Identification apparatus

Abstract

To provide an identification apparatus which can generate a control signal that can be accurately distinguished on the basis of the condition of a sample including manner information.SOLUTION: An identification apparatus for identifying the condition of a specimen carried at a predetermined carrying rate by a carrying unit includes: an identification unit for identifying a material in the specimen and acquiring the length of the specimen in the carrying direction; and a command unit for generating a control signal for controlling a discriminator so that a discrimination operation will be performed at a predetermined intensity appropriate for the length. The command unit changes the intensity of the discrimination operation for the length according to the length.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an identification device for identifying the properties of a specimen.

Background Art

[0002] An identification device that optically identifies the properties of a specimen using spectroscopic analysis is known. Such an identification device is used for inspection of manufactured products, separation of waste, etc. by being disposed in the middle of a conveyance path through which the specimen is conveyed.

[0003] Spectroscopic analysis does not necessarily require an atmosphere management process related to a vacuum depressurization process, an atmosphere control process, an immersion treatment process in a liquid, and a drying process that limit throughput, and in recent years, attempts have been made to apply it to the separation of waste resins because the properties of a specimen can be identified under an atmospheric atmosphere.

[0004] Spectroscopic analysis includes absorption spectroscopy for obtaining an absorption spectrum of a specimen with respect to incident light and scattering spectroscopy for obtaining a scattering spectrum of the specimen with respect to incident light. Since scattering spectroscopy does not use transmitted light, it is less affected by light attenuation and is therefore used in the identification of waste with variations in specimen size and transmittance.

[0005] The properties of a specimen to be identified include characteristic information including material and physical properties, and morphological information including size, shape, and orientation. In order to identify a specimen with high throughput including discrimination, the properties of both the characteristic information and the morphological information may be linked and acquired.

[0006] An identification device that combines a camera for photographing a specimen image and a spectroscopic identification unit to identify the material and size of a specimen is known in order to obtain the shape of the specimen. Patent Document 1 discloses a waste sorting device including a spectroscopic unit that collects light from a predetermined region on a belt conveyor on which a plurality of specimens are placed and obtains spectroscopic information, and a video camera that photographs a predetermined region on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the light collection region of the spectroscopic unit.

[0007] There is known a sorting device that sorts the identified specimens according to whether the properties of the specimens satisfy a predetermined target condition. Patent Document 2 discloses a sorting device for waste bottles, which includes a conveying unit that aligns and conveys waste bottles in a row in the conveying direction, a camera that images the conveyed waste bottles, an image processing device that estimates the center of gravity position, and a valve driving device that blows compressed air onto the waste bottles. The sorting device of Patent Document 2 discloses that it identifies the type and center of gravity of the waste bottles based on the color and size of the waste bottles obtained from the camera image, and discharges compressed air toward the center of gravity of the waste bottles for discrimination.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0008]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] In the identification device according to Patent Document 2, it is necessary to adjust the estimated value of the time when the mass of the specimen and the center of gravity of the specimen pass through the discrimination operation region depending on the size of the identified specimen. However, in the identification device according to Patent Document 2, even if the specimens are strictly identified, the mass of the specimens and the passing time are estimated, and discrimination is performed based on the estimated mass and passing time of the specimens, there are cases where the specimens cannot necessarily be sorted accurately. It has been confirmed that such misdiscrimination may occur when discrimination is performed by discharging compressed air, and the accuracy of discrimination may decrease when the size or specific gravity of the specimen is small.

[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide an identification device capable of generating a control signal that enables accurate sorting based on the properties of a specimen including morphological information.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0011] The identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention is an identification device that identifies the properties of a specimen conveyed at a predetermined conveyance speed by a conveyance unit, and includes an identification unit that identifies the material contained in the specimen and acquires the length of the specimen in the conveyance direction, and a command unit that generates a control signal for controlling an identification device to perform a discrimination operation with a predetermined intensity corresponding to the length. The command unit is characterized by changing the intensity of the discrimination operation per unit length according to the length.

[0012] Further, an identification device according to another embodiment of the present invention is an identification device that identifies the properties of a specimen conveyed at a predetermined conveyance speed by a conveyance unit, and includes an identification unit that identifies the material contained in the specimen and acquires the size of the specimen, and a command unit that generates a control signal for controlling an identification device to perform a discrimination operation with a predetermined intensity corresponding to the size. The command unit is characterized by changing the intensity of the discrimination operation per unit size according to the size.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an identification device capable of generating a control signal that enables accurate sorting based on the properties of a specimen including morphological information.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

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Figure 8

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] <First Embodiment> The operations of the identification device and the identification unit according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the identification device 100 according to the present embodiment.

