Sorting device

Abstract

To inspect pearls and other decorative items more efficiently. [Solution] A sorting device comprising: a sorting target conveyor plate; a feeder for placing sorting targets on the sorting target conveyor plate; a measuring device for irradiating the sorting targets with measuring light and receiving the reflected light from the sorting targets; a dropping mechanism provided below the sorting target conveyor plate for dropping the sorting targets; and a control device for controlling the sorting target conveyor plate and the dropping mechanism, wherein the control device includes a control unit that performs a measurement result determination process for determining whether to drop the sorting targets based on the measuring light and the reflected light, and a dropping mechanism drive process for driving the sorting target conveyor plate and the dropping mechanism to drop or not drop the sorting targets.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a sorting device.

Background Art

[0002] [[ID=第十二]]An Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) device is a device that can non-destructively acquire 3D images of the surface and inside of a measurement object with an imaging resolution on the order of micrometers up to a depth of several millimeters. The greatest feature of the optical coherence tomography device is non-destructive inspection using near-infrared light with a light intensity that has no effect on the human body. It is not necessary to contact the measurement object, and it is not necessary to apply an acoustic impedance matching material to the measurement object like ultrasonic inspection. The optical coherence tomography device is a technology that has mainly developed for medical purposes such as fundus examination, coronary artery examination, esophageal cancer examination, etc., and in recent years, its application in industrial uses has been promoted.

[0003] As inspection methods for the internal structure of pearls and gemstones, there are a comparative inspection method that makes a visual comparison with a reference standard sample, an X-ray inspection method that inspects the internal structure using X-rays, and a destructive inspection method that destroys the sample to directly inspect the internal structure. In contrast, the device of the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 discloses a device that inspects the internal structure of ornaments such as pearls and gemstones using optical interference, and can inspect the internal structure non-destructively.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, Patent Document 1 only discloses a method for inspecting the internal structure of ornaments such as pearls and gemstones, and does not disclose a specific method. In actual ornament inspection processes, it is necessary to inspect a huge quantity accurately within a limited time. The object of the present invention is to provide a sorting device that solves the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a sorting apparatus comprising: a sorting object conveyor plate; a feeder for placing sorting objects on the sorting object conveyor plate; a measuring device for irradiating the sorting objects with measuring light and receiving reflected light from the sorting objects; a dropping mechanism provided below the sorting object conveyor plate for dropping the sorting objects; and a control device for controlling the sorting object conveyor plate and the dropping mechanism, wherein the control device includes a control unit that performs a measurement result determination process for determining whether to drop the sorting objects based on the measuring light and the reflected light, and a dropping mechanism drive process for driving the sorting object conveyor plate and the dropping mechanism to drop or not drop the sorting objects. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, pearls and other decorative items can be inspected more efficiently. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This diagram shows the configuration of the sorting device 1 according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a top view of the sorting target transport panel 11. [Figure 3] This is a top view of the support plate 12 and the drop mechanism 13. [Figure 4] This is a top view showing the sorting target transport plate 11 installed on the support plate 12 and the drop mechanism 13. [Figure 5] This is a side view of the sorting device 1 according to this embodiment. [Figure 6] This is a perspective view showing a part of the sorting device 1. [Figure 7] This figure shows the measurement results obtained by the measuring device 15. [Figure 8] This is an example of a stabilization mechanism. [Figure 9] This diagram shows the configuration of the control device 16 in this embodiment. [Figure 10] This diagram shows the first pipe 132 and the second pipe 122. [Figure 11] This flowchart shows the processing of pearls from the time they are placed in the holes 111 of the sorting target conveyor plate 11 until they are dropped at the first or second drop position. [Figure 12] This is a flowchart showing the operation of sorting device 1. [Figure 13] This is a modified example, a top view showing the sorting target transport plate 11 installed on the support plate 12 and the dropping mechanism 13. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows the configuration of the sorting apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. The sorting device 1 comprises a sorting target conveying plate 11, a support plate 12, a dropping mechanism 13, a feeder 14, a measuring device 15, a conveying plate drive motor 113, a dropping mechanism drive motor 133, and a control device 16.

