Hopping prevention tool and optical type selection machine provided therewith
The bounce suppression device addresses the issues of bouncing and overlapping in optical sorting machines by using a guide and leveling mechanism to ensure uniform flow, enhancing detection and sorting accuracy.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2023152070
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-09-20
- Publication Date
- 2025-04-02
AI Technical Summary
Optical sorting machines face challenges in accurately sorting granular materials due to bouncing, overlapping, and clumping, which affect the uniform flow and detection efficiency of granular materials.
A bounce suppression device with a guide and leveling mechanism that guides granular materials smoothly onto an inclined chute surface, using a swingable leveling section to absorb energy and adjust gaps for uniform flow, preventing bouncing and overlapping.
The device ensures granular materials flow uniformly and smoothly, enhancing the accuracy of optical detection and sorting by minimizing bouncing and overlapping, thereby improving the sorting process.
Smart Images
Figure 2025044483000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical field]
[0001] The present invention relates to a bounce suppression device that suppresses granular material from bouncing off the inclined surface of a chute, and an optical sorting machine equipped with the same. [Background technology]
[0002] Conventionally, optical sorting machines that sort granular materials using optical detection means such as a visible light sensor or a near-infrared light sensor are known. In order to accurately sort granular materials using optical detection means, it is important to allow the granular materials to flow stably while suppressing the granular materials from bouncing. Therefore, optical sorting machines have been proposed that are provided with gutters (see, for example, Patent Document 1) and regulating plates that regulate the flow rate (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3) to allow the granular materials to flow stably. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]
[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 56-62181 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 55-165176 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 55-116476 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0004] In an optical sorting machine, in addition to allowing the granular materials to flow steadily while suppressing the bouncing of the granular materials, in order to more accurately select the granular materials using an optical detection means, it is important to allow the granular materials to flow uniformly so that they do not overlap with each other and smoothly so that the granular materials do not become clumpy. However, if the gap between the end of the regulating plate and the inclined surface of the chute is too wide, the bouncing and overlapping of the granular materials cannot be suppressed, and conversely, if the gap is too narrow, the granular materials will become stuck.
[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide a splash suppression device that can suppress the splashing of granular material while allowing the granular material to flow evenly and smoothly, and an optical sorting machine equipped with the same. [Means for solving the problem]
[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the bounce suppression device according to the present invention is configured as follows: The bounce suppression device according to the present invention is a bounce suppression device that suppresses granular material flowing from a supply section into a chute from bouncing on the inclined surface of the chute, and includes a swing shaft section that is perpendicular to the normal direction of the inclined surface and the up-down direction, a guide section that is formed downward from the vicinity of the supply section so as to form a first acute angle with the inclined surface in a natural state in which no external force is acting, and that guides the granular material toward the inclined surface, and a leveling section that is formed downward from a first lower end portion that is the lower end of the guide section so as to form a second acute angle smaller than the first acute angle with the inclined surface in the natural state, and that is configured to be swingable around the swing shaft section with respect to the inclined surface, and that levels the granular material on the inclined surface.
[0007] The leveling portion is positioned so that the distance between the second lower end, which is the lower end, and the inclined surface is smaller than the distance between the granular material overlapping in the normal direction in the natural state, and is configured to be oscillable around the oscillating shaft portion relative to the inclined surface so that the second lower end is lifted by the granular material attempting to pass between the second lower end and the inclined surface, thereby widening the distance to an extent that the granular material can pass through.
[0008] According to the above configuration, first, the guide portion formed from the vicinity of the supply portion toward the downward direction guides the granular material to the inclined surface immediately after it flows out of the supply portion into the chute. For example, even if the granular material bounces on the inclined surface immediately after it flows out of the supply portion into the chute, the guide portion bounces the bounced granular material off the inclined surface and guides it toward the inclined surface. Such a guide portion can prevent the granular material from leaking out of the chute. In addition, since the guide portion is formed to form a first acute angle with the inclined surface in a natural state in which no external force is acting, the distance between the guide portion and the inclined surface gradually decreases as it moves downward, so that the bounce of the granular material between the bounce suppressor and the inclined surface can be converged.
[0009] Furthermore, the granular material is leveled on the inclined surface by the leveling portion formed downward from the first lower end, which is the lower end of the guide portion. Since the leveling portion is formed to form a second acute angle smaller than the first acute angle in the natural state, the section length of the leveling portion along the inclined surface is longer than if the leveling portion were formed to form an acute angle the same as the first acute angle, and as a result, the granular material is held between the bounce suppressor and the inclined surface for a longer period of time. This makes it possible to reliably absorb the energy of the bounce of the granular material, and therefore to suppress the bounce of the granular material.
