A parallel-robot-based nondestructive sorting device for green coffee beans

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of coffee green bean nondestructive sorting devices based on parallel mechanical arm, it is related to the technical field of intelligent processing equipment of agricultural products, and it includes: feeding assembly includes: rack, fixedly set on the conveying piece of rack, set on the side of rack and the feeding end alignment conveying piece of feeding piece;Screening component includes: fixedly set on the detection piece of rack and just for conveying piece upper side, fixedly set on the sorting piece of rack and just for conveying piece upper side, set on the collection piece of rack and close to conveying piece;Conveying piece, feeding piece, detection piece, sorting piece are electrically connected with industrial computer;Coffee green bean is adjusted flat in feeding piece and enters conveying piece after facing upwards posture, with conveying piece movement, detection piece carries out grade detection to coffee green bean, and then coffee green bean is driven into collection piece in sorting piece.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of intelligent processing equipment technology for agricultural products, specifically a non-destructive sorting device for green coffee beans based on a parallel robotic arm. Background Technology

[0002] Coffee is an important economic crop in Yunnan and other regions of my country. In the initial processing of coffee, the grading of green beans is a crucial step in determining product pricing and quality. Currently, green coffee bean grading mainly relies on manual visual inspection or simple mechanical sieving. Manual sorting is costly, inefficient, and highly subjective; traditional mechanical sieving can only grade by particle size, failing to effectively identify appearance defects such as insect infestation, mold, and breakage, and cannot guarantee the posture of the green beans during inspection, thus limiting accuracy. Although some photoelectric color sorters are available on the market, for materials like green coffee beans with a specific shape (semi-ellipsoidal) that require precise individual removal, existing equipment still has shortcomings in posture control and flexible gripping. Utility Model Content

[0003] In view of the shortcomings of the existing technology, the main purpose of this utility model is to provide a non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on parallel robotic arms, which can improve the accuracy and automation of coffee bean sorting.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides a non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm, comprising: a feeding assembly and a screening assembly; The feeding assembly includes: a frame, a conveyor fixedly mounted on the frame, and a loading component mounted on one side of the frame with its discharge end aligned with the conveyor; the screening assembly includes: a detection component fixedly mounted on the frame and directly above the conveyor, a sorting component fixedly mounted on the frame and directly above the conveyor, and a collecting component mounted on the frame and close to the conveyor; the conveyor, loading component, detection component, and sorting component are all electrically connected to an industrial control computer; after the green coffee beans are adjusted to a flat, upward-facing position in the loading component, they enter the conveyor. As the conveyor moves, the detection component performs grade detection on the green coffee beans, and then the green coffee beans enter the collecting component under the drive of the sorting component.

[0005] As a further improvement of this utility model, the conveying component includes: a belt conveyor, wherein the surface of the conveyor belt of the belt conveyor is fixedly covered with a layer of white EVA foam.

[0006] As a further improvement of this utility model, the feeding component includes a vibratory plate, a flipping column, a screening guide rail, and a connecting guide rail. The end of the circular arc guide rail of the vibratory plate is fixedly connected to one end of the screening guide rail, and the other end of the screening guide rail is fixedly connected to one end of the connecting guide rail. The flipping column is fixedly installed inside the circular arc guide rail of the vibratory plate, and both ends of the flipping column are fixedly connected to the side walls of the circular arc guide rail respectively, and the flipping column and the side walls of the circular arc guide rail are in a non-perpendicular state.

[0007] As a further improvement of this utility model, the visual inspection device includes: a dark box fixedly covered around and on the top of the frame; an industrial camera fixedly mounted on the frame with its lens pointing vertically downwards and facing the upper surface of the conveyor belt; and a light source fixedly mounted on the bottom periphery of the top plate of the frame and facing the conveyor belt.

[0008] As a further improvement of this utility model, the sorting component adopts a Delta parallel robot structure, including a static platform fixedly mounted on the frame, three drive motors fixedly mounted in parallel on the static platform, an active arm fixedly connected to the output shaft of the drive motor, a driven arm rotatably connected to the active arm, a moving platform rotatably connected to the three driven arms, and an end effector fixedly mounted at the bottom of the moving platform; the end effector is specifically a pneumatic vacuum suction cup; the pneumatic vacuum suction cup is connected to a vacuum pump through an air pipe, and the adsorption and release of the pneumatic vacuum suction cup are controlled by a solenoid valve.