[0010] The sorting object conveyor plate 11 is a disc-shaped component on which the objects to be sorted are placed and for transporting them. The objects to be sorted are, for example, pearls. The following describes the case where the objects to be sorted are pearls. Figure 2 is a top view of the sorting object conveyor plate 11. The sorting object conveyor plate 11 is disc-shaped. The thickness of the sorting object conveyor plate 11 is approximately equivalent to the diameter of the pearls to be sorted. The sorting object conveyor plate 11 has multiple holes 111 provided at equal intervals on concentric circles that share the same center as the outer circle. The multiple holes 111 are provided near the outer edge of the sorting object conveyor plate 11. Hereafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the holes 111, they will simply be referred to as holes 111. The holes 111 are provided on the sorting object conveyor plate 11 such that the angles formed by two line segments connecting two adjacent holes 111 to the center are equal. That is, the holes 111 are provided at equal intervals on the sorting object conveyor plate 11.

[0011] The holes 111 provided in the sorting transport plate 11 penetrate the sorting transport plate 11. The diameter of the holes 111 is larger than the diameter of the pearls to be sorted. Preferably, the diameter of the holes 111 is several millimeters larger than the diameter of the pearls to be sorted. The sorting transport plate 11 rotates around the central axis of its outer circle.

[0012] The sorting transport plate 11 may be replaceable depending on the size of the object to be sorted. For example, sorting transport plates 11 with different diameters of holes 111 may be provided, and when the type of pearl to be sorted changes, the sorting transport plate 11 may be replaced and the diameter of the holes 111 may be changed.

[0013] The support plate 12 and the dropping mechanism 13 are provided below the sorting target transfer plate 11. The dropping mechanism 13 is a disk provided with a hole 131 for dropping pearls. The support plate 12 is a disk with a notch that supports the pearls arranged on the sorting target transfer plate 11. The diameter of the support plate 12 is approximately equal to the diameter of the sorting target transfer plate 11, and the support plate 12 is provided so that its center overlaps with that of the sorting target transfer plate 11. The dropping mechanism 13 is provided so that its center is located outside the outer contour of the support plate 12 and its outer contour overlaps with the circumcircle of the support plate 12. The support plate 12 and the dropping mechanism 13 are made so that the interference parts fit in the same plane. FIG. 3 is a top view of the support plate 12 and the dropping mechanism 13. The support plate 12 shown in FIG. 3 is made with a part missing along the outer contour (arc) of the dropping mechanism 13. The support plate 12 and the dropping mechanism 13 are provided to be flush with each other.

[0014] A hole 121 penetrating at a predetermined one position is provided in the support plate 12. The support plate 12 cannot rotate. The hole 121 provided in the support plate is provided so as to overlap with the hole 111 of the sorting target transfer plate 11 when the sorting target transfer plate 11 is placed on the support plate 12 and rotated. Hereinafter, the position of the hole 121 in the support plate 12 is referred to as the second dropping position.

[0015] A hole 131 penetrating at one position is provided in the dropping mechanism 13. The dropping mechanism 13 can rotate around the central axis of the outer circle. The hole 131 provided in the dropping mechanism 13 is provided so that the hole 131 of the dropping mechanism 13 and the holes 111 of the sorting target transfer plate 11 may overlap when the dropping mechanism 13 and the sorting target transfer plate 11 are rotated. Hereinafter, the position of the hole 111 when the hole 131 of the dropping mechanism 13 overlaps with the hole 111 of the sorting target transfer plate 11 is referred to as the first dropping position.

[0016] Figure 4 is a top view of the sorting target conveyor 11 when it is installed on the support plate 12 and the drop mechanism 13. A gap narrower than the diameter of a pearl is provided between the support plate 12 and the drop mechanism 13 and the sorting target conveyor 11. As a result, pearls that enter the holes 111 of the sorting target conveyor 11 are restricted from moving between the top surface of the support plate 12 or the drop mechanism 13 and the inner wall of the holes 111 of the sorting target conveyor 11, and do not fall out through the gap between the support plate 12 and the drop mechanism 13 and the sorting target conveyor 11. Pearls placed in the holes 111 at their initial placement position rest on the top surface of the support plate 12. When the sorting target conveyor 11 rotates counterclockwise, the pearls placed in the holes 111 are pushed by the inner wall of the holes 111 and roll counterclockwise on the support plate 12.

