen mechanism, 11-Vibrating component, 111-Screen bed, 112-Vibrating motor, 113-Lower spring seat, 114-Support frame, 115-First discharge port, 116-First motor base, 12-First conveyor component, 121-First conveyor belt, 13-Second housing, 131-Second mounting through hole, 132-Inner isolation layer, 14-Sealing cover, 2-Air jet separation mechanism, 21-Separation box, 211-Second feed port, 212-Exhaust port, 21 3-Discharge port, 22-Air guide pipe, 23-Guide cylinder, 3-Tobacco shred leveling mechanism, 31-Second conveyor belt, 32-First support structure, 33-Third conveyor belt, 34-Second support structure, 35-First drive structure, 36-Second drive structure, 37-Compression zone, 4-Collection mechanism, 41-Camera, 42-First bracket, 43-Adjusting bracket, 5-First housing, 61-Side observation window, 62-Industrial control screen, 63-Front observation window, 64-Base. Detailed Implementation

[0028] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this utility model clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this utility model. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this utility model without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this utility model. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

[0029] Please see Figures 1 to 10 This utility model discloses a device for acquiring images of the appearance of tobacco particles, comprising a vibrating sieve mechanism 1, an air-throwing separation mechanism 2, a tobacco flattening mechanism 3, and a collection mechanism 4. The vibrating sieve mechanism 1 vibrates the tobacco clump to form primary sieved tobacco and conveys it to the air-throwing separation mechanism 2. The air-throwing separation mechanism 2 separates the primary sieved tobacco by air-throwing to form secondary dispersed tobacco. The tobacco flattening mechanism 3 receives the secondary dispersed tobacco discharged from the air-throwing separation mechanism 2 and keeps the shape of the secondary dispersed tobacco flat. The collection mechanism 4 acquires images of the flattened secondary dispersed tobacco to obtain images of the dispersed tobacco.

[0030] Specifically, the vibrating sieve mechanism 1 vibrates the tobacco shreds to achieve preliminary sieving, forming primary sieved tobacco shreds. The vibrating sieve mechanism 1 then conveys the primary sieved tobacco shreds to the air-jetting separation mechanism 2, where the air-jetting separation mechanism 2 separates the primary sieved tobacco shreds with gas to form secondary dispersed tobacco shreds. This avoids the problems of tobacco shreds tangling and tobacco particles breaking that occur when tobacco shreds are dispersed by needle rollers. The tobacco shreds leveling mechanism 3 keeps the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds flat, facilitating image acquisition by the acquisition mechanism 4 and avoiding the problem of low image acquisition accuracy when tobacco shreds are curled up. This application efficiently disperses tobacco samples and accurately acquires tobacco sample images, effectively achieving tobacco particle dispersion and completing the work of taking pictures of tobacco particles. It has good application prospects in the inspection of tobacco appearance and morphology.

[0031] The vibrating screen mechanism 1 may include a vibrating element 11 and a first conveying element 12. The vibrating element 11 includes a screen bed 111, a vibrating motor 112, and an elastic support structure for supporting the screen bed 111. The screen bed 111 includes a first feed inlet and a first discharge outlet 115 respectively disposed on both sides of the vertical axis of the screen bed 111. The vibrating motor 112 is used to drive the screen bed 111 to vibrate, so that the screen bed 111 vibrates the tobacco shreds to form primary screened tobacco shreds. The first conveying element 12 includes a first conveyor belt 121 for conveying the primary screened tobacco shreds discharged from the first discharge outlet 115 to the air-jet separation mechanism 2, and a first driving structure 35 for driving the first conveyor belt 121.

[0032] Specifically, the first feed inlet is located on the top surface of the screen bed 111, and the first discharge outlet 115 is located on the bottom surface of the screen bed 111. The first feed inlet and the first discharge outlet 115 are respectively located on both sides of the vertical axis of the screen bed 111. The tobacco shreds enter the screen bed 111 through the first feed inlet. The vibration motor 112 drives the screen bed 111 to vibrate, and the screen bed 111 vibrates the tobacco shreds. The tobacco shreds are gradually separated by the vibration and move towards the first discharge outlet 115. The vibrating element 11 also includes a screen screen disposed inside the screen bed 111. The inlet is located above the screen, and the first outlet 115 is located below the screen. After manual separation or a dedicated feeding device, the tobacco clumps enter the first inlet above the screen. The screen bed 111 is continuously vibrated by a vibrating motor 112. The screen bed 111 drives the screen to vibrate, and the tobacco clumps are gradually separated on the screen and fall below the screen. Because the screen aperture is significantly larger than the tobacco particles, but smaller than the size of a typical tobacco clump, the tobacco particles gradually fall below the screen after separating during the vibration. Below the screen bed 111 is the first conveyor belt 121. The initially screened tobacco passes through the first outlet 115 and falls onto the first conveyor belt 121. The first conveyor belt 121 transports the initially screened tobacco forward to the air-jetting separation mechanism 2.