[0010] In addition, the leveling portion is arranged so that the distance between the second lower end, which is the lower end, and the inclined surface is smaller than the distance between the granular objects overlapping in the normal direction in a natural state, so that the granular objects that attempt to pass between the second lower end and the inclined surface are less likely to jump out from between the second lower end and the inclined surface, and even if the granular objects that attempt to pass between the second lower end and the inclined surface overlap, the overlap is inevitably released. This makes it possible to flow the granular objects evenly by suppressing the jumping of the granular objects as they pass between the second lower end and the inclined surface and suppressing the overlapping of the granular objects.
[0011] Then, by the granular matter attempting to pass between the second lower end and the inclined surface, the second lower end is lifted, and the leveling part swings about the swing shaft part relative to the inclined surface so that the gap widens to an extent that the granular matter can pass through. Even if the granular matter attempting to pass between the second lower end and the inclined surface is larger than the gap between the second lower end and the inclined surface, the granular matter is allowed to pass through, and therefore the granular matter can flow smoothly regardless of the size of the granular matter attempting to pass through. Such a bounce suppression device allows the granular matter to flow uniformly and smoothly while suppressing the bounce of the granular matter.
[0012] In the above-mentioned bounce suppression device, the guide portion and the leveling portion may be integrally formed from a single metal plate, which makes it possible to easily form the guide portion and the leveling portion.
[0013] In the above-mentioned splash suppression device, the second lower end may be located 20 mm or more and 400 mm or less away from the swing shaft. In this way, by setting an appropriate distance between the swing shaft (fulcrum) and the second lower end (point of force) that is lifted by the granular material trying to pass between the second lower end and the inclined surface, the second lower end can be easily lifted without excessively increasing the weight of the entire splash suppression device. This allows the granular material to flow more smoothly.
[0014] In the above-mentioned splash suppression device, the granular material may be rice, and when the granular material is rice, the leveling portion may be arranged so that the interval is more than 1.5 mm and not more than 3.5 mm in the natural state. In this way, by making the interval in the natural state closer to the size of the granular material, the granular material becomes more difficult to splash out from between the second lower end and the inclined surface, and the height to which the granular material must lift the second lower end in order to pass through between the second lower end and the inclined surface becomes smaller. This allows the granular material to flow more smoothly while further suppressing the splashing of the granular material.
[0015] The optical sorting machine according to the present invention includes the supply unit, the chute, an imaging unit that images the granular material flowing down from the chute, a detection unit that detects objects to be excluded from the granular material based on the image of the granular material captured by the imaging unit, an injection unit that injects air at the objects to be excluded so as to blow them away, and an injection control unit that controls the injection unit based on the detection result by the detection unit. With this configuration, the above-mentioned bounce suppression device makes it possible to suppress the bounce of the granular material while allowing the granular material to flow uniformly and smoothly, thereby making it possible to sort the granular material more accurately. Effect of the Invention
[0016] As described above, according to the present invention, the granular material can be made to flow uniformly and smoothly while suppressing the granular material from bouncing. [Brief description of the drawings]
[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an optical sorting machine in a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is an enlarged schematic view of the upper part of the chute shown in FIG. 1 and its surrounding area. [Diagram 3] 3 is a schematic diagram of the chute and the splash suppression device in the first embodiment, viewed from the downstream side in the inclination direction of the chute. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting manner of the splash suppression device in the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 4 is a schematic view of a guide portion and a leveling portion of the splash suppression device in the first embodiment as viewed in the width direction. FIG. [Figure 6] 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a main function of a guide portion. FIG. [Figure 7A] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the leveling portion in a natural state. [Figure 7B] 7B is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the interval between the second lower end portion and the inclined surface has expanded as a result of the leveling portion swinging around the swing shaft portion relative to the inclined surface from the state in FIG. 7A. FIG. [Figure 8]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram (1) for explaining the main functions of the smoothing unit. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the main functions of the smoothing unit (2). [Figure 10] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the main functions of the smoothing unit. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting manner of a bounce suppression device in a modified example. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting manner of a splash suppression device in another modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) <Configuration of optical sorting machine> 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an optical sorting machine A in embodiment 1. In the following drawings, the symbol X indicates the depth direction, and the symbol Z indicates the up-down direction. First, the configuration of the optical sorting machine A in embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described.
[0019] The optical sorting machine A is for sorting granular objects. The granular object is, for example, rice. The optical sorting machine A sorts the granular object into objects to be accepted that should be accepted and objects to be rejected that should be rejected. Objects to be accepted are, for example, rice grains that meet certain inspection standards, and objects to be rejected are, for example, damaged grains, dead rice, discolored grains, immature grains, foreign objects, etc.
[0020] As shown in Figure 1, the optical sorting machine A includes a supply section 90 that supplies granular materials to the optical sorting machine A, a collection section 91 that collects objects to be accepted and objects to be rejected, a chute 1, an imaging section 2, an ejection section 3, a control device 4, and a splash suppression device 5.