[0009] As a further improvement of this utility model, the collecting component includes several independent graded material bins, specifically a primary bean bin, a secondary bean bin, a tertiary bean bin, and a defective bean bin. The primary bean bin, the secondary bean bin, and the tertiary bean bin are located on the side of the belt conveyor, corresponding to the drop positions of primary bean, secondary bean, and tertiary bean, respectively. The defective bean bin is located at the end of the belt conveyor, used to allow defective beans to fall naturally into the defective bean bin as they are transported by the conveyor belt.

[0010] The beneficial effects of this utility model are reflected in: 1. By setting up the feeding device, a high proportion of directional arrangement of green coffee beans was achieved, which greatly improved the feature extraction efficiency of machine vision.

[0011] 2. By using parallel robots in conjunction with vacuum suction cups to simulate human hand gripping, secondary damage to raw beans that may be caused by traditional mechanical removal (such as air gun blowing) is avoided.

[0012] 3. By integrating machine vision and automated control, the entire process from feeding and testing to sorting is fully automated, which greatly improves the sorting efficiency and accuracy of green coffee beans. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm according to this utility model. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm according to this utility model. Figure 3 This is a front view of the internal structure of a non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm, according to this utility model.

[0014] Figure 4 This is a lower axonometric view of the internal structure of a non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm according to this utility model. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the feeding component of a non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm, according to this utility model.

[0015] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 1. Frame; 2. Feeding component; 201. Vibratory feeder; 202. Turning column; 203. Screening guide rail; 204. Connecting guide rail; 205. Arc guide rail; 3. Conveying component; 301. Belt conveyor; 302. Conveyor belt; 4. Inspection component; 401. Dark box; 402. Industrial camera; 403. Light source; 5. Sorting component; 501. Static platform; 502. Drive motor; 503. Driving arm; 504. Driven arm; 505. Moving platform; 506. Pneumatic vacuum suction cup; 6. Collection component; 601. Primary bean hopper; 602. Secondary bean hopper; 603. Tertiary bean hopper; 604. Defective bean hopper; 7. Green coffee beans. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0017] In one embodiment, see Figure 1-3 The present invention relates to a non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm, comprising: a feeding component and a screening component; The feeding assembly includes: a frame 1, a conveyor 3 fixedly mounted on the frame 1, and a feeding component 2 mounted on one side of the frame 1 with its discharge end aligned with the conveyor 3; The screening components include: a detection component 4 fixedly mounted on the frame 1 and directly above the conveyor 3; a sorting component 5 fixedly mounted on the frame 1 and directly above the conveyor 3; and a collection component 6 mounted on the frame 1 and close to the conveyor 3. The conveyor 3, the feeding component 2, the detection component 4, and the sorting component 5 are all electrically connected to an industrial control computer.

[0018] In the above setup, the green coffee beans 7 are adjusted to a flat, upward-facing position in the feeding unit 2 and then enter the conveyor 3. As the conveyor 3 moves, the detection unit 4 performs grade detection on the green coffee beans 7. Afterward, the green coffee beans 7 enter the collection unit 6 under the drive of the sorting unit 5.

[0019] Furthermore, the conveyor 3 includes a belt conveyor 301, the surface of which is fixedly covered with a layer of white EVA foam.

[0020] In the above setup, the belt conveyor 301 adopts the existing belt conveyor 301. The EVA white foam set on the conveyor belt 302 is used to form a white background with high contrast to the color of the green coffee bean 7, which can effectively reduce the difficulty of image segmentation and avoid interference from the original color of the conveyor belt 302 on the edge extraction of the green coffee bean 7.

[0021] Furthermore, the feeding component 2 includes a vibratory feeder 201, a turning column 202, a screening guide rail 203, and a connecting guide rail 204. The end of the arc guide rail 205 of the vibratory feeder 201 is fixedly connected to one end of the screening guide rail 203, and the other end of the screening guide rail 203 is fixedly connected to one end of the connecting guide rail 204. The turning column 202 is fixedly installed inside the arc guide rail 205 of the vibratory feeder 201. Both ends of the turning column 202 are fixedly connected to the side walls of the arc guide rail 205 on both sides, and the turning column 202 and the side walls of the arc guide rail 205 are in a non-perpendicular state.