[0017] As the sorting target conveyor 11 rotates counterclockwise, the pearls placed in the holes 111 of the sorting target conveyor 11 roll over the support plate 12 and pass over the dropping mechanism 13. When the rotation of the sorting target conveyor 11 moves the pearls to the first dropping position, if the hole 131 of the dropping mechanism 13 is in the first dropping position, the pearls that were placed in the holes 111 of the sorting target conveyor 11 will fall through the hole 131.

[0018] If the hole 131 of the dropping mechanism 13 is not in the first dropping position when the pearl moves to the first dropping position, the pearl passes through the dropping mechanism 13, rolls over the support plate 12 again, and moves to the second dropping position. The second dropping position is where the hole 121 of the support plate 12 is located. Therefore, when the pearl moves to the second dropping position, it falls through the hole 121.

[0019] This allows the pearls placed in the holes 111 of the sorting target conveyor plate 11 to be sorted into two groups: those that fell at the first drop position and those that fell at the second drop position.

[0020] As described above, the sorting target transport plate 11, the support plate 12, and the dropping mechanism 13 can sort the pearls into two groups: those that fall through the holes 131 in the dropping mechanism 13 and those that fall through the holes 121 in the support plate 12, as the sorting target transport plate 11 rotates and the dropping mechanism 13 rotates as appropriate.

[0021] The feeder 14 supplies pearls to the initial placement position of the sorting target conveyor 11. Figure 5 is a side view of the sorting device 1 according to this embodiment. The feeder 14 includes a sorting target inlet 141 and an inline 142. Pearls are placed into the sorting target inlet 141. The inline 142 is a cylinder whose first end 1421 is connected to the sorting target inlet 141 and which is provided almost perpendicular to the sorting target conveyor 11. The inner diameter of the inline 142 is longer than the diameter of the pearls. Pearls placed into the sorting target inlet 141 pass through the inline 142.

[0022] The second end 1422 of the inline 142 is positioned above the location (initial placement position) where the holes are provided on the sorting target conveyor 11. As the sorting target conveyor 11 rotates, pearls fall from the inline 142 into the holes 111, thereby placing the pearls on the sorting target conveyor 11. A gap narrower than the diameter of the pearls is provided between the second end 1422 of the inline 142 and the sorting target conveyor 11. As a result, pearls that do not enter the holes 111 of the sorting target conveyor 11 are restricted from moving between the top surface of the sorting target conveyor 11 and the inline 142, preventing them from spilling out of the sorting target conveyor 11.

[0023] The measuring device 15 is a device that measures the internal structure of the pearls to be selected using optical coherence tomography. The measuring device 15 irradiates the pearls placed in the holes of the sorting target transport plate 11 with measuring light, receives the reflected light from the pearls, and measures the reflected light.

[0024] The measuring device 15 measures the internal structure of the pearls located between the initial placement position and the first drop position. Hereinafter, the position where the measuring device 15 irradiates with measuring light will be referred to as the measurement position. As shown in Figure 4, the pearls placed on the sorting target conveyor plate 11 are moved to the first drop position after their internal structure is measured by the measuring device 15.

[0025] Figure 6 is a perspective view showing a part of the sorting device 1. The pearls placed in the holes 111 of the sorting target conveyor plate 11 are moved to the first drop position after their internal structure is measured by the measuring device 15.