[0033] Specifically, the vibrating screen mechanism 1 disperses the tobacco shreds through vibration. The dispersed tobacco shreds are successively fed into the first conveyor belt 121 and pulled apart, achieving the first step of tobacco shred dispersion. The main effect is to disperse the tobacco shred clumps into discrete tobacco shred particles through vibration, but the output form is still tobacco shred particles in contact with each other, which will be further dispersed into discrete particles in the future.

[0034] Specifically, the first drive structure 35 may include a first drive motor, a first driving roller and a first driven roller. The output end of the first drive motor can be connected to the first driving roller through a coupling, and the two ends of the first conveyor belt 121 are respectively sleeved on the first driving roller and the first driven roller.

[0035] Specifically, the vibrating element 11 can be the linear vibrating screen disclosed in Chinese Patent CN217450880U, published on 2022-09-20. Alternatively, the vibrating element 11 can be the gypsum powder screening device disclosed in Chinese Patent CN220900939U, published on 2024-05-07. Or, the vibrating element 11 can be the tobacco vibrating screening device disclosed in Chinese Patent CN221694242U, published on 2024-09-13.

[0036] The air-jet separation mechanism 2 may include an air source, an air guide pipe 22, a separation box 21, a separation chamber located inside the separation box 21, a second feed inlet 211 located on the top of the separation box 21 and communicating with the separation chamber, an exhaust port 212 located on the separation box 21 and communicating with the separation chamber, and a discharge port 213 located at the bottom of the separation box 21. One end of the air guide pipe 22 passes through the side of the separation box 21 and extends into the separation chamber, and the other end is connected to the air source to introduce the compressed gas output from the air source into the separation chamber, so that the compressed gas blows the primary screened tobacco shreds located in the separation chamber to form secondary dispersed tobacco shreds.

[0037] Specifically, the gas-jetting separation mechanism 2 performs gas-jetting separation of the tobacco shreds for a second-step dispersion. The compressed gas provided by the gas source can be compressed air. The tobacco shreds formed by the vibrating screen mechanism 1 pass through the second feed port 211 and enter the separation chamber. The gas source blows compressed air into the separation chamber through the air guide pipe 22. The compressed air performs gas-jetting separation of the tobacco shreds in the separation chamber, and then discharges through the discharge port 213, thereby forming secondary dispersed tobacco shreds.

[0038] The tobacco shred leveling mechanism 3 may include a second conveyor belt 31, a third conveyor belt 33, a second drive structure 36 for driving the second conveyor belt 31, a first support structure 32 for supporting the second drive structure 36, a third drive structure for driving the third conveyor belt 33, and a second support structure 34 connected to the first support structure 32 for supporting the third drive structure. At least a first portion of the third conveyor belt 33 is disposed above the first portion of the second conveyor belt 31, and a pressing zone 37 is formed between the first portion of the third conveyor belt 33 and the first portion of the second conveyor belt 31. The second conveyor belt 31 is used to receive and transport the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds discharged from the air-throwing separation mechanism 2. The first portion of the third conveyor belt 33 and the first portion of the second conveyor belt 31 are used to squeeze the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds respectively when the second conveyor belt 31 transports the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds to the pressing zone 37 to flatten the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds.

[0039] Specifically, at least a first portion of the third conveyor belt 33 is positioned above the first portion of the second conveyor belt 31. A conveying gap is provided between the first portion of the third conveyor belt 33 and the first portion of the second conveyor belt 31. The third conveyor belt 33 receives the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds discharged by the air-jetting separation mechanism 2 and conveys them along the conveying direction. When the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds are conveyed into the conveying gap, i.e., when they are conveyed to the pressing area 37, the first portion of the third conveyor belt 33 and the first portion of the second conveyor belt 31 respectively compress the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds, thereby flattening and fixing the shape of the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds. This ensures that the tobacco shreds remain flat during the image acquisition stage. The first support structure 32 can be a lower frame, and the second support structure 34 can be an upper frame, with the upper frame connected to the lower frame.