[0022] In the above setup, after the vibratory feeder 201 is powered on, the green coffee beans 7 are vibrated and transported by the vibratory feeder 201, entering the arc-shaped guide rail 205 of the vibratory feeder 201 and continuing to move. As the green coffee beans 7 move, they reach the position of the flipping post 202. When the flat side of the green coffee beans 7 continues to move, due to the setting of the flipping post 202, the width of the guide rail on the movement path of the green coffee beans 7 becomes narrower and narrower. The green coffee beans 7 are held by the flipping post 202 and slide upward along the side wall of the arc-shaped guide rail 205. Finally, the flat side of the green coffee beans 7 becomes vertical. Since the center of gravity of the green coffee beans 7 is located in the ellipsoidal part, the green coffee beans 7 flip due to their own gravity, so that the flat side faces upward and flips over the flipping post 202, thus completing the flipping of the green coffee beans 7. The coffee beans 7 continue to move with their flat side facing up. When the flat-side-up coffee beans 7 reach the flipping column 202, because their ellipsoidal crown is facing down and the flipping column 202 is relatively small, the coffee beans 7 will be slightly lifted by the flipping column 202 as they pass through it without being flipped. They will then enter the subsequent screening guide 203. Thus, during the conveying process, if the flat side of the coffee beans 7 is facing down, it will be flipped; if the flat side is already facing up, it will not be flipped and will continue to move across the flipping column 202. The operator only needs to pour the coffee beans 7 into the hopper of the vibrating plate 201, start the vibrating plate 201, and the feeding component 2 will automatically convey the coffee beans 7 and flip the coffee beans 7 with their flat side facing down.

[0023] After passing through the flipping column 202, the green coffee beans 7 continue to move. In extremely rare cases, the green coffee beans 7 with the flat side down may fail to flip successfully when passing through the flipping column 202. In such cases, the green coffee beans 7 will fall from the screening guide 203 into the vibrating plate 201 and return to the hopper of the vibrating plate 201 for re-conveying, instead of entering the subsequent connecting guide 204. The green coffee beans 7 that are successfully screened will enter the belt conveyor 301 with the flat side facing up.

[0024] Furthermore, the visual inspection device includes: a dark box 401 fixedly mounted around and on the top of the frame 1; an industrial camera 402 fixedly mounted on the frame 1 with its lens pointing vertically downwards and facing the upper surface of the conveyor belt 302; and a light source 403 fixedly mounted on the bottom periphery of the top plate of the frame 1 and facing the conveyor belt 302.

[0025] In the above setup, the industrial camera 402 is a Hikvision X86 smart camera, and the light source 403 is an LED. The industrial camera 402 acquires images of green coffee beans 7 in real time and transmits them to the industrial control computer. The industrial control computer runs deep learning algorithms (such as an improved ShuffleNet or Swin Transformer) to process the images and determine the grade of the green beans (grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, defect) and the coordinate position of each grade of green beans.

[0026] Furthermore, the sorting unit 5 adopts a Delta parallel robot structure, including a stationary platform 501 fixedly mounted on the frame 1, three drive motors 502 fixedly mounted in parallel on the stationary platform 501, an active arm 503 fixedly connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 502, a driven arm 504 rotatably connected to the active arm 503, a moving platform 505 rotatably connected to the three driven arms 504, and an end effector fixedly mounted at the bottom of the moving platform 505; the end effector is specifically a pneumatic vacuum suction cup 506; the pneumatic vacuum suction cup 506 is connected to a vacuum pump through an air pipe, and the suction and release of the pneumatic vacuum suction cup 506 are controlled by a solenoid valve.

[0027] In the above configuration, the parallel robot controls the active arm 503 through three drive motors 502, and then, with the linkage of the driven arm 504 and the moving platform 505, achieves precise pose changes of the moving platform 505 in multiple degrees of freedom in three-dimensional space. Since the load of the end effector is shared by the three sets of drive motors 502, the active arm 503, and the driven arm 504, the parallel robot ensures high-precision and high-acceleration positioning, thus enabling high-speed and precise alignment and movement of green coffee beans 7. When the pneumatic vacuum suction cup 506 adsorbs green coffee beans 7, it relies on negative pressure to generate a uniform and gentle gripping force, which will not squeeze or scratch the beans, keeping the green beans intact. At the same time, the suction cup can fit green coffee beans 7 of different sizes, and the suction cup structure has no mechanical clamping action, so dust is not easy to accumulate, and cleaning and maintenance are simple, making it very suitable for continuous handling of green coffee beans 7.

[0028] Furthermore, the collection component 6 includes several independent graded material bins, specifically a primary bean bin 601, a secondary bean bin 602, a tertiary bean bin 603, and a defective bean bin 604. The primary bean bins 601, 602, and 603 are located on the side of the belt conveyor 301, corresponding to the drop positions of primary, secondary, and tertiary beans, respectively. The defective bean bin 604 is located at the end of the belt conveyor 301, used to allow defective beans to fall naturally into the defective bean bin as they are transported by the conveyor belt 302.