[0026] The measurement results from the measuring device 15 show the relationship between the distance from the detector in the measuring device 15 and the intensity when the measured light and the reflected light are interfered with. In the measurement results from the measuring device 15, a high intensity indicates a reflective surface. In pearls, the reflectivity of light is high at the surface of the pearl and at the interface between the nucleus and the nacreous layer inside the pearl (hereinafter referred to as the "nucleus-nacreous layer interface"), and the intensity in the measurement results from the measuring device 15 is high at these locations. Figure 7 shows the measurement results obtained by the measuring device 15. Figure 7 is a graph with distance from the measurement point on the horizontal axis and intensity on the vertical axis. Three intensity peaks are observed. The two peaks with short distances represent the surface of the pearl and the interface between the nucleus and the nacreous layer. By calculating the difference in distance between the two short peaks, the distance between the surface of the pearl and the interface between the nucleus and the nacreous layer, which is the object of measurement, can be calculated.

[0027] The support plate 12 may be provided with a mechanism to stabilize the position of the pearl at the position of the pearl measured by the measuring device 15. Figure 8 shows an example of a stabilization mechanism. The stabilization mechanism is, for example, a frustum-shaped cavity with its base facing upwards. As a result, the pearl P fits into the frustum-shaped cavity and is stabilized.

[0028] A transporter drive motor 113 is installed at the center of the sorting target transporter 11. When the transporter drive motor 113 is driven, the sorting target transporter 11 is rotated. The center of the drop mechanism 13 is installed. The drop mechanism 13 is rotated when the drop mechanism drive motor 133 is driven.

[0029] The control device 16 controls the rotation of the sorting target transport tray 11 and the drop mechanism 13 by controlling the transport tray drive motor 113 and the drop mechanism drive motor 133. Figure 9 shows the configuration of the control device 16 in this embodiment. The control device 16 includes a control unit 161 which has a processor 91 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or NPU (Neural Network Processing Unit) connected by a bus, and a memory 92.

[0030] The control unit 161 performs, for example, sorting target transport plate drive processing, measurement result determination processing, and drop mechanism drive processing.

[0031] The sorting target conveyor plate drive process involves controlling the conveyor plate drive motor 113 to rotate the sorting target conveyor plate 11. The sorting target conveyor plate 11 is rotated by the sorting target conveyor plate drive process. The sorting target conveyor plate 11 is rotated by a predetermined angle, then stopped, and this is repeated. The predetermined angle is the angle formed by two line segments connecting two adjacent holes and the center of the sorting target conveyor plate 11. In this way, pearls are conveyed.

[0032] The conveyor belt drive motor 113 may have a mechanism that transmits rotation at a fixed angle, and this mechanism may be used to rotate the sorting target conveyor belt 11 by a predetermined angle, stop it, and repeat the process. The mechanism that transmits rotation at a fixed angle may be, for example, a Geneva mechanism or a counter intermittent gear.

[0033] The measurement result determination process determines whether or not to drop the pearl based on the measurement results from the measuring device 15. The measurement result determination process calculates the difference in distance between the two shortest peaks in the measurement results from the measuring device 15. The measurement result determination process determines whether or not the calculated difference in distance between the two peaks is greater than a predetermined value.

[0034] The drop mechanism drive process controls the drop mechanism drive motor 133 and controls the rotation of the drop mechanism 13. The drop mechanism drive process rotates the drop mechanism 13 and switches whether or not to align the position of the hole 131 of the drop mechanism 13 with the hole of the sorting target conveyor 11. For example, the drop mechanism drive motor 133 switches the drop mechanism 13 between two states: one in which the hole 131 is at the first drop position and one in which it is not. The drop mechanism drive process switches the drop mechanism 13 to one of these two states based on the determination result from the measurement result determination process.

[0035] The drop mechanism drive process rotates the drop mechanism 13 and moves the position of the hole 131 of the drop mechanism 13 to the first drop position if the difference in the distances of the two calculated peaks is greater than a predetermined value, thereby dropping the pearl that has moved to the first drop position. The drop mechanism drive process does not rotate the drop mechanism 13 and does not move the position of the hole 13 of the drop mechanism 13 to the first drop position if the difference in the distances of the two calculated peaks is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and does not drop the pearl that has moved to the first drop position.

