Fruit sorting system

Abstract

To provide a fruit-sorting system excellent in degree of freedom for layout so that a measurement device is not restricted regarding an installation location.SOLUTION: A fruit-sorting system includes a transfer area 30 where a farm product F is transferred from a container C to a screening conveyor 20. Container information is configured in the container C. Each of the farm products F accommodated in the container C is measured by a first measurement device 101, thereby arrangement position information in the container C is associated with grade and class information of the farm product F. A bar code reader 301 and an area sensor 302 are installed at the transfer area 30. When the farm product F accommodated in the container C is transferred into the screening conveyor 20 in the transfer area 30, the bar code reader 301 scans the container information and the area sensor 302 tracks the transferred farm product F.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a fruit sorting system that transfers agricultural produce supplied by containers to a sorting conveyor for sorting. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a sorting device that, when agricultural produce stored in containers is removed from the containers and transferred to a sorting conveyor, stores container information in containers placed on the sorting conveyor, and then combines this with evaluation data measured by a measuring device to determine the grade for each producer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3321340 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the sorting device of Patent Document 1, the classification of agricultural products is performed while the produce is being transported on the sorting conveyor, and a measuring device for performing the classification is provided on the transport path of the sorting conveyor. In other words, the location where the measuring device can be installed is limited, which reduces the degree of freedom in designing the sorting device. This can make it difficult to design a device that increases the number of measurements of agricultural products to improve the accuracy of the classification.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a fruit sorting system that eliminates restrictions on where measuring devices can be installed and allows for high design freedom. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the sorting system of the present invention has a transfer area where agricultural products are transferred from a container in which the agricultural products are spread out and stored to a sorting conveyor, the containers are set with container information that identifies the container, each agricultural product stored in the container is measured in the container state by a first measuring device before being transferred to the transfer area, position information within the container obtained by measurement by the first measuring device is set in correspondence with first quality information of the agricultural product, and the transfer area includes the container information that identifies the container, and the first quality information of the agricultural product is set in correspondence with the position information within the container obtained by measurement by the first measuring device. The system is equipped with a container information reading means for reading information, and an area sensor for detecting the position within the container and the position on the sorting conveyor for each agricultural product transferred from the container to the sorting conveyor.When the agricultural products contained in the container in the transfer area are transferred to the sorting conveyor, the container information reading means reads the container information, and the area sensor tracks the agricultural products being transferred, thereby matching the agricultural products contained in the container before transfer with the agricultural products placed on the sorting conveyor after transfer.

[0007] According to the above configuration, the container information reading means and the area sensor can be used to associate agricultural products before transfer (agricultural products stored in containers) with agricultural products after transfer (agricultural products placed on the sorting conveyor) in the transfer area. This allows the quality information of each agricultural product set at the container storage stage to be recognized even after transfer to the sorting conveyor. The quality of agricultural products can be evaluated before sorting on the sorting conveyor, increasing the degree of freedom in designing the sorting system.

[0008] In addition, the above-mentioned sorting system can be configured so that the sorting conveyor is provided with a second measuring device that measures the transported agricultural products to obtain second quality information, and the first quality information and the second quality information are combined to sort the agricultural products based on the combined information.

[0009] According to the above configuration, for example, when the agricultural product is transferred in the transfer area, the agricultural product is turned upside down so that the first quality information and the second quality information are quality information obtained by measuring the agricultural product from opposite directions. By combining these, it is possible to improve the evaluation accuracy without damaging the agricultural product (without changing the orientation of the agricultural product while it is being transported by the conveyor).

[0010] The sorting system may also be configured to have a supply transport conveyor that transports the container to the transfer area, and the supply transport conveyor may be provided with the first measuring device.

[0011] In addition, in the above fruit sorting system, the first measuring device can be configured to measure the agricultural produce using an X-ray sensor.

[0012] According to the above configuration, in a supply / transport conveyor that does not have a sorting function, an X-ray sensor can be used as the first measuring device. By using an X-ray sensor, it is possible to measure the weight of the agricultural produce, improving the accuracy of the quality evaluation. Effect of the Invention

[0013] The sorting system of the present invention can associate agricultural products before and after transfer in the transfer area, and can recognize the quality information of each agricultural product set at the container storage stage even after transfer to the sorting conveyor. This makes it possible to evaluate the quality of agricultural products before sorting on the sorting conveyor, which has the effect of increasing the degree of freedom in designing the sorting system. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the general configuration of a fruit sorting system. [Diagram 2] 11 is a table showing stored data after reading by a first measuring device. [Diagram 3]1A and 1B are schematic diagrams showing the specific configuration of the transfer area, in which (a) is a top view of the transfer area, and (b) is a side view of the transfer area. [Figure 4] 13 is a table showing stored data after placement on the sorting conveyor. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the fruit sorting system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] [First embodiment] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the outline of a fruit sorting system according to the present embodiment (hereinafter, the present system). The type of agricultural produce sorted by the present system is not particularly limited, but it is suitable for fruits that are nearly spherical in shape, have a soft surface, and are easily damaged (e.g., peaches).