[0017] The identification device 100 has an identification unit 10 that identifies the properties of a specimen 900i conveyed at a predetermined conveyance speed vc by a conveyance unit 200, and a command unit 40 that generates a control signal for controlling the discrimination operation of a discrimination device 300 based on the identified properties of the specimen 900i.

[0018] The conveyance unit 200 is a unit that conveys a plurality of specimens 900i (i = 1, 2, ···) sequentially supplied from a sorter 500 in the conveyance direction of the specimen 900i (the x direction in FIG. 1) at a predetermined conveyance speed vc. The conveyance unit 200 may be referred to as a placement unit 200 because it moves the specimen 900i so as to pass through the imaging field 700 of the camera 76 and the light collection region of the light collection unit 20. The conveyance unit 200 of the present embodiment is a belt conveyor and conveys the linear specimen 900i. As a modification, the conveyance unit 200 can be replaced with a turntable type feeder that conveys the specimen outward in a spiral shape, a vibration type feeder provided with a vibrator that moves in a predetermined direction, or the like.

[0019] The identification unit 10 includes a light collection unit 20 disposed downstream of the sorter 500 of the transport unit 200 so as to collect light from the transport unit 200 or the specimen 900i, and an acquisition unit 30 that acquires spectral information of the light collected by the light collection unit 20. The identification unit 10 of the present embodiment further includes a laser light source 25 optically connected to an irradiation optical system arranged coaxially with the light collection optical system of the light collection unit 20 in order to receive Raman scattered light.

[0020] The light collection unit 20 is optically coupled to the spectroscopic unit 30 so that the spectroscopic unit 30 can acquire optical information reflecting the material contained in the specimen 900i. The spectroscopic unit 30 includes a spectroscopic element (not shown) and a two-dimensional imaging device, and acquires spectroscopic information Si obtained by spectroscopically analyzing the collected light. Based on the spectroscopic information Si of the specimen 900i, the identification unit 10 refers to a material database (not shown) in which reference data of Raman scattered light is recorded, and identifies the material contained in the specimen 900i and acquires material information Mi based on the degree of similarity with the reference data.

[0021] The identification unit 10 includes a length measurement unit 70 including a camera 76 arranged so as to overlap the imaging field 700 with the transport unit 200 and an image processing unit 78 that performs image processing on the captured image of the camera 76 in order to acquire the length Lci of the specimen 900i in the transport direction (x). The image processing unit 78 performs image processing including contrast and contour extraction, and acquires the length Lci in the transport direction for each specimen 900i. In some cases, the image processing unit 78 may be described as a processing unit that acquires information regarding the size of each specimen 900i. The length measurement unit 70 can be provided with a photointerrupter or a laser interferometer instead of the camera 76.

[0022] The identification device 100 includes a command unit 40 that controls the discrimination operation of the discrimination device 300 based on the properties of each 900i, a first storage unit 60 that stores the control condition 1 of the discrimination operation, and a second storage unit 60 that stores the properties of each specimen 900i, and includes a control unit 400.

[0023] The first storage unit 60 is configured to store control conditions for controlling the intensity Is of the discrimination operation of the discrimination device 300 corresponding to the length Lci in the conveyance direction for each specimen 900i. The control conditions are stored in the first storage unit 60 in the form of a reference table, a general formula expressed algebraically, statistical information, and the like. On the other hand, the second storage unit 80 is configured to store, in association with each other, the length Lci in the conveyance direction for each specimen 900i, which is information regarding the properties from the identification 10, the material information Mi, and the timing tp when passing through the light collection unit 20. The control unit 400 includes a display unit 140 that provides a GUI through which the user can specify the control conditions. The display unit 140 may display the information acquired by the identification unit 10.

[0024] The command unit 40 generates a command for controlling the discrimination operation of the discrimination device 300 according to the material and size for each specimen 900i, that is, the material information Mi and the length Lci in the conveyance direction for each specimen 900i, by referring to the first storage unit 60 and the second storage unit 80.