[0036] In the sorting device 1, the sorting target conveying plate 11 is rotated so that pearls are measured by the measuring device 15 and then dropped by the dropping mechanism 13. Through holes are provided in the support plate 12, and a feeder 14 and measuring device 15 are installed. Also, in the sorting device 1, if pearls are measured by the measuring device 15 but are not dropped by the dropping mechanism 13, the sorting target conveying plate 11 is rotated so that pearls fall through holes provided in the support plate 12. Through holes are provided in the support plate 12, and a feeder 14 and measuring device 15 are installed. Specifically, as shown in Figure 4, the support plate 12 has counterclockwise-oriented positions for the initial placement of pearls by the feeder 14, the measurement position by the measuring device 15, the first drop position by the dropping mechanism 13, and the second drop position by the support plate 12. As the sorting target conveying plate 11 rotates counterclockwise, the pearls are measured by the measuring device 15 and then dropped by the dropping mechanism 13. If the pearls are not dropped by the dropping mechanism 13 after being measured by the measuring device 15, they fall through holes in the support plate 12.

[0037] Figure 10 shows a first pipe 132 and a second pipe 122. The sorting device 1 may include a first pipe 132 and a second pipe 122. The first pipe 132 is installed so that pearls that fall at the first drop position pass through, and the second pipe 122 is installed so that pearls that fall at the second drop position pass through. The pearls that fall at the first drop position and pass through the first pipe 132 and the pearls that fall at the second drop position and pass through the second pipe 122 are placed in separate locations, thereby sorting the pearls into two groups.

[0038] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing the processing of pearls from the time they are placed in the holes 111 of the sorting target conveyor 11 until they fall at the first or second drop position. First, the feeder 14 places the pearls in the holes 111 at the initial placement position (step S11). Then, as the sorting target conveyor 11 rotates, the pearls move to the measurement position and are measured by the measuring device 15 (step S12). After that, the control unit 161 determines the measurement result (step S13).

[0039] When the distance between the surface of the pearl and the interface of the nucleus nacre is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (step S14: YES), the sorting target conveyor plate 11 rotates and when the pearl is in the first drop position, the control unit 161 controls the drop mechanism drive motor 133 by the drop mechanism drive process, rotating the drop mechanism 13 to move the hole 131 to the first drop position (step S15). As a result, the pearl falls at the first drop position. After moving the hole 131 to the first drop position, the control unit 161 controls the drop mechanism drive motor 133 to rotate the drop mechanism 13, moving the hole 131 to a position different from the first drop position.

[0040] When the distance between the surface of the pearl and the interface between the nucleus and the nacreous layer is less than a predetermined value (step S14: NO), the sorting target conveyor plate 11 rotates and, when the pearl is in the second dropping position, the pearl falls through the hole 121 (step S16).

[0041] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the sorting device 1. The control unit 161 rotates the sorting target conveyor plate 11 (step S21). Here, the rotation angle is the angle formed by two line segments connecting two adjacent holes 111 and the center, and the holes 111 are rotated with a one-way shift. The feeder 14 supplies pearls to the holes 111 that have moved to their initial positions (step S22).

[0042] The measuring device 15 measures the internal structure of the pearl as it moves to the measurement position (step S23). The control unit 161 determines the measurement result (step S24). The control unit 161 records the determination result (step S25). The determination result is recorded in the memory 92. Here, the determination result is recorded for each hole in which the pearl is placed. For example, the rotation angle of the sorting target transporter 11 due to the sorting target transporter drive process is managed by the control unit 161, so that the measurement result or determination result of the pearl is linked to the angle at which the pearl moved from its measurement position.

[0043] Subsequently, the control unit 161 reads the pearl determination result at the first drop position from the memory 92 through the drop mechanism drive process (step S26). Here, the pearl determination result and the angle at which the pearl moved from its measurement position are linked, and since the angle of movement from the measurement position to the first drop position is known, the pearl determination result at the first drop position is identified.