[0016] This system is generally configured by connecting a supply transport conveyor 10 and a sorting conveyor 20 via a transfer area 30. The supply transport conveyor 10 is a conveyor that transports containers C containing agricultural products F to be sorted to the transfer area 30. The sorting conveyor 20 is a conveyor that transports the individually placed agricultural products F and sorts them based on the classification (grade and class) determined for each agricultural product F. In the transfer area 30, the agricultural products F stored in the containers C are removed from the containers C and transferred to the sorting conveyor 20. This system also has a sorting control device 40 that controls the sorting process of the agricultural products by this system.

[0017] A first measuring device 101 is provided on the supplying and transporting conveyor 10, and a barcode reader 102 is arranged upstream of the first measuring device 101 in the transport direction of the supplying and transporting conveyor 10. Container information for identifying each container C is attached to the containers C by a barcode. A plurality of agricultural products F are stored in the containers C in a spread-out arrangement. Specifically, the interior of the container C is divided into a plurality of separate areas, and one agricultural product F is placed and stored in one separate area.

[0018] The container C transported by the supply transport conveyor 10 has its container information read by a barcode reader 102 just before the first measuring device 101, which measures and evaluates all of the agricultural products F stored in the container C. A surface measuring device that measures the container C from one direction (above) is used as the first measuring device 101.

[0019] The measurement and judgment by the first measuring device 101 not only determines the grade of each agricultural product F by measuring the size, shape, surface scratches, etc., but also includes measuring the positional information of each agricultural product F within the container C (the sorting area in which the agricultural product F is placed). The grade information (first quality information) of each agricultural product F obtained by measurement by the first measuring device 101 is stored in association with the ID number assigned to each agricultural product F, the container information of the container C in which the agricultural product F was stored (i.e., the container information read by the barcode reader 102), and the positional information of each agricultural product F within the container C (see FIG. 2).

[0020] The first measuring device 101 may use an X-ray sensor to measure the agricultural produce F. The first measuring device 101 using an X-ray sensor can obtain internal data such as moisture content in addition to appearance data on the agricultural produce F, such as size, shape, and surface scratches. The weight of the agricultural produce F can also be indirectly measured (calculated) from the shape and moisture content, and adding weight to the evaluation parameters for sorting improves the accuracy of the quality evaluation. The X-ray sensor can be used because the first measuring device 101 is not installed on the sorting conveyor 20. That is, the X-ray sensor needs to have an X-ray emitting section and a light receiving section symmetrically positioned with respect to the agricultural produce F to be measured, and it is difficult to install the X-ray sensor in a way that can capture an image of the entire fruit on the sorting conveyor 20, which has a complex structure due to the sorting function.

[0021] 3 is a schematic diagram showing a specific configuration of the transfer area 30, where (a) is a top view of the transfer area 30 and (b) is a side view of the transfer area 30. In the transfer area 30, at least one (preferably multiple, three in FIG. 1) work table 31 is installed along the sorting conveyor 20, and the transfer operation of the agricultural produce F can be performed with the container C placed on the work table 31. Note that in this system, the transfer operation of the agricultural produce F in the transfer area 30 is performed manually by a worker. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the transfer operation may be performed by a robot arm or the like if possible.

[0022] A barcode reader (container information reading means) 301 and an area sensor 302 are installed on each work table 31. The barcode reader 301 reads container information for the container C placed on the work table 31. This identifies the container C to be transferred. When the agricultural product F is transferred from the container C to the sorting conveyor 20, the area sensor 302 tracks the agricultural product F being transferred. Specifically, the area sensor 302 confirms, for each agricultural product F, information on the placement position within the container C when it is removed from the container C and information on the placement position on the sorting conveyor 20 when it is placed on the sorting conveyor 20, and these positional information are associated with each other.

[0023] For agricultural products F placed on the sorting conveyor 20, information on the placement position on the sorting conveyor 20 and class information are associated and stored for each agricultural product F (see FIG. 4). For example, by tracking the area sensor 302, the stored data after placement on the sorting conveyor 20 (see FIG. 2) can be obtained by replacing the container information and the arrangement position information within the container C with the placement position information on the sorting conveyor 20.

[0024] Here, the placement position information on the sorting conveyor 20 can be, for example, a combination of coordinate information of the location where the agricultural product F was first placed on the sorting conveyor 20 and position information of the sorting conveyor 20 at the time the agricultural product F was placed on the sorting conveyor 20. The coordinate information is absolute coordinates in the conveying direction of the sorting conveyor 20 (the direction of the arrow X in FIG. 1). Furthermore, the position information of the sorting conveyor 20 can be obtained by angular velocity information obtained from an encoder attached so as to transmit information from the rotating shaft that drives the sorting conveyor 20, or by pulse detection of the conveyed body on the sorting conveyor 20 by a sensor or the like.