[0021] The supply unit 90 is configured, for example, using a valve 900 that receives granular material from a container such as a hopper, and a duct 901 that discharges the granular material from the valve 900 to the chute 1. The valve 900 is configured, for example, using a rotary valve.
[0022] As shown in Fig. 1, the recovery section 91 has a received object recovery section 92 that recovers objects to be received, and a rejected object recovery section 93 that recovers objects to be rejected. The thick solid arrows in Fig. 1 conceptually show the trajectory of the granular objects flowing down from the chute 1, the thick dashed arrows in Fig. 1 conceptually show the trajectory of the objects to be received, and the thick dashed-dotted arrows in Fig. 1 conceptually show the trajectory of the objects to be rejected. A plurality of received object recovery sections 92 and rejected object recovery sections 93 may be provided depending on the types of objects to be received and rejected.
[0023] Fig. 2 is an enlarged schematic diagram showing the upper part of the chute 1 and its surroundings shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the chute 1 and the bounce suppression device 5 in the first embodiment as viewed from the downstream side in the inclination direction S of the chute 1. Both Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show the natural state where no external force is acting on the bounce suppression device 5.
[0024] The chute 1 allows the granular material flowing out from the supply unit 90 to flow downward. The chute 1 has an inclined surface 10 that is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane HP. As shown in Fig. 2, the inclined surface 10 is formed to form an angle θ of 90 degrees with respect to the extension direction of the duct 901 of the supply unit 90. This makes it possible to minimize the length of the duct 901 while maintaining the positional relationship between the supply unit 90 and the chute 1, and therefore to minimize the falling distance of the granular material from the supply unit 90.
[0025] The chute 1 in this embodiment has a width along the depth direction X. As shown in Fig. 3, a plurality of grooves 11 for promoting the alignment of granular materials are formed on the inclined surface 10 in a line in the width direction of the chute 1 along the inclination direction S of the inclined surface 10. The depth D of the grooves 11 is about 1.5 to 2.0 mm when the granular material is rice, and when a multipurpose flat-groove chute (a chute with a flat groove having a bottom surface parallel to the width direction and inclination direction of the chute) that allows resin or other granular materials to flow down is used as the chute 1, the depth of the flat groove is about 2.0 to 8.0 mm.
[0026] The chute 1 in this embodiment has side walls 12a, 12b at both ends in the width direction. Step surfaces 13a, 13b are formed on the side walls 12a, 12b on which the lower end (second lower end E2) of the splash suppression device 5 rests. Although not shown in Figs. 1 to 3, a chute cover 15 is provided on the upper part of the chute 1 in this embodiment. The chute cover 15 will be described in detail later.
[0027] The imaging unit 2 captures an image of the granular material flowing down from the chute 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the imaging unit 2 captures an image of the granular material at an imaging position Px on the trajectory of the granular material flowing down from the chute 1. The imaging unit 2 is configured, for example, using two line CCD sensors 2a and 2b arranged symmetrically across the chute 1, and two mirrors 20a and 20b that reflect light from the line CCD sensors 2a and 2b are arranged symmetrically across the chute 1 so that the line CCD sensors 2a and 2b can capture an image of the granular material at the imaging position Px.
[0028] The ejection unit 3 ejects air at a predetermined ejection time at a predetermined ejection timing toward the object to be removed so as to blow the object away. The ejection unit 3 has an ejection port 30 that opens toward an ejection position Pj that is located below the imaging position Px of the imaging unit 2. The object to be removed is blown away by the air from the ejection port 30 toward the rejected object recovery unit 93 at the ejection position Pj.
[0029] The control device 4 is configured using a processor and a memory. As shown in Fig. 1, the control device 4 includes a detection unit 40 that detects objects to be removed from the granular matter based on an image of the granular matter captured by the imaging unit 2, and an injection control unit 41 that controls the injection unit 3 based on the detection result by the detection unit 40. The detection unit 40 recognizes each granular matter appearing in the image, and detects objects to be removed from the granular matter based on pixels in a pixel area corresponding to each granular matter, for example. The detection unit 40 and the injection control unit 41 may be provided in separate devices.
[0030] Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting state of the splash suppression device 5 in the embodiment 1. In Fig. 4, the chute 1 is omitted.
[0031] The bounce suppression device 5 suppresses the granular material flowing out from the supply section 90 into the chute 1 from bouncing on the inclined surface 10 of the chute 1. As shown in Fig. 4, the bounce suppression device 5 includes a swing shaft section 6, a guide section 7, and a leveling section 8. The bounce suppression device 5 in this embodiment has a width along the depth direction X.