[0044] If the judgment result for the pearl at the first drop position is that the pearl should be dropped (step S27: YES), the control unit 161 rotates the drop mechanism 13 by the drop mechanism drive process, moving the hole 131 of the drop mechanism 13 to the first drop position (step S28). As a result, the pearl at the first drop position falls. After moving the hole 131 to the first drop position, the control unit 161 controls the drop mechanism drive motor 133 to rotate the drop mechanism 13, moving the hole 131 to a position different from the first drop position. After the operation in step S28 is performed, the operation from step S21 is repeated.

[0045] If the judgment result for the pearl at the first drop position is that the pearl should not be dropped (step S27: NO), the operation from step S21 is repeated. If the judgment result for the pearl at the first drop position is that the pearl should not be dropped, the pearl at the first drop position moves to the second drop position as the sorting target conveyor plate 11 rotates and falls through the hole 121 in the support plate 12.

[0046] Furthermore, steps S24 and S25 only need to be performed until the measured pearl moves to the first drop position.

[0047] A sensor may be provided on the feeder 14 to sense whether or not a pearl has been placed in the hole 111 at the initial placement position. In this case, the control unit 161 may link information regarding whether or not a pearl has been placed with information regarding the rotation angle of the sorting target transporter 11 due to the sorting target transporter drive process, and manage the position of the pearl placed in the hole 111 of the sorting target transporter 11.

[0048] In the above embodiment, the measuring device 15 measures the internal structure of the pearl to be selected using optical coherence tomography (OCT), but the method used is not limited to OCT. For example, the internal structure of the pearl may be measured by irradiating the pearl to be selected with ultrasound or X-rays.

[0049] In the above embodiment, the case where the object to be sorted is a pearl was described, but it is not limited to pearls. When the object to be sorted is a spherical object, the internal structure can be measured by the measuring device 15, as in the case where the object to be sorted is a pearl, and sorting can be performed based on the measurement results.

[0050] In the above embodiment, the pearl is dropped at the first drop position when the distance between the pearl surface and the nucleus nacreous interface is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and the pearl is dropped at the second drop position when the distance between the pearl surface and the nucleus nacreous interface is less than or equal to a predetermined value. However, the reverse may also be applied. That is, the pearl may be dropped at the first drop position when the distance between the pearl surface and the nucleus nacreous interface is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and the pearl may be dropped at the second drop position when the distance between the pearl surface and the nucleus nacreous interface is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

[0051] In the above embodiment, the holes 111 of the sorting target conveyor plate 11 are arranged in a single row on concentric circles, but multiple rows may be arranged on multiple concentric circles with different radii. In this case, a drop mechanism 13, a feeder 14, and a measuring device 15 corresponding to each row are provided, and the support plate 12 is provided with holes 121 corresponding to each row. In this case, the measurement result determination process and the drop mechanism drive process in the control unit 161 are performed independently for each row.

[0052] In the above embodiment, one drop mechanism 13, feeder 14, measuring device 15, and hole 121 of the support plate 12 are provided for one row of holes 111 of the sorting target conveying plate 11, but multiple such mechanisms may be provided. Figure 13 is a top view of a modified example in which the sorting target conveyor plate 11 is installed on the support plate 12 and the dropping mechanism 13. In the modified example shown in Figure 13, the two initial placement positions, the measurement position, the first dropping position, and the second dropping position are symmetrical with respect to the center of the sorting target conveyor plate 11. Two feeders 14-1 and 14-2 are provided at the two initial placement positions, two measuring devices 15-1 and 15-2 are provided at the two measurement positions, two dropping mechanisms 13-1 and 13-2 are provided at the two first dropping positions, and holes 121-1 and 121-2 in the support plate 12 are provided at the two second dropping positions, respectively.

[0053] Furthermore, at this time, the control unit 161 performs measurement result determination processing and drop mechanism drive processing for each combination of drop mechanism 13, feeder 14, and measuring device 15.

[0054] In this case, since the pearl placed in hole 111 will always fall at either the first or second falling position, it is sufficient that the pearl is placed in hole 111 after passing through the second falling position, and then falls at the second falling position before passing through the initial placement position. In the modified example shown in Figure 13, the pearl is always dropped at the second falling position before hole 111 passes through the initial placement position, so that the pearl never passes through the initial placement position while it is in place.