[0029] In this embodiment, green coffee beans 7 are uniformly flipped upwards in the sorting unit 5, and then enter the upper surface of the conveyor belt 302 and move with it. The industrial control computer receives real-time images of green coffee beans 7 from the industrial camera, and runs a deep learning algorithm to process the images, determining the grade (first-grade, second-grade, third-grade, defective) of the green coffee beans 7 and the coordinate position of each grade. Then, the parallel robot tracks the corresponding green coffee beans 7 on the conveyor belt 302. When the green coffee beans 7 enter the industrial area of ​​the parallel robot, the parallel robot controls the braking platform 505 to descend and moves the pneumatic vacuum suction cup 506. The robot aligns the green coffee beans 7 with the pneumatic vacuum suction cup 506, which is controlled by a solenoid valve to pick up the green coffee beans 7. Then, the parallel robot moves the pneumatic vacuum suction cup 506 above the grading bin corresponding to the grade of green coffee beans 7. The solenoid valve then controls the pneumatic vacuum suction cup 506 to release the green coffee beans 7. The green coffee beans 7 fall into the corresponding grading bin under the action of gravity (in the above process, the parallel robot only selects grade 1, 2, and 3 green coffee beans 7). The defective beans that are not selected continue to move with the conveyor belt 302 until they fall into the defective bean bin under the action of gravity at the end of the conveyor belt 302.

[0030] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm, characterized in that, include: The feeding assembly includes: a frame (1), a conveyor (3) fixedly mounted on the frame (1), and a loading component (2) mounted on one side of the frame (1) with its discharge end aligned with the conveyor (3); the screening assembly includes: a detection component (4) fixedly mounted on the frame (1) and directly above the conveyor (3), a sorting component (5) fixedly mounted on the frame (1) and directly above the conveyor (3), and a collection component (6) mounted on the frame (1) and close to the conveyor (3); the conveyor (3), loading component (2), detection component (4), and sorting component (5) are all electrically connected to an industrial control computer; after the coffee beans (7) are adjusted to a flat and upward orientation in the loading component (2), they enter the conveyor (3). As the conveyor (3) moves, the detection component (4) performs grade detection on the coffee beans (7), and then the coffee beans (7) enter the collection component (6) under the drive of the sorting component (5).

2. The coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conveyor (3) includes: a belt conveyor (301), the surface of the conveyor belt (302) of the belt conveyor (301) is fixedly covered with a layer of white EVA foam.

3. The coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm according to claim 2, characterized in that: The feeding component (2) includes a vibratory plate (201), a turning column (202), a screening guide rail (203), and a connecting guide rail (204). The end of the arc guide rail (205) of the vibratory plate (201) is fixedly connected to one end of the screening guide rail (203), and the other end of the screening guide rail (203) is fixedly connected to one end of the connecting guide rail (204). The turning column (202) is fixedly installed inside the arc guide rail (205) of the vibratory plate (201). Both ends of the turning column (202) are fixedly connected to the side walls of the arc guide rail (205) on both sides respectively, and the turning column (202) and the side walls of the arc guide rail (205) are in a non-perpendicular state.

4. A non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm according to claim 3, characterized in that: The visual inspection device includes: a dark box (401) fixedly mounted around and on the top of the frame (1), an industrial camera (402) fixedly mounted on the frame (1) with its lens pointing vertically downwards and facing the upper surface of the conveyor belt (302), and a light source (403) fixedly mounted on the bottom periphery of the top plate of the frame (1) and facing the conveyor belt (302).

5. A non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm according to claim 4, characterized in that: The sorting unit (5) adopts a Delta parallel robot structure, including a stationary platform (501) fixed on the frame (1), three drive motors (502) fixedly mounted on the stationary platform (501), an active arm (503) fixedly connected to the output shaft of the drive motor (502), a driven arm (504) rotatably connected to the active arm (503), a moving platform (505) rotatably connected to the three driven arms (504), and an end effector fixedly mounted at the bottom of the moving platform (505); the end effector is specifically a pneumatic vacuum suction cup (506); the pneumatic vacuum suction cup (506) is connected to a vacuum pump through an air pipe, and the suction and release of the pneumatic vacuum suction cup (506) are controlled by a solenoid valve.

6. A non-destructive coffee bean sorting device based on a parallel robotic arm according to claim 5, characterized in that: The collection component (6) includes several independent graded material bins, specifically a primary bean bin (601), a secondary bean bin (602), a tertiary bean bin (603), and a defective bean bin (604). The primary bean bin (601), secondary bean bin (602), and tertiary bean bin (603) are located on the side of the belt conveyor (301) and correspond to the drop positions of primary, secondary, and tertiary beans, respectively. The defective bean bin (604) is located at the end of the belt conveyor (301) and is used to allow defective beans to fall naturally into the defective bean bin as they are transported by the conveyor belt (302).

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