[0032] As shown in Fig. 4, the splash suppression device 5 in this embodiment is attached to a chute cover 15. The chute cover 15 is formed in a U-shape opening toward the inclined surface 10 of the chute 1 when viewed from above, and has a pair of side plate portions 16a, 16b extending in the up-down direction Z facing each other with the width direction of the chute 1 as the facing direction, and a back plate portion 17 connecting the side plate portion 16a and the side plate portion 16b. The side plate portions 16a, 16b and the back plate portion 17 of the chute cover 15 may each be formed by stacking a plurality of metal plates.
[0033] The chute cover 15 has a shaft mounting portion 18a for mounting one end of the swing shaft portion 6 on the inner surface side of the side plate portion 16a, and a shaft mounting portion 18b for mounting the other end of the swing shaft portion 6 on the inner surface side of the side plate portion 16b. The shaft mounting portions 18a, 18b may be formed in a concave shape or may be formed in a through hole shape.
[0034] As shown in Fig. 2, the swing shaft portion 6 extends in a depth direction X perpendicular to the normal direction N of the inclined surface 10 of the chute 1 and the up-down direction Z. As shown in Fig. 4, the swing shaft portion 6 in this embodiment is configured using a pin member 60 having end portions 61a, 61b extending in opposite directions perpendicular to the normal direction N of the inclined surface 10 of the chute 1 and the up-down direction Z.
[0035] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the guide portion 7 and the leveling portion 8 of the jump suppression device 5 in the width direction in embodiment 1. In Fig. 5, the tab piece 70b is not visible.
[0036] The guide portion 7 guides the granular material toward the inclined surface 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the guide portion 7 is formed from the vicinity of the supply portion 90 downward to form a first acute angle θ1 with respect to the inclined surface 10 in a natural state in which no external force is applied. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the guide portion 7 in this embodiment has a tab piece 70a facing the side plate portion 16a of the chute cover 15 at one end edge in the width direction of the splash suppressor 5, and a tab piece 70b facing the side plate portion 16b of the chute cover 15 at the other end edge in the width direction of the splash suppressor 5. The tab piece 70a has a through hole 71a through which the end portion 61a, which is one end portion of the pin member 60 constituting the swing shaft portion 6, can be inserted. Similarly, the tab piece 70b has a through hole 71b through which the end portion 61b, which is the other end portion of the pin member 60, can be inserted. That is, the tab pieces 70a and 70b are provided to attach the swing shaft portion 6 to the guide portion 7.
[0037] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the main function of the guide unit 7. The guide unit 7 as described above guides the granular material to the inclined surface 10 immediately after it flows out of the supply unit 90 into the chute 1. For example, as shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. 6, even if the granular material bounces on the inclined surface 10 immediately after it flows out of the supply unit 90 into the chute 1, the guide unit 7 bounces the granular material to the inclined surface 10 and guides it toward the inclined surface 10. In other words, the height of the guide unit 7 with respect to the inclined surface 10 is set to a height at which the granular material bounces against the guide unit 7 and is reflected by the inclined surface 10, taking into consideration the average trajectory of the granular material that bounces on the inclined surface 10, which is assumed based on the angle θ of the inclined surface 10 and the distance between the inclined surface 10 and the duct 901. The guide unit 7 described above can suppress leakage of the granular material out of the chute 1.
[0038] In addition, since the guide portion 7 is formed to form a first acute angle θ1 with respect to the inclined surface 10 in a natural state where no external force is acting, the distance from the inclined surface 10 gradually decreases as it moves downward, and therefore it is possible to converge the bounce of the granular material between the bounce suppression device 5 and the inclined surface 10. Furthermore, since the guide portion 7 is formed to form a first acute angle θ1 with respect to the inclined surface 10 in a natural state, the granular material reflected by the guide portion 7 is reliably directed toward the inclined surface 10 based on the relationship between the direction of the granular material when it enters the guide portion 7 and the direction of the granular material when it is reflected by the guide portion 7, and therefore it is possible to reliably guide the granular material toward the inclined surface 10.
[0039] The leveling portion 8 is for leveling the granular material on the inclined surface 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the leveling portion 8 is formed downward from the first lower end E1, which is the lower end of the guide portion 7, so as to form a second acute angle θ2 smaller than the first acute angle θ1 with respect to the inclined surface 10 in a natural state. Since the leveling portion 8 is formed to form such a second acute angle θ2 in a natural state, the section length of the leveling portion 8 along the inclined surface 10 is longer than if the leveling portion 8 were formed to form an acute angle the same as the first acute angle θ1, and as a result, the granular material is held between the bounce suppression tool 5 and the inclined surface 10 for a longer period of time. This makes it possible to reliably absorb the energy of the bounce of the granular material, and therefore to suppress the bounce of the granular material.