[0040] The acquisition mechanism 4 may include a camera 41, a first bracket 42 for supporting the camera 41, and a light source for supplementing light to the camera 41. The camera 41 is used to take pictures of the flattened secondary dispersed tobacco on the second conveyor belt 31 to obtain images of the dispersed tobacco.

[0041] Specifically, after the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds are flattened, camera 41 photographs them, effectively solving the problem that the projected area of ​​tobacco particles is significantly smaller than their actual area due to the bending and curling of the particles, thus improving the accuracy of tobacco appearance feature detection. Camera 41 can be a line scan camera, and the light source can be a line array light source. The acquisition mechanism 4 also includes an adjustment bracket 43, with its two ends connected to the first bracket 42 and camera 41, respectively. The first bracket 42 can be connected to the inner wall of the first housing 5, the second support structure 34, or the first support structure 32. The axis of camera 41 can be perpendicular to the first part of the third conveyor belt 33, and the first part of the third conveyor belt 33 can be parallel to the first part of the second conveyor belt 31. The function of the adjustment bracket 43 is to fine-tune the horizontal and vertical directions of camera 41, ensuring that camera 41 is directly facing the center of the light source and fixing the height of camera 41, ensuring that camera 41 produces clear images without stripes.

[0042] Both the second conveyor belt 31 and the third conveyor belt 33 can be transparent conveyor belts. The camera 41 is used to take pictures of the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds located between the first part of the first conveyor belt 121 and the first part of the second conveyor belt 31 to obtain images of the dispersed tobacco shreds.

[0043] Specifically, camera 41 is positioned to match the pressing area 37, allowing the flattened secondary dispersed tobacco shreds within the pressing area 37 to face camera 41 directly. Camera 41 can then capture images of the flattened secondary dispersed tobacco shreds and obtain images of the dispersed tobacco. By employing a tobacco flattening mechanism 3 based on a double-layer transparent conveyor belt, the tobacco shreds are flattened and their shape fixed before image acquisition, ensuring the tobacco particles face the acquisition mechanism 4 and maintaining a flat state throughout the image acquisition phase. A light source is positioned above the first section of the third conveyor belt 33, illuminating the back of the third conveyor belt 33, thus cooperating with camera 41 to acquire images of the dispersed tobacco shreds in motion. The first section of the second conveyor belt 31 is parallel to the first section of the third conveyor belt 33, and the lens of camera 41 is parallel to the first section of the second conveyor belt 31.

[0044] As an example of a tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device in this embodiment, it may also include a first housing 5 and a first mounting through hole through the first housing 5. The vibrating screen mechanism 1 also includes a second housing 13, a second mounting through hole 131 through the top of the second housing 13 corresponding to the first feed inlet, a third mounting through hole through one side of the second housing 13, and a sealing cover 14 for covering the second mounting through hole 131. The second mounting through hole 131 is connected to the first feed inlet. The elastic support structure and the first drive structure 35 are both connected to the inner wall of the second housing 13. The air-throwing separation mechanism 2, the tobacco flattening mechanism 3, and the acquisition mechanism 4 are all disposed inside the first housing 5. The first housing 5 is provided with a first mounting through hole. One end of the first conveyor belt 121 passes through the third mounting through hole and the first mounting through hole in sequence and extends to the position inside the first housing 5 that matches the air-throwing separation mechanism 2.

[0045] Specifically, the first housing 5 is used to integrate the air-dispersion mechanism 2, the tobacco shred leveling mechanism 3, and the collection mechanism 4. The first housing 5 rationally allocates, positions, and integrates these modules. It also includes an industrial control screen 62, a front observation window 63, a side observation window 61, and a base 64 supporting the first housing 5, all mounted on the first housing 5. The entire first housing 5 has good sealing properties, shielding it from external interference to a certain extent, ensuring that the redispersion of tobacco shreds and the image acquisition of tobacco shreds remain within a relatively stable and controllable range. The air-dispersion mechanism 2 and the tobacco shred leveling mechanism 3 are both connected to the inner wall of the first housing 5.