[0025] The discrimination device 300 includes an air nozzle 330 for discharging compressed air at a predetermined discharge time, discharge speed, and discharge flow rate, and a discrimination control unit 350 that controls a solenoid valve (not shown) provided in the air nozzle 330. The discrimination control unit 350 receives a control signal from the command unit 40 of the identification device 100. The discrimination operation of the discrimination device 300 in the present embodiment includes an operation of discharging a fluid. The fluid for the discharge operation includes air, an inert gas such as dry nitrogen or a rare gas, a liquid, a gas-liquid mixed fluid (aerosol), and the like. The discrimination device 300 recovers the specimen 900i into the target collection basket 620 and the non-target collection basket 600 according to the properties of the specimen 900i including the material information Mi and the form information Fi based on the control signal commanded from the command unit.

[0026] Note that the discrimination device 300 can be replaced with a discharge device that discharges fluid, a flap gate that opens and closes at a predetermined angular velocity, a shutter that opens and closes at a predetermined speed, and the like. Further, the discrimination unit 10, the control unit 400, the specimen device 300, and their components that constitute the discrimination device 100 are arranged in parallel at different positions in the transport width direction of the transport unit 200, and the system can be integrated and processed at high speed. Such parallel arrangement may be referred to as multi-column arrangement or multi-row arrangement. Since the discrimination device 300 is a means for applying an external force to change the moving direction or moving speed of the transported specimen 900i at the outlet of the transport unit 200, it may be referred to as an biasing means.

[0027] Next, the control of the discrimination device 300 by the discrimination device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the discrimination and commands of each operation by the discrimination unit 10 of the discrimination device 100 to the command unit 40. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the control condition 1 of the discrimination device 100. The control condition 1 of the present embodiment is a control condition for changing the discharge time T of the compressed air of the discrimination device 300 according to the size of the specimen 900i. That is, the control condition 1 of the present embodiment sets the discharge time T of the compressed air of the discrimination device 300 as the intensity Is of the discrimination operation, and is a control condition for changing such intensity of the discrimination operation according to the length Lci in the transport direction of the specimen 900i.

[0028] (Step S100) In this step, the conveyance of a plurality of specimens 900i (i = 1, 2, ··· j - 1, j, j + 1 ···) is started. In the present embodiment, a plurality of specimens 900i are sequentially supplied to the transport unit from a sorter 500 placed on the upstream side of the transport unit 200 including a belt conveyor driven by rotation. This step is also referred to as a step of placing the specimen 900i on the transport unit 200.

[0029] (Step S200) In this step, the camera 76 photographs the specimen 900i being transported on the transport unit 200.

[0030] (Step S300) In this step, the image processing unit 78 processes the camera image and obtains the length Lci of the specimen 900i in the conveyance direction. The camera image may be obtained by taking a picture through a predetermined optical filter in view of the light reflection characteristics of the specimen group and the conveyor belt serving as the background, or the contour of the specimen 900i may be emphasized by applying an appropriate image processing filter.

[0031] (Step 320) In this step, the projected area and mass of the specimen 900i are estimated from the contour of the extracted specimen 900i. This step is an optionally performed step, and the obtained estimated mass can be used as learning data for machine learning in association with the setting of the discrimination operation intensity Is, the projected shape of the dispensed specimen 900i, and the projected area.

[0032] (Step 340) In this step, the position P of the center of gravity of the specimen 900i is obtained from the contour of the extracted specimen 900i. The position P of the center of gravity is used in the calculation of the time when the center of gravity P of the specimen 900i passes through the discrimination operation area of the discrimination device 300, together with the conveyance speed vc and the discrimination distance dc corresponding to the discrimination time. Note that the order of performing steps S300, S320, and S340 can be mutually interchanged, or they may be performed simultaneously.

[0033] (Step S350) In this step, the morphological information Fi of the specimen 900i obtained in each of steps S300, S320, and S340 is stored in the second storage unit 80 so as to be available when generating a control signal described later. That is, in step S500, the morphological information Fi is stored in the second storage unit 80 in association with the imaging time.

[0034] The imaging data obtained in step S200 may be stored in the second storage unit 80 in association with the imaging time and the morphological information Fi. Also, storing the imaging data obtained in step S200 in the second storage unit 80 in association with the imaging time, and obtaining the morphological information Fi such as the length Lci and the center of gravity position P by calculation after reading from the second storage unit 80 is a modified form of this embodiment.