[0040] As shown in FIG. 5, the leveling portion 8 in this embodiment is formed to form an angle θ3 of about 145 degrees with respect to the guide portion 7 when viewed from the width direction of the bounce suppression device 5. The length L of the leveling portion 8 in this embodiment is about 20 mm. The guide portion 7 and the leveling portion 8 in this embodiment are integrally formed from a single metal plate. This makes it possible to easily form the guide portion 7 and the leveling portion 8. The guide portion 7 and the leveling portion 8 are integrally formed from an aluminum plate having a plate thickness of about 0.4 to 0.8 mm, for example. This makes it possible to reduce the weight of the guide portion 7 and the leveling portion 8.
[0041] As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, both ends 61a, 61b of the pin member 60 that constitutes the oscillating shaft portion 6 are inserted into through holes 71a, 71b in the tab pieces 70a, 70b of the guide portion 7 and then attached to the shaft mounting portions 18a, 18b of the chute cover 15, so that the guide portion 7 is attached to the chute cover 15 so as to be freely swingable around the oscillating shaft portion 6.
[0042] Fig. 7A is a schematic diagram showing the leveling part 8 in its natural state. Fig. 7B is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the leveling part 8 has swung around the swing shaft part 6 relative to the inclined surface 10 from the state shown in Fig. 7A, thereby widening the gap H between the second lower end part E2 and the inclined surface 10.
[0043] The leveling unit 8 is configured to be able to swing freely around the swing shaft 6 relative to the inclined surface 10. In this embodiment, the guide unit 7 and the leveling unit 8 are integrally formed, and therefore the guide unit 7 is attached to the chute cover 15 so as to be able to swing freely around the swing shaft 6, thereby allowing the leveling unit 8 to swing freely around the swing shaft 6 relative to the inclined surface 10. In other words, it becomes possible to lift the second lower end E2 relative to the inclined surface 10.
[0044] When the leveling part 8 swings around the swing shaft part 6 relative to the inclined surface 10, it changes, for example, between the state shown in Fig. 7A and the state shown in Fig. 7B. As a specific example, when the leveling part 8 swings around the swing shaft part 6 relative to the inclined surface 10 as shown by arrow F1 in Fig. 7B, the distance H between the second lower end part E2, which is the lower end of the leveling part 8, and the inclined surface 10 changes as shown by arrow F2 in Fig. 7B.
[0045] The leveling section 8 is arranged so that the interval H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 is smaller than the interval H of the granular objects stacked in the normal direction N in a natural state. "Smaller than the granular objects stacked in the normal direction N" means, for example, that the interval H is smaller than the height of two granular objects stacked in the normal direction N when the normal direction N is the height direction, or in other words, that the interval H is smaller than the thickness of two granular objects. As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the interval H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 is the interval between the second lower end E2 and the bottom of the groove 11, and is the sum of the interval C between the second lower end E2 and the outermost part of the inclined surface 10 and the depth D of the groove 11.
[0046] 3, the leveling unit 8 in this embodiment is disposed so that the second lower end E2 rests on the step surfaces 13a, 13b of the chute 1 in a natural state. The step surfaces 13a, 13b of the chute 1 keep the distance H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 smaller than the distance between the granular objects overlapping in the normal direction N in a natural state.
[0047] 8 to 10 are schematic diagrams (1) to (3) for explaining the main functions of the leveling unit 8. As described above, the interval H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 is smaller than that of granular objects overlapping in the normal direction N in a natural state, so that granular objects passing between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 are less likely to jump out from between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10, and even if granular objects passing between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 overlap, the overlap is inevitably released as shown by the arrow F3 in FIG. 8. That is, the leveling unit 8 is arranged so that the interval H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 is smaller than that of granular objects overlapping in the normal direction N in a natural state, so that the granular objects can flow uniformly by suppressing the jumping of the granular objects when they pass between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 and suppressing the overlap of the granular objects.
[0048] The leveling unit 8 is configured to be swingable around the swing shaft unit 6 relative to the inclined surface 10 so that when the second lower end E2 is lifted by the granular matter attempting to pass between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10, the gap H expands to an extent that the granular matter can pass through. Specifically, this is as follows.
[0049] As shown by the arrow F4 in FIG. 9, the granular material that has reached the second lower end E2 of the leveling unit 8 tries to pass between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10. If the granular material trying to pass between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 is equal to or smaller than the interval H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10, the granular material can pass between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 as it is. On the other hand, if the granular material trying to pass between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 is larger than the interval H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10, the second lower end E2 is lifted by the granular material trying to pass through, as shown by the arrow F5 in FIG. 9. The second lower end E2 is located away from the swing shaft unit 6 to such an extent that it can be lifted by a slight force of the granular material due to the moment of force. As the second lower end E2 is lifted by the granular matter attempting to pass between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10, the leveling portion 8 oscillates around the oscillating shaft portion 6 relative to the inclined surface 10, as shown by arrow F6 in Figure 9.