[0055] The measuring device 15 may perform multiple measurements and average the measurement results. In the measurement result determination process of the control unit 161, the determination may be made based on the averaged measurement results.

[0056] Furthermore, the control unit 161 may cause the sorting target conveyor 11 to vibrate by a small amount. By performing multiple measurements with the measuring device 15 while the sorting target conveyor 11 is vibrating by a small amount, measurement results can be obtained when the measurement light is irradiated at different positions on the pearls. This reduces white noise in the measurement results.

[0057] In the measurement result determination process by the control unit 161, machine learning may be used to calculate the distance between the pearl surface and the nucleus nacreous layer interface from the measurement results. In this case, the control unit 161 calculates the distance between the pearl surface and the nucleus nacreous layer interface using a machine learning model that takes the measurement results as input and outputs the distance between the pearl surface and the nucleus nacreous layer interface.

[0058] It is desirable that the inner sides of holes 111, 121, and 131 be processed to be smooth. Similarly, it is desirable that the inner sides of the first pipe 132 and the second pipe 122 be processed to be smooth. The processing method should be, for example, mirror polishing, and the surface roughness after mirror polishing should preferably be 0.8 micrometers or less. This prevents the pearls from being damaged during transportation.

[0059] <Other Embodiments> Although one embodiment of this invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to that described above, and various design changes can be made without departing from the spirit of this invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0060] 1 Sorting device, 11 Transport plate for sorting objects, 111 Hole, 12 Support plate, 121 Hole, 122 Second pipe, 13 Dropping mechanism, 131 Hole, 132 First pipe, 14 Feeder, 141 Inlet for sorting objects, 142 In-line, 15 Measuring device, 16 Control device

Claims

1. A sorting object transport plate having holes for transporting the sorting object and rotating around a rotation axis extending in the thickness direction, A feeder that supplies the items to be sorted into the holes of the sorting item transport plate, A measuring device for measuring the internal structure of the sorting target supplied and placed in the aforementioned hole, A dropping mechanism is provided below the sorting target transport plate, which selectively drops the sorting targets, A control device for controlling the sorting target transport plate and the dropping mechanism, Equipped with, The control device is A measurement result determination process that determines whether or not to drop the object to be sorted based on the internal structure, Based on the determination result, the drop mechanism is driven to drop or not drop the object to be sorted, and the drop mechanism driving process is performed. It includes a control unit that performs the following: Sorting device.

2. The dropping mechanism has through holes that are provided so as to sometimes overlap with each of the holes in the sorting object conveying plate. The dropping mechanism drive process involves driving the dropping mechanism and aligning the through-hole of the dropping mechanism with the hole of the sorting target conveyor plate, thereby causing the pearls placed in the hole of the sorting target conveyor plate to fall. The sorting apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The holes in the aforementioned sorting transport plate have inner walls that are processed to have a smooth surface. The through-hole provided in the aforementioned drop mechanism has an inner wall that is processed to be a smooth surface. The sorting apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The measuring device measures the internal structure of the sorting target by irradiating the target with measuring light that has entered the hole and receiving the reflected light from the sorting target. A sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The subject of the aforementioned selection is pearls. The measurement results obtained by the aforementioned measuring device indicate the distance between the surface of the pearl and the interface between the nucleus and the nacreous layer inside the pearl. A sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The control unit, The sorting target transporter drive process is executed to rotate the sorting target transporter, Each time the sorting target conveyor plate rotates by a predetermined angle, the measuring device and the dropping mechanism drive process are performed. A sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. The aforementioned measuring device measures the internal structure of a single selected object multiple times. The measurement result determination process determines whether to drop the object to be sorted based on the internal structure measured multiple times. The sorting apparatus according to claim 4.

8. The control unit causes the sorting target transport plate to vibrate by a small amount. The sorting apparatus according to claim 7.

9. The pearl whose internal structure is measured by the aforementioned measuring device is stabilized in its position. The sorting apparatus according to claim 4.

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