[0046] Specifically, the vibrating screen mechanism 1 also includes an inner isolation layer 132 disposed inside the second housing 13 and a first motor base 116 disposed inside the second housing 13. The first motor base 116 is connected to the bottom of the screen bed 111 and the vibrating motor 112 respectively. The sealing cover 14 can be a soundproof cover. The first drive structure 35 used to drive the first conveyor belt 121 may include a first drive motor, a first driving roller, and a first driven roller. The output end of the first drive motor can be connected to the first driving roller through a coupling. The two ends of the first conveyor belt 121 are respectively sleeved on the first driving roller and the first driven roller. The first drive motor is connected to the inner wall of the second housing 13. The two ends of the first driving roller can be rotatably connected to the inner wall of the second housing 13. The two ends of the first driven roller can be rotatably connected to the inner wall of the first housing 13.

[0047] Specifically, the second drive structure 36 may include a second drive motor, a second drive roller, a first belt, a third drive roller, a first rotating shaft, and multiple second driven rollers. The output shaft of the second drive motor can be connected to the second drive roller via a coupling. The two ends of the first belt are respectively sleeved on the second drive roller and the third drive roller. The two ends of the first rotating shaft are respectively connected to one second driven roller and the third drive roller. The multiple second driven rollers are installed according to a first preset position. The second conveyor belt 31 is respectively sleeved on the multiple second driven rollers. The second drive motor drives the second drive roller, the second drive roller drives the first belt, the first belt drives the third drive roller, the third drive roller drives the first rotating shaft, the first rotating shaft drives one second driven roller, the second driven roller drives the second conveyor belt 31, and the second conveyor belt 31 drives the other second driven rollers. The second drive motor can be connected to the first support structure 32, the second drive roller is rotatably connected to the first support structure 32, the third drive roller is rotatably connected to the first support structure 32, and the multiple second driven rollers can be rotatably connected to the first support structure 32 respectively.

[0048] Specifically, the third drive structure may include a third drive motor, a fourth drive roller, a second belt, a fifth drive roller, a second rotating shaft, and multiple third driven rollers. The output shaft of the third drive motor can be connected to the fourth drive roller via a coupling. The two ends of the second belt are respectively sleeved on the fourth and fifth drive rollers. The two ends of the second rotating shaft are respectively connected to one third driven roller and the fifth drive roller. The multiple third driven rollers are installed according to a second preset position. The third conveyor belt 33 is respectively sleeved on the multiple third driven rollers. There can be four third driven rollers, and the second conveyor belt 31 can form a rectangle. The third drive motor drives the fourth drive roller, the fourth drive roller drives the second belt, the second belt drives the fifth drive roller, the fifth drive roller drives the second rotating shaft, the rotating shaft drives one third driven roller, this third driven roller drives the third conveyor belt 33, and the third conveyor belt 33 drives the other third driven rollers. The third drive motor can be connected to the second support structure 34, and the fourth drive roller, the fifth drive roller, and the multiple third driven rollers can be rotatably connected to the second support structure 34.

[0049] The elastic support structure may include a support frame 114, a plurality of lower spring seats 113 disposed at the top of the support frame 114, a plurality of upper spring seats disposed at the bottom of the screen bed 111 corresponding to the plurality of lower spring seats 113, and a first spring connected at both ends to the lower spring seats 113 and the upper spring seats respectively.

[0050] Specifically, the bottom of the support frame 114 is connected to the bottom of the inner side of the first housing 5.

[0051] The air-jet separation mechanism 2 may also include a guide cylinder 23, which has openings at both the top and bottom. The opening at the bottom of the guide cylinder 23 is connected to the second feed inlet 211. The cross-sectional area of ​​the guide cylinder 23 gradually decreases from the top to the bottom. The guide cylinder 23 is connected to the top of the separation box 21 to receive the primary screened tobacco discharged by the vibrating screen mechanism 1 and to transport the primary screened tobacco to the second feed inlet 211.

[0052] Specifically, the guide cylinder 23 can be an inverted funnel-shaped guide cylinder 23, which facilitates the introduction of the primary screened tobacco shreds discharged from the vibrating screen mechanism 1 into the second feed inlet 211.

[0053] The axis of the air guide pipe 22 can be parallel to the axis of the separation chamber. The exhaust port 212 and the second feed port 211 are both located on the top of the separation box 21. The second feed port 211 is located close to the air guide pipe 22, and the exhaust port 212 is located away from the air guide pipe 22. There are multiple exhaust ports 212.