[0050] By the leveling section 8 swinging around the swing shaft section 6 relative to the inclined surface 10, the interval H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 expands to an extent that granular matter attempting to pass between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 can pass through, as shown by the arrow F7 in Fig. 10. As a result, even if the granular matter attempting to pass between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 is larger than the interval H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10, the granular matter is allowed to pass through, and therefore the granular matter can flow smoothly regardless of the size of the granular matter attempting to pass through.
[0051] The bounce suppression device 5 prevents the granular objects from bouncing, while allowing the granular objects to flow uniformly and smoothly. This ensures that the imaging unit 2 can focus on each granular object when capturing an image of the granular object, and enables the detection unit 40 to more accurately recognize each granular object appearing in the image, thereby enabling the granular objects to be more accurately selected.
[0052] As described above, in this embodiment, the granular material is rice, and the leveling unit 8 is arranged so that the interval H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 is more than 1.5 mm and 3.5 mm or less in the natural state. In this way, by making the interval H in the natural state closer to the size of the granular material, the granular material becomes more difficult to jump out from between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10, and the height to which the granular material must lift the second lower end E2 when passing between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 becomes smaller. This allows the granular material to flow more smoothly while further suppressing the jumping of the granular material, and therefore allows the granular material to be sorted more accurately as described in Example 1 below.
[0053] In order to allow the granular material to flow smoothly, it is desirable to make the second lower end E2 easy to lift. In this regard, when designing the splash suppressor 5 as described above, it seems that the force required to lift the second lower end E2 becomes smaller as the second lower end E2 of the leveling portion 8 is moved away from the swing shaft portion 6, but the weight of the entire splash suppressor 5 increases as the second lower end E2 of the leveling portion 8 is moved away from the swing shaft portion 6, and the force required to lift the second lower end E2 may become larger. For this reason, when setting the position of the second lower end E2 relative to the swing shaft portion 6, it is necessary to appropriately set the position according to the type of granular material, the material and shape of the splash suppressor 5, etc., taking into consideration the balance with the weight of the entire splash suppressor 5.
[0054] In the splash suppression device 5 as described above, the second lower end E2 is preferably located away from the swing shaft 6 by a distance shorter than about half the length of the chute 1, and more preferably, is located away from the swing shaft 6 by 20 mm to 400 mm. In this way, by setting an appropriate distance between the swing shaft 6 (fulcrum) and the second lower end E2 (point of force) that is lifted by the granular material attempting to pass between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10, the second lower end E2 can be easily lifted without excessively increasing the weight of the entire splash suppression device 5. This allows the granular material to flow more smoothly.
[0055] In the splash suppression device 5 of this embodiment, the granular matter is rice, and the second lower end E2 is located 30 mm or more and 55 mm or less away from the swing shaft 6. This makes it easier to lift the second lower end E2 because the balance between the weight of the entire splash suppression device 5 and the position of the second lower end E2 relative to the swing shaft 6 is more favorable for the granular matter. This allows the granular matter to flow more smoothly, and therefore allows the granular matter to be sorted more accurately, as will be described in Example 2 below.
[0056] Example 1 An experiment was conducted to confirm the influence of the smoothing portion 8 of the bounce suppression tool 5 described above on the sorting performance of the optical sorting machine A. Specifically, an experiment was conducted to confirm the influence of the distance C between the second lower end E2 of the smoothing portion 8 and the outermost surface of the inclined surface 10 in the natural state on the correct identification rate at which the optical sorting machine A was able to correctly sort objects to be accepted and objects to be rejected.
[0057] In the experiment of Example 1, first, a sample of the bounce suppression device 5 in which the distance C between the second lower end E2 and the outermost part of the inclined surface 10 is 0 mm in the natural state (hereinafter referred to as the "reference sample" in this example) and a sample of the bounce suppression device 5 in which the distance C between the second lower end E2 and the outermost part of the inclined surface 10 is 1.5 mm in the natural state were prepared, and a sorting process was performed using each sample by the optical sorting machine A. Rice was used as the granular material to be sorted. The correct judgment rate by the optical sorting machine A was calculated based on the collected materials collected by the accepted material collecting section 92 and the rejected material collecting section 93 in the sorting process.
[0058] The shape of each sample is the same as that of the bounce suppression device 5 in the above embodiment. The distance H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 in the reference sample is 1.5 mm, and the distance H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 in the sample in which the distance C between the second lower end E2 and the outermost part of the inclined surface 10 is 1.5 mm in the natural state is 3.0 mm.