[0035] (Step S400) In this step, the spectroscopic information Si of the specimen 900i is obtained by the spectroscopic unit 30 acquiring a spectral image of the light collected by the light collection unit 20 from the scattered light of the specimen 900i.

[0036] (Step S500) In this step, the material of the specimen 900i is identified and the material information Mi is obtained. The identification unit 10 refers to a material database (not shown) in which reference data of Raman scattered light is recorded based on the spectroscopic information Si of the specimen 900i, and identifies the material of the specimen 900i and obtains the material information Mi based on the degree of similarity with the reference data.

[0037] (Step S550) In this step, the material information Mi of the specimen 900i obtained in Step S500 is stored in the second storage unit 80 so that it can be used when generating a control signal described later. That is, in Step S500, the material information Mi is stored in the second storage unit 80 in association with the light collection time or the morphological information Fi.

[0038] In Step S550 of the present embodiment, the spectral image or the spectroscopic spectrum obtained in Step S400 may be stored in the second storage unit 80 in association with the light collection time and the morphological information Fi.

[0039] (Step S610) In this step, the material information Mi corresponding to the specimen 900i is read from the second storage unit 80.

[0040] (Step S630) In this step, the morphological information Fi corresponding to the specimen 900i is read from the second storage unit 80.

[0041] (Step S650) In this step, the control condition 1 shown in FIG. 3 is read from the first storage unit.

[0042] (Step S670) In this step, the discharge time T corresponding to the length Lci of the specimen 900i in the transport direction is determined. The determined discharge time is included in the intensity of the discrimination operation of the discrimination device 300. The discharge time determined in this step corresponds to the operation time of the discrimination operation of the discrimination device 300.

[0043] (Step S690) In this step, a control signal including the discharge time T determined in step S670 is generated and a command is given to the discrimination control unit 350.

[0044] (Step S700) In this step, based on the control signal, the discrimination device 300 sorts the specimen 900i.

[0045] In the present embodiment, the discharge time T, which is the discrimination operation determined in step S670, is determined based on the control condition 1 stored in the first storage unit 60. The discharge time T of the compressed air from the air nozzle 330 is defined as the intensity Is of the discrimination operation, and it is a control condition for changing such intensity Is of the discrimination operation according to the length Lci in the transport direction of the specimen 900i. The control condition 1 according to the present embodiment is paraphrased as having, on the side where the length Lci is low, a control pattern for increasing the intensity of the discrimination operation per unit length Lci in the transport direction of the specimen 900i in accordance with the decrease in the length Lci. The control condition 1 according to the present embodiment is paraphrased as having a control pattern for changing the intensity of the discrimination operation per unit length Lci in the transport direction of the specimen 900i in accordance with the decrease in the length Lci.

[0046] As shown by the solid line profile in FIG. 3, the control condition 1 according to the present embodiment is such that on the side where the length Lci of the specimen decreases, the discharge time T does not asymptotically approach 0, and the discharge time T exhibits a non-linear profile with respect to the length Lci of the specimen with the shortest discharge time Tmin as the lower limit.

[0047] In the graph of FIG. 3, T / Lci corresponding to the discharge time T per unit length Lci of the specimen is shown as a dashed-line plot. The numerical value of T / Lci can be read from the vertical axis on the right side. From this graph, it can be seen that the discharge time T / Lci per unit length Lci in the transport direction of the specimen 900i is large on the low Lci side, indicating that for specimens with smaller sizes, a discrimination operation with a greater intensity per unit length Lci of the specimen is commanded in step S690. According to the control condition 1 of the present embodiment, in a discrimination apparatus that uses waste with variations in size as specimens, the recycling recovery rate is improved.

[0048] <Second Embodiment> The operation of the discrimination unit of the discrimination apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The control condition 1 of the present embodiment is a control condition in which the discharge time T of the compressed air of the discrimination apparatus 300 is used as the intensity Is of the discrimination operation, and the intensity Is of such a discrimination operation is changed according to the length Lci in the transport direction of the specimen 900i.

[0049] As shown by the solid-line profile in FIG. 3, the control condition 1 according to the present embodiment exhibits a non-linear profile with respect to the specimen length Lci for which the discharge time T asymptotically approaches 0 on the side where the specimen length Lci decreases, with the shortest discharge time Tmin as the lower limit.

[0050] The control condition 1 according to the present embodiment is different from the control condition 1 according to the first embodiment in that there is no section where a constant value is taken on the side of the smaller specimen length Lci in the non-linear profile of the discharge time T of the compressed air with respect to the specimen length Lci. However, also in the present embodiment, it is shown that the discharge time T / Lci per unit length of the specimen is large on the low Lci side, and for the specimen 900i for which a smaller size is detected, control is performed such that the intensity of the discrimination operation per unit length Lci of the specimen is greater.

[0051] <Third Embodiment> The operation of the identification unit of the identification device according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5. Control condition 1 of this embodiment is a control condition in which the discharge flow rate F of compressed air of the discrimination device 300 is used as the intensity Is of the discrimination operation, and the intensity Is of such a discrimination operation is changed according to the length Lci in the transport direction of the specimen 900i. Control condition 1 according to this embodiment differs from control condition 1 according to the first embodiment in that the type regarding the intensity Is of the discrimination operation is the flow rate F (lpm) of compressed air. Also in this embodiment, the discharge flow rate F / Lci per unit length of the specimen is large on the low Lci side, indicating that the smaller the size of the detected specimen 900i, the greater the intensity of the discrimination operation per unit length Lci of the specimen.

[0052] <Fourth Embodiment> The operation of the identification device and the identification unit according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

[0053] The identification device 160 according to this embodiment identifies the length Lci based on the sampling period (seconds) for acquiring the spectroscopic information Si acquired by the identification unit 10, the number of samplings N, and the transport speed vc (m / sec). The identification device 160 is different from the identification device 100 in that it does not include a camera and an image processing unit for detecting the length Lci in the transport direction of the specimen 900i. It can be said that the identification device 160 according to this embodiment estimates the size of the specimen 900i based on the number of consecutive detections Ni of the spectroscopic information Si acquired by the identification unit 10. The number of samplings N may be referred to as the number of consecutive detections.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 7, control condition 1 of this embodiment is a discretely set control condition with the number of consecutive detections Ni, which is continuously detected corresponding to the common material information Mi, on the horizontal axis instead of the length Lci of the specimen 900i in control condition 1 according to the first to third embodiments. The number of consecutive detections Ni of the specimen corresponds to the number of times the spectroscopic information Si corresponding to the common material information Mi is continuously acquired.

[0055] As shown by the square plots in Fig. 7, Control Condition 1 according to this embodiment exhibits a non-linear profile in which the ejection time T does not asymptotically approach 0 but takes the shortest ejection time Tmin on the side where the number of consecutive detections Ni corresponding to the decrease in the length Lci of the specimen is small.

[0056] In the graph of Fig. 7, T / Ni corresponding to the ejection time T per number of consecutive detections Ni is shown by triangular plots. The numerical value of T / Ni can be read from the right vertical axis. From this graph, it is shown that T / Ni per number of consecutive detections Ni correlated with the length in the transport direction of the specimen 900i is large on the low Ni side, and the smaller the size of the detected specimen, the greater the discrimination operation command for the intensity per size of the specimen 900i. According to Control Condition 1 of this embodiment, as in other embodiments, the recycling recovery rate is improved in a discrimination device using waste having variations in the size of the specimen group as the specimen.

[0057] Note that the discrimination unit 10 and the length measurement unit 70 in the fourth embodiment can be replaced with a hyperspectral camera or a multi-band camera capable of acquiring the length and spectral information of the specimen from the captured image. That is, the discrimination device 160 according to the second embodiment remedies the point that the spectral spectrum does not have distribution information by using the history of the spectral spectrum and acquires the material information Mi and the form information Fi of the specimen 900i. On the other hand, it can be said that the discrimination device (not shown) according to the modification includes a detection system that acquires multi-dimensional data from which the material information and the form information can be read out.

[0058] <Fifth Embodiment> The operation of the discrimination unit of the discrimination device according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 8(a) and 8(b). The configuration of the discrimination device of this embodiment is common to that of the first embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that when it is detected from the captured image of the camera 76 that a plurality of specimens 900i are close in the transport direction, Control Condition 1 is changed to another control condition.

[0059] The control condition 2A shown in Fig. 8(a) is a control pattern in which the minimum intensity Is of the discrimination operation asymptotically approaches 0 in the decreasing direction of the length Lci of the specimen 900i.

[0060] This control condition 2A includes a control pattern in which the intensity Is of the discrimination operation per unit length Lci of the specimen 900i decreases in response to the decrease in the length Lci. That is, the control condition 2A includes a control pattern in which the discharge time T / Lci of the compressed air per unit length Lci of the specimen 900i decreases in response to the decrease in the length Lci.

[0061] On the other hand, the control condition 2B shown in Fig. 8(b) is a control pattern in which the discrimination intensity exhibits a constant value of 0 regardless of the length Lci of the specimen 900i, corresponding to a command to stop the discharge of compressed air.

[0062] The control condition 2A of this embodiment has a lower discharge accuracy for small-sized specimens than the control condition 1, but when a plurality of specimens are close to each other in the transport direction, it reduces the possibility that a plurality of specimens are discriminated together by a single air flow. In addition, the control condition 2B of this embodiment can reduce the possibility that any of the plurality of specimens are erroneously collected due to proximity.

[0063] When the command unit 40 detects that a plurality of specimens pass through the discrimination operation area of the discrimination device 300 at a time interval shorter than the discharge time T of the compressed air according to the control condition 1, the control condition 2A or 3B of this embodiment is used to reduce the risk of misdiscrimination.

Explanation of symbols

[0064] 100 Discrimination device 10 Discrimination unit 40 Command unit Lci Length of the specimen in the transport direction

Claims

1. 1. An identification device that identifies properties of a sample transported at a predetermined transport speed by a transport unit, the identification device comprising: an identification unit that identifies a material contained in the sample and obtains the length of the sample in the transport direction; and a command unit that generates a control signal to control a discrimination device to perform a discrimination operation at a predetermined intensity corresponding to the length, wherein the command unit changes the intensity of the discrimination operation per length in accordance with the length.

2. The identification device according to claim 1 , wherein the command unit increases the strength of the discrimination operation per unit length in response to a decrease in the length.

3. The identification device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the intensity of the discrimination operation includes an operation time for discriminating the specimen.

4. The identification device according to claim 1 , wherein the discrimination operation includes ejection of a fluid.

5. The identification device according to claim 4 , wherein the intensity of the discrimination operation includes at least one of a discharge time of the fluid, a discharge speed of the fluid, and a discharge flow rate of the fluid.

6. The identification device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the fluid includes at least one of air, nitrogen, an inert gas, and water.

7. The identification device according to claim 1 , wherein the identification section includes a light collecting section that collects light from the transport section or the sample.

8. The identification device according to claim 7 , wherein the identification unit includes an acquisition unit that acquires spectral information of the light collected by the light collecting unit.

9. The identification device according to claim 8 , wherein the light collecting unit collects light at a predetermined sampling period.

10. The identification device according to claim 9 , further comprising a length measuring unit for acquiring the length.

11. The identification device according to claim 10 , wherein the length measuring unit obtains the length based on the material and a sampling count of the light collecting unit corresponding to the material.

12. The identification device according to claim 1 , further comprising a length measuring unit for acquiring the length.

13. The identification device according to claim 12 , wherein the length measuring unit includes at least one of a camera, a photointerrupter, and a laser interferometer.

14. The identification device according to claim 1 , further comprising a first storage unit that stores a control condition for the intensity of the discrimination operation corresponding to the length.

15. The identification device according to claim 14 , wherein the command unit generates the control signal for changing the strength of the discrimination operation per length according to the length by referring to the first memory unit.

16. 16. The identification device according to claim 14, further comprising a second storage unit that stores information relating to the length.

17. 17. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the control conditions include a first control condition that increases the strength of the discrimination action per said length in response to a decrease in said length.

18. 18. The identification device of claim 17, wherein the control conditions include a second control condition that causes the strength of the discrimination action per said length to decrease in response to the decrease in length or to remain constant with respect to the decrease in length.

19. 20. The identification device according to claim 18, wherein the command section generates a control signal based on the second control condition when it detects that a plurality of the specimens pass through a discrimination operation area of ​​the discrimination device at a time interval shorter than the operation time determined under the first control condition, in a case where the intensity of the discrimination operation is an operation time.

20. 11. The identification device according to claim 7, wherein the light collecting section collects Raman scattered light from the sample or the transport section.

21. 21. The identification device according to claim 1, further comprising a discrimination device.

22. The identification device according to claim 21 , wherein the discrimination device changes a moving direction or a moving speed of the transported sample.

23. The identification device according to claim 1 , further comprising the transport unit.

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