[0054] Specifically, the collection mechanism 4 can be fixedly connected to the inner wall of the first housing 5 by four positioning screws to maintain the horizontal and vertical placement of the camera 41. The third conveyor belt 33 is closedly connected with multiple third driven rollers, and the second conveyor belt 31 is closedly connected with multiple second driven rollers to form the tobacco flattening mechanism 3. The air-jet separation mechanism 2 is connected to the inner wall of the first housing 5 by second brackets arranged vertically on both sides, keeping it parallel and of equal width to the second conveyor belt 31 to ensure that all the secondary dispersed tobacco falls onto the second conveyor belt 31. The vibrating screen mechanism 1 needs to be set parallel to the first housing 5 and at a certain distance, with one end of the first conveyor belt 121 aligned with the second feed inlet 211 of the air-jet separation mechanism 2.

[0055] Specifically, the vibrating element 11 is used to vibrate and disperse the tobacco shreds in the feeding stage to form primary screen tobacco shreds. The dispersed primary screen tobacco shreds fall onto the first conveyor 12 below the vibrating element 11. The first conveyor 12 transports the primary screen tobacco shreds to the air-jet separation mechanism 2. After the primary screen tobacco shreds are fed in, they pass through the air-jet separation mechanism 2, where compressed gas further separates and disperses the tobacco shred particles to form secondary dispersed tobacco shreds. The second conveyor belt 31 and the third conveyor belt 33 are respectively used to apply pressure to the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds entering the pressing area 37 to keep them in a flat shape during the imaging process. Finally, the acquisition unit uses the camera 41 to acquire images of the dispersed tobacco shreds of the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds.

[0056] Specifically, the sample tobacco shreds are fed into the first inlet and vibrated by the vibrating element 11 to achieve initial separation and dispersion. Then, the tobacco shreds fall onto the first conveyor belt 121 below the vibrating element 11 to complete the first step of dispersion. Then, they enter the air-throwing separation mechanism 2 to achieve the second step of dispersion. The tobacco shreds are flattened in the tobacco shred flattening mechanism 3 to fix the shape of the separated tobacco shreds. Finally, they pass through the acquisition mechanism 4, and the camera 41 is used to acquire images of the tobacco shreds and perform subsequent tobacco shred width detection and shape analysis.

[0057] The above-described contents can be implemented individually or in combination in various ways, and all such variations are within the protection scope of this utility model.

[0058] It should be noted that in the description of this application, the terms "upper end," "lower end," and "bottom end," indicating orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship commonly used when the product of this application is in use. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device 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 on this application. Moreover, 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 process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise limited, 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 the element.

[0059] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this utility model, and are not intended to limit it. Although this utility model has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model.

Claims

1. A tobacco shreds granular appearance image acquisition device, characterized by: The device includes a vibrating screen mechanism (1), an air-throwing separation mechanism (2), a tobacco shred leveling mechanism (3), and a collection mechanism (4). The vibrating screen mechanism (1) is used to vibrate the tobacco shreds to form primary tobacco shreds and transport the primary tobacco shreds to the air-throwing separation mechanism (2). The air-throwing separation mechanism (2) is used to separate the primary tobacco shreds by air-throwing to form secondary dispersed tobacco shreds. The tobacco shred leveling mechanism (3) is used to receive the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds discharged from the air-throwing separation mechanism (2) and keep the shape of the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds flat. The collection mechanism (4) is used to collect images of the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds that have been kept flat to obtain images of the dispersed tobacco shreds.

2. A tobacco granule appearance image capturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vibrating screen mechanism (1) includes a vibrating element (11) and a first conveying element (12). The vibrating element (11) includes a screen bed (111), a vibrating motor (112), and an elastic support structure for supporting the screen bed (111). The screen bed (111) includes a first feed port and a first discharge port (115) respectively disposed on both sides of the vertical axis of the screen bed (111). The vibrating motor (112) is used to drive the screen bed (111) to vibrate, so that the screen bed (111) vibrates the tobacco shreds to form primary screened tobacco shreds. The first conveying element (12) includes a first conveyor belt (121) for conveying the primary screened tobacco shreds discharged from the first discharge port (115) to the air-throwing separation mechanism (2), and a first driving structure (35) for driving the first conveyor belt (121).