[0059] Table 1 shows the results of the experiment in Example 1. The item "Spacing C (mm)" indicates the spacing C between the second lower end E2 and the outermost part of the inclined surface 10 in a natural state, the item "Processing capacity (kg / h)" indicates the processing capacity (amount of objects processed per unit time) of the device arranged as a pre-process of the optical sorting machine A, the item "Correct identification rate (%) for accepted objects (comparison with the case where C=0 mm)" indicates the correct identification rate for accepted objects by the optical sorting machine A compared with the case where a reference sample was used, and the item "Correct identification rate (%) for rejected objects (comparison with the case where C=0 mm)" indicates the correct identification rate for rejected objects by the optical sorting machine A compared with the case where a reference sample was used.
[0060] The processing capacity of the device arranged as a pre-processing step of the optical sorting machine A (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "processing capacity") is one of the factors that affect the flow rate of granular material supplied to the optical sorting machine A. The correct identification rate for accepted objects is, for example, the ratio of rice grains that meet certain inspection standards to the collected material collected by the accepted object recovery unit 92, and the correct identification rate for rejected objects is, for example, the ratio of damaged grains, dead rice, discolored grains, immature grains, foreign objects, etc. to the collected material collected by the rejected object recovery unit 93.
[0061] [Table 1]
[0062] As shown in Table 1, when a sample having a distance C between the second lower end E2 and the outermost surface of the inclined surface 10 of 1.5 mm in the natural state was used and the processing capacity was 300 kg / h, the correct identification rate for the rejected objects was equivalent to that of the reference sample, but the correct identification rate for the accepted objects was improved by 0.05% compared to that of the reference sample. When a sample having a distance C between the second lower end E2 and the outermost surface of the inclined surface 10 of 1.5 mm in the natural state was used and the processing capacity was 1500 kg / h, the correct identification rate for the rejected objects was equivalent to that of the reference sample, but the correct identification rate for the rejected objects was improved by 6.63% compared to that of the reference sample.
[0063] From this experiment, when a sample in which the distance C between the second lower end E2 and the outermost surface of the inclined surface 10 is 1.5 mm in the natural state is used, at least one of the correct determination rate for the object to be accepted and the correct determination rate for the object to be rejected is improved, that is, granular objects can be sorted more accurately, compared to when a reference sample in which the distance C is 0 mm in the natural state is used. In other words, when the distance H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 is 3.0 mm, which is greater than 1.5 mm and equal to or less than 3.5 mm, at least one of the correct determination rate for the object to be accepted and the correct determination rate for the object to be rejected is improved, that is, granular objects can be sorted more accurately, compared to when the distance H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 is 1.5 mm.
[0064] Example 2 In addition to the above-mentioned Example 1, further experiments were conducted to confirm the influence of the length L of the smoothing portion 8 on the correct identification rate by the optical sorting machine A.
[0065] In the experiment of Example 2, first, a sample of the bounce suppression device 5 with the leveling portion 8 having a length L of 40 mm (hereinafter referred to as the "reference sample" in this example) and a sample of the bounce suppression device 5 with the leveling portion 8 having a length L of 20 mm were prepared, and a sorting process was performed using each sample with the optical sorting machine A. Rice was used as the granular material to be sorted. The correct identification rate by the optical sorting machine A was calculated based on the collected materials collected by the accepted material collecting unit 92 and the rejected material collecting unit 93 in the sorting process.
[0066] The shape of each sample is the same as the bounce suppression device 5 in the above embodiment, except for the length L of the smoothing portion 8. The distance between the second lower end E2 and the oscillating shaft portion 6 in the reference sample is 57.05 mm, and the distance between the second lower end E2 and the oscillating shaft portion 6 in the sample in which the length L of the smoothing portion 8 is 20 mm is 37.34 mm.
[0067] Table 2 shows the results of the experiment in Example 2. The item "L dimension (mm)" indicates the length L of the smoothing section 8, the item "Processing capacity (kg / h)" indicates the processing capacity of the device arranged as a pre-process of the optical sorting machine A, the item "Correct decision rate (%) for accepted objects (comparison with the case where L = 40 mm)" indicates the correct decision rate for accepted objects by the optical sorting machine A compared with the case where a reference sample was used, and the item "Correct decision rate (%) for rejected objects (comparison with the case where L = 40 mm)" indicates the correct decision rate for rejected objects by the optical sorting machine A compared with the case where a reference sample was used. Examples of the correct decision rate for accepted objects and the correct decision rate for rejected objects are the same as those in Example 1 above.
[0068] [Table 2]
[0069] As shown in Table 2, when a sample having a length L of the smoothing section 8 of 20 mm was used and the processing capacity was 300 kg / h, the correct identification rate for rejection objects was equivalent to that when the reference sample was used, but the correct identification rate for acceptance objects was improved by 0.02% compared to that when the reference sample was used. When a sample having a length L of the smoothing section 8 of 20 mm was used and the processing capacity was 1500 kg / h, the correct identification rate for acceptance objects was equivalent to that when the reference sample was used, but the correct identification rate for rejection objects was improved by 2.85% compared to that when the reference sample was used.