[0025] The agricultural products F placed on the sorting conveyor 20 are transported from the transfer area 30 to the sorting area 21, where they are sorted according to class. That is, in the sorting area 21, a number of receiving boxes B (eight in FIG. 1) are arranged according to the number of types of agricultural products F to be sorted, and each agricultural product F is sorted from the sorting conveyor 20 to the receiving box B at the position of the receiving box B that corresponds to the determined class.

[0026] Specifically, the distance L1 from the point where the agricultural produce F is placed on the sorting conveyor 20 to the destination receiving box is calculated based on the coordinate information described above. The transport distance of the agricultural produce F is then tracked by an encoder attached to the rotating shaft that drives the sorting conveyor 20, and once the agricultural produce F has been transported the distance L1, it is sorted from the sorting conveyor 20 to the destination receiving box B.

[0027] Incidentally, the sorting conveyor 20 capable of performing such sorting work is well known, and therefore a detailed description of the specific structure of the sorting conveyor 20 will be omitted here. Also, while Fig. 1 illustrates sorting being performed directly from the sorting conveyor 20 to the receiving box B, a sorting conveyor may be provided for each receiving box B between the sorting conveyor 20 and the receiving box B. In other words, the agricultural produce F sorted by the sorting conveyor 20 may be transported to the receiving box B where it is sorted by the sorting conveyor.

[0028] Furthermore, in this system, a second measuring device 201 is provided between the transfer area 30 and the sorting area 21 on the sorting conveyor 20. The second measuring device 201 measures the size, shape, surface scratches, etc. of the agricultural produce F being transported on the sorting conveyor 20, and determines the class based on these measurements. A surface measuring device that measures the agricultural produce F from one direction (above) is used as the second measuring device 201.

[0029] In this system using the second measuring device 201, when the agricultural produce F is transferred in the transfer area 30, the agricultural produce F is transferred upside down. As a result, the measurement by the second measuring device 201 is performed from the opposite direction to the measurement by the first measuring device 101. The judgment result used for the final sorting of the agricultural produce F is a combination of the class information (first quality information) determined by the first measuring device 101 and the class information (second quality information) determined by the second measuring device 201. In this way, by performing judgment by multiple measurements from different directions, the evaluation accuracy of this system can be improved. Furthermore, in this system, there is no need to change the orientation of the agricultural produce F while transporting it in order to perform multiple measurements from different directions, so damage to the agricultural produce F caused by transport on a conveyor can be avoided.

[0030] Next, the control system in this system will be described. Figure 5 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of this system. As shown in Figure 5, the control system of this system is composed of a barcode reader 102, a first measuring device 101, a barcode reader 301, an area sensor 302, a second measuring device 201, a sorting conveyor 20, and a sorting control device 40. The first measuring device 101 is equipped with a first camera 101a, an X-ray sensor camera 101b, and a first image processing computer 101c. The second measuring device 201 is equipped with a second camera 201a and a second image processing computer 201b. The sorting control device 40 is equipped with a data storage unit 401 and a conveyor control unit 402.

[0031] In the supply transport conveyor 10, the barcode reader 102 reads container information of the container C, and the first camera 101a and X-ray sensor camera 101b in the first measuring device 101 measure (photograph) the agricultural produce F contained in the container C. The measurement data from the first camera 101a and X-ray sensor camera 101b undergoes image processing by a first image processing computer 101c, and as a result, position information and class information of each agricultural produce F in the container C is obtained. The obtained position information and class information of the agricultural produce F are sent to the sorting control device 40 together with the container information read by the barcode reader 102, and are stored in the data storage unit 401.

[0032] In the transfer area 30, a barcode reader 301 reads container information of a container C, and an area sensor 302 tracks the agricultural produce F being transferred. This tracking rewrites the data stored in the data storage unit 401. That is, as described above, the stored data after reading by the first measuring device 101 (see FIG. 2) is rewritten with the stored data after placement on the sorting conveyor 20 (see FIG. 4).

[0033] On the sorting conveyor 20, a second camera 201a in a second measuring device 201 measures (photographs) the agricultural produce F being conveyed. The measurement data of the second camera 201a is subjected to image processing by a second image processing computer 201b, and class information of each agricultural produce F is obtained. The obtained class information of the agricultural produce F is sent to the sorting control device 40, and the stored data stored in the data storage unit 401 is updated if necessary.