3. A tobacco granule appearance image capturing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The gas-dispersing mechanism (2) includes a gas source, a gas guide pipe (22), a separation box (21), a separation chamber located inside the separation box (21), a second feed inlet (211) located on the separation box (21) and connected to the separation chamber, an exhaust port (212) located on the separation box (21) and connected to the separation chamber, and a discharge port (213) located at the bottom of the separation box (21). One end of the gas guide pipe (22) passes through the side of the separation box (21) and extends into the separation chamber, and the other end is connected to the gas source to introduce the compressed gas output from the gas source into the separation chamber, so that the compressed gas blows the primary screened tobacco shreds located in the separation chamber to form secondary dispersed tobacco shreds.

4. The tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The tobacco flattening mechanism (3) includes a second conveyor belt (31), a third conveyor belt (33), a second drive structure (36) for driving the second conveyor belt (31), a first support structure (32) for supporting the second drive structure (36), a third drive structure for driving the third conveyor belt (33), and a second support structure (34) connected to the first support structure (32) for supporting the third drive structure. At least a first part of the third conveyor belt (33) is disposed above the first part of the second conveyor belt (31). A pressing zone (37) is formed between the first part of the third conveyor belt (33) and the first part of the second conveyor belt (31). The second conveyor belt (31) is used to receive and transport the secondary dispersed tobacco discharged from the gas-throwing separation mechanism (2). The first part of the third conveyor belt (33) and the first part of the second conveyor belt (31) are used to squeeze the secondary dispersed tobacco to flatten it when the second conveyor belt (31) transports the secondary dispersed tobacco to the pressing zone (37).

5. The tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device as described in claim 4, characterized in that: The acquisition mechanism (4) includes a camera (41), a first bracket (42) for supporting the camera (41), and a light source for supplementing light to the camera (41). The camera (41) is used to take pictures of the flattened secondary dispersed tobacco on the second conveyor belt (31) to obtain images of the dispersed tobacco.

6. The tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device as described in claim 5, characterized in that: The second conveyor belt (31) and the third conveyor belt (33) are both transparent conveyor belts. The camera (41) is used to take pictures of the secondary dispersed tobacco shreds located between the first part of the first conveyor belt (121) and the first part of the second conveyor belt (31) to obtain images of the dispersed tobacco shreds.

7. The tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device as described in claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a first housing (5) and a first mounting through hole through the first housing (5). The vibrating screen mechanism (1) also includes a second housing (13), a second mounting through hole (131) through the top of the second housing (13) corresponding to the first feed inlet, a third mounting through hole through one side of the second housing (13), and a sealing cover (14) for covering the second mounting through hole (131). The second mounting through hole (131) is connected to the first feed inlet. The elastic support structure and the first drive structure (35) are both connected to the inner wall of the second housing (13). The air-throwing separation mechanism (2), the tobacco flattening mechanism (3), and the collection mechanism (4) are all located inside the first housing (5). The first housing (5) is provided with a first mounting through hole. One end of the first conveyor belt (121) passes through the third mounting through hole and the first mounting through hole in sequence and extends to the position inside the first housing (5) that matches the air-throwing separation mechanism (2).

8. The tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device as described in claim 2 or 7, characterized in that: The elastic support structure includes a support frame (114), a plurality of lower spring seats (113) disposed at the top of the support frame (114), a plurality of upper spring seats disposed at the bottom of the screen bed (111) corresponding to the plurality of lower spring seats (113), and a first spring connected at both ends to the lower spring seats (113) and the upper spring seats respectively.

9. The tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The air-jet separation mechanism (2) also includes a guide cylinder (23), which has openings at both the top and bottom. The opening at the bottom of the guide cylinder (23) is connected to the second feed inlet (211). The cross-sectional area of ​​the guide cylinder (23) gradually decreases from the top to the bottom. The guide cylinder (23) is connected to the top of the separation box (21) to receive the primary screened tobacco discharged by the vibrating screen mechanism (1) and to transport the primary screened tobacco to the second feed inlet (211).

10. The tobacco particle appearance image acquisition device as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The axis of the air guide pipe (22) is parallel to the axis of the separation chamber. The exhaust port (212) and the second feed port (211) are both located on the top of the separation box (21). The second feed port (211) is located close to the air guide pipe (22), and the exhaust port (212) is located away from the air guide pipe (22). There are multiple exhaust ports (212).

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