[0070] From this experiment, when a sample having a length L of the smoothing portion 8 of 20 mm is used, at least one of the correct identification rate for the object to be accepted and the correct identification rate for the object to be rejected is improved, that is, the granular object can be sorted more accurately, compared to when a reference sample having a length L of the smoothing portion 8 of 40 mm is used. In other words, when the second lower end E2 is located 37.34 mm away from the swing shaft portion 6, which is 30 mm or more and 55 mm or less, at least one of the correct identification rate for the object to be accepted and the correct identification rate for the object to be rejected is improved, that is, the granular object can be sorted more accurately, compared to when the second lower end E2 is located 57.05 mm away from the swing shaft portion 6, which is more than 55 mm.
[0071] (Modification) Fig. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting mode of a jump suppression device 5 in a modified example. Fig. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting mode of a jump suppression device 5 in another modified example.
[0072] The structure of the bounce suppression device 5 is not limited to the above, and for example, as shown in Fig. 11, the swing shaft portion 6A may be formed to protrude outward from the tab pieces 70a, 70b of the guide portion 7 without using the pin member 60 as described above, and as shown in Fig. 12, the swing shaft portion 6B may be formed to protrude inward from the side plate portions 16a, 16b of the chute cover 15 and inserted into the through holes 71a, 71b. In addition, in order to attach the swing shaft portion 6 to the leveling portion 8 instead of the guide portion 7, the tab pieces 70a, 70b may be provided on the leveling portion 8 instead of the guide portion 7, although this is not shown in the drawings.
[0073] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, when viewed from the width direction of the bounce suppression device 5, the guide portion 7 and the leveling portion 8 are combined to form a V shape, but the guide portion 7 and the leveling portion 8 may also be combined to form a gentle C shape (curve), or the guide portion 7 and the leveling portion 8 may be connected by a separate connecting member.
[0074] Incidentally, the inclined surface 10 may be formed in a flat shape without the grooves 11 as described above. Furthermore, the distance H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 may be 0 mm in the natural state. Furthermore, instead of the step surfaces 13a, 13b of the chute 1 described above, the distance H between the second lower end E2 and the inclined surface 10 may be kept smaller than the distance of granular matter overlapping in the normal direction N by a different stopper member in the natural state.
[0075] The above embodiments are illustrative in every respect and are not intended to be limiting. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not interpreted solely by the above embodiments and examples, but is defined by the claims. Furthermore, all modifications and changes within the scope of the claims are within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]
[0076] A Optical sorting machine 1 Shot 10 Slope 2. Imaging unit 3 Injection part 40 Detection unit 41 Injection control unit 5. Bounce Restraint Device 6,6A,6B Swing shaft 7 Guide section 8 Leveling section 90 Supply section E1 1st lower end E2 2nd bottom end N normal direction Q Object Z vertical direction θ1 First acute angle θ2 Second acute angle
Claims
1. A splash suppression device that suppresses granular material flowing from a supply section into a chute from splashing on an inclined surface of the chute, A swing shaft portion perpendicular to a normal direction of the inclined surface and a vertical direction; a guide portion that is formed from the vicinity of the supply portion downward so as to form a first acute angle with respect to the inclined surface in a natural state in which no external force is acting, and that guides the granular material toward the inclined surface; a leveling section that is formed downward from a first lower end portion, which is a lower end of the guide section, to form a second acute angle with respect to the inclined surface that is smaller than the first acute angle in the natural state and is configured to be freely swingable around the swing shaft portion with respect to the inclined surface, and that levels out the granular material on the inclined surface, The leveling unit includes: The interval between the second lower end portion, which is the lower end, and the inclined surface is smaller than that of the granular objects overlapping in the normal direction in the natural state, A splash prevention device that is configured to be oscillated around the oscillating axis portion relative to the inclined surface so that the second lower end is lifted by the granular material attempting to pass between the second lower end and the inclined surface, thereby widening the gap to a degree that allows the granular material to pass through.
2. The bounce suppressor according to claim 1, A splash suppression device, wherein the guide portion and the leveling portion are integrally formed from a single metal plate.
3. The splash suppressor according to claim 2, The second lower end is located 20 mm or more and 400 mm or less away from the pivot shaft portion.
4. The bounce suppressor according to claim 1, The granules are rice, The leveling portion is arranged so that the gap is greater than 1.5 mm and less than 3.5 mm in the natural state.
5. The bounce suppressor according to claim 1 , The supply unit; The chute; an imaging unit that images the granular material flowing down from the chute; a detection unit that detects objects to be removed from the granular matter based on an image of the granular matter captured by the imaging unit; An ejection unit that ejects air onto the object to be removed so as to blow the object away; an ejection control unit that controls the ejection unit based on a detection result by the detection unit.
Citation Information
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