[0034] The conveyor control unit 402 in the sorting control device 40 controls the sorting operation on the sorting conveyor 20 based on the stored data in the data storage unit 401. That is, the conveyor control unit 402 determines a sorting destination based on the class information of each agricultural product F, and controls the sorting conveyor 20 so that the agricultural product F is sorted into a receiving box B corresponding to the sorting destination.

[0035] In the control system of the present system described above, the first image processing computer 101c and the second image processing computer 201b are provided in the first measuring device 101 and the second measuring device 201, respectively. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first image processing computer 101c and the second image processing computer 201b may be provided in the sorting control device 40.

[0036] As described above, the present system can use the barcode reader 301 and the area sensor 302 to associate the agricultural produce F before and after transfer in the transfer area 30. This allows the class information of each agricultural produce F determined at the stage of storage in the container C to be recognized even after transfer to the sorting conveyor 20. In other words, quality evaluation of the agricultural produce F can be performed before sorting on the sorting conveyor 20, increasing the degree of freedom in designing the sorting system. In addition, by providing the second measuring device 201 on the sorting conveyor 20 and performing multiple judgments by the first measuring device 101 and the second measuring device 201, the accuracy of the judgment can be improved.

[0037] [Embodiment 2] In the above-mentioned first embodiment, the supply transport conveyor 10, the barcode reader 102, and the first measuring device 101 are incorporated as part of the sorting system, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the supply transport conveyor 10 is not essential to this system, and the barcode reader 102 and the first measuring device 101 may not be included in this system.

[0038] Specifically, the barcode reader 102 and the first measuring device 101 are prepared separately from this system, and the measurement and judgment of the agricultural produce F stored in the container C may be performed at a location away from this system and at a timing different from that of the sorting work by this system. However, the data measured and judged by the first measuring device 101 is stored in advance in the sorting control device 40 included in this system.

[0039] The container C after measurement and judgment by the first measuring device 101 may be stored in a warehouse or the like until the sorting operation, or may be transported by a forklift or the like to the transfer area 30 at the time of the sorting operation. If the barcode reader 102 and the first measuring device 101 are not included in this system, there is no need to place them close to the sorting conveyor 20, which allows for greater freedom in device design.

[0040] Third Embodiment In the above-mentioned first embodiment, the sorting conveyor 20 is provided with the second measuring device 201, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the second measuring device 201 may be omitted in this system.

[0041] When the present system does not include the second measuring device 201, the conveying length of the sorting conveyor 20 can be made shorter than when the system includes the second measuring device 201. The sorting conveyor 20 has a complex structure to provide a function for sorting the agricultural produce F, and the cost increases as the conveying length increases. In other words, when the present system does not include the second measuring device 201, the advantages of reducing the number of the second measuring device 201 itself and reducing costs by shortening the sorting conveyor 20 are obtained.

[0042] The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not intended to be limiting. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not interpreted solely by the above-described embodiments, but is defined by the claims. Also, all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the claims are included. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10 Supply conveyor 101 First Measurement Device 101a 1st Camera 101b X-ray sensor camera 101c 1st image processing computer 102 Barcode reader 20 Sorting Conveyor 21 Sorting Area 201 Second Measurement Device 201a 2nd Camera 201b 2nd image processing computer 30 Transfer Area 31 Work Table 301 Barcode reader (container information reading means) 302 Area Sensor 40 Sorting control device 401 Data storage unit 402 Conveyor control unit C Container F. Agricultural Products B Receiving box

Claims

1. A transfer area is provided for transferring the agricultural products from a container in which the agricultural products are spread out and stored to a sorting conveyor; The container has container information for identifying the container set therein, Each agricultural product contained in the container is measured by a first measuring device while contained in the container before being transferred to the transfer area, and position information within the container obtained by measurement by the first measuring device is set in correspondence with first quality information of the agricultural product, The transfer area includes: A container information reading means for reading container information set in the container; An area sensor is provided for detecting the position of each agricultural product transferred from the container to the sorting conveyor in the container and the position of the agricultural product on the sorting conveyor; This is a fruit sorting system characterized by the fact that when agricultural produce stored in the container in the transfer area is transferred to the sorting conveyor, the container information is read by the container information reading means and the area sensor tracks the agricultural produce being transferred, thereby matching the agricultural produce stored in the container before transfer with the agricultural produce placed on the sorting conveyor after transfer.

2. The fruit sorting system according to claim 1, a second measuring device is provided on the sorting conveyor to measure the agricultural products being conveyed and obtain second quality information; A fruit sorting system comprising: a first quality information and a second quality information; and a sorting system for sorting agricultural products based on the combined information.

3. The fruit sorting system according to claim 1 or 2, a supply transport conveyor for transporting the container to the transfer area; A fruit sorting system characterized in that the first measuring device is provided on the supply and transport conveyor.

4. The fruit sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, A fruit sorting system characterized in that the first measuring device measures agricultural products using an X-ray sensor.

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