Fish fillet deboning chuck, articulated robot, and fish fillet deboning system

Abstract

To provide a fish fillet deboning chuck capable of preventing deviation of a bone and reliably deboning only the bone without damaging fish meat around the bone, an articulated robot for operating the fish fillet deboning chuck, and a fish fillet deboning system having the articulated robot.SOLUTION: A fish fillet deboning chuck includes pressing parts 62A and 62B for pressing fish meat Y located around a bone X, formed at front ends of a pair of clamping parts 61A and 61B, in a state where the pair of clamping parts 61A and 61B is put in an open state, the pressing parts 62A and 62B are pressed against the bone X in the longitudinal direction, the pair of clamping parts 61A and 61B is closed, with the pressing parts 62A and 62B pressing the fish meat Y, to grip the bone X with the clamping parts 61A and 61B, and the clamping parts 61A and 61B are pulled out in the longitudinal direction of the bone X so as to remove the bone X.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a fish fillet bone extraction chuck for accurately extracting small bones and pin bones from a fish body, particularly from a half body of a fish cut into three pieces, a multi-joint robot for operating this fish fillet bone extraction chuck, and a fish fillet bone extraction system having this multi-joint robot.

Background Art

[0002] Currently in Japan, the market for salmon has a demand of over 400,000 tons per year. Most of the production of salmon and trout in Japan is by natural fishing, which generally meets the preferences of Japanese people who like "natural products". However, on the other hand, there are problems such as parasites and it is not suitable for "raw consumption". Due to this industrial structure, imports are increasing. Considering that "raw consumption" processed products generally have higher added value than "heating use" processed products, as a result, the added value as profit is less likely to decline for Japanese producers and processing companies. Since salmon and trout are one of the fish species that have particularly taken root among Japanese people, and it is difficult to increase the natural catch due to resource constraints and it is not suitable for "raw consumption", in Japan, salmon and trout farming is on an expanding trend, and a partial shift from imported products to domestic products is expected. The processing process of salmon consists of scaling, head cutting, cutting into three pieces, skinning, and pin bone removal. Currently, for scaling, head cutting, cutting into three pieces, and skinning, existing fishery processing machines can be used for automation regardless of the size of the salmon. However, the current situation is that the bone removal work for the upper neural bones (small bones or pin bones) of salmon still relies on manual labor and requires a great deal of effort. Although devices for automatically removing pin bones have been devised, there are various problems. This will be explained according to the references. Patent Document 1 is a device for extracting the pin bones of a fish fillet by sandwiching them between a pair of belts that rotate so as to entangle them. However, because there are variations in individual differences in the shape of the fish and the position of the bones, if the bones are misaligned with respect to the belts, there may be cases where a bone-free part is sandwiched between the belts and bone residue occurs. Patent Document 2 has a mechanism for sandwiching and extracting a pin bone protruding from a fish fillet with a specific clamping member. However, when there are buried bones or when the position of the clamping member and the pin bone is displaced due to individual differences in the fish fillets, it may not be possible to extract them successfully, or residues may remain. Patent Document 3 presses a rotating roller against a fish fillet and rotates the roller in a direction opposite to the advancing direction of the fish fillet. The roller is made of a structure like a net that allows bones to pass through, and the pin bone is pulled out by passing the bones through the net. However, the pin bone needs to protrude from the fillet. Patent Document 4 has a structure in which a pin bone is protruded by pressing a roller against a fish fillet, and in this state, the pin bone is pulled out with a jig like a claw. However, due to variations in the shape of the fish and the position of the bones, if the bones are misaligned with respect to the position of the jig, residues of the bones may occur. As described above, these devices are limited to bones that pierce the fish body surface perpendicularly, or they hold the fish body with a boning device to protrude the pin bones, so there is a problem of deforming the fish body. Furthermore, a common problem with these devices is that instead of extracting the bones after identifying their positions, boning is performed at positions where bones are likely to be present. As a result, residues of the bones may occur, or the fish body around the bones may be touched, and in some cases, the fish body may be damaged, and the fish fillet may be discarded. Therefore, manual boning of salmon is the mainstream, and due to these problems, automation is not possible at present. Patent Document 5 confirms the position of the bones with an image. However, there are variations in the size and shape of the fish fillets, as well as variations in the position and direction of the bones. It is difficult to handle these with just an ordinary camera and a perpendicular robot. There is a problem that it is not possible to perform three-dimensional measurement of the position of the bones, recognize the direction in which the bones are piercing based on that measurement, and extract the bones by three-dimensional movement along that direction. Therefore, there may be cases where the bones are forcibly extracted and the fish body is damaged, or residues occur, and the recovery from this is not sufficient, and it does not take the form of a fully automatic system. As described above, Patent Documents 1 to 4 have proposed devices for automatically removing the bones of fish fillets. However, these devices are limited to bones that pierce the fish body surface perpendicularly. Also, there is a problem that the fish body is deformed by pressing or lifting the fish body from below to bring the deboning device into contact with the fish body. Furthermore, as a common problem among these devices, instead of removing the bones after identifying their positions, deboning is performed on positions where bones are likely to be present, which may result in residual bones, touching the fish body around the bones, and possibly damaging the fish body in some cases. Therefore, the fish fillets may be discarded in some cases. Therefore, manual deboning of salmon is the mainstream, and due to these problems, the current situation is that automation has not been achieved. In recent years, in the backyards of major cities, it has been difficult to secure workers, and there is also a shortage of skilled workers. Higher-level processing, including deboning work, is required in the production areas. However, securing skilled workers in the production areas has also become increasingly difficult year by year with the aging of the workers, and the mechanization and unmanned operation of production area processing factories are desired. Furthermore, the Japanese food boom is accelerating worldwide, and the demand for frozen sliced raw fish for sashimi and frozen sushi ingredients is increasing year by year. However, it is also conceivable that not only the bones are removed without damaging the fish body, but the fish body around the bones is touched and the fish body may be damaged in some cases. Furthermore, in response to the increasing demand for boneless sliced raw fish recently, deboning of small fish such as horse mackerel and tilapia is also required, and a fully automatic deboning system that can handle various fish species and sizes is desired, but there is still no system that can solve such problems. Under such circumstances, the applicant has already proposed a fish fillet bone extraction system that can recognize the positions of the bones in a fish fillet one by one and extract only the bones without damaging the fish body around the bones (Patent Document 6). According to the fish fillet bone extraction system proposed in Patent Document 6, the positions of the bones in a fish fillet can be recognized one by one, and only the bones can be extracted without damaging the fish body around the bones.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Document

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

Patent Document 6

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] As disclosed in Patent Document 6, by using a fish fillet bone extraction chuck, compared with the methods of Patent Documents 1 to 5, only the bone can be extracted without damaging the fish body around the bone. However, in the process of squeezing the chuck while holding the bone, the bone may shift, and if it shifts significantly, the bone may protrude from the chuck. If the bone protrudes from the chuck like this, the bone cannot be grasped. The reason for the bone to shift is that there is a fish body around the bone, and when trying to grasp the bone, the fish body is sandwiched together with the bone, resulting in the movement of the fish body in the process of squeezing the chuck.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a fish fillet bone extraction chuck that can prevent the bone from shifting and can surely extract only the bone without damaging the fish body around the bone, a multi-joint robot that operates this fish fillet bone extraction chuck, and a fish fillet bone extraction system having this multi-joint robot.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The fish fillet bone extraction chuck of the present invention according to claim 1 is a fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60 that grasps and extracts bone X from fish fillet 21 with a pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B. At the front ends of the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B, there are pressing portions 62A and 62B that press the fish body Y located around the bone X. One of the pressing portions 62A is arranged on both sides of the front end of one of the clamping portions 61A, and extends in the direction of the other clamping portion 61B beyond one clamping surface 63A of one of the clamping portions 61A. The other pressing portion 62B is arranged on both sides of the front end of the other clamping portion 61B, and extends in the direction of the one clamping portion 61A beyond the other clamping surface 63B of the other clamping portion 61B. On the one clamping surface 63A and the other clamping surface 63B, ridge portions 64A and 64B are formed in a direction perpendicular to the Longitudinal direction bone X. In a state where the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B are open, a frame is formed by the one pressing portion 62A, the ridge portions 64A and 64B located between the one pressing portions 62A, the other pressing portion 62B, and the ridge portions 64A and 64B located between the other pressing portions 62B. The front surface of the one pressing portion 62A protrudes forward beyond the ridge portions 64A and 64B located between the one pressing portions 62A, and the front surface of the other pressing portion 62B protrudes forward beyond the ridge portions 64A and 64B located between the other pressing portions 62B. In a state where the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B are closed, the ridge portions 64A and 64B formed on the other clamping surface 63B are located between the ridge portions 64A and 64B formed on the one clamping surface 63A. With the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B in an open state, the pressing portions 62A and 62B are pressed against the The longitudinal direction bone X so that the bone X is located within the frame. While pressing the fish body Y with the pressing portions 62A and 62B, the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B are closed to grasp the bone X with the clamping portions 61A and 61B, and the bone X is extracted by pulling the clamping portions 61A and 61B in the longitudinal direction of the bone X. The multi-joint robots 41 and 51 of the present invention according to claim 2 are multi-joint robots 41 and 51 that operate the fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60 according to claim 1, and are characterized by moving the fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60 and opening and closing the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B. The fish fillet bone extraction system of the present invention according to claim 3 is a fish fillet bone extraction system having the multi-joint robots 41 and 51 according to claim 2, and includes a pallet 20 on which the fish fillet 21 is placed, a conveyor 10 that moves the pallet 20, and a camera 40 that photographs the fish fillet 21 placed on the pallet 20. The bone X identified by the image photographed by the camera 40 is grasped and extracted by the fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, by pressing the fish body located around the bone, it is possible to prevent the displacement of the bone, and by pressing the pressing portion against the longitudinal direction of the bone, the bone can be exposed from the fish body. Therefore, only the bone can be extracted without damaging the fish body around the bone.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] The fish fillet bone extraction chuck according to the first embodiment of the present invention has pressing portions at the front ends of a pair of clamping portions for pressing the fish body located around the bone. One of the pressing portions is arranged on both sides of the front end of one of the clamping portions and extends in the direction of the other clamping portion from one clamping surface of one of the clamping portions. The other pressing portion is arranged on both sides of the front end of the other clamping portion and extends in the direction of one clamping portion from the other clamping surface of the other clamping portion. Ridges are formed on the one clamping surface and the other clamping surface in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bone to be clamped. In a state where the pair of clamping portions are open, a frame is formed by one pressing portion, the ridge located between the one pressing portions, the other pressing portion, and the ridge located between the other pressing portions. The front surface of one pressing portion protrudes forward from the ridge located between the one pressing portions, and the front surface of the other pressing portion protrudes forward from the ridge located between the other pressing portions. In a state where the pair of clamping portions are closed, the ridges formed on the other clamping surface are located between the ridges formed on the one clamping surface. With the pair of clamping portions in the open state, the pressing portions are pressed against the bone in the longitudinal direction of the bone so that the bone is positioned within the frame. With the fish body pressed by the pressing portions, the pair of clamping portions are closed to grip the bone with the clamping portions, and the bone is extracted by pulling the clamping portions in the longitudinal direction of the bone. According to the present embodiment, by pressing the fish body located around the bone, it is possible to prevent the displacement of the bone, and by pressing the pressing portions against the bone in the longitudinal direction of the bone, the bone can be exposed from the fish body, so that only the bone can be extracted without damaging the fish body around the bone. Further, it is possible to prevent the bone from protruding from between the pair of clamping portions. Further, the bone can be reliably gripped, and it is possible to prevent the bone from slipping out of the pair of clamping portions during the extraction operation.

[0010] The articulated robot according to the second embodiment of the present invention is an articulated robot that operates the fish fillet bone extraction chuck according to the first embodiment, and moves the fish fillet bone extraction chuck and opens and closes a pair of clamping parts. According to the present embodiment, only the bones can be reliably extracted without damaging the fish body around the bones.

[0011] The fish fillet bone extraction system according to the third embodiment of the present invention is a fish fillet bone extraction system having the articulated robot according to the second embodiment, and includes a pallet on which a fish fillet is placed, a conveyor that moves the pallet, and a camera that photographs the fish fillet placed on the pallet. The bones identified from the image taken by the camera are grasped and extracted by the fish fillet bone extraction chuck. According to the present embodiment, the position of each bone with respect to the fish fillet can be recognized one by one, and only the bones can be reliably extracted without damaging the fish body around the bones.

Example

[0012] FIG. 1 is a process diagram showing a fish fillet bone extraction system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. At the loading location 1, the fish fillet 21 (see FIG. 2) is placed on the pallet 20 (see FIG. 2). The pallet 20 on which the fish fillet 21 is placed at the loading location 1 is moved by the conveyor 11 and moves to the pallet merging location 2. At the loading location 1, the marker 22 (see FIG. 2) of the pallet 20 is read and sent to the system computer 13 via the communication line 12. Thereby, the marker 22 information of the pallet 20 and the fish fillet 21 are specified. As the reading device and reading method of the marker 22, non-contact magnetic information reading is suitable, but other methods may also be used. When the pallet 20 moves from the loading location 1 to the merging location 2, at the loading location 1, a new fish fillet 21 is placed on a new pallet 20 almost simultaneously. The pallet 20 not carrying the fish fillet 21 is preferably automatically supplied from a stocker that can store a plurality of pallets 20, but may also be supplied manually. The pallet merging location 2 is also the retry input location, and the pallet 20 for retry from the retry conveyor 10 is controlled so as not to collide with the pallet 20 from the input location 1. When the pallet 20 for retry exists on the retry conveyor 10, the pallet 20 from the input location 1 and the pallet 20 from the retry conveyor 10 are alternately supplied to the merging location 2 and move to the working location 3.

[0013] At the working location 3, there are a first imaging process 3A, a second imaging process 3B, and a boning process 3C. In the first imaging process 3A, the fish fillet 21 placed on the pallet 20 is imaged, and in the system computer 13, the region where bones exist is specified from the first imaging image imaged in the first imaging process 3A (bone region specifying process 13A). In the second imaging process 3B, the region specified in the bone region specifying process 13A is imaged, and in the system computer 13, the position of the bones is specified from the second imaging image imaged in the second imaging process 3B (bone position specifying process 13B). In the boning process 3C, the outer end of the bones specified in the bone position specifying process 13B is grasped by the fish fillet boning chuck 60, and the bones are removed by the movement of the fish fillet boning chuck 60. At the working location 3, in this way, the bones of the fish fillet 21 mounted on the pallet 20 are removed one by one. Details will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and later.

[0014] The pallet 20 that has completed the bone removal process 3C moves to the inspection location 4. At the inspection location 4, it is determined by X-ray or infrared rays whether there is any remaining bone in the image (inspection process). The determination result is sent to the system computer 13 via the communication line 12 together with the information of the marker 22 read at the inspection location 4, and the information of the marker 22 and the bone removal result are specified. The determination result includes at least the number of times determined to be defective for the same fish fillet 21 and the location information of the remaining bone. When the marker 22 is read at the good product branch location 5 and all the bones that have been determined in advance have been removed, it moves from the good product branch location 5 to the good product storage location 7. The good product storage location 7 is a group of good product stockers that store the pallet 20 on which the fish fillet 21 determined to be a good product is mounted. It is also possible to have a system that always takes it out without storing it. When the marker 22 is read at the good product branch location 5 and it is defective, it moves to the defective retry branch location 6. That is, based on the marker 22 read at the defective retry branch location 6, the number of times the fish fillet 21 mounted on this pallet 20 has been determined to be defective is compared with the number of times determined in advance, and if the determined number of times has been reached, it moves to the defective product storage location 8. The defective product storage location 8 is a defective product stocker that stores the pallet 20 on which the fish fillet 21 determined to be a defective product is mounted. It is also possible to have a system that always takes it out without storing it, or a system that moves it to the defective product work location 16 by the operator 17. Based on the marker 22 read at the defective retry branch location 6, if the number of defective times of the fish fillet 21 mounted on this pallet 20 has not reached the determined number of times, it moves to the retry conveyor 10 and is sent to the merging location 2.

[0015] In this embodiment, a group of defective pallets with fish fillets 21 having remaining bones is shown as the defective product storage location 8. The defective product stocker at the defective product storage location 8 is transported to the defective product stocker storage location 15. The defective product working location 16 is a location where one pallet 20 is taken out and placed from the defective product stocker transported to the defective product stocker storage location 15. Here, the marker 22 on the pallet 20 is read, and the defective information is displayed on the display 14. The operator 17 extracts the remaining bones according to the display content on the display 14. The defective product storage location 8 may be used as the defective product working location 16.

[0016] Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of a pallet used in the fish fillet bone extraction system according to this embodiment. In Figure 2, a state where the fish fillet 21 is placed on the pallet 20 is shown. It is preferable to provide three or more reference marks 23 to measure at least one of the position and inclination of the pallet 20. Although not shown, a measurement sensor capable of measuring the coordinates of the reference mark 23 is arranged above the pallet 20, and by measuring the coordinates of the reference mark 23 with the measurement sensor, the coordinates of the pallet 20 relative to the position of the measurement sensor can be specified. Even when the pallet 20 moves to another working location 3, the position of the pallet 20 can be specified by similarly reading the reference mark 23 of the moved pallet 20 with the measurement sensor. Therefore, even if the stop position of the pallet 20 is displaced, the shape of the fish fillet 21 placed on the pallet 20 can be shared at all working locations with the reference mark 23 by reading the reference mark 23. If the stop position of the pallet 20 does not shift or shifts within an allowable range at all working locations, there is no need to correct the coordinates using this reference mark 23. Therefore, if an environment where work is performed in a way that the stop position of the pallet 20 does not shift can be realized, it is also possible to eliminate this reference mark 23.

[0017] Marker 22 identifies pallet 20, and can also identify fish fillet 21 placed on pallet 20. In this embodiment, when pallet 20 is carried into workplace 3, marker 22 is read almost simultaneously with reference mark 23, and the content of the read marker 22 is sent to system computer 13 via communication line 12 using LAN or wireless LAN. At inspection location 4, inspection results corresponding to marker 22 on pallet 20 are sent to system computer 13. At the good product branching location 5, system computer 13 determines whether to send to defective retry branching location 6 or good product storage location 7 based on marker 22 information. The same applies to defective product workplace 16, where system computer 13 displays the inspection results corresponding to marker 22 on display 14.

[0018] Figure 3 is a configuration diagram showing the workplaces of the fish fillet boning system according to this embodiment. In the first imaging process 3A, when the pallet 20 is carried in by the conveyor 11, the reference mark 23 and the marker 22 are read, and the information is transferred to the system computer 13. The three-dimensional sensor 36 measures the height information and the luminance information in a line shape and captures the three-dimensional coordinates of the entire fish fillet 21. When the height information is not read, a two-dimensional camera can also be used. The three-dimensional sensor 36 is mounted on the rail 44 and performs measurement while moving along the rail 44. In this embodiment, it moves in a direction opposite to the moving direction 37 of the conveyor 11. When the measurement of the entire fish fillet 21 or a determined area is completed, the three-dimensional information is transferred to the system computer 13, and the possible bone parts or subgroups of the fish fillet 21 are specified. Note that an image processing computer different from the system computer 13 can also be used to perform the specification by image processing, and the specified coordinates may be transferred to the system computer 13. Further, in the image processing computer, inside the system computer 13, or a computer attached thereto, processing can also be performed by a neural network trained by machine learning instead of image processing. In that case, the captured images are stored in the memory, and the recognition accuracy can be improved by further training the stored images by machine learning. Then, the possible bone parts or subgroups of the fish fillet 21 are stored in the memory managed by the system computer 13 together with the reference mark 23, marker 22 information, etc. as coordinates representing those areas. Almost simultaneously with the end of the three-dimensional measurement, the pallet 20 on which the fish fillet 21 is mounted is carried into the second imaging process 3B.

[0019] In the second imaging process 3B, similar to the first imaging process 3A, the reference mark 23 and the marker 22 are read, and the information is transferred to the system computer 13. The articulated robot 38 has an illumination 39 and a camera 40 mounted at its tip. The system computer 13 transfers the coordinates of the possible bone parts or subgroups of the fish fillet 21, which correspond to the marker 22 information and are further calibrated by the reference mark 23, to the articulated robot 38. Based on the transferred information, the illumination 39 and the camera 40 mounted on the articulated robot 38 move to the possible bone locations and perform imaging. In the second imaging process 3B, the image information is transferred to the image processing computer, the bones or bone groups of the fish fillet 21 are identified, and the identified coordinates are transferred to the system computer 13. In the first imaging process 3A, when a two-dimensional camera is used instead of the three-dimensional sensor 36, a camera that can simultaneously obtain height information is used instead of the camera 40, or a height sensor is added separately from the camera 40 and transferred to the system computer 13 as three-dimensional coordinates. Similar to the case of the first imaging process 3A, due to the relationship between capital investment and production tact, the image information may be transferred to the system computer 13 for image processing, or it can also be processed by a neural network that has learned machine learning instead of image processing. Also in that case, similar to the case of the first imaging process 3A, it is possible to improve the recognition accuracy by accumulating the captured images in the memory and further subjecting the accumulated images to machine learning. Then, the bones or bone groups of the fish fillet 21 are stored in the memory managed by the system computer 13 together with the reference mark 23 and marker 22 information. The recognized bones are stored in the memory managed by the system computer 13 with the coordinates of the places where the fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60 clamps the bones to extract the bones. Also, not only the coordinates but also the direction in which the bones are stuck may be stored in the memory together. The direction of extracting the bones is basically the direction of the fish's head. This is because there are cases where the direction is different due to individual differences, or cases where the fish body and the bones are strongly intertwined and it is difficult to extract the bones, and in such cases, it may be easier to extract the bones along the direction in which the bones are stuck.

[0020] Almost simultaneously with the end of the image measurement, the pallet 20 on which the fish fillet 21 is mounted is carried into the bone extraction process 3C. Similar to the first imaging process 3A and the second imaging process 3B, the reference mark 23 and the marker 22 are read, and the information is transferred to the system computer 13. The articulated robot 41 has a fish fillet deboning chuck 60 mounted at its tip. The system computer 13 transfers the coordinates of the bone part or subgroup of the fish fillet 21 corresponding to the marker 22 information and calibrated by the reference mark 23 to the articulated robot 41. The fish fillet deboning chuck 60 moves to the boned part according to the transferred information and removes the bone. This deboning process 3C is repeated the determined number of bones. The result is transferred to the system computer 13, and after the deboning process 3C is completed, the pallet 20 is moved to the inspection process.

[0021] The reason why the articulated robot 38 is used in the second imaging process 3B is that since the fish fillet 21 has a three-dimensional shape, highly accurate measurement is possible by arranging the illumination 39 and the camera 40 at positions along the shape. For example, by measuring at a position perpendicular to the surface of the fish fillet 21, the entire surface is in focus and at the same time image distortion is reduced. The reason why the articulated robot 41 is used in the deboning process 3C is that the bones stuck in the fish fillet 21 basically face the direction of the fish's head, but there are variations. Since the bones are entangled with the fish body, they can be smoothly removed by pulling them in the direction they are facing. In order to remove the bones in various directions, the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 is mounted on the articulated robot 41, and the outer end of the bone is grasped by the fish fillet deboning chuck 60.

[0022] As a further advantage of attaching the camera 40, by using the image of the camera 40 and focusing by a mechanism that moves the camera 40 back and forth, when the focus is achieved, the distance between the camera 40 and the target image, for example, the bone to be removed, becomes constant, and thereby the distance to the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 can also be known, and the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 can be accurately guided to the position of the bone. Instead of focusing with the camera 40 and measuring the distance, it is also possible to change the camera 40 to a three-dimensional sensor 36 or add a height sensor separately from the camera 40 to obtain three-dimensional coordinates.

[0023] Although not shown in the figure, during the inspection process, the reference mark 23 and the marker 22 are also read, and the information is transferred to the system computer 13. Then, the remaining bones are determined by an image using X-rays or infrared rays. The acquired image is transferred to an image processing computer (not shown), which determines whether there are any remaining bones in the fish fillet 21 and transfers the result to the system computer 13. Due to equipment investment and production tact considerations, the image can be transferred to the system computer 13 instead of the image processing computer for processing. It is also possible to process with a neural network trained by machine learning instead of image processing. In that case, the captured image is stored in the memory, and the recognition accuracy can be improved by further training the stored image with machine learning. If it is determined that there are remaining bones based on the judgment result, the read marker 22 is queried to the system computer 13 via the communication line 12 to determine how many times the same fish fillet 21 has been inspected, and the inspection count (hereinafter referred to as the defect coefficient) is incremented by one. The defect coefficient is set to 0 when a new fish fillet 21 is newly loaded onto the pallet 20. The coordinates of the location of the remaining bones are transferred to the system computer 13 in the coordinates calibrated by the reference mark 23. Instead of transferring to the system computer 13 in the coordinates calibrated by the reference mark 23, the coordinates of the remaining bones can be transferred to the system computer 13 and converted to the coordinates calibrated by the reference mark 23 by the system computer 13. Also, when transferring the coordinates to the system computer 13, the number of remaining bones is also transferred.

[0024] The pallet 20 carried into the workplace 3 shown in Fig. 1, when the defect coefficient is 1 or more by reading the marker 22, can pass through the first imaging step 3A and the second imaging step 3B, and in the boning step 3C, boning can be performed based on the calibrated coordinates of the remaining bones from the system computer 13. At this time, if it is determined that there is a risk that the fish fillet 21 mounted on the pallet 20 during conveyance on the retry conveyor 10 or otherwise has moved relative to the pallet 20, the operation may be performed without passing through the first imaging step 3A and the second imaging step 3B, or the operation may be performed starting from the second imaging step 3B after passing through the first imaging step 3A. In this case, instead of using the coordinates of the remaining bones stored in the system computer 13, boning is performed using the coordinates of the bones newly measured in the first imaging step 3A and the second imaging step 3B.

[0025] Fig. 4 is a configuration diagram showing the workplace of the fish fillet boning system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In this embodiment, in order to reduce the number of steps in view of the balance of the investment amount, operation cycle time, production volume, etc., the first imaging step 3A remains as in Embodiment 1, and the second imaging step 3B and the boning step 3C are performed at the same location. In step 3D, the second imaging step 3B and the boning step 3C are performed by the same articulated robot 51. That is, the lighting 39, the camera 40, and the fish fillet boning chuck 60 are mounted on one articulated robot 51.

[0026] A new advantage of this embodiment is that after the bones are removed, if it is determined that there are no missing bones by checking with the lighting 39 and the camera 40, the bone removal can be performed again. There are methods to determine that there are no missing bones, such as imaging the area near the location where the bones should be, performing image processing, and checking for bones. Another method is to arrange it so that the periphery of the tip of the fish fillet bone removal chuck 60 is reflected in the field of view of the camera 40. After removing the bones, the periphery of the tip of the fish fillet bone removal chuck 60 is imaged and image processing is performed to check for bones. That is, if there are bones around the tip of the fish fillet bone removal chuck 60, it can be seen that the bones have been removed. For this purpose, if the previously removed bones remain attached to the periphery of the tip of the fish fillet bone removal chuck 60, a correct judgment cannot be made. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the bones from the fish fillet bone removal chuck 60 every time after the bones are removed. As a method of removal, it can be performed by removing the bones from the tip portion of the fish fillet bone removal chuck 60 and then washing. Furthermore, after washing, it is also possible to check for the presence of bones in the image. Additionally, in Example 1, when the pallet 20 moves from the second imaging step 3B to the bone removal step 3C, if the fish fillet 21 moves for some reason, a discrepancy may occur with the coordinates of the bones sent to the multi-joint robot 41 in the bone removal step 3C, and it is conceivable that the bone removal may not be successful. However, as described above, this problem can be solved by controlling to recognize the bones again and perform bone removal. Furthermore, in Example 2, it is also possible to perform control to remove the bones by controlling the fish fillet bone removal chuck 60 while checking the position of the bones, and a bone removal system with improved reliability can be realized. Also, in Example 2, if the control is such that the confirmation of the remaining bones of the fish fillet 21 after bone removal is performed every time all the bones are removed, it is also possible to omit the inspection step.

[0027] Similar to Example 2, as a further advantage of attaching the camera 40, by using the image of the camera 40 to perform focusing with a mechanism that moves the camera 40 back and forth, when the focus is achieved, the distance between the camera 40 and the target image, for example, the bone to be removed, becomes constant, and thereby the distance to the fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60 can also be known, and the fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60 can be accurately guided to the position of the bone. Instead of the camera 40, a sensor that takes height information can be used, or a height sensor can be added separately from the camera 40 to obtain three-dimensional coordinates.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing the working place of the fish fillet bone extraction system according to Example 3 of the present invention. In Example 3, the first imaging step 3A remains the same as in Example 1, and the second imaging step 3B and the bone extraction step 3C are performed at the same location. However, in step 3E, the second imaging step 3B is performed by the articulated robot 38, and the bone extraction step 3C is performed by the articulated robot 41. That is, the illumination 39 and the camera 40 are mounted on the articulated robot 38, and the fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60 is mounted on the articulated robot 41.

[0029] The new advantages of Example 3 compared to Example 2 are as follows. The fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60 and the removed bone can be freely confirmed by the illumination 39 and the camera 40. For example, in Example 2, even when only half of the removed bone was shown due to the positions of the camera 40 and the fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60, since the camera 40 can be freely moved, the entire bone can be photographed and the shape of the entire bone can be confirmed.

[0030] As a further advantage, in Example 2, the illumination 39 and the camera 40 move to a position where the location containing the bones can be photographed. After the photographing, the fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60 moves to the position of the bones. However, in Example 3, when the illumination 39 and the camera 40 photograph at the location containing the bones, the fish fillet bone extraction chuck 60 can be moved to the vicinity of the bones almost simultaneously. Therefore, the movement time of the articulated robot 38 from recognizing the bones to extracting the bones can be reduced. In Example 3, two articulated robots 38 and 41 are used, but it can also be realized with a single robot and a dual-arm robot with two arms. Similar to Examples 1 and 2, a sensor that obtains height information can be used instead of the camera 40, or a height sensor can be added separately from the camera 40 to obtain three-dimensional coordinates.

[0031] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the main part of the bone extraction chuck shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. 6(a) shows a state where a pair of clamping parts are open, and FIG. 6(b) shows a state where a pair of clamping parts are closed. FIG. 7 shows the operation steps of the bone extraction chuck shown in FIG. 6. The bone extraction chuck 60 has pressing parts 62A and 62B at the front ends of a pair of clamping parts 61A and 61B for pressing the fish body Y (see FIG. 7) located around the bone X (see FIG. 7). One pressing part 62A is arranged on both sides of the front end of one clamping part 61A and extends in the direction of the other clamping part 61B more than the one-side clamping surface 63A of the one clamping part 61A. The other pressing part 62B is arranged on both sides of the front end of the other clamping part 61B and extends in the direction of the one clamping part 61A more than the other-side clamping surface 63B of the other clamping part 61B. A ridge part 64A is formed on the one-side clamping surface 63A in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bone X to be clamped. A ridge part 64B is formed on the other-side clamping surface 63B in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bone X to be clamped.

[0032] As shown in Fig. 6(a), in a state where a pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B are open, a cubic frame is formed by a ridge portion 64A located between one pressing portion 62A and the other pressing portion 62A, a ridge portion 64B located between the other pressing portion 62B and the other pressing portion 62B. Note that the front surface of one pressing portion 62A protrudes forward more than the ridge portion 64A located between one pressing portion 62A, and the front surface of the other pressing portion 62B protrudes forward more than the ridge portion 64B located between the other pressing portion 62B. Also, as shown in Fig. 6(b), in a state where a pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B are closed, the ridge portion 64B formed on the other clamping surface 63B is located between the ridge portions 64A formed on the one clamping surface 63A. In this way, since the ridge portions 64A and 64B are formed on the one clamping surface 63A and the other clamping surface 63B in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bone X to be clamped, the bone X can be surely grasped, and it is possible to prevent the bone X from coming out of the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B during the extraction operation.

[0033] In a state where a pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B are closed, the other pressing portion 62B protrudes outward from the one outer surface 65A of the one clamping portion 61A, and the one pressing portion 62A protrudes outward from the other outer surface 65B of the other clamping portion 61B. This is because the wall thickness at the front end side of the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B (the wall thickness from the one clamping surface 63A to the one outer surface 65A, the wall thickness from the other clamping surface 63B to the other outer surface 65B) is made thin, and the opening degree of the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B is increased.

[0034] Fig. 7(a) is a main part side configuration diagram showing a state where a bone extraction chuck is arranged with respect to a bone X to be extracted, and Fig. 7(b) is a configuration diagram seen from the direction of arrow D shown in Fig. 7(a). As shown in Fig. 7(a), the bone extraction chuck 60 is arranged in the vicinity of the bone X by the multi-joint robots 41 and 51. The bone extraction chuck 60 is arranged such that the longitudinal direction of the bone X is perpendicular to the virtual plane formed by the cubic frame formed by the ridge portion 64A located between one pressing portion 62A and one pressing portion 62A, the other pressing portion 62B, and the ridge portion 64B located between the other pressing portion 62B (see Fig. 7(a)), and the bone X is arranged to be located within the virtual plane (see Fig. 7(b)).

[0035] Fig. 7(c) is a main part side view showing the state where the bone extraction chuck is pressed against the fish body, and Fig. 7(d) is a view seen from the direction of arrow D shown in Fig. 7(c). Figs. 7(c) and 7(d) show the state where after moving the bone extraction chuck 60 in the longitudinal direction of the bone X, the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B are slightly closed. As shown in Fig. 7(c), the multi-joint robots 41 and 51 move the bone extraction chuck 60 in the longitudinal direction of the bone X, and press the fish body Y with the pressing portions 62A and 62B. When pressing the pressing portions 62A and 62B against the longitudinal direction of the bone X, the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B are in an open state. In this way, by pressing the fish body Y located around the bone X, it is possible to prevent the displacement of the bone X, and even if the bone X is displaced, it will not go outside the cubic frame. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 7(d), the bone X is located within the cubic frame. Also, by pressing the pressing portions 62A and 62B against the longitudinal direction of the bone X, or after pressing, slightly closing the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B, the bone X can be exposed from the fish body Y.

[0036] Fig. 7(e) is a main part side view showing the state where the bone is grasped and pulled out by the clamping portion, and Fig. 7(f) is a view seen from the direction of arrow D shown in Fig. 7(e). From the states shown in Figs. 7(c) and 7(d), by closing the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B, the bone X is grasped by the clamping portions 61A and 61B, and the bone X is extracted by pulling out the clamping portions 61A and 61B in the longitudinal direction of the bone X.

[0037] As described above, by pressing the fish body Y located around the bone X, it is possible to prevent the bone X from protruding from between the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B. By pressing the pressing portions 62A and 62B against the longitudinal direction of the bone X, the bone X can be exposed from the fish body Y, and only the bone X can be reliably extracted.

[0038] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part showing another configuration of the bone extraction chuck shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. 8(a) shows a state where the pair of clamping portions are open, and FIG. 8(b) shows a state where the pair of clamping portions are closed. The same components as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, when the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B are closed, the other pressing portion 62B does not protrude outward from the outer surface 65A on one side of one clamping portion 61A, and one pressing portion 62A does not protrude outward from the outer surface 65B on the other side of the other clamping portion 61B. According to the present embodiment, by increasing the thickness (the thickness from the one-side clamping surface 63A to the one-side outer surface 65A, and the thickness from the other-side clamping surface 63B to the other-side outer surface 65B) of the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B on the front-end side, the strength of the pair of clamping portions 61A and 61B can be increased. Note that the cubic frame may have a slight gap narrower than the bone X. That is, there may be a gap between the one pressing portion 62A and the other pressing portion 62B. Further, this cubic frame may be formed when pressing the fish body Y. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 and the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, a case is shown where a pair of pressing portions 62A are provided on one clamping portion 61A and a pair of pressing portions 62B are provided on the other clamping portion 61B. However, only one clamping portion 61A may be provided with a pair of pressing portions 62A and the other clamping portion 61B may not be provided with a pressing portion 62B. In this case, a cubic frame is formed by the one pressing portion 62A, the ridge portion 64A located between the one pressing portions 62A, and the ridge portion 64B of the other clamping portion 61A.

Industrial Applicability

[0039] The present invention accurately extracts the pin bone from the half body of a fish cut into three pieces.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0040] 1 Input Location 2 Pallet Confluence Location 3 Working Location 4 Inspection Location 5 Good Product Branching Location 6 Defective Product Retry Branching Location 7 Good Product Storage Location 8 Defective Product Storage Location 10 Conveyor 11 Retry Conveyor 12 Communication Line 13 System Computer 14 Display 15 Defective Product Stocking Location 16 Defective Product Working Location 17 Operator 20 Pallet 21 Fish Fillet 22 Marker 23 Reference Mark 36 3D Sensor 37 Moving Direction 38 Multi-Joint Robot 39 Lighting 40 Camera 41 Multi-Joint Robot 44 Rail 51 Multi-Joint Robot 60 Fish Fillet Bone Removal Chuck 61A, 61B Clamping Parts 62A, 62B Pressing Parts 63A One-Side Clamping Surface 63B The Other-Side Clamping Surface 64A, 64B Ridge Parts 65A One-Side Outer Surface 65B The Other-Side Outer Surface X Bone Y Fish Body

Claims

1. A fish fillet bone extraction chuck that grasps and extracts bones from a fish fillet with a pair of clamping parts, having a pressing part at the front ends of the pair of clamping parts for pressing the fish body located around the bone, with the pair of clamping parts in an open state, pressing the pressing part against the longitudinal direction of the bone, while pressing the fish body with the pressing part, closing the pair of clamping parts to grasp the bone with the clamping parts, and extracting the bone by pulling it out in the longitudinal direction of the bone with the clamping parts characterized in that it is a fish fillet bone extraction chuck.

2. One of the pressing parts is arranged on both sides of the front end of one of the clamping parts, and extended in the direction of the other clamping part beyond one clamping surface of one of the clamping parts characterized in that it is the fish fillet bone extraction chuck according to claim 1.

3. The other pressing part is arranged on both sides of the front end of the other clamping part, and extended in the direction of one clamping part beyond the other clamping surface of the other clamping part characterized in that it is the fish fillet bone extraction chuck according to claim 2.

4. On the one clamping surface and the other clamping surface, ridges are formed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bone to be clamped characterized in that it is the fish fillet bone extraction chuck according to claim 3.

5. A multi-joint robot that operates the fish fillet bone extraction chuck according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it moves the fish fillet bone extraction chuck and opens and closes the pair of clamping parts characterized in that it is a multi-joint robot.

6. A fish fillet bone extraction system having the multi-joint robot according to claim 5, including a pallet for placing the fish fillet, a conveyor for moving the pallet, and a camera for photographing the fish fillet placed on the pallet and having, grasping and extracting the bone identified by the image photographed by the camera with the fish fillet bone extraction chuck characterized in that it is a fish fillet bone extraction